EMBRYO'S REISE

After 2 disappointing releases and right before they would dive into the 80s (and go under in the process), Embryo made one last solid musical statement, a 2LP representing a total mix of all sides of Embryo: fusion, punkish krautrock, jamming, funk, world music and experimentation.

The only version you are likely to get hold of these days is the 1CD release, an issue missing 3 tracks of which the master tapes have gone missing. The flow of the album is quite strange, with some strange jumps between styles, sometimes within one single song such as the bare kraut-punk of 'Er Ist Wie's Ist" that is cut up with a relaxed middle-eastern jam with tablas and flutes. I usually reshuffle the order to be able to start off with the more rocking material and leaving the world music improvisation till the end. Whatever the style they do the quality remains fairly good, but the peaks into excellence are the instrumental tracks such as the world-beat/funk/rock of 'Road to Asia' and the entrancing percussion fired jam of 'Farid'.

A great return to form that ends just slightly under their many excellent releases from the first half of the 70s. 3.5 stars it is. Recommended to fans of percussion and middle-eastern world music traditions especially.