Udo Lindenberg – Lindenberg (1971) review
Perhaps being the first to achieve a successful German projection of rock, here Udo Lindenberg is on the cusp of greatness, though that greatness, and his personal Sgt. Pepper are still several albums into the future. Nevertheless, here he sets about conjuring a rock loftiness through the development and mixture of his unique and jazzy symphonic influences, infused with unexpected witty lyrics that give credence to his visions. On this his first outing, he goes about setting the groundwork that will carry him into the future, a future that will ebb and flow, mesh with and against the times, finding him engaging and playing with other artists such as Eric Burdon, while moving and folding his artistic nature into the realm of fantasy and politics.
This presentation is only the beginning, Udo Lindenberg’s influence on the German rock scene was as earth moving and had the impact of Sgt. Pepper by The Beatles, Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys, and dare I suggest as influential as Bob Dylan … yet that culmination would not be achieved in full until the release of Alles Klar auf der Andrea Doria.
For those who were lucky enough to have “been there then” … a time of magic and wonder were openly ignited, and for those who were willing to travel with Udo Lindernberg, believing in his vision, and willing to engage with him on his journey [though quest seems more fitting], they have been privileged and treated to a magnificent career that turns surprising corners, ventures down avenues of delight, and stretches the imagination with wanderlust and integrity, showing the world that Germany can produce contemporary artists that must be dealt with without reflection on what once was, what was happening in the world at large, and accept that Udo Lindenberg is a tour de force to be reckoned with.
Review by Jenell Kesler/2016
© Copyright http://psychedelicbaby.blogspot.com/2016
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I'm one of those who were lucky enough to have "been there then" and I can tell you for sure that Lindenberg was by no means a significant artist who had any impact on the German rock scene. Surely enough, he had an influence on a later generation who prefered to sing in German, but these horrible people had nothing in common with rock music. In fact, no one took him seriously at that time. Instead of vanishing like all of his contemporaries did he never disappeared. In 1974 I attended a German rock festival (two days) where everybody was there, f.e. Birth Control, Kin Ping Meh, Emergency, Hölderlin, Guru Guru, Agitation Free and Udo Lindenberg. Actually, all of these groups are forgotten half a century later (well not by us, that's obvious), but, oddly enough, Lindenberg is still alive and well. Every band was well received, but Lindenberg was hissed off stage by an outrageous audience.