Oktober ‎– Die Pariser Commune (1977, 2xLP, Germany)

Tracklist:
A. Unser Blut - Ihre Geschichte (17:06)
B. Die Tage Der Kommune (25:25)
a. Proklamation Des ZK Der Nationalgarde
b. Die Maßnahmen Der Kommune
c. Bob Des Aufbaus
d. Lied Vom Verbrechen
e. Janine
f. Dekret Über Die Zuerkennung Einer Pension / Keiner Oder Alle
g. Die Frauen Der Kommune
h. Stadt Der Illusionen
C1. Zwischenlied (11:32)
C2. Der Untergang Der Kommune (11:28)
a. Die Letzte Schlacht
b. Die Rache / Dreißigtausend Tote
D. Unser Blut - Unsere Geschichte (Einschl. Pottier's Lied) (13:48)
a. Lamentations
b. Poltier's Lied
c. Internationale
d. Die Kommune lebt
e. Lob der Dialektik

Musicians
Kalla Wefel / bass, vocals, guitar
Hans-Werner Schwarz / guitar
Pierre Meyn / guitar, bass
Michael Iven / guitar, keyboardsm vocals
Peter Robert / keyboards, spinet, harpsichord
Klaus-Peter Harbort / percussion
Carl-F. Dörwald / vocals, flute


This brilliant German group continued the journey into Prog music with a fascinating, super-ambitious concept album in 1977, ''Die pariser commune'' (Antagon), a superb double LP, dealing with the French Revolution. Down to a 5-piece band, without the three helping vocalists and with sound engineers Pierre Meyn and Michael Iven adding guitar, bass and keyboard parts in one suite, ''Die pariser commune'' consists of four grand suites, spanning from 15 to 25 minutes, completing an absolute highlight of the German Prog scene circa 1975-80. Oktober had abandoned the hyper-sarcastic, ultra-political approach of the debut to offer a highly theatrical, fairly symphonic album akin to Genesis and Grobschnitt, featuring impressive breaks and complex time signatures, monster use of Moog synthesizer, organ and acoustic piano, sharp guitar chops with plenty of melodic interruptions and a heavy vocal load to help the history of French Revolution unfold. First side sounds a lot like German Genesis with beautiful vocal lines, big symphonic moves and lovely interplays, while the second one is a bit closer to the debut's sound with a few more Avant-Garde and Folk elements thrown in between the proggier parts, still driven by constant use of keyboards and electric guitar, but with some acoustic moments playing a basic role.A gem of the era. (apps79)