THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,027) Embryo — “You Don’t Know What’s Happening”
From Opal’s embryonic but seminal Krautrock/German prog (see #863), this “cool though dark dirge” (DangHeck, https://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=1087) is “[i]introduced by a magma of sound, [and] varies between tribal style and sixties acid pop with a languid violin and a nervous and distant voice”. (Jean Jacques Perez (courtesy of Google translate), https://classicrock80.wordpress.com/2022/03/05/embryo-opal-1970/).
Opal itself is Embryo’s “psychedelic masterpiece” (Lise (HIBOU), https://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=1087) and “pure Krautrock masterpiece” (https://roundandroundrecords.com/products/embryo-opal-lp). “Forget your kraut rock jams, this is heavy psychedelia and exploratory jazz-rock with eastern themes”! (https://www.jazzmessengers.com/en/87525/embryo/opal-gatefold-colored-vinyl) It is “[o]ne the great space rock records of the 70s”. (https://www.dustygroove.com/item/953887/Embryo:Opal-180-gram-pressing). “Band leader Christian Burchard was . . . hanging out with the Amon Duul commune of freaks at the time of this set that’s a drastic fusion of rock, jazz, blues, soul and psychedelia. Classic!” (https://roundandroundrecords.com/products/embryo-opal-lp)
Sean Trane writes that:
[Embryo’s debut album Opal is o]ne of those historically important albums, one of those that made Germany the third force in 70’s rock after UK and US and second in prog (after UK and before Italy and France kicked in). . . . Embryo became internationally reknowned for their particularly free and ever inventive jazz-rock often tainted with world music . . . . Christian Burchard is of course one of the founding members of Amon Duul II but also the leader in this band.
https://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/album/embryo/opal
Jean Jacques Perez expands (into the ether, courtesy of Google translate)):
One of the emblematic figures of the German progressive scene, between krautrock and jazz rock and even ethnic music. . . . Far from commercial pressures, EMBRYO will allow itself great musical freedom.
Created in Munich in 1969, the group . . . . quickly entered the studio to publish its first album entitled Opal on the Ohr label the following year. . . . [which] unveil[s] a strange and experimental album of jazz influence with a good dose of psychedelia, rock, blues and soul. Let’s call it kraut-jazz.Starting with the eponymous title, the disc goes into a crazy rhythm’s & blues where the violin immerses us in a disturbing and hypnotic atmosphere, reinforced by a guitar under acid and heavy. . . . a dazzling and fascinating moment of music which explodes in our face and invades our brains with a trance that takes our temples by the fingers. EMBRYO . . . showed that Germany was the third producing force in pop, behind the USA and England.
https://classicrock80.wordpress.com/2022/03/05/embryo-opal-1970/
SiLLypuPPy:
The original band arrangement wouldn’t last long and would only play together on this debut album OPAL, which gives album #1 a very unique overall sound in the vast canon of EMBRYO’s eclectic output. Even right from the start EMBRYO stood out in the pack of the Krautrock scene with a keen musical vision already polished to near perfection as they delivered tight jazz-rock compositions with African percussive drive and plenty of throwbacks to the most kosmsiche representations of the German psychedelic scene. OPAL deftly straddles the line between the psychedelic aspects of Amon Duul II type of Krautrock with that same heavy bass driven groove . . . yet incorporates a seriously fierce delivery of not only post-bop driven jazz but also the more avant-garde sax frenzied touches . . . of what Ornette Coleman created all throughout the 60s. The tracks keep a fairly busy high-powered tempo with nice chord changes and instrumental tightness that was above average for many bands of the era in the Krautrock world. While most tracks are instrumental there are brief moments of vocals (in English) . . . but are usually semi-spoken in dramatic poetic prose rather than bursting into fully-fledged singing but soulful outbursts of singing do occur (“You Don’t Know What’s Happening” for example.) Needless to say, the vocals are not the strong point and hint to a clear Can connection however the music itself is much more dynamically performed with a strong emphasis on a heavy busy groove with lots of jazzy touches alongside various ethnic influences ranging from the African percussive drive to . . . rather Middle Eastern touches . . . . While EMBRYO would go on to develop even more sophisticated albums and become one of the most revered and well known of the German bands that outlasted the majority of its contemporaries, this first offering that finds itself more rooted in the 60s heavy psych scene is quite the treat itself as there are no weak tracks but rather one grooviliscious ethnic jazz jam after another.
https://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=1087
For all you death metal fans, Embryo is “not to be confused with Italian and Swedish death metal bands of the same name”! (Lise (HIBOU), https://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=1087). Got that? Miles Davis described Embryo as “crazy creative musicians playing really weird stuff” (https://www.jazzmessengers.com/en/87525/embryo/opal-gatefold-colored-vinyl)
siLLypuPPy gives us some history:
Out of all the bands that emerged out of Germany from the big bang of progressive rock developing during the late 1960s, EMBRYO has sustained itself throughout the decades into the modern day mostly due to its being a musical collective that has seen over 400 members come and go throughout the years with Christian Burchard serving as the founder and driving force, however much of this longevity also comes from it having emerged as one of the most creative and versatile bands that has been filed under the umbrella term Krautrock. While that label more often than not connotes some sort of psychedelic mind bending qualities (Amon Duul II, Exmagma, Guru Guru) prevalent in the music, it also covers the heavier blues oriented rock bands with progressive touches (Birth Control, Electric Sandwich), the more electronic oriented artists with rock elements (Kraftwerk, Neu!) as well as the jazz-fusion crowds such as Eiliff, Brainstorm and Out Of Focus. EMBRYO stood out in that it pretty much tackled all of the above with not only a heavy emphasis on jazz-rock but also managed to slip in healthy doses of 60s infused psychedelia, traces of blues oriented rock, electronic atmospheric ambience and went even further by tackling a wide variety of the world music stock by incorporating many styles of ethnic music. . . . .
https://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=1087
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