Krokodil - An Invisible World Revealed (1971) [German Original]

Krokodil - An Invisible World Revealed

Original 1971 German LP

United Artists Records UAS 29 250 I (Discogs)

~ThePoodleBites rip at 96 kHz / 24 bit FLAC + full high-res scans!~

The first Krokodil record to reach my turntable was the debut, and though I almost instantly loved it, C.F. did give me fair warning: "The Kroks get better. Swamp is twice as good as the 1st LP, and Invisible World is f*ckin' killer."

Most collectors seem to agree that this is band's strongest LP. It certainly is an evolution from the previous two; for example, while the blues harp that featured prominently on the previous albums is still here, you'll be surprised to find that it's now been run through analog delay and reverb... it's hard to classify this record's sound, as it's pretty unique; Krokodil usually gets grouped with the early-'70s "krautrock" scene -- which I'm not sure is fair, given that the band is Swiss, not German, and the (admittedly broad) electronic-based exploratory style which spans from Neu! to Kraftwerk to Can to Faust to Agitation Free, for me, doesn't seem to capture what's happening in the grooves on this tremendous psychedelic, progressive, experimental rock LP. Okay, I could see an argument for Guru Guru, but this is way better...

It goes without saying this post wouldn't have been possible without C.F. -- major thanks, man!

The cover for the third Krokodil album again features the beautiful artwork of the multi-talented Düde Dürst, also the band's percussionist

Psychedelic influence immediately makes its presence known: the spacey "Odyssey In Om" gives a mood not dissimilar to the Jimi Hendrix Experience's "1983"; the sound collage towards the end of "Looking At Time" reminds me of similar moments on Jefferson Airplane's After Bathing At Baxter's; and I can almost feel the grade-A Swiss Sandoz kicking in as ground begins to swell with the vocal harmonies of "With Little Miss Trimmings." I think it's fair to simultaneously call this "progressive" as well, given that two of its tracks are over 14 minutes long, but it's not at all prog like Tull or ELP or Yes. The compositions are much more tastefully heady and experimental, rather than being noodling and show-offy. Even the relatively proggy "Green Fly" (later retitled "The Morning Sun") reminds me more of The Moody Blues or Spring than of King Crimson or Pink Floyd.

The album lifts off with "Lady Of Attraction," one of the band's strongest tracks. The accompaniment is acoustic guitar and a simple mellotron bass line, but Walty Anselmo's vocal deliverance is haunting, sounding like it's been double-tracked through a Leslie. There are accents from a tabla through a phaser, a flute, and a trippy harmonica solo though the same vocal effect, which sounds like an instrument from another planet. I wonder if the lady on the cover -- complete with fangs and blood dripping out of her mouth -- is the embodiment of Walty's "trap." This eerie mood reflected in the artwork also extends to the off-color, ritualistic image that graces the gatefold.

Gatefold design, with a red-tinted photo of the band in a graveyard surrounded by candles

Like the other Krok LPs, this album was reissued on CD on the Second Battle label in 1999, but unfortunately the mastering suffered extreme levels of gain and peak limiting. The difference between this master and the CD remaster is nearly 7 dB! The speed is also marginally different, and "Lady Of Attraction" has an added fade-out, whereas the original audio seamlessly streams into the second track. Luckily these original German pressings have unbelievably great sound quality, and this copy in possession of C.F. had only been spun once or twice before, originally coming from a cache of unplayed copies that turned up in Australia, of all places.

The original master tape has some static here and there, for example during the reverb-drenched flute intro to "Odyssey In Om," which seem to be from tape saturation. I did remove some non-musical clicks in other places, such as the car-screeching intro to track 2, where they really distracted from the album's gentle flow, along with carefully mitigating the 50 Hz AC hum where it was noticeably audible. I also experimented with rotating the phase to bring up the album's levels a little closer to its reissue, but I decided to leave it as-is, so that the grandiose dynamics can come through unhindered by limited headroom. The channel separation isn't quite as good as the CD, but it's damn close, and given the flatter mastering, this new digital master sounds much more natural than the old.

And so, I hope you will grab a Rivella and enjoy the band's third album as it was meant to be heard in 1971...

Mojo enlisting some chemical assistance
while recording at Dierks Studio

Track Listing:
1) "Lady Of Attraction" -- 4:22
2) "With Little Miss Trimmings" -- 1:46
3) "Odyssey In Om" -- 15:26
4) "Green Fly" -- 4:22
5) "Looking At Time" -- 14:08
6) "Last Doors" -- 3:58

Vinyl condition: M-

Dynamic Range: DR 11

Equipment Lineage:
– Audio-Technica VMN40ML stylus on AT150MLx dual moving-magnet cartridge
– Audio-Technica AT-LP1240-USB direct drive professional turntable (internal stock preamp/ADC removed)
– Pro-Ject Phono Box S2 Ultra preamp with dedicated Zero Zone linear power supply
– Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 MkII (96kHz / 24bit)
– Adobe Audition CC 2020 (recording)
– iZotope RX 9 audio editor (manual declicking, EQ subtraction, additional adjustments)
– Audacity 2.3.3 (fades between tracks, split tracks)
– Foobar2000 v1.6.9 (tagging, dynamic range analysis)

Full album available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFfkQQQHaOU

 

Thanks for taking the time to read my posts and check out my blog. I'd greatly appreciate it if you leave a small comment below. Notes from my readers are what inspire me to keep going. Thanks!
MEGA: https://mega.nz/folder/XhJzhYxD#RtBKrlIvJMf-o_8CqIOa8Q

Enjoy, and keep on krockin'!  :)

Walty Anselmo with sitar

I again highly recommend checking out Klemen Breznikar's interview with Düde Dürst: https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2019/07/krokodil-interview-with-dude-durst.html

Krokodil - Swamp (1970) [German Original]

Krokodil - Swamp

Original 1970 German Pressing  (Discogs)

Liberty – LBS 83 417 I

~ThePoodleBites rip in 96 kHz / 24 bit FLAC + full high-res scans!~

Here's another pristine artifact from the flawless Krok archives of C.F. The band's sophomore effort is somewhat similar in style to their self-titled debut, so for those who enjoyed my last two posts, this is the natural progression. 

Many thanks to the record phantom C.F. for this opportunity to 'keep on Krokodil'...

After a dozen or so full-length listens, I think that my love for this album lies primarily with two tracks: the first is the bombastic opener, "Get Your Personality Together," featuring Hardy Hepp's instantly recognizable sneer over a blues-rock background, executed to the perfection you'd expect from a band of this caliber; my second favorite moment is the fantastic "Sunlight's Beautiful Daughter," an open-air stoned European ode which has now earned a permanent position in my outdoors / walking playlist due in no small part to the organic lyrics which seem to flow effortlessly above the blended acoustic guitar, vibraphone, sitar, harmonica, and organ, all melting together like a pot of Swiss fondue. 

The rest of the tracks aren't slouches (at all), but I honestly don't find myself really craving to repeatedly hear any of them, which is just a matter of preference more than anything. I do cast "Human Bondage" as an honorable mention: the fitting closer which has, at the time of this writing, been stuck in my head all day. 

As was the case with the band's first album, Swamp was reissued from tapes on a couple of CD releases, but the remastering was tainted by obnoxious levels of gain and V-shaped EQ. Therefore, as is also true with the first album, the extremely clear-sounding original pressings present a source from which a superior-sounding master can be made.

I've done my best to scan the textured gatefold sleeve, though the impressions on the paper present from manufacture can be seen when zoomed in at high resolution. Ah well, c'est la vie. 

Track Listing:
1) "Get Your Personality Together" -- 3:08
2) "Light Of Day" -- 5:18
3) "Sunlight's Beautiful Daughter" -- 5:42
4) "Tell Me What You Want (Tell Tale)" -- 3:00
5) "Blue Flashing Circle" -- 3:27
6) "Snow White And Blue" -- 4:10
7) "Human Bondage" -- 7:59

Vinyl condition: M-
Dynamic Range: DR 13

Equipment Lineage:
– Audio-Technica VMN40ML stylus on AT150MLx dual moving-magnet cartridge
– Audio-Technica AT-LP1240-USB direct drive professional turntable (internal stock preamp/ADC removed)
– Pro-Ject Phono Box S2 Ultra preamp with dedicated Zero Zone linear power supply
– Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 MkII (96kHz / 24bit)
– Adobe Audition CC 2020 (recording)
– iZotope RX 8 audio editor (manual declicking, EQ subtraction, additional adjustments)
– Audacity 2.3.3 (fades between tracks, split tracks)
– Foobar2000 v1.5.1 (tagging, dynamic range analysis)

Thanks for taking the time to read my posts and check out my blog. I'd greatly appreciate it if you leave a small comment below. Notes from my readers are what inspire me to keep going. Thanks!
MEGA: https://mega.nz/folder/axgzRAKZ#gJRVOp_6esFFMJt1wMGVFQ

Enjoy!  :)

P.S.: To all my European friends, I feel no shame in plugging this band's first reunion concert ever(?), which is happening this Friday in Zürich! Catch a train if you can. Si quaeris Poodle amoenam, circumspice...

Band website: https://www.krokodil.li/KROKODIL-live-2020/

Buy tickets HERE

Promo poster for Swamp, 1970

 

I again highly recommend checking out Klemen Breznikar's interview with Düde Dürst: https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2019/07/krokodil-interview-with-dude-durst.html

Krokodil - Don't Make Promises / Hurra! Alive (1969) [Mono Single]

Krokodil - "Don't Make Promises" b/w "Hurra! Alive"

Original German 45 RPM Mono Single

Liberty 15 229  (Discogs)

~ThePoodleBites rip in 96kHz / 24bit FLAC + full high-res scans!~

These two songs were included on the 1999 Second Battle reissue of the debut Krokodil LP (see below) as bonus tracks. Unlike the main album tracks, however, these tracks seem to have been sourced from an original 45, not tapes. While not an altogether bad rip, the Second Battle bonuses suffer the same bad EQ, compression, & limiting as the LP tracks, so this "flat" high-res transfer inevitably sounds far more natural in comparison. Audiophiles and cheeserock (gruyèrerock?) fans rejoice!

Major thanks to the record phantom C.F. for sharing his Krokodil records in the name of blogdom!

Track listing:

1) "Don't Make Promises" -- 4:03

2) "Hurra! Alive" -- 3:07

Vinyl condition: M-

Dynamic Range: DR12

Equipment Lineage:

– Audio-Technica VMN40ML stylus on AT150MLx dual moving-magnet cartridge

– Audio-Technica AT-LP1240-USB direct drive professional turntable (internal stock preamp/ADC removed)

– Pro-Ject Phono Box S2 Ultra preamp with dedicated Zero Zone linear power supply

– Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 MkII (96kHz / 24bit)

– Adobe Audition CC 2020 (recording)

– iZotope RX 8 audio editor (manual declicking, EQ subtraction, additional adjustments)

– Audacity 2.3.3 (fades between tracks, split tracks)

– Foobar2000 v1.5.1 (tagging, dynamic range analysis)

B-side also on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ojb9QUitByU

Thanks for taking the time to read my posts and check out my blog. I'd greatly appreciate it if you leave a small comment below. Notes from my readers are what inspire me to keep going. Thanks!
MEGA: https://mega.nz/folder/LNkhBA5Z#F1eNLWee8YYCHbZx5GwulA

Enjoy!  :)

Besondere Kennzeichen:

KROKODIL ist eine neue avantgardistische Gruppe aus der Schweiz. Von den bekannt gewordenen "Sauterelles" löste sich der Drummer Kurt "Düde" Dürst und wurde Initiator dieser interessanten Sound-Mechaniker. Um ihn scharten sich:  der Sanger mit der "Metallstimme" Hardy Hepp, auch Violinist der Gruppe, Walter Anselmo (g+sitar), Moio Weideli (harm+fl) und der Engländer Terry Stevens (bg). Bemüht um ein eigenes musikalisches Profil verzichtet KROKODIL bewußt auf jede Kopie kommerzieller Vorbilder. 

---

Special marks:

KROKODIL is a new avant-garde group from Switzerland. The drummer Kurt "Düde" Dürst broke away from the well-known "Sauterelles" and became the initiator of these interesting sound mechanics. Crowded around him: the singer with the "metal voice" Hardy Hepp, also violinist of the group, Walter Anselmo (g + sitar), Moio Weideli (harm + fl) and the Englishman Terry Stevens (bg). Endeavoring to develop its own musical profile, KROKODIL deliberately refrains from copying commercial models.

Krokodil - Krokodil (1969) [German Original]

Krokodil - Krokodil (1969)

Original German Pressing
Liberty LBS 83 306 I  (Discogs)

~ThePoodleBites rip in 96kHz / 24bit FLAC + full high-res scans!~

Though the average foreigner may suppose that everyone in Switzerland is still dancing to the accordion and yodeling off mountaintops, it turns out that the central European country had some pretty hip bands even way back in the 1960s/70s, which are worth exploring to psych-heads as much as the Alps are to adventurous sportsmen. In such an endeavor into Swiss rock, there's no better place to start than the first Krokodil LP. Though the band was/is based in the Schweizerdeutsch-speaking city of Zürich, Krokodil's early records are entirely in English, which will certainly appeal to the monolinguists amongst us. "Krautrock" seems to be the genre most attributed to Krokodil, though their style is clearly distinct from the usual sauerkulprits of Can, Amon Düül, Agitation Free, etc. While the later LPs voyaged deeper into heavy prog territory, this debut is firmly rooted in blues-rock, and with the aid of significant Eastern influence the sound is not unlike Kaleidoscope (US) or maybe even J.K. & Co. 

Major thanks to the record phantom C.F. for sharing his Krokodil LPs in the name of blogdom!

What a front cover. Drummer Düde Dürst (ex-Les Sauterelles) discusses his artwork in this phenomenal interview with Klemen Breznikar of It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine:

Sigi E. Loch knew that I had already designed many LP covers and posters for various bands. He ordered me to draw something. My idea was to make the Liberty logo as a crocodile. My illustration was enthusiastically accepted and printed by the record label. The US record company did not want this cover, on the grounds that their logo should not be defaced. We insisted on our version, which then led to the rejection of production. Various US stores have then simply imported the LP.

The design is undeniably a twisted Swiss production, with half-naked Helvetia holding the Swiss coat of arms, as her stoned counterpart on the Confoederatio Helvetica coin (drawn to look like Dürst himself) smokes a joint; an open wheel of Emmental rests on a cutting board near an aroused Holstein; with the collage topped by an Alpine peak in front of the westward setting sun. Wow. The design is reflected on the back cover, along with the usual listing of tracks and credits, also drawn by Dürst himself.

As you may have guessed, Krokodil (pronounced like "kroh-koh-deal") translates to "crocodile" in English, though the word has also been used regularly in "street" terms to refer to the opiate desomorphine, manufactured by the Swiss healthcare company Roche. Whatever the meaning, it is clear that Krokodil's sound had no small influence form the stoned-out '60s sounds of bands like the Grateful Dead and Iron Butterfly. The striking Bonnie Dobson tune "Morning Dew" -- which many will know from the Dead's or West Coast Pop Art's debut LPs -- opens this album, and is immediately followed by one of the band's best tracks, "You're Still A Part Of Me." Other highlights are "Prayer" and "Dabble In Om," with the latter having an Arabic-influenced intro of misshapen oboe figures over a resonant middle-eastern drone. It's closer to Yusef Lateef than anything I've ever heard in psych music before, and the following 10-minute trip is an adventure across equally stunning architecture.

The third Krokodil LP is apparently the one which has really become a cult item, but this debut is perhaps currently still the favorite for me. There's not one boring moment on this record, even if the straight-ahead riffage / 'telephone call' on "Mis Blues" isn't the mind-blasting apocalypse of its neighbors. 

Krokodil hanging out in some sort of industrial facility

This record, along with the later Krokodil LPs, has been reissued from the master tapes on CD via the Second Battle label circa 1999. Unfortunately, though, the mastering was ruined by heavy-handed EQ along with digital compression and limiting. The result is that over 50 years later the extremely well-pressed original LPs (which were manufactured a tad north of CH in Munich, Bavaria) are still superior in fidelity to anything that came after. Thus I have manually restored this high-resolution transfer for your enjoyment, which turned out to be barely any work at all, given how well C.F.'s copy performed. Stay tuned; there is much more to come. 

Track listing:

1) "Morning Dew" - 4:42

2) "You're Still A Part Of Me" - 6:30

3) "All Alone" - 3:58

4) "Mis Blues" - 3:19

5) "Prayer" - 4:15

6) "Watchn' Chain" - 6:58

7) "Dabble In Om" - 9:34

Vinyl condition: M-

Dynamic Range: DR11

Equipment Lineage:

– Audio-Technica VMN40ML stylus on AT150MLx dual moving-magnet cartridge

– Audio-Technica AT-LP1240-USB direct drive professional turntable (internal stock preamp/ADC removed)

– Pro-Ject Phono Box S2 Ultra preamp with dedicated Zero Zone linear power supply

– Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 MkII (96kHz / 24bit)

– Adobe Audition CC 2020 (recording)

– iZotope RX 8 audio editor (manual declicking, EQ subtraction, additional adjustments)

– Audacity 2.3.3 (fades between tracks, split tracks)

– Foobar2000 v1.5.1 (tagging, dynamic range analysis)

Full album available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shHUYY8A0Y0

Thanks for taking the time to read my posts and check out my blog. I'd greatly appreciate it if you leave a small comment below. Notes from my readers are what inspire me to keep going. Thanks!
MEGA: https://mega.nz/folder/mEF0WLYT#s4k8kNOFFvaoHnfemGA8mA

Enjoy!  :)