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Siddhartha-WELTSCHMERZ LP (Amber Soundroom, Germany)

Every once in awhile I like to "take a chance" as they say on a variety of albums by some of these long-forgotten European rock groups who never got a chance to make the big time. Naturally I seek these items out in order to obtain a variety of proto-punkial musings that I think would suit my own sense of high energy concerns, or perhaps I dish out the long green for some long-after-the-fact psychedelic osmosis that was common amongst these early-seventies bands, but most of the time I seem to get treated to a buncha dopeheaded krauts trying to be the next symphonic slam which certainly doesn't do my ears, let alone my wallet any good. On scant occasion I will come up with a few winners a la Ainigma or Mahogany Brain, but most of these under-the-covers independent disques come off more like Dom (the German, not Czech band) or a variety of other progressive pukesters whose names escape me at the moment.

Unfortunately, these Siddhartha guys do not have any shred of garageoid redemption in their attempts to run Triumvrat outta town no matter how 1983 punk rock the back cover of their sole album looks. You can easily imagine my displeasure when I spun this 'un imagining some sorta 1969 American punk transposed to 1975 Germany ideal embedded in the grooves, but all I got for my troubles was a load of glissandoing slickness that owed much more to the wretched excesses of "older brother" prog music than the liberating ideals of groups like Can or Hawkwind. Nothing captivating on this platter, which is so striving for typically Germanic precision that I hadda check my turntable to see if I was playing it at 45 rpm!

It would figure that a band named after the second worst book I hadda read in high school (first worst, A SEPARATE PEACE, third TRAVELS WITH CHARLIE) woulda been such a bum trip. I was hoping that Siddhartha woulda taken a bit more from that other Herman Hesse-influenced band Steppenwolf but I guess all mystically-tinged young minds do not run in the same stream of addled (un)consciousness.

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I'd apologize about the skimpiness of this weekend blogpost, but as John Wayne once said "Don't apologize, it's only a sign of weakness" so I won't. Still, nothing much is happening here to warrant one of my gangbuster weekend biggies, so make do with what little I have posted this time 'round. Hopefully the good rare stuff will make its way to my door more sooner'n later, and I do have that package of CD-Rs that Paul McGarry burned for me to go through, so it ain't exactly like I'll have to rely on digging through my massive collection for future fodder. But as for now, just suck a bit on the review above and be grateful that I even dare to exist!

But before I go, here's another bizzaroid example of the kind of strange underground rock cashing in that I thought you'd like to lay your orbs upon! I'm sure you remember a post I did about a year back regarding the current spate of phony concert posters usually for "legendary" gigs done either with show-specific details added or in a "new school" style unheard of during the time the specific concert was held. If not, click here for an example of a Velvet Underground concert at Max's Kansas City that very well probably didn't even happen at all, done up in a style that was unheard of back when the alleged concert was supposed to have taken place! Well, topping all of those past attempts at fooling the rock & roll rubes comes this newie, a metal sign advertising the appearance of the Ramones at the CBGB Summer Festival in 1975! Note the nouveau 1990's graphic styling, certainly nothing that would have been spotted anywhere thirtysome years back, as well as the plain unadulterated fact that the Ramones and only the Ramones (why not White Lightning?) are being hyped on this "repro" custom-made for the nearest flea market bin right next to all of those novelty anti dog pooping in your yard and Fearless Fosdick Wildroot Cream Oil signs that I'm sure Auntie Petunia's gonna will to you in twenny year's time. Nice idea there, but I think I'll wait for the glossy Plastic People of the Universe/DG 307/Umela Hmota 2 & 3 Gathering of the Underground concoction to make it out before I decide to part with any of the dinero!