Ego On The Rocks – Acid In Wounderland
In 1975, German prog rockers Eloy reached the absolute commercial peak of their career with a new line-up. Detlev Schmidtchen’s atmospheric keyboard sounds played a decisive role in shaping the band’s sound, while drummer Jürgen Rosenthal (formerly also with the Scorpions) provided the often mythologically inspired lyrics. Between 1975 and 1979, they produced the successful masterpieces “Dawn,” “Ocean,” and “Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes.” The double album “Live,” released in 1978, was also a huge commercial success.
However, as both Rosenthal and Schmidtchen felt that they were unable to fully express their creativity in Eloy, they left the band in 1979. The two now had to redefine their artistic identity and market themselves in the future. It was a long and sometimes difficult road. As border crossers between music and visual art, they created a new soundscape in 1980 with EGO ON THE ROCKS, which differed from the galactic Eloy sound. Schmidtchen and Rosenthal created a collage of surreal and often bizarre soundscapes, which they mixed with modern, progressive rock music. Rock passages alternated with almost ambient sequences. What was originally planned as a trilogy unfortunately remained a vinyl release in 1981 with the album “Acid In Wounderland.” Plans to bring the ambitious work to the stage also failed. Detlev Schmidtchen and Jürgen Rosenthal ended their EGO project in 1982 and parted ways as friends. “Acid in Wounderland” is and remains a complex work of art, an outstanding and unusual album that, even after 45 years, doesn’t sound dated or “retro” in the slightest.
Tracklist:
- 7 To 7 Or 999 To 99 Hope 06:08
- 1 Un (all) gemeine Bestürzung 04:58
- Erected Error 04:18
- Mystik + 1 + 9 + 8 + 0 04:53
- Asylum 04:53
- Hazard 04:21
- Godbluff 05:26
- Civilization Song 1 06:17
Bonus:
- Destroy The Gund 05:06
- Losers And Finders 06:03
- Another Saturday Night 02:41
- Civilization Song 2 03:43
- Once In Africa 1 19:14
Total: 78:01 min.