Of the sadness of existence

For years, the Puhdys had been the most popular rock band in the GDR before 1979 for the first time lost the title to the then emerging dramatically, great guys of carats. In addition, the five musicians forfeited increasingly youthful bravado and the sadness of existence in general, and apparently also of the real existing socialism in particular were aware.

So dominated serious, sometimes downright resignation texts both her 1980 and 1981 published albums hot as snow and Schattenreiter - what they did not prevent in my mind continues to be extremely catchy, occasionally writing almost ingenious earwig melodies. There they were again, the insinuating keyboard lines by Peter Meyer, the simple but effective guitar licks and the rough, honest vocals of Dieter ("Machine") and Dieter Birr Hertrampf.

Had they stolen in their early days at the then successful groups like Uriah Heep, Deep Purple or Slade (see "Go to her" with Slade's "Look Wot You Dun"!), So they quoted now as openly Barclay James Harvest's shallow super hit "Life Is for Living "(in" Water and Wine ") or - in" No Paradise "- ironically their own classic" lifetime ".

Unfortunately, both panels were characterized by an often non-transparent production, which is also the CD-Remaster can not really make up for it. But who listens closely, is usually discovered texts of high quality, which - as mentioned - busy with everyday and fundamental problems of human existence. The separation song "Song for Anja" (touching to tears!), "Wide so far," "The Far Side of the World", "Marathon", "No Paradise", "The Outsider", "What remains of the life", " In the sea of ​​fog "," Shadow Rider "," masculinity "," The Drinker "and at the very end the comforting" On the banks of the Night "are among the highlights of this compilation of two of the most successful players in the Long Puhdys. And "Hey John" was also a completely unembarrasing tribute to the murdered in December 1980 ex-Beatles icon John Lennon.

So why not just say: These two albums are also still worlds better 'over as many German-speaking, the beginning of the 80 in the West under the legendary label' New German Wave 'so everything was unleashed on the record-buying public!