Eloy - 1973 - Inside

Eloy 

1973

Inside

01. Land of No Body (17:14)
02. Inside (6:35)
03. Future City (5:35)
04. Up and Down (8:23)

Bonus tracks on 2000 remaster:
05. Daybreak (1973 single) (3:39)
06. On the Road (1973 single) (2:30)

- Frank Bornemann / guitar, percussion, vocals
- Manfred Wieczorke / organ, guitar, percussion, vocals
- Wolfgang Stöcker / bass
- Fritz Randow / drums, percussion, acoustic guitar, flute

With:
- George Moslener / orchestral arrangements

Eloy are widely considered to have been Germany's foremost symphonic progressive rock band, but you wouldn't have guessed that eventuality back in the early-70's. As of 1973, Eloy were just another West German group that had gained a regional audience by mixing psychedelic hard rock with Krautrock jamming. Their eponymous debut didn't even feature a particularly ambitious sound, and was entirely lacking in the Floydian space rock that would become their calling card. All of this began to change with Inside. Not only was this their first album under the leadership of vocalist/guitarist Frank Bornemann, it's the first Eloy record to feature a healthy dose of progressive rock ambition. Still relatively Krautish, and surprisingly "rough around the edges" when compared to the band's later classics, but a record that every Eloy fan should look to acquire. A very good slice of spacey progressive rock with a Krautish edge.

Inside occupies a middle ground between psychedelic rock-leaning Krautrock and the more structured space/prog rock of Floating and Power and the Passion. The album is much more guitar-driven than your typical Eloy release, with a large amount of meandering guitar jamming, and the keywork consists entirely of vintage organ. In particular, the lack of synthesizers means no lush space rock interludes or swirly soundscaping. The heavier moments also have a heavier-than-usual focus on the underlying grooves, replete with pulsing organs and even a fair amount of acoustic guitar. Overall, Inside is arguably the band's most archetypically "German-sounding" album, even if I'd hesitate to label anything ere as honest-to-goodness Krautrock. Fans of later Eloy releases will have an easier time adapting to the record's vocal melodies. This is the band's earliest record with Frank Bornemann on lead vocals, and his distinctive style emerges fully-formed (including his heavily-accented English pronunciation). The resulting compositions aren't nearly refined enough to qualify as symphonic prog, but are still immediately identifiable as 70's Eloy.

Inside kicks things off in memorable fashion with "Land of Nobody"- a 17-minute behemoth that could be described as an organ-driven version of Pink Floyd's "Echoes". Although I'm less fond of that track than some Eloy fans, mostly due to the dull space rock bridge that dominates its middle-third, it's undeniably a foundational moment in Eloy's discography and is required listening for 70's space rock fans. I personally prefer each of the album's next two tracks. "Inside" is the proggiest thing here, and provides a template for the sound that the band would perfect on Floating. "Future City" is perhaps the best oddity in the entire Eloy discography: a unique mix of a percussive Krautrock groove with a bluesy/folky vocal melody that's strongly reminiscent of Stand Up-era Jethro Tull. Certainly not a bad combination, in my estimation. The record's final track, "Up and Down", is a drifting space rock piece with an uninspiring vocal melody (different vocalist?) that nonetheless holds its own. As with each of Eloy's next eight records, Inside is a shockingly consistent affair that demands to be listened through in its entirety.

Although it may lack the standout moments of upcoming Eloy releases and catches the band in a semi-formative stage, Eloy is no less essential to any serious Eloy collection. The record may even prove to be a favorite among more Krautrock-oriented listeners. No matter who you are, just be sure to check out the ensuing Floating before coming back for Inside, seeing as Floating immediately improves upon this album's Kraut/space rock mix.

Eloy has been most probably of all German progressive bands the most successful one, at least in an international frame. Many times they have been entitled as "German Pink Floyd". Okay, this might be slightly exaggerated but though I couldn't say that they've been the best German band (something which is hard to say anyway) they certainly can be considered one of the best ones. During their band's career they've shown a quite interesting development from progressive heavy bluesrock on their debut over psychedelic space rock ala Floyd into more symphonic type of Prog on their later releases like Dawn, Ocean and Planets.

So "Inside" had been their first "real Prog" album and as the best proof for that it opens with the side-long track "Land of no body" which must be one of the best tracks they've done in their early phase. Starting rather quietly with a somber sound it develops soon into quite typical early 70's Prog highly dominated by organ play. Right in the middle of the track there is an impressive psychedelic organ solo before it starts sounding heavier with excellent guitar-organ interplay and some screams by vocalist/guitarist and main songwriter Frank Bornemann. Side two continues in a similar vein with the title track but the remaining two tracks are sounding significantly different. "Future City" in particular sounds quite non-typical for Eloy, mainly acoustic with lots of percussion, no organ here at all and brings early Tull into one's mind. Last track of the original vinyl edition "Up And Down" is dominated again by Hammond sound and a rather slowly paced and bluesy one with sluggish, but nicely fitting vocals by keyboarder Manfred Wieczorke who used to be the second one besides Bornemann contributing to the compositions.