THE PETARDS a deeper blue NM 1ST LP KRAUTROCK FREAKBEAT FUZZ PSYCH KRAUT MONSTER

	£		23
	$		30

THE PETARDS - a deeper blue LP
A really good blend of psychedelia and folk rock similar in style to Moby Grape and the charlatans and a big dash of the Beatles. Original German pressing on the Europa label from 1968. The sleeve is in EX condition and the record is in NEAR MINT condition.

 
From rateyourmusic.com:
Quite a popular beat band in their native Germany and Czechoslovakia, that they never came close to making an impact in the UK, or the States ...

The band's roots go back to 1962 when brothers Horst and Klaus Ebert formed a band while still in high school.  Originally known as The Magic Stompers (I love the name), they played a strange combination of instrumental covers and jazz oriented material.  By 1964 the Eberts had been joined by drummer Hans Jürgen  Schreiber and  bassist Rüdiger "Roger" Waldmann.  Splitting  their attention between college and a new found interest in beat music, they also opted for a name change; going with The Petards (roughly translating as The Firecrackers). 

Bolstered by an appearance in court where they were charged with violating local noise restrictions - the presiding judge had them bring their instruments to court and play before finding them guilty and hitting them with a 50 mark fine, by 1966 ongoing club performances saw The Petards attracting some media attention.  Signed by the small CCA label,  1966 saw them release a roaring, fuzz guitar, garage-inspired single which attracted national attention, as well as the opportunity for follow-on 45s which brought television exposure.

Original drummer Schreiber left in early 1967.  He was replaced by Franz Bender, who was quickly replaced by Arno Dittrich.  With the new line-up in place, television exposure saw them signed by the budget Europa budget, which promptly released their debut album - 1968's"A Deeper Blue".  

While the cover photos made The Petards out to be a pretty mod and happenin' outfit, about half of their debut album featured a dated beat band flavor.  That wasn't meant as a criticism, since tracks like the ballad 'Summerwind', 'I Won't Come Back', and 'Drive' showcased good taste in terms of their British and American musical influences - Beatles, Monkees, etc.  That wasn't the case for everything - the sappy ballad 'Roses for Kathy' would have sounded bad back in 1964 and 'Love Is All Around' was horrible schlager pop music.  While the album liner notes didn't include performance, or writing credits, I'm guessing these were all band originals and song-for-song the results were quite engaging; even more impressive for a band for whom English was a second language.  With all of the performances in English, the band was blessed with three decent singers who delivered the goods with very little to complain about n terms of accents.   The collection was also surprisingly diverse.  In addition to Merseybeat nods ('I Won't Come Back'), the collection found the band taking credible stabs at raga ('If You Want To Go Away'),  blues-rock (the title track), and even Hendrix-inspired psych ('Confusion All Day').

"A Deeper Blue" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Sun Came Out At Seven - 2:06
Yeah, it was released in '68, but had a distinctive beat feel.  Actually, to my ears 'Sun Came Out At Seven' has always sounded like a good The Guess Who rocker.   Nice rocker that had considerable commercial potential.   rating: **** stars
2.) Firetree - 3:30
Overlooking the odd title (guess something got lost in the translation), overlooking the needless  siren and motorcycle sound effects, 'Firetree' was another beat pop tune that wouldn't have sounded bad on a mid-'60s Monkees album.  Nice guitar solo from one of the Eberts brothers.   rating: **** stars
3.) Summerwind - 2:54
Pretty ballad with a nice Merseybeat touch.  Some folks will find it irritating, but the  fact 'Summerwind' was a slower number  served to underscore the band's heavy German accents.   Personally I didn't find it to be an issue.   rating: *** stars
4.) If You Want To Go Away - 2:36
Built on a raga flavored melody complete with lots of sitar and Dittrich's wild drumming, ' If You Want To Go Away' was easily the album's most lysergic tinged tune.   Not particularly original, but they'd clearly been listening to lots of British psych bands.   rating: **** stars
5.) Drive - 3;26
Nice Beatles influenced rocker ...  how could you not like a German band that could work Florida and Georgia into their lyrics.   How many American bands have ever worked Bavaria or Niedersachsen into a song ?    rating: **** stars
6.) I Won't Come Back - 2:22
Likeable and very commercial up-tempo Merseybeat flavored pop number that sounded very 1965, rather than 1968.  Great harmony vocals on this one.   rating: **** stars

(side 2)
1.) A Deeper Blue - 2:44
The title track was a nice, bluesy rocker that showcased what was probably the album's most up-to-date feeling and vibe.  The song was tapped as the album's lone single.   rating: **** stars
2.) My Little Heart - 2:43
If you didn't think a German band could sing a decent ballad in English, then I'd suggest checking out 'My Little Heart'.  Always loved the herky-jerky refrains. 
3.) Love Is All Around - 2:25
One of the album's most pop oriented performances, 'Love Is All Around' may have been written with airplay in mind, but it simply wasn't very good.   With a blue-eyed soul edge and a recorder solo, it was catchy in the same way a mouthwash commercial, or a rash might be.   rating: ** stars
4.) Baby - 2:59
Built on some wonderful lead guitar that alternately reminded me of something Steve Cropper, or Hendrix might have played, the bluesy ballad  'Baby' was another album highlight.   Shame this one wasn't tapped as a single.   rating: **** stars
5.) Roses for Kathy - 2:43
Back to early-'60s beat moves, 'Roses for Kathy' was a pretty painful listening experience.  With some hyper-sensitive lyrics and a lame melody, the German accents were very prominent on this one.   rating: ** stars
6.) Confusion All Day - 2:36
And thankfully the album closed on a high note with the Hendrix inspired slice of heavy psych 'Confusion All Day'.   Inspired might have been an understatement since the band seemingly did everything short of recording their vocals on top of Hendrix outtakes ...  Okay, it wasn't very original, but their performance kicked butt so you can overlook any shortcomings in originality.    rating: **** stars

All told, a nice and quite impressive debut from these guys and more than enough to make me look into their other studio albums.

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