Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Message - Message (1975 germany / uk, sensational prog jazz rock)



Message were one of those enigmas of the Krautrock scene, in that their origins were not only from Germany, but also from Britain. They evolved out of an early sixties Scottish rock 'n roll band called The Waysiders. When they split, guitarist Allan Murdoch returned to England and ended up playing in a band called M15 with future Nektar keyboard player Allan ' Taff ' Freeman. 

Due to lack of media interest, M15 moved to Germany in 1967 and eventually became Prophesy which evolved into Nektar. In the meantime, current Birth Control bassist Horst Stachelhaus had formed Message in 1968 and the two bands became close friends. Murdoch joined Message and invited along his old friend, vocalist and sax player Tom McGuigan, and that's how the British / German Message was formed. 

The band were similar in style to Nektar in many ways. Message combined the best of British heavy progressive styles with Krautrock innovation, and they secured a record deal with German label Bacillus and released their excellent debut album in 1972. As good as the album was, it was only when they released their second album, "From Books and Dreams", that people started to realize their worth. In 1975, drummer Manfred von Bohr (also later to join Birth Control), replaced Gunther Klingel and the band also had a change of record label, moving to Nova Records. (The new album, self-titled and released in 1975, also received a British release on Deca Records). Subsequent albums saw them move into a slightly more jazzy direction. Message split in the early 80's.
Tracks
1. Before The Dawn - 6:01
2. Thoughts - 5:40
3. Is That The Way - 4:12
4. I Can See The World - 3:15
5. Waters - 6:02
6. Horrorscope - 3:28
7. Back Home - 4:50
8. Train To Nowhere - 4:00
All compositions by Message

Message
*Alan Murdoch - Guitars
*Tommy McGuigan - Vocals, Sax
*Horst Stachelhaus - Bass
*Manfred v. Bohr - Drums, Percussion

1972  Message - The Dawn Anew Is Coming (extra track issue)

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