(Fünfundvierzig 167) CD 67m
Around since the very early days of Krautrock, I was surprised to learn recently that M.T. Wizzard were formed way back in 1969! They hailed from Limburg and have featured Amon Düül II and Xhol members. They started as free-rock/fusion underground, and then got more conventional. It wasn't until the advent of the new-wave in Germany that they got to release an album. Then they flourished much like the UK bands Here & Now or Magic Muscle. Of course, as primarily a festival band, M.T. Wizzard have always been a bit hit and miss, although many of their releases contain excellent Krautrock moments.
So, what of this new album? Well, first off, I would never have known about it hadn't band leader Edgar Turk sent us a review copy. You see, shortly after its release the label Fünfundvierzig folded. But, even with Tim Belbe sadly passed away and no longer in the band, they seem to have refound their old 1969 spirit and done their best ever album!
Yes, now, over 40 years on they've moved back to doing free-rock/fusion underground! 9 of the 10 tracks here are acid fuelled, psychedelic, ethnic mega-trips that really sizzle, flow and do all the right things. The spirit of such bands as Amon Düül II, Embryo, Missus Beastly, Guru Guru - all present, but with added Turkish / Middle Eastern flavour. That's obviously down to Edgar's unusual tuning, sometimes giving it a buzz akin to the live recordings of Turkish legend Erkin Koray. Although all basically jams, we have moves towards Ozric Tentacles on some tracks, Can gone jazzy on others, and elsewhere. Never a dull moment...
Well, ahem, that's if you forget the last track, a really crappy rock/blues song that's totally out of character with all that's gone before! I wish they hadn't done that!
unfortunately there are no audio samples online
A blog p.s. - This review was in Audion 57, from 2012. However, the label went bust and it disappeared, never to appear on a distributor list since. Just got a second-hand copy though which I listed on Discogs.
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