IN ACTION

The 60s was a very strange time indeed. It saw rock music splintering off into a gazillion different directions seemingly overnight. While the prog section at the supermarket was a new product on the shelf, it too was finding incredible diversity in an extremely short time. Some bands picked a way and others couldn't really make up their minds, so they delved into different aspects of the new world rock paradigm. Germany was at the forefront of progressive rock with bands like Amon Duul II and Can leading the way in a new extreme form of crazy psychedelia called Krautrock but some artists didn't exactly go in that direction.

Hamburg was the scene of a new German rock scene and in 1970 found singer John Lawton, bassist Dieter Horns, keyboardist Peter Hecht and drummer Joachim Reitenbach joined forces to create Lucifer's Friend, a band that was one of the forerunners of modern day metal music and although not quite as a household name like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin or Deep Purple is still very much known to have been one of the true innovators of the metal universe with their landmark debut album that was released the same year as the debut by Sabbath and "In Rock" by Deep Purple.

While Lucifer's Friend may be known in the prog world for their unique spin on prog rock with accentuated heaviness, they are much lesser known for the side project called THE PINK MICE which emerged in 1971. This project consisted of all the original members of Lucifer's Friend with the exception of the only non-German member singer John Lawton. THE PINK MICE were about as different of a project as you can get. Whereas Lucifer's Friend was about bombast and early metal meets jazz fusion, THE PINK MICE were a classically driven rock band all the way. In fact, all the tracks on the band's only two albums are all rock versions of traditional classical music which covers many of past masters. They also were all instrumental.

The debut album IN ACTION pretty much follows in the footsteps of some of the earliest symphonic prog pioneers such as The Nice, Emerson Lake and Palmer and German's answer to the latter in the form of Triumvirat. While it may seem like a ridiculously overplayed card by today's standards, especially since the dawning of Yngwie Malmsteen virtuoso guitar covering every neoclassical angle possible, back in the day, especially in 1971 when THE PINK MICE debuted, the whole classical music played in a rock context was still a novelty and while i find many of those original bands such as The Nice and even ELP, the most popular of the lot to have hit a few stale notes in their out-of-balance deliveries (the keys ALWAYS outshined the rest of the band), THE PINK MICE were the real deal and offered a rather interesting balanced take on the whole classical classics in a rock context.

On IN ACTION, six tracks cover Bach, Beethoven, Haydn and Grieg (the first two getting two tracks each.) Yes, it does seem like a period piece that doesn't necessarily hold up in the modern world but that means that it didn't need to be done again, not heard again. Hearing this as a period piece is actually quite exhilarating. Think Walter (Wendy) Carolos' "Hooked On Bach" only with ALL the rock instruments involved. The classical music is played authentically and not mangled in any way while the virtuosic keyboards lead the guitar, bass and drums on an interesting journey. While music like this usually sounds cheesy, i personally find that THE PINK MICE were the real deal and allow the rock to infiltrate the classical without sounding overly artificial.

THE PINK MICE would release one more album but folded rather quickly due to a lack of demand in this sort of shtick. Prog rock was much more interesting when classical was an influence and not the main presence. Bands like Yes proved that classical could provide an essential element without dominating the scene, therefore THE PINK MICE would continue on as Lucifer's Friend in the hard rock world where things were more financially lucrative. While this sort of classical music in a rock context isn't my favorite sort of music, i have to admit that this album is carried out quite pleasantly and allows all the elements to properly gel into a more cohesive listening experience than say The Nice who sounded like a typical rock band with a keyboard wizard blowing everyone else away.