Baba Yaga. 1974 Phonola (reissued on LP by Wah Wah in 2016, but still no CD)
Baba Yaga were a very obscure German group who released two albums in 1974, of which neither have much in common with each other. Ingo Werner is the only member on both, suggesting that Baba Yaga, in reality, are nothing more than a pseudonym. The debut is their song oriented album, performed by a 5 piece standard rock band (including copious use of mellotron), whereas Collage is the experimental underground outing recorded by the duo of Werner and Nemat Darman.
This review covers the debut, and after listening to the first four tracks, could easily be confused with any similar era UK melodic prog rock effort (Fantasy, Still Life, Cressida, etc…). Even the English language vocals, usually a disaster for pre-metal German groups, are executed flawlessly here by Bernd Weidmann. Ingo’s former band, My Solid Ground, provides another musical reference, though Baba Yaga is not quite as doomy or heavy. And there certainly isn't a highlight track like 'Dirty Yellow Mist' to rely on. However, from the fifth song on, the proceedings get considerably more interesting. Starting with the instrumental 'Rebekka', which itself is a beautiful piece with mellotron, acoustic guitar, bassoon, and piano. 'Turdus Merula' follows, a bit darker in tone, and is yet another powerful instrumental track with mellotron (as a featured instrument, rather than just embellishment), percussion, and piano. 'Intoxication' is similar but adds a rocked out mid-section that includes a wonderful psychedelic guitar solo (and sounds as if inserted from another jam session). Closing out the album is 'La Tombeau', a dark instrumental piece featuring organ, mellotron, piano, and percussion. It's interesting to note that it appears Werner is handling all of the instrumental work on these four tracks, perhaps revealing that in fact there wasn’t enough material from the five piece unit, and he appended these songs to fill the album. 'Homage A' appears to be a limited group effort, minus the vocalist and duo of guitarists. The odd track out on the back half of the disc is 'Powerful Hand', which would've fit nicely with the opening quartet of cuts.
This review covers the debut, and after listening to the first four tracks, could easily be confused with any similar era UK melodic prog rock effort (Fantasy, Still Life, Cressida, etc…). Even the English language vocals, usually a disaster for pre-metal German groups, are executed flawlessly here by Bernd Weidmann. Ingo’s former band, My Solid Ground, provides another musical reference, though Baba Yaga is not quite as doomy or heavy. And there certainly isn't a highlight track like 'Dirty Yellow Mist' to rely on. However, from the fifth song on, the proceedings get considerably more interesting. Starting with the instrumental 'Rebekka', which itself is a beautiful piece with mellotron, acoustic guitar, bassoon, and piano. 'Turdus Merula' follows, a bit darker in tone, and is yet another powerful instrumental track with mellotron (as a featured instrument, rather than just embellishment), percussion, and piano. 'Intoxication' is similar but adds a rocked out mid-section that includes a wonderful psychedelic guitar solo (and sounds as if inserted from another jam session). Closing out the album is 'La Tombeau', a dark instrumental piece featuring organ, mellotron, piano, and percussion. It's interesting to note that it appears Werner is handling all of the instrumental work on these four tracks, perhaps revealing that in fact there wasn’t enough material from the five piece unit, and he appended these songs to fill the album. 'Homage A' appears to be a limited group effort, minus the vocalist and duo of guitarists. The odd track out on the back half of the disc is 'Powerful Hand', which would've fit nicely with the opening quartet of cuts.
Collage. 1974 Phonola (reissued on LP by Wah Wah in 2016, but still no CD)
I have still yet to review this album even though I do own the original.
Priority: 2
Priority: 2
5/26/09 (new entry); 6/1/24
1 comment:
album extraordinary! MUST IN CD!
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