XHOL — Hau-RUK (1971-2002) Two Version | APE + FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

In the seventies, Xhol, from Wiesbaden, originating from Xhol Caravan, were one of the best known underground bands in Germany. In 1970 they signed a contract with the new Ohr label of Peter Meisel and Rolf Ulrich Kaiser. In the summer of that year they recorded a live gig, but it took until 1971 to be released as LP "Hau-RUK" (Ohr OMM 56.014). The title of the LP is a word-play. There are only two long pieces on the LP, the jazzy-psychedelic "Breit" (the German equivalent for "stoned") and the bluesy track "Schaukel". In 1995 it was re-released as a poor bootleg CD by Germanofon. The legal version is now available on Garden of Delights. It offers a long extra track, recorded in 1974 by Dieter Dierks in his studio, as well as a thick booklet with loads of information on Xhol and the Ohr label, discographies, photographs, cover and label repros, stories etc. GOD
Tracklist :
1.    Breit    24:13
2.    Schaukel    20:20
3.    Süden Twi Westen    21:55
Credits :
Bass [Hagstrom-Bass], Effects – Klaus Briest
Drums [Rogers Double-Bass Kit], Cymbal [Cymbals], Gong – Skip Van Wyck
Electric Organ [Hammond M 3], Effects – Öcki Brevern
Tenor Saxophone, Effects – Tim Belbe

XHOL — Motherfuckers GmbH & Co KG (1972-1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Xhol's last studio release is certainly the one with the highest portion of Krautrock atmosphere by them and a highly experimental one. Actually three of the six tracks on here consist mainly of sound experiments whereas the other three depict really brilliant jammin' jazz-rock done in the best tradition of Canterbury bands. BTW they cancelled the part Caravan from their name later on to avoid confusion with this well-known band. I guess it's worth mentioning that the material presented here has been recorded already in 1970 which is shown by the label "2 years old" on the cover. Taking this fact into account this band certainly has to be considered as one of the most inventive and adventurous ones of those days.

The album starts quite oddly with tuning of a radio and interferences, bits of announcements and excerpts from some soul/blues songs (all of them from their debut still under the name Soul Caravan BTW). The last one reminding slightly to SOFT MACHINE leads over to "Leistungsprinzip" which is basically jazz-rock in Canterbury vein with organ, playful sax, droning bass and drums. Next one "Orgelsolo" is exactly what it's titled that is a quite extended spacey and "kosmische" weird solo on organ. Last song on side one of the vinyl "Side One First Day" is a rather up-tempo jammin' piece of jazz-rock with organ, flute, bass and drums. Second side starts with the next sound experiment "Grille" which is actually just the recorded sound of a cricket with some descrete flute and percussion in the back. The rest of the record is occupied by the long jammin' piece "Love Potion 25" which is actually a jazz-rocking rendition of a song by doo-wop band The Clovers from 1959. Having plenty of slightly psychedelic organ sound and great sax playing in its middle part and quite a fiery and rocking finish, this song is for me the highlight on here and offers a kind of final reward for listening to this admittedly wearisome album.

This oddly named album is certainly not suitable for every Prog fan and might be considered as aquired taste, at least in its experimental parts but anyway I'd highly recommend it to any fan of Krautrock and adventurous music. Essential Early German Progressive Rock! progarchives
Tracklist :
1. Radio (2:30)
2. Leistungsprinzig (1:30)
3. Orgelsolo (9:26)
4. Side 1 first day (7:05)
5. Grille (6:58)
6. Love Potion 25 (13:11)
Total Time: 40:40
Line-up / Musicians
Skip van Wyk - Drums
Tim Belbe - Saxophone
Klaus Briest - Bass
Öcki - Keyboards 

XHOL — Altena 1970 (1970-2006) Two Version | WV + FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

After shortening their name from Xhol Caravan to Xhol, they had another gig in Altena, and again promoter Heinz Bonsack professionally recorded the concert. Due to his foresighted circumspection, it is now fixed on the CD, except for only one track which had to be left out for a lack of space. It is jazzier than the concert of the previous year, with the two saxophones dominating, no vocals and less varied. The comparatively short track “Electric fun fair” could be heard already on “Electrip”, the two songs with overlength “I can’t wait” and “Xholenium” had never previously been released on any record. The CD cover shows the Altena emblem, the impressive castle that – with its dungeon, towers, illuminated well shaft, museum and the oldest youth hostel of Germany – is a great attraction for visitors (http://www.burg-altena.de). GOD
Tracklist :
1.    I Can't Wait    35:11
2.    Electric Fun Fair    9:26
3.    Xholenium    37:15
Credits :
Bass [Baß] – Klaus Briest
Drums [Schlagzeug], Vocals [Uncredited] – Skip
Organ [Orgel] – Öcki Brevern
Tenor Saxophone [Tenor-Saxophon], Concert Flute [Querflöte] – Tim Belbe
Written-By [All Tracks Written By] – Xhol

XHOL — Essen 1970 (1970-1999) Two Version | WV + FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

Xhol’s sound was a mix of jazz-rock and psychedelia. The band from Wiesbaden and former Xhol Caravan stood out for their pretty lengthy improvisations holding barely any vocals. The band became quite well-known with their two LPs released on Ohr. On Saturday, October 24, 1970, they performed at the third Essen Pop & Blues Festival at the Gruga hall. At that time, Hansi Fischer, one of the founders, had already gone on to Embryo. The whole festival had been recorded semi-professionally on soundboard by Roland Verheyen, an assistant to the promoter Konrad Mallison. The event’s master tapes are partly preserved. Lavishly remastered the CD provides a quite acceptable sound, although the drums seem to be too loud. Xhol’s gig had been divided into four pieces blending perfectly into each other. GOD
Tracklist :
1.    Sparkling Geysers    23:26
2.    „A“ Freak-out Blues    7:44
3.    Weird Bossa    6:16
4.    Surrealistic Scenery    12:11
Credits :
Bass [Baß] – Klaus Briest
Drums [Schlagzeug], Vocals [Uncredited] – Skip
Organ [Orgel] – Öcki Brevern
Tenor Saxophone [Tenor-Saxophon], Concert Flute [Querflöte] – Tim Belbe
Written-By [All Tracks Written By] – Xhol