Coupla Prog - Three Albums (1972)

A great band from Baden-Baden, Coupla Prog apparently got their name from the fact that they were "…a couple of progs" who got together to play music. And the music is GOOD! For the main part: the music was recorded live in session and then assembled into each album. Originally released between 1970 and 1972, some of this didn't see the light of day until almost 30 years later, so you can forgive yourself if you're unfamiliar with their stuff. A nice mixture of bluesy-rocky prog with classical motifs, lots of Hammond and some "heads down" drumming. They also seem to have a particular fondness for Berlioz's Dream Of A Witches' Sabbath, which is no bad thing.

First up is Sprite


Recorded at studio U1 of Radio Südwestfunk, Sprite is subtitled "SWF Sessions Vol 2" The Hammond is more to the fore here than on the other albums, but not so much that it overpowers the rest of the instruments. Quite a few of the melodies borrow heavily from classical pieces - you find yourself playing spot the tune on this one. Thoroughly enjoyable and a good romp.

01. I Wanna Be Free
02. Goodbye Guns, Be Bygones
03. The Queen Is Selling Out
04. Die Wut Über Den Verlorenen Groschen (The Anger Of The Lost Penny)
05. Ode To The Vanilla Fudge
06. Auf Dass Er Sich Im Grabe Umdrehe (He Would Turn In His Grave)
07. Dies Irae - De Mortuis

Download Sprite here

Then we have the killer album…


Death Is A Great Gambler has to be one of the greatest chunks of prog ever recorded. A masterpiece by this criminally underexposed outfit. Some great moody passages, coupled with exciting stabs and melodramatic flourishes, all topped-off with the occasional classical reference (is that "Witches' Sabbath" I can hear again?). The title track is an eighteen-and-a-half minute monster. In true krautrock form, there are plenty of trippy swooshes in there too. It's just a magnificent album, worth the entry fee for this alone.

01. Chandra
02. That's The Way It Goes
03. Tochter Im Delirium (Daughter's Delirium)
04. Death Is A Great Gambler But If I Win, Finally I Can Die
05. Your Time Has Come
06. Season Of The Witch

Death Is A Great Gambler

And finally:


Not as strong as the other two albums in my personal opinion. Edmundo Lopez seems to be an attempt at a concept album (well, it WAS all the rage back then) with the theme being this chap Edmundo and his adventures in a war (Spanish Civil War? - Not sure). It seems to me as though the band concentrated quite hard on writing the lyrics at the expense of the music. It's OK but no cigar: there are one or two flashes of the brilliance they showed us on Sprite and Death Is A Great Gambler, but the overall result doesn't hit the spot (despite the appearance of you-know-what). Definitely worth a listen though.

01. Präludium
02. Introduction
03. Alone In The Mountains
04. Kill' Em
05. Pamphlet To Mr. M. Thompson
06. Night
07. Christobal G.
08. On The Way To A Village
09. Kaki Gatal
10. Listen Rain
11. Extroduction

Edmundo Lopez part 1

Edmundo Lopez part 2

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