By the time it was finally made available on CD, nearly three
decades after its original vinyl release in 1970, Nosferatu's sole LP
had entered the shady realm of cult appreciation; a strange state where
an album's true merits and shortcomings are often obscured by the mists
of time, ever-shifting popular tastes, and -- since we're talking the
late '60s here -- seriously drug-faded brain cells. To put this in the
form of a question: when the plastic hits the turntable and the hundred
dollar eBay payments drain one's bank account, does reality actually
match the hype? Well, given the widely divergent viewpoints that
typically polarize such examples of early progressive rock, Nosferatu's
flute-and-sax-heavy explorations are sure to segregate music fans into
love/hate camps (think Focus, Gong, Jethro Tull, Van Der Graaf
Generator, etc.), leaving very little room for amenable opinions in
between. Especially since, with the exception of its unnaturally concise
and restrained opener, "Highway," the eponymous album's remaining five
cuts tend to be as questionably long-winded as they are daringly
eclectic; abusing the progressive genre's well intentioned spirit of
experimentation with what frequently sounds, not like visionary
songwriting, but spontaneous improvisation -- and anyone can do that.
Eleven-minute brain-twister "Willie the Fox" exemplifies this quandary
with its intrepid but often clumsy hopscotch across such different
styles as hard rock, Krautrock, prog rock, acid rock, jazz fusion -- you
name it -- while coming off rather like the Mothers of Invention at
times with its percussive blocks and prevalent sax and flute flights
courtesy of Christian Felke. His presence is also dominant on the
slightly more disciplined "Vanity Fair" and the quite terrible, clearly
thrown-together "No. 4," whose title, or lack thereof, really says it
all, and where his sax sometimes sounds like a wounded goose. Much
better are "Found My Home," which finally makes some room for guitarist
Michael Meixn to prove his mettle, and "Work Day" which raises eyebrows
with its captivating midsection built on ambient and abstract sounds. In
the end, Nosferatu's free-form sins make it difficult to justify the
hype when serious money starts changing hands, but then, there are
plenty of folks who'll find its spur of the moment feel far more
exciting than more structured and consistent examples from the same era.
And, regardless of opinion, the Nosferatu cult will no doubt live on.
Eduardo Rivadavia Tracklist :
1 Starvation 3:43
2 Queen Of The Universe 4:58
3 Every Dream Comes To An End 5:52
4 The Bride 3:35
5 Killer 2:25
6 A Day In Heaven 4:30
7 Time Of Pain 3:26
8 Mountains 7:28
Credits :
Arranged By – John Spathas, Atnonis Tourkogiorgis
Drums, Percussion – George Tradalidis
Keyboards, Percussion – Vangelis Papathanassiou
Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – John Spathas
Vocals, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Bass – Antonis Tourkogiorgis
Written-By – Vangelis Papathanassiou (tracks: 3), John Spathas, Antonis Tourkogiorgis, George Tradalidis (tracks: 2, 3, 8)
