ANDY NOGGER

I'm a little bit surprised that nobody reviewed this album before. Kraan is not the best known band relating to the terrific genre 'Krautrock' but definitely a good one. "Andy Nogger" is their third output and can be regarded as their best, at least it was the album that marked their breakthrough, speaking about sales figures. The album was released shortly before their first live album and many songs can be found on both albums. Sometimes you get the impression that the live versions got more famous because the immense pleasure of playing live makes the songs sound better. But this fact doesn't reduce "Andy Nogger". Far from it, this album is one of my favorite Krautrock recordings.

The style can be described with mentioning the more jazzier atmosphere, sometimes it sounds like a jamsession. I think that's due to the terrific percussion and bass work wich creates a perfect base for the melody and solo performances of the guitar and the saxophone. Vocals can be heard here and there. They can be described as the typical strange Krautrock vocals but maybe not as strange as other Krautrock vocal performances. The funny thing is that someone in the booklet compared them to 'Yes' but that's something I really can't countersign. Maybe their style sounds more connected to the symphonic prog than other Krautrockers like Guru Guru, Amon Düül II. Just like 'Wallenstein' who also have a differing style, sounding more symphonic. Highlight of the album is for sure "Holiday am Materhorn". Conspicuous is the great percussion work and the strong bass. The diverse solos sound really great. No vocals on this one. But in general you will find no bad songs on "Andy Nogger", seven outstanding Krautrock pieces with a symphonic and jazzy general sound.

So if you are looking for Krautrock and don't know where to start, "Andy Nogger" may be the right thing to purchase. Kraan is a highly underrated band, try it and I'm sure you will agree. So I really recommend Kraan and especially "Andy Nogger"...