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Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Atlantis - Atlantis (1972 germany, remarkable hard blues rock, with prog, jazz funk tinges, 2008 digipack remaster with bonus track)



Atlantis was not only the name of the legendary island, the famous Greek author Plato mentioned, but also the name of a band formed by ex-Frumpy musicians Inga Rumpf, Jean-Jacques Kravetz and Karl-Heinz Schott, in late Summer, 1972. The initial line-up included guitarist Frank Dietz and ex-Emergency drummer Curt Cress (later with Triumvirat, Passport). 

The band played a few live gigs in Germany before they recorded their debut in London's Island Studios. The US magazine, Cash Box, compared Atlantis with the Doobie Brothers and praised Inga Rumpf's blues-tinged voice. Shortly before the group went on a four week tour of England with Procol Harum, Traffic, Vinegar Joe and the Sharks, Cress and Dietz left and were temporarily supplanted by Udo Lindenberg and George Meier. After the tour, Atlantis recruited Dieter Bornschlegel (ex-Traumtorte) on guitar and Ringo Funk (ex-Jeronimo) on drums as new permanent members. 

Rumpf and Kravetz remained the artistical nucleus of the band. Said Kravetz: "Inga determines this band like Rod Stewart & the Faces, her voice makes our image." Atlantis' second album "It's Getting Better" was even more determined by Inga Rumpf's preference for black rhythms: "I always took a special liking in blues, jazz and soul music, and, since I'm writing most of the songs, this influence is decisive in our music."  Melody Maker "recommended" the second album and Sounds attested the band to be "the most English of all German groups". 

After the gig at the Paris' Olympia, Atlantis went, again, on a four week tour of England, which included a performance at the rock show, "Old Grey Whistle Test". During this tour, Kravetz left the band and had to be hastily replaced by Rainer Schnelle (ex-Family Tree). 

At the end of 1973, Atlantis was among Germany's three most popular German rock groups, according to a Musikmarkt poll. 

Half a year later, the line-up changed again. Schnelle and Bomschlegel were replaced by English keyboarder Adrian Askew and ex-Curly Curve guitarist Alex Conti. 

Both were featured on the third LP "Ooh Baby". Seven of the ten songs were written by Askew/Conti, while Rumpf only had three of her compositions on the album.  The result was a "spicy funk album" (Musik Express) with a "bunch of Germany's best soul" (Sounds). 

Atlantis was at its best on stage, which was proved by a double album recorded live at the Hamburg Fabrik from 1973 - 1975. 

In Summer 1975, Atlantis went on tour in the States, mostly as opener for Lynyrd Skynyrd. After the tour, guitarist Alex Conti was fired and went on to play with Lake. The new line-up was completed with former guitarist Frank Dietz and as second guitarist Rainer Marz. 

The rockier American influence was noticable on Atlantis' fourth LP "Get On Board", but the LP and the following tour failed to have commercial success. Concequently, Inga Rumpf and Karl-Heinz Schott announced their departure in January 1976. 

After the split, the album "Top Of The Bill" with unreleased studio recordings from December 1975 and March 1976 was released. On February 23, 1983, the original line-up reunited for a revival concert in the Hamburg Fabrik and received


Tracks
1.Get It Up (Inga Rumpf) - 5:24
2.Big Brother (Inga Rumpf) - 5:07
3.Rock 'n' Roll Preacher (Frank Diez)  - 3:42
4.Maybe It's Useless (Jean Jacques Kravetz, Inga Rumpf) - 3:41
5.Let's Get on the Road Again (Inga Rumpf) - 3:33
6.Living at the End of Time (Frank Diez) - 9:07
7.Words of Love (Frank Diez, Inga Rumpf) - 4:52
8.Mainline Florida (Bonus Track) (George Terry) - 2:59

Atlantis
*Inga Rumpf - Vocals, Guitar, Percussion
*Frank Diez - Guitar
*Jean Jacques Kravetz - Keyboards
*Karl Heinz Schott - Bass, Vocals
*Curt Cress -  Percussion, Drums
Guest Musicians
*Rainer Baumann - Guitar
*Rebop Kwaku Baah - Percussion, Conga
*Jackie Diez -  Background Vocals
*Carsten Bohn Bandstand - Drums
*Jean Roussel - Keyboards
*Claire - Vocals

Related Act
1970  Frumpy - All Will Be Changed (2008 remaster with extra tracks)
1971  Frumpy - Frumpy II
1972  Frumpy - By The Way

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4 comments:

  1. Great choice! Thanks very much...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Many thanks for this share!

    There were a band in Hungary long time ago called "Atlantis" too.
    The band formed in 1963 in Budapest. They were very popular.
    Their guitarist was Béla Radics one of the best guitarist in the Hungarian rock history. He played many Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix covers after he left Atlantis and formed his own band "Tűzkerék" (Fire Wheel) in 1970.

    Their Discography:
    Should Have Known Better / Shakin' All Over / Hindu dal / Atlantis Rock (Qualiton EP 7309, 1965)
    Rock and Roll Music / Trubadúr parafrázis / What Do I Say / A dongó (Qualiton EP 7338, 1965)
    Wooly Bully / Don Quijote / Hold Me / Szöcske (Qualiton EP 7347, 1965)
    Téli szerelem (Qualiton EP 7348, 1966 - az EP-n egy dal, a Hóember az Atlantis előadásában)
    Csak fiataloknak / Cowboynadrág (Bencze Márta kísérői) (Qualiton SP 290, 1966)
    Henry VIII / Michelle (Qualiton SP 305, 1966)
    Jól érzem magam / Gitárom pengetem (Horváth Vilmost kísérik) (Qualiton SP 321, 1966)
    Do You Want To Dance / Little Honda / Bits And Pieces / Miért vagy szemtelen? (Qualiton EP 7354, 1966)
    Inside Looking Out / At The Scene (Qualiton SP 333, 1966)
    Banjo Girl (Qualiton SP 334, 1966, Zalatnay Saroltát kísérik)
    Holnap délután ötkor / Múló nyár / Álomvilág / Ásó-kapa (Qualiton EP 27378, 1967)
    Nem Értem A Fiúkat / Foxi Maxi Matróz Lett (Qualiton SP 376, 1967)
    Drága bakter úr (B oldal: Szécsi Pál: Édes öregem) (Qualiton SP 405, 1967)
    Annyi a fájdalom (Dékány Saroltával) (B oldal: Magay Klementina & Atlasz: Kettő, egy, fél) (Qualiton SP 422, 1967)
    Nem vagyok én Ivanhoe / Kislány, gyere velem sétálni (Qualiton SP 393, 1967)
    Ki ölte meg Kennedyt? (Qualiton EP 27375. 1967) (polbeat)
    Kínai fal / Sírva és nevetve (Qualiton SP 517, 1968)
    Nem vagy te nagyúri dáma / Dupla vagy semmi (Qualiton SP 640, 1969)
    Visszajössz Te még? / Hahó (Qualiton SP 637, 1969)
    Hétfejű sárkány (Qualiton SP 794, 1970)

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  3. Helmut,
    ALL LINKS YOU MENTIONED ARE OK, PLEASE TRY MORE THAN ONCE IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS.
    THANK YOU!!

    ReplyDelete