You have to hand it to the folks at Cherry Red. No matter the genre, when they do a compilation, you can always expect the unexpected. Electric Junk – Deutsche Rock, Psych And Kosmiche 1970-78 is a journey (literally, as per the liner notes) through the music coming out of Germany in the 1970s. Unlike the British progressive scene, or even their American counterparts, much of what appeared at the time had more in common with the psychedelic sixties in terms of both attitude and a break from its antecedents. Incredibly diverse, political, and nonconformist, it is obvious on most every track that art, not the charts, was the goal. As with all broad ambitions, not every artist was able to hit the mark. Electric Junk chronicles the scene that exploded across the German underground over a period of less than ten years. Some of the artists represented are still recording today, their influence having spread far and wide since their heyday. While I might quibble with some of the omissions (no Kraftwerk or Amon Düül II or Grobschnitt?!?), there is no denying that those tracks which made the cut are both representative of the scene and worthy of inclusion.
Cherry Red’s liner notes are always a treat, and this compilation is no exception. While not as detailed as some other packages, they nevertheless take the reader on a trip through time and place, traversing the country to each band’s home base, represented in the delightful cover and booklet art. The journey begins as Guru Guru boards the train with their 1971 offering which lends the box its name, Electric Junk. Riffing, manic drumming and plenty of guitar noise add up to I’m not exactly certain what. Space jazz? Free form metal? The spoken word German vocal announces clearly to everyone that commercial appeal is not the aim. This epic freakout eventually settles down to reveal traditional song structures and an intriguing listen. Novalis’ Dronsz rides a similar wave with a two chord vamp that builds layers of intrigue before morphing into something heavier and more intriguing. My Solid Ground’s The Executioner owes a debt to Black Sabbath with its heavy duty guitar, bass and drums, distorted vocals, and organ stabs. The Sabs also collect stylistic points from Janus’ Red Sun, but the song still remains uniquely Germanic. Tangerine Dream’s Ultima Thule Pt. 1 is all screaming rhythm guitar, but a mellotron thankfully sweetens the proceedings. Ramses’ LaLeyla doubles down on the driving rhythm, but its dual lead guitars and Hammond organ yield to mellotron and airy vocals to soften things up. Not so for Orange Peel’s We Still Try To Change, which gives free reign to free form guitar histrionics without much development, but plenty of organ along the way. Guru Guru’s second entry, Stone In, dispenses with any notion of song format, leading the listener to wonder if they were ever in the same room at the same time.
[Not the boxset version]
Speaking of organs, Hammonds must have been a dime a dozen at the time, as they dominate so much of the compilation. Brainticket use the instrument along with wah-wah guitar and distorted vocals for a heady brew on Black Sand. Epsilon go the classical roots route with their organ solo on She Belongs To Me, whereas Nosferatu does Jon Lord proud with Highway. Cluster is all lysergic organ weirdness with Georgel, but it’s the synthetic oddities throughout the song that make it such a worthy listen. Dirty Yellow Mist moves from Sabbath influences to Iron Butterfly territory, as My Solid Ground employ funereal organ, mellotron and fuzzy guitar in a two chord sequence that has you on the edge of your seat for thirteen minutes waiting for a breakout that never comes.
Straying from the obvious rock instrumental quartet, some bands incorporated other instruments into their sound. A perfect example is the violin-led track Schweberbahn by Hoelderlin, a track whose innovation and strange beauty carries the spirit of Larks’ Tongue era King Crimson without being duplicative. Violin continues to rule on Pell Mell’s City Monster. Lots of cool mood and tempo changes and close harmony vocals help make this another standout track. Os Mundi uses sax, bongos, flute and trippy psychedelic guitar to set A Question Of Decision apart from the pack. An American band that took up residence in Germany, Sweet Smoke has more in common with British prog in both attitude and delivery. Darkness To Light is a well-structured song that over the course of nearly thirteen minutes enchants with fine harmonies, sax, violin, xylophone and piano for another incredible track. Dreams And Nightmares (Dreams) by Message also relies on sax to replicate the guitar riff and fatten the sound. Busy bass and another wah-wah guitar excursion add depth and interest to the song.
[Not the boxset version]
The spacey synth and mellotron pieces that the scene is famous for get their due as well. La Düsseldorf’s Silver Cloud is nascent electronica and undeniably charming. A catchy, repetitive melody, guitars that go from crunchy to airy, and a great feel for dynamics make for a winning combination. Klause Schulze is another artist with two entries. Satz Gewitter (Energy Rise, Energy Collapse) is wonderfully cinematic, elegiac and quirky. If minimalism did not get it’s start with Some Velvet Phasing, it certainly got a huge lift. Mesmerizing start to finish. Tangerine Dream’s Movements Of A Visionary Is a classic of sequencers and synthesized sounds, while Lava’s hypnotic Piece Of Peace is an almost meditative piano piece enhanced by sympathetic guitar, bass and drums. Epsilon In Malaysian Pale is a beautiful Edgar Froese mellotron piece with rhythmic synth pulses that calm the spirit and soothe the soul. Popul Vuh encapsulates the New Age spirit with Ah!, all gentle piano and ambient guitar. Faust offers a rare acoustic guitar instrumental with gentle keyboard accompaniment on On The Way To Abamae.
As if to empathize the depth and breadth of the styles coming out of Germany at the time, Triumvirat’s March To The Eternal City is a phenomenal piece of progressive rock, its traditional prog song structures revealing the influences of bands such as Tangerine Dream and Popul Vuh on its sounds. The oddest piece on display is certainly A.R. & Machines’ Als Hätte Ich Das Schon ‘mal Gesehen. Its bizarre pastiche of vocal sounds is eventually subverted by standard rock instrumentation, if not exactly standard songwriting, oddity always to the fore. Propulsive bass and jazzy drums create a playground for a guitar workout on Kraan’s Head. There is even a drum solo that is fortunately not monotonous. Synth washes and tribal percussion build slowly in intensity over the six plus minutes of Hans-Joachim Roedelius’ Regenmacher. But it’s Faust’s Jennifer that veers dangerously close to commercialism, sounding like psychedelic Donovan embellished by aural quirkiness and a spellbinding guitar figure…
[Not the boxset version]
Electric Junk is another jewel in the Cherry Red crown. Not every song is guaranteed to delight every listener, but every song will catch your attention and make you think. If you are new to what was somewhat disparagingly short-handed as Kraut rock, there is no better place to begin. The better known acts I mentioned at the beginning are still relatively easy to find, so this set does not suffer from their exclusion (still, it would have been nice for completion’s sake). For those already familiar with the genre, there are plenty of rarities and oddities to keep you satisfied as well. So much of what happened in 70s Germany echoes today, from the aggression of punk to the rhythms of electronica to the tranquility of New Age. This is one Junk pile loaded with buried treasure.
TRACK LISTING
Disc One
01. Guru Guru – Electric Junk (11:04)
02. Jane – Early In The Morning (5:24)
03. Brainticket – Black Sand (4:04)
04. Kraan – Head (18:37)
05. Karthago – Why Don’t You Stop Buggin’ Me (5:01)
06. Epsilon – She Belongs To Me (5:35)
07. Eloy – Daybreak (2:41)
08. Message – Dreams And Nightmares (Dreams) (12:41)
09. Nosferatu – Highway (4:16)
10. La Düsseldorf – Silver Cloud (8:02)
Time – 77:25
Disc Two
01. Klaus Schulze – Satz Gewitter (Energy Rise, Energy Collapse) (5:40)
02. Lava – Piece Of Peace (10:08)
03. Tangerine Dream – Movements Of A Visionary (7:50)
04. Hans-Joachim Roedelius – Regenmacher (6:34)
05. Conrad Schnitzler – Wild Space 6 (4:07)
06. Nine Days’ Wonder – Moment (8:02)
07. Faust – Jennifer (7:12)
08. Novalis – Dronsz (4:54)
09. Agitation Free – You Play For Us Today (6:16)
10. Silberbart – Brain Brain (16:22)
Time – 73:59
Disc Three
01. Edgar Froese – Epsilon In Malaysian Pale (16:26)
02. Cluster – Georgel (5:35)
03. My Solid Ground – The Executioner (3:32)
04. Popol Vuh – Ah! (4:46)
05. Klaus Schulze – Some Velvet Phasing (8:25)
06. Triumvirat – March To The Eternal City (8:48)
07. Tangerine Dream – Ultima Thule Pt I (3:22)
08. Embryo – A Place To Go (4:10)
09. Faust – On The Way To Abamae (2:43)
10. Electric Sandwich – China (Single Version) (3:07)
11. My Solid Ground – Dirty Yellow Mist (13:05)
Time – 78:25
Disc Four
01. Ramses – La Leyla (7:29)
02. Frame – Frame Of Mind (4:15)
03. A.R. & Machines – Als Hätte Ich Das Schon ‘mal Gesehen (5:31)
04. Janus – Red Sun (2013 Remix) (8:56)
05. Guru Guru – Stone In (5:45)
06. Hoelderlin – Schwebebahn (7:22)
07. Orange Peel – We Still Try To Change (10:06)
08. Pell Mell – City Monster (8:45)
09. Os Mundi – A Question Of Decision (7:42)
10. Sweet Smoke – Darkness To Light (12:49)
Time – 78:40
Total Time – 308:29
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Cherry Red Records
Country of Origin: Germany/International
Date of Release: 18th April 2025
LINKS
Cherry Red Records – Boxset Info at Cherry Red | Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube | X | Instagram
