AGITATION FREE — معليش = Malesch (1972) RM | Three Version | APE + FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

The debut album by Agitation Free followed a somewhat different path than your average Krautrock band, veering unexpectedly toward the Middle East, specifically Egypt, in search of atmosphere and material. Underneath the dueling guitars and spacy synth work, desert rhythms and taped sounds of dusky cities percolate, adding depth and spice to the otherwise smooth, Teutonic grooves. It's a tribute to the apparent sincerity of the band that the use of these motifs does not sound at all contrived, instead integrating quite well. The delicate, intricate percussion that concludes "Ala Tul," for instance, sounds as lively as anything by Steve Reich from around the same period. Tapes of street songs emerge surprisingly and effectively toward the end of the otherwise stately march "Khan El Khalili," providing a bridge to the Terry Riley-ish organ trills that begin the title track. "Malesch," like many of the tracks, spins off into a leisurely stroll, sounding unexpectedly close to some Grateful Dead jams. Even when it picks up pace, there's an unhurried quality that fits in nicely with the Saharan undertones of the album. Malesch is a solid, even inspired recording that stands somewhat apart from the usual clichés of the genre. Fans of German progressive rock from this period will certainly want to hear and enjoy it. Brian Olewnick  

 At the time, Agitation Free from Berlin only released two LPs ("Malesch" and "2nd") on the Vertigo label, but meanwhile seven CDs of the band are available on the market. This goes a long way to showing how good and how much in demand they are although their slightly dreamy instrumental progressive rock is a bit unusual. Shortly before recording "Malesch" they had several gigs in the Middle East, which is reflected by the LP’s oriental influences. Steven and Alan Freeman list both LPs among the top 100 German Rock records in their anthology "The crack in the cosmic egg" (Leicester 1996), and they had very good reasons for doing so. Agitation Free, by the way, used to rehearse in the infamous "Kommune 1" in Moabit, where Dieter Kunzelmann, Fritz Teufel, Rainer Langhans and Uschi Obermaier were living then. ---- This CD edition is deleted. GOD

Tracklist :
1.    You Play For Us Today    6:08
2.    Sahara City    7:42
3.    Ala Tul    4:50
4.    Pulse    4:43
5.    Khan El Khalili    5:30
6.    Malesch    8:10
7.    Rücksturz    2:09
– BONUS TRACKS –
8.    Music Factory Live    15:15
Credits :
Bass, Tape [Tapes] – Michael Günther
Bongos – Uli Popp
Drums, Marimba [Marimbaphone], Vocals – Burghard Rausch
Guitar – Jörg Schwenke
Guitar, Zither, Organ [Hammond] – Lutz Ulbrich
Organ [Hammond] – Peter Michael Hamel
Synthesizer, Electronics, Steel Guitar – Michael Hoenig

AGITATION FREE — 2nd (1973) Three Version | APE + FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

During their existence as a band, Agitation Free managed to release only two LPs: "Malesch" (1972) and "Agitation Free 2nd" (1973), both on Vertigo with the swirled label, both being collectors’ items today. With their spheric soundscapes, both albums are timeless classics and justly listed among the top 100 German Rock records by the Freeman brothers in their anthology "The crack in the cosmic egg". Master works, after all, can be created without the help of vocals. An impressive seven CDs have been released since the band split up, which shows how good they were and how popular they are today. Their second effort, featuring a welcome mellotrone, is probably better than their first LP. Although influences of early Pink Floyd, Ash Ra Tempel and eastern music are not deniable, their recordings give evidence of a strong originality. GOD
Tracklist :
1.    First Communication    8:18
2.    Dialogue And Random    2:00
3.    Laila, Part I    1:32
4.    Laila, Part II    6:45
5.    In The Silence Of The Morning Sunrise    6:29
6.    A Quiet Walk    (9:11)
6a    Listening
Vocals – Frank Diez, Jackie Diez
6b    Two - Not Of The Same Kind
Vocals – Frank Diez, Jackie Diez
7.    Haunted Island 7:10
Lyrics By – Edgar Allan Poe
Credits :
Bass – Michael Günther
Drums, Percussion [Assorted], Voice, Mellotron – Burghard Rausch
Guitar – Stefan Diez
Guitar, Twelve-String Guitar, Bouzouki – Lutz Ulbrich
Synthesizer, Keyboards – Michael Hoenig
Written-By, Arranged By, Producer, Performer, Design [Cover Design] – Agitation Free 

AGITATION FREE — Last (1976) Three Version | FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

1973 live album LAST, the final official release before Agitation Free's 1999 reunion, the group builds upon the psychedelic jams that characterized its two previous recordings, giving increased priority to slow-building electronic textures and soundscapes. Opening cut "Soundpool," the first of the album's three recordings, marries electronic orchestration with a extended guitar jam. "Laila II," originally from 1973 album 2ND, is teased to epic length. Sidelong closer "Looping" is given over to hypnotic modulations, ending the first phase of Agitation Free's career less with a bang than a whisper, or a drone. Stephen May
Tracklist :
1.    Soundpool 5:47
Agitation Free
2.    Laila II 17:08
Agitation Free
3.    Looping IV 22:45
Composed By – E. Grosskopf
– BONUS TRACKS –
4.    Schwingspule 10:59
Agitation Free
Credits :
Arranged By, Performer – Agitation Free
Bass – Michael Günther
Drums, Percussion – Burghard Rausch, Dietmar Burmeister
Guitar – Jörg Schwenke, Lutz Ulbrich
Loops – Erhard Grosskopf
Synthesizer, Keyboards – Michael Hoenig
Vocals [Modified], Loops – Gustl Lütjens

AGITATION FREE — Fragments (1974) Three Version | APE + FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

Agitation Free’s last gig (with guests) was on 11/14/1974. It was recorded by Klaus D. Müller. The gig was already released on CD in 1995 by Musique Intemporelle, and in 1996 by Spalax as far as the tapes were found. Though the sound was bad, because of the basses hardly being audible. With the CD now released by Garden of Delights the shortcoming was overcome – that makes the CD as different as chalk and cheese compared to the earlier ones. Here you can find a bonus track too, a blues. In addition to that “Someone’s secret” and “We are men” are to be heard in their full length. Only “Mediterranean flight” isn’t from the gig mentioned above. It is part of the radio play “Störenfried” of summer 1974. All in all “Fragments” isn’t as spherical and dainty as their masterpieces “Malesch” and “2nd”, but much more improvised and more like rock. GOD
Tracklist :
1.    Someone's Secret    17:56
2.    Mickey's Laugh    10:04
3.    We Are Men 18:54
4.    Mediterranean Flight    3:54
- BONUS TRACKS -    
5.    Blues    10:46
Credits :
Written-By [All Songs Written By] – Agitation Free
Lutz Ulbrich (g, key), Michael Hoenig (key), Bernhard Arndt (p), Jörg Schwenke (g), Mickie Duwe (g, voc), Gustl Lütjens (g, b), Michael Günther (b), Burghard Rausch (dr), Christoph Franke (dr)

AGITATION FREE — At the Cliffs of River Rhine (1974-1998) Three Version | WV + FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

A 38-minute concert recorded for radio in Cologne, Germany, on February 2, 1974, LIVE '74: AT THE CLIFFS OF RIVER RHINE arguably represents the apex of Agitation Free's trademark "cosmic" instrumental space-improv explorations, showcasing the virtuosity of guitarists Lutz Ulbrich and Gustav Lutjens, keyboard player Michael Hoenig, drummer Burghard Rauch, and bassist Michael Gunter. Thirteen-minute opener "Through the Moods" is unavailable elsewhere; the remaining cuts, which sounded great on 1973 psych-rock landmark 2ND, are positively electric, making this recording an indispensible part of Agitation Free's discography. Stephen May

 Agitation Free from Berlin are well-known thanks to their albums "Malesch" (1972), "Second" (1973) and "Last" (1976). The band produced such famous musicians as Christopher Franke, who went to Tangerine Dream, and Axel Genrich, who was to join Guru Guru. They were living and rehearsing in the by now legendary Commune 1, at that time also the home of Dieter Kunzelmann, Fritz Teufel, Rainer Langhans and Uschi Obermaier, prominent figures of the APO, a radical left-wing movement in the late sixties. For the CD "At the cliffs of the Rhine" (incl. 32-page booklet), a gig recorded in expert quality on 2 / 2 / 1974 in Cologne was chosen. It had already been released on the illegal LP "At last...is alive" before, yet in bad recording quality. A CD containing rather jazzy studio recordings from their late period is in preparation. GOD
Tracklist :
1.    Through The Moods    13:28
2.    First Communication    8:56
3.    Dialogue & Random    0:57
4.    Laila    10:03
5.    In The Silence Of The Morning Sunrise    4:41
Credits :
Bass [Baß] – Michael Günther
Drums [Schlagzeug] – Burghard Rausch
Guitar [Gitarre] – Gustav Lütjens, Lutz Ulbrich
Keyboards [Tasten] – Michael Hoenig 

AGITATION FREE — The Other Sides of Agitation Free (1974-1999) RM | Three Version | WV + FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

When Burghard Rausch and Michael Hoenig left Agitation Free in 1974, the band was almost in a state of apparent death. Yet Michael Günther and Gustl Lütjens eventually decided not to give up and so, during the autumn and winter of that very year, joined by some new musicians from their scene, they would give it a try in the recording studio. Thanks to Manfred Opitz and Gustl Lütjens, the outcome was a set of rather jazzy tracks which were, however, rejected by Vertigo as being "unsaleable". On "The other sides" these tracks can be heard for the first time, supplemented by extracts from their political-rock radio play "Störenfried" ("trouble-maker"), it too from 1974. Those are rather unusual sounds for a band like Agitation Free, some of the tracks even featuring vocals. After that disappointment the band eventually broke up. GOD
Tracklist :
1    Atlantic Overcrossing 5:32
Drums – Harald Groβkopf
Keyboards, Vocals, Written-By – Manfred Opitz
Saxophone – Klaus "Maus" Henrichs
2    Abulafia 6:16
Drums – Harald Groβkopf
Keyboards, Vocals, Written-By – Manfred Opitz
Saxophone – Klaus "Maus" Henrichs
3    6th Floor 5:09
Drums, Percussion – Konstantin Bommarius
Keyboards, Vocals – Manfred Opitz
Trombone – Lou Blackburn
Written-By – Gustav Lütjens
4    Deliverance 4:22
Drums, Percussion – Konstantin Bommarius
Written-By – Gustav Lütjens
5    Latino Catherine 3:35
Drums, Percussion – Konstantin Bommarius
Piano – Christian "Bino" Brero
Written-By – Michael Günther
6    Get It Out 4:20
Drums – Jochen Bauer
Keyboards – Bernd Gruber
Written-By – Gustav Lütjens
7    Offstage 2:45
Drums – Jochen Bauer
Keyboards – Bernd Gruber
Written-By – Gustav Lütjens
8    Song Für Den Proletariersohn, Teil 1 5:36
Drums – Dietmar Burmeister
Engineer – Jonas Bergler
Organ – Bernhard Arndt
Vocals – Micky Duwe
Written-By – Alfred Bergmann, M. Günther
9    Song Für Den Proletariersohn, Teil 2 2:23
Drums – Dietmar Burmeister
Engineer – Jonas Bergler
Vocals – Micky Duwe
Written-By – Alfred Bergmann, M. Günther
10    Song Für Den Proletariersohn, Teil 3 1:35
Drums – Dietmar Burmeister
Engineer – Jonas Bergler
Vocals – Micky Duwe
Written-By – Alfred Bergmann, M. Günther
Credits :
Bass – Michael "Fame" Günther
Vocals, Guitar – Gustav Lütjens

AGITATION FREE — River Of Return (1999) Prudence Cosmopolitan Music Series | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Attempting a comeback after 25 years can be a risky venture, especially for an aging band so closely tied to a vanished zeitgeist, in this case the restless counterculture of early 1970s Germany. But Agitation Free got it exactly right for their improbable late '90s reunion, striking an ideal balance between nostalgia and change.

The classic AF lineup last heard in 1974 was still intact, minus keyboard guru Michael Hoenig, who at the time was occupied with crummy Hollywood soundtrack commissions, emulating his idols in Tangerine Dream. His absence would force the remaining players to pursue a bigger, brighter sound, far removed from the band's Krautrock roots but entirely appropriate for the more streamlined musical climate of the 1990s. 'Accessible' can be a dirty word in Progressive Rock circles, but it works here, and the band's jammy instrumental vibe wasn't compromised in the slightest.

The title track opens the album on an unexpected (and very pretty) acoustic guitar phrase, courtesy of Gustl Lütjens. The added saxophone is another surprise, alerting listeners that the band was no longer living in the past. Or at least not entirely: some of that spacey early '70s DNA resurfaces in the awkwardly titled "She Sells Seashells at the Seashore", one of two cuts breaking the ten-minute threshold. The past is likewise present in "Nomads", a groovy dream of Arab caravans recalling the band's travels throughout the Near East before recording their first album in 1972.

Both tracks reference the same cosmic heritage, but without sounding at all retrograde. Ditto the climactic "177 Spectacular Sunrises", closing the album on a drifting meditative note consistent with the band's Krautrock origins, but updated to the uncertain end of a turbulent millennium.

It's too bad that perfectly timed curtain was then spoiled by an atypical bonus track: the hard-rocking encore "Keep On": not a bad song, but all-too conventional after the uncanny voyage preceding it.

The reformation was brief, and another decade would pass before the band was heard again (see: Shibuya Nights"). But if this ends up being the final Agitation Free studio album it'll be remembered as a worthwhile valedictory, especially for a group more than two decades away from home. progarchives 
Tracklist :
1. River of Return (8:24)
2. 2 Part 2 (5:46)
3. Fame's Mood (4:10)
4. Susie Sells Seashells at the Seashore (10:01)
5. The Obscure Carousel (5:16)
6. Nomads (7:07)
7. Das Kleine Uhrwerk (5:04)
8. 177 Spectacular Sunrises (13:08)
9. Keep On (3:57)
Credits :
Lutz Ulbrich - Eectric & Aoustic Guitars, Ukulele, Keyboards
Gustl Lutjens - Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Keyboards
Michael Günther - Bass, Keyboards
Burghard Rausch - Drums
With:
Chris Dehler - Vocals
Bernhard Potschka - Acoustic Guitar, Mandolin, Udu, Sampler, producer
Koma - Bagpipes
Alto Pappert - Tenor Saxophone
Minas Suluyan - Percussion

AGITATION FREE — Shibuya Nights -Live In Tokyo (2014) Two Version | FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

AGITATION FREE were invited to play three gigs in Shibuya/Tokio some years ago, February 2007 exactly. It was a passionated Japanese fan who sponsered their mini tour. This also connoted the first band reunion since 1974, at least when speaking of the line-up consisting of Lutz 'Lüül' Ulbrich, Michael Hoenig, Burghard Rausch, Gustl Lütjens and Michael 'Fame' Günther. So this should be regarded as a sensation for sure, so much the more in Japan. The band has a relatively big reputation there, Hoenig and Lüül both are immortalized in the prog rock section of the Tokyo Tower Wax museum for example.

Their song compilation predominantly represents the first two studio albums 'Malesch' and 'Second', besides the legendary live performances highly acclaimed while certainly contributing to the establishment of the krautrock genre. But also two new elaborations are given, which therefore even means something new to the table. 'I'll fly the airplane ... and you play for us today' - it all starts with the original airport samples recorded on their 1971 tour in North Africa. Die-hard fans will adore this renewed intro, I'm sure. However, I took the chance to see them live in Berlin March 2012 ... and the lift-off there has been way more extended and experimental - a revelation really.

Now back to Japan 2007, the origin ... or maybe 2011 because some years are admittedly gone in the meanwhile when considering the release date. No hurry, the band took all the time in the world to offer a technically flawless production finally, an amalgamation handed out by Michael Hoenig. Musically they turn into a tribal groove with excellent spacey guitar and synth interaction where the short Sahara City appears in an oriental and hallucinogenic outfit. Shibuya Nights is a completely new song, a reminiscence to the gig location called 'Shibuya O-West'.

The songs often live from the interaction between both guitars and are trimmed with a modernized approach a bit. However the spirit of the good old days is still noticeable for sure. AGITATION FREE deliver a prolific presentation of their musical legacy on 'Shibuya Nights' after more than 30 years. And there's still a shimmer of hope that this won't be the end of the story. progarchives 
Tracklist :
1.    You Play For Us Today    6:12
2.    Sahara City    2:48
3.    In The Silence Of The Morning Sunrise    6:22
4.    Shibuya Nights    6:15
5.    First Communication    6:25
6.    Dialogue & Random    1:22
7.    Ala Tul    6:15
8.    Laila    7:38
9.    Nomads    6:47
10.    A Quiet Walk    6:27
11.    Das Kleine Uhrwerk    4:48
12.    Malesch    5:42
13.    Drifting    3:54
14.    Rücksturz    2:57
Credits :
Bass – Daniel Cordes (tracks: DVD-1 to DVD-6), Michael Günther (tracks: CD-1 to CD-14)
Drums, Percussion – Burghard Rausch
Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Gustl Lütjens
Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Ukulele – Lutz Graf-Ulbrich
Keyboards, Synth – Michael Hoenig
Ukulele, Guest – Issey Ogata (tracks: 1 to 14)
Written-By – Agitation Free