Lokomotive Kreuzberg – James Blond, den Lohnräubern auf der Spur (Pläne, 1973)

"James Blond, den Lohnräubern auf der Spur" is a neglected milestone in German rock history. The band Lokomotive Kreuzberg called it "Polit-Rock-Kabarett" and it's rather a stage show with rock music. If you think of Bert Brecht's 3 Penny Opera you get the idea, although this show didn't have a similar impact at all. Kreuzberg is a district of West-Berlin, where they were a part of the underground scene together with Ton Steine Scherben and many other projects.

All of them were opposing the cold-war strategy of the Allied Forces and the exploitation of factory workers by Wirtschaftswunder capitalism. After some personal changes Lokomotive Kreuzberg became the backing band of Nina Hagen when she was expulsed from communist Eastern Germany in 1978 and relocated to the political island of West-Berlin with the wall around it. Together they released 2 ground-shaking records at the peak of the punk movement.

Next the band was renamed to Spliff, now diving into new wave, redefining german rock once again by releasing another 3 records. In 1984 they separated and everybody took his own road in music business leaving many more traces. But this is where it started.

Tracks
1. Criminalis 04:29
2. J.B. Superman 07:40
3. Guten Morgen, Herr Blond 03:12
4. Arbeitsunfall (aus der Sicht des Unternehmers) 06:27
5. Streiklied 04:00
6. Wohlfundierte Thesen 03:51
7. Burdas Ball 05:10
8. Speed 00:34
9. King & Co. 07:51
Total time: 43:09

Musicians
Kalle Scherfling: Vocals
Volker Hiemann: Vocals, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Andi Brauer: Vocals, Electric Piano, Violin, Flute, Acoustic Guitar, Percussion
Manfred Praeker: Vocals, Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Percussion
Uwe Holz: Vocals, Drums, Harmonica, Percussion

Lokomotive Kreuzberg – James Blond, den Lohnräubern auf der Spur (Pläne, 1973)
(ca. 212 kbps, cover art included)