(((O))) Review: Electric Junk: A Journey through Deutsche Rock, Psych and Kosmische 1970-1978

Since I fell into the world of the krautrock genre twenty years ago after discovering bands such as CAN, NEU, Tangerine Dream, Amon Duul II, and Faust on the Prog Archives website, it was like this massive number of powder-kegs, waiting to explode, right in your face when it came to bands that the punks were digging.

Why do you think John Lydon was a huge admirer of not just Hawkwind, Magma and Van der Graaf Generator, but a group like CAN? Brian Eno collaborating with Cluster, Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks writing the liner notes for CAN’s compilation entitle Cannibalism in 1978, and of course Julian Cope’s 1995 book Krautrocksampler? Because the music was right in your face.

This was the holy of holies at the right time, at the right place for me when it was transcendental, cosmic, ambient, proto-punk, science-fiction, and putting down the so-called nu metal scene and all that boy band shit out of its misery. This was real music at its best. That and this 4-CD set entitle Electric Junk, consists of the thriving underground scene of the German rock scene with this stellar line-up that Cherry Red has unleashed for 2025.

Not just from the big names that we know of, but from Guru Guru, Jane, Eloy, La Dusseldorf, Silberbart, Electric Sandwich, Triumvirat, and Novalis in the middle of this tidal wave Cherry Red has unleashed this year. As the ‘60s were coming to an end of its flower-power, hippie-like movement, music from both the East and West of Germany were forming their own true form of sound that wasn’t commercial, and confronted concerns of what was happening at the time.

Cally’s liner notes describes that this isn’t a “krautrock” compilation, but hidden treasures with lesser-known tracks that were often under the radar, and carefully curated work often exploring early ‘rock’ incarnations, not the Teutonic or later motorik sounds that became the driven beat in the genre. From Cologne, Berlin, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, to Odenwald, the highlights on this bad boy will make you want to start a wish list, right about…. now!

From the conceptual story about Spartacus, German’s answer to Emerson, Lake and Palmer and Italian maestros Le Orme, Triumvirat’s ‘March to the Eternal City’ off their third album in 1975, was more symphonic, more dark synthesizers, complex arrangements between keyboards, bass, and drums, they were the band that could’ve knocked ELP out of the ball park and give the prog genre a real kick in the gut when it came to pushing towards the limits in their arrangements.

Then, it’s the roller-coaster ride of Berlin’s cosmic voyage with exhilarating guitar work of Tangerine Dream’s ‘Ultima Thule Part 1’. Blasting out of 1971, they added in thrilling drum work from Chris Franke, mellotrons rising from the graves which I believe it’s either from Edgar or Steve Schroeder, I don’t know. But with Hawkwind-like attitude that is a real kick in the gut thanks to Froese’s heavy rockin’ riffs, you might want to be ready to hear more of what is to come on this compilation set.

We head into Hamburg with Novalis as they delve deep into the under watery, bass thumping turned bass drum per beat, organ Morse code into terrifying synths rising on ‘Dronsz’ which would later be sampled by hip-hop artists such as Ghostface Killah, Madlib, and Shacke One. You think the punks were listening to the German scene? Think again. Hip-hop was taking notice of it as well.

Moving into the Hannover scene, we come to space cadets Eloy who despite line-up changes, Frank Bornemann is the only one that is keeping the legacy alive. The shuffling B-side single ‘Daybreak’ feels like something straight out of the sessions for David Bowie’s The Man Who Sold the World-era, and Alice Cooper’s golden years during the Killer and Billion Dollar Babies time frame with its spaced and glam-like approach Frank envisioned when it was originally released in 1971.

Nosferatu drives down the ‘Highway’ with its blaring organ and intensive drum exercise that’ll make you want to get your foot stompin’ with its heavy thump and Arthur Brown-like groove which speaks of the late, great Vincent Crane from their first album The Crazy World of Arthur Brown while Guru Guru’s eruptive powder keg turned avant-garde, German poetic dialogue intro of ‘Electric Junk’ and the laid-back dooming arrangements behind ‘Stone In’ goes into some heavy improv Ax Genrich would tackle on his guitar.

Then, we delve deep, deeper into the dark forest with its ominous nightmares unfolding in front of your very eyes as unsung folk heroes Hoelderlin tackles the sinister attacks for the ‘Schwebebahn’ to arrive. You have the Comus approach from the First Utterance album, the terror Noppeney would unleash on his violin, Joachim Grumbkow brings into his mellotron, Kaseberg adding tension into his bass and Bruchmann setting up the action between drums and percussion.

And finally, Achim Reichel lays down the echo machines with raga, funk, roller-coaster ride sequences, intense meditations, shuffling blues, and shivering momentum on A.R & Machine’s ‘As If I Have Seen This All Before’. A trip down the futuristic world of Germany in the 1970s on this compilation is worth the wait.

But be prepared to go on a journey with unbelievable results. And you might want to get more shelves for your house with bands and artists that’ll keep you wanting to come back for more and see what you’ve been missing.