Thunderstorm (album)

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The storm
Studio album by Uve Schikora and his group

Publication
(s)

1972

Label (s) Amiga , gray area

Format (s)

LP, CD

Genre (s)

skirt

Title (number)

6th

Das Gewitter is a music album released in 1972 by Uve Schikora and his group. It was published by the GDR record label Amiga and is considered the first rock album in GDR history.

occupation

Band leader Uve Schikora sang on the album and played soprano saxophone, piano and organ. Other musicians were Jürgen Diessner (electric bass), Jürgen Matkowitz (guitar), Reiner Miehatsch (drums), Bernd Müller (organ) and Michael Schubert (vocals, twelve-string guitar). The songs The old song and Irgendwo und sometime sings alongside Schikora Frank Schöbel .

content

The album is characterized by a strong contrast in its musical styles. The pieces range from hits to progressive rock . All compositions are by Uve Schikora. The lyrics were written by three of the most famous songwriters in the GDR.

The old song is a happy hit, the text of which comes from Ingeburg Branoner . It's about many things repeating in life. Schikora sings alternately with Frank Schöbel.

Oh Angela describes the fate of the American civil rights activist Angela Davis , who was tried in the USA at the time. Angela Davis is portrayed as a young, beautiful heroine with millions of followers, while the court is referred to as a "dishonor". The text comes from Jens Gerlach . The rock piece is sung expressively, organ and electric guitar dominate the instrumental accompaniment.

Such a long summer is the third longest track on the album at over seven minutes. The singer describes a wonderful summer that he spent with a woman "on a cloud". However, the singer got bored and he "jumps off". In chanting he proclaims that he only lasted half a day. Kurt Demmler wrote the text of the song. The music is partly psychedelic and, with its long solos, is reminiscent of the German Krautrock of the same era.

Somewhere and at some point there is a melancholy hit, partly in the rhythm of Beatrice . The singer walks haphazardly in a city that is raining and feels a void. The text is again by Jens Gerlach. The verse is sung in minor , the refrain in major . Frank Schöbel sings in the background.

The B-side of the long-playing record contains only two pieces, both with texts by Kurt Demmler. The expressively sung Deine Augen is about a man who describes the eyes of a woman. He compares them to almonds, but doesn't know whether they are bitter or sweet. The prelude sounds oriental ; the song also contains psychedelic elements.

The title song Das Gewitter is the longest track on the album at over twelve minutes. It describes the phases of a thunderstorm in the open air. Numerous elements of progressive rock come into play: a hookline that is introduced at the beginning and that is played at different points in the piece, and numerous instrumental solos that lead far away from the hookline, including a drum solo of about one and a half minutes and a swing number based on Invention No. 4 in D minor by Johann Sebastian Bach ( BWV 775). The compositional treatment of the topic corresponds to the principles of program music . The singing is also expressive.

The cover shows the lettering of the album in large, three-dimensional letters in front of a symbolic representation of thunderstorms in colors such as orange, purple, yellow, blue and green. Below is the name of the band in block letters. The back shows a black and white photo of the band, the list of titles and a longer accompanying text .

history

In the early 1970s, Uve Schikora and his group were known both as a progressive rock band and as the backing band for the pop singer couple Frank Schöbel and Chris Doerk , who then appeared as Chris and Frank.

It was not until 1970 that GDR rock music received state funding. At first it was the GDR radio that invited bands to test recordings; With the album Das Gewitter , the state record label also committed itself to rock music. At about the same time, a series of compilations with rock music by local artists and artists from neighboring states to the east began with the hi-records .

The storm remained the only album by Uve Schikora and his group. They can be heard as a backing band on other Amiga albums.

In 1994 Das Gewitter was released as a CD by Grauzone .

Track List (LP)

  1. The Old Song (3:45)
  2. Oh Angela (4:48)
  3. Such a long summer (7:08)
  4. Somewhere and sometime (3:00)
  5. Your eyes (7:30)
  6. The thunderstorm (12:10)

The times on the CD differ slightly from those on the LP.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Götz Hintze: Rock Lexicon of the GDR. 2nd Edition. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-89602-303-9 , p. 259