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Mammut - Mammut (1971)

Track listing:
  1. Bird Mammut 4:03
  2. Classical Mammut 1:21
  3. Mammut Ecstacy 4:27
  4. Foolmachine Mammut 3:08
  5. Short Mammut 1:49
  6. Shizoyd Mammut 3:21
  7. Nähgern Mammut 7:00
  8. Mammut Opera 13:34

Notes

One of the rarest German private releases ! Dual guitar led long tracks, wild / furious fuzz psych soloing, howling vocals. Regarded by some as the best private pressing from the German burgeoning underground.

This group made one of the most legendary German private pressings. It is now incredibly rare. The sound of a squeaking mouse opens the album, released on 'Mouse Trick Track Music' (amazing choice of label name!) The album is a thematically linked "Mammut Opus", with the word "Mammut" included in all the track titles. A rhythmic and dramatic instrumental overture with wistful flute ("Bird Mammut") and a short interlude for piano ("Classical Mammut") put you in the right mood before the lengthy, heavy guitar riffing tracks "Mammut Ecstasy" and "Footmachine Mammut" strike you. Perhaps Elias Hulk and parts of the first Embryo album are comparable to this. Side two starts with a "Short Mammut" - sounds of gunfire and bomber planes. "Schizoid Mammut" had violent, paranoid lyrics with music to match. "Nagarn Mammut" is their attempt to be more lyrical. The album closes the same way as it started with large doses of instrumental music ("Mammut Opera"), what Pete Townshend would name 'underture'. The most impressive aspect of this album is that all the biting guitar statements are woven in-between the vocals. A typical golden artefact from one of the most fertile years of modern music (1971) incorporating both classical and heavy acid blues influences. Good production as well, considering it was a private release, so I can recommend this album to you with great enthusiasm!