Wind
Seasons

When we talk about krautrock, the majority of enthusiasts immediately think of that avant-garde electronic music movement best exemplified by German bands like Cluster, Kraftwerk, and Neu!. However, it's worth noting that in the early seventies in Germany, the influence of British-influenced hard progressive had taken root so deeply that even today one is astounded by the extraordinary albums left in oblivion, such as those by the splendid Lucifer's Friend, who had nothing to envy compared to English bands still (rightfully) celebrated today, like Uriah Heep. The fact is, while in the homeland of opera, like our Italy, the influence of progressive manifests itself in somewhat melodic expressions utilizing "softer" keyboards like mellotron and moog, in the country of the rock-solid Beethoven, the aggressive sound of the Hammond organ reigns supreme, as taught by master Vincent Crane (R.I.P.)

 Thus, while Moebius and Roedelius, Ralf and Florian, Dinger and Rother continue their electronic experiments that will indelibly mark krautrock, groups from the same period, who had nothing experimental and instead drew heavily from classic English hard progressive, remain somewhat unfairly on the fringes of the "kraut" classification. This is the case of Wind, a quintet whose strengths lay in the rough voice of Steve Leistner and Lucian Bueler's Hammond organ. For goodness' sake, nothing transcendental or even original, but this "Seasons," released in 1971 by the low-cost Plus label (at least then, today it's pricey) has more than one gem scattered in its grooves for those of us who love those hard psychedelic sounds.

 This is the case with the opener "What do we do now" with the aggressive Hammond riff melted in the acid of the flute interludes and West Coast-style choirs that urge us to grab a net and frolic through the fields to catch the multicolored butterflies that exist only in our altered imagination. Another blow to our precarious mental balance comes from the wonderful vocal melodies (again of a lysergic-West Coast nature) that chase each other in "Springwind": the acid this time is offered by Thomas Leidenberger's guitar while the backbone of the track is provided by the solid rhythm supported by the Hammond. With "Dear Little Friend" the atmosphere becomes heated for a powerful heavy progressive dance in the style of Atomic Rooster, whereas "Now It's Over" brings us back to the psychedelic folk territories dear to the early Pink Floyd: sweet electric guitar chords supporting the whispering voices in the cosmic wind.

 The final fifteen minutes of "Red Morningbird" begin by borrowing the harmonica theme from "Once Upon a Time in the West": a progressive suite where you can let your memories flow on a color screen. The track, the only one penned by the corpulent singer Leistner, is a long (perhaps too long) alternation between dreamy atmospheres and aggressive moments and is blessed by a couple of robust electric guitar solos just before fading into the reprise of the Harmonica theme.

 The Wind may not have invented anything new but this is also krautrock... and it's a shame it's talked about so little.