Out Of Focus - 1972 - Four Letter Monday Afternoon

Out Of Focus
1972
Four Letter Monday Afternoon

01. L.S.B (17:37)
02. When I?m Sleeping (4:04)
03. Tsajama (9:23)
04. Black Cards (9:38)
05. Where Have You Been (5:35)
06. A Huchen 55 (9:19)
07. Huchen 55, B (14:32)
08. Huchen 55, C (24:18)

Remigius Drechsler / guitars, Tenor saxophone, flutes, stylophone, voice
Hennse Hering / organ, piano
Moran Neumüller / Soprano saxophone, vocals
Klaus Spöri / drums
Stephen Wishen / bass

Hermann Breuer / trombone
Peter Dechant / acoustic guitar, vocals
Grand Roman Langhaus / bongos
Jimmy Polivka / trumpet
Ingo Schmid-Neuhaus / Alto & Bariton saxes
Michael Thatcher / organ

Thee reason this band is listed as Jazz / Fusion is because of this double album. As Sean mentions this is especially the case with the second disc which to me has a SOFT MACHINE("Third") vibe to it. They added 6 guest musicians and went in a different musical direction from their first two albums which are very much in the Krautrock sound and spirit.

"L.S.B." opens dramatically with blasting sax and pounding drums before settling down a minute in with sax leading the way. THE DOORS-like organ 3 minutes in. It gets very chaotic after 4 1/2 minutes with lots of brass and loud thunder. A calm with flute 6 minutes in. The tempo picks up with sax again leading the way before 8 minutes. The bass is prominant. The tempo continues to change. Vocals for the first time 13 1/2 minutes in with piano. Guitar after 15 minutes. "When I'm Sleeping" is actually a bonus track and one of my favourites. It's a laid back, smooth song with vocals. Tasteful guitar as sax, piano, bass and drums stand out. "Tsajama" would then be my favourite original song on this double album. A flute intro before a full sound comes quickly. Guitar and organ 2 minutes in are great. They then jam for a while before vocals come in before 6 minutes. Cool vocal melodies follow. The tempo picks up 8 minutes in as vocal melodies continue. "Black Cards" is mellow with flute, percussion and gentle guitar to start. Vocals and sax a minute in. Organ takes the lead 4 minutes in as they just jam. Great section before the vocals come back. "Where Have You Been" is another mellow song with reserved vocals and acoustic guitar leading the way. Flute does join in but that's all. He drops an f-bomb 2 minutes in for good measure.

The second disc is really one song divided into 3 parts. It's called "Huchen". Like i said earlier it's a sort of nod to SOFT MACHINE. In the first part sax,flute and bass dominate. The second part has some experimental passages where we just get flute sounds without any melody. It gets aggressive for the first time before 10 minutes. The guitar goes on for 2 minutes starting at 12 minutes. Then flute takes over and it blends into the final and longest part of the song. Not much in the way of a melody until the guitar comes in before 6 minutes. Lots of sax later as the mood and tempo continues to change and shift. Impressive second disc but not as enjoyable as the first for me.