variety

• Format: CD, album reissue, expanded edition, stereo
• Mastering Source: Transferred from the master tapes
• Bonus Material: Two previously unreleased live recordings from 1972
• Packaging: Jewel case with an extensively illustrated booklet featuring the band’s history and numerous period photographs

Think were an unusual six-piece progressive-rock group from Marl in Germany’s northern Ruhr district. Their line-up brought together German musicians with Hungarian and Czech players whose backgrounds included classical and orchestral music. The resulting mixture of musical traditions is reflected in the deliberately appropriate title of their only album, Variety.

Originally released by the small Menga label in 1973, the album combines psychedelic and progressive rock with folk, jazz, blues and prominent classical influences. Flute and violin frequently share the lead with electric guitar, while piano, organ, viola and percussion give the arrangements a broader and more colourful sound than that of a conventional rock group.

The opening title track moves through pastoral passages, swinging rhythms, hard-rock guitar and classically arranged instrumental sections. “Watercorps” is initially more relaxed and melodic, led by guitar, flute and violin, before introducing abrupt changes of tempo and mood.

“Drops” is one of the album’s strongest performances, balancing powerful guitar passages with intricate progressive-rock development and expressive violin and flute. The fourteen-minute “Draw Conclusions From…” moves between blues rock, psychedelia and classical textures, allowing each musician considerable space without losing the composition’s structure.

“Last Door” closes the original LP with a shorter and more direct song. This Garden of Delights edition adds “More Drops” and “All That I Remember,” two live recordings made in Gelsenkirchen in May 1972. The earlier performances possess a rougher and heavier psychedelic character while already demonstrating the instrumental range that would define the studio album.

Track Listing

1. Variety – 7:37
2. Watercorps – 5:07
3. Drops – 8:19
4. Draw Conclusions From… – 14:00
5. Last Door – 3:15
6. More Drops – 6:50 – bonus track, live 1972
7. All That I Remember – 7:50 – bonus track, live 1972