Eulenspygel - Ausschuss (1972)

Eulenspygel was one of the many German bands in the early '70s who combined rock with theater and politics, though unfortunately for the English listener, the lyrics to this are all in German. The music, though, is enough to keep it interesting, as the group blends classic and progressive rock styles with a lot of other stuff thrown in.

On this, their second album from 1972, Eulenspygel expands their range of instruments from the first record, confusingly called "Eulenspygel 2".  The album was recorded at Apple Studios on April, 4th to 8th 1972. It features razor sharp lyrics criticizing the shadowy sides of German society in the early 70's. The first track is the sidelong opus "Abfall," which is about an orphan, with many different sections segued together and lengthy instrumental parts featuring a guitar, keyboard, and horn section. This is the strongest piece on the disc, but the shorter tracks from side two of the original album are still very good. These are varied but mostly up-tempo rockers with many psychedelic and progressive flourishes. The CD also includes seven bonus tracks, either from television appearances in 1972 or some demos from 1973 and 1974, most of which have good sound quality and are similar to the album's material, though with a slightly lighter atmosphere.

On "Ausschuss", Eulenspygel continue with their left wing lyrics which have become increasingly demanding and critical of society. There is a side long suite on this their second album about orphans. Lyrics are still in German and the band certainly didn't just preach without practising their philosophies as they would visit orphanages and youth prisons which gave all the band members that emotional connection to the subject matter.

Tracklist:

1	Abfall	22:17
2	Menschenmacher	2:57
3	Teufelskreis	6:50
4	Herzliches Beileid	2:55
5	Der Fremde	5:45
6	Untertanenfabrik	3:55
	Bonus-Tracks:
7	Sechs Uhr aufstehen	2:08
8	Junge, was willste draußen	2:42
9	Mich kotzt hier alles an	2:18
10	Schlafstadt	3:56
11	Kinderlied	4:28
12	Freut Euch, Kinder	2:51
13	Zusammenstehen	6:22

Eulenspygel - Ausschuss (1972)
(256 kbps, cover art included)