Octopus's sole long-player Restless Night is something of a treasure among '60s Brit-psych fans due to its mixture of proto-progressive riffs, accomplished pop tunes and sparkling Beatlesque flourishes. The band evolved out of the thriving Hertfordshire beat scene that also gave us The Zombies, The Gods and those other cult pop-psych heroes Forever Amber. Octopus' music was coloured by the use of keyboards and layered vocal harmonies in much the same way. As The Cortinas they enjoyed several years of local success which culminated in the 1968 CBS single "Phoebe's Flower Shop". The single was pure pop confectionery and betrayed little of the band's tight, melodic brand of rock. By the time they'd been signed to Larry Page's Penny Farthing label in 1969, their sound had expanded to encompass the burgenoning progressive scene, the dawn of the solo troubadour and the omnipresent influence of The Beatles…

The Boat Of Thoughts was Octopus debut album - a German band formed in Frankfurt around 1973 by guitarrist Pit Hensel and bassist Claus D. Kniemeyer - and nowadays it is often regarded as the best out of the four studio works produced by the band. Octopus was one of many bands which belonged to the second wave of progressive rock in general in Germany, lasting from mid to late 70s. It was a peculiar band not only for featuring Jennifer Hensel as vocalist but also for setting up a solid and unique identity already on their debut album, which by the way was one of the very first SKY Records products, responsable for sheltering many new progressive bands back then.

Fronted by highly assertive female vocals, this Frankfurt quintet was formed in 1973 by guitarist Pit Hensel and bassist Claus Kniemeyer; musically, they followed in the tradition of Frumpy, Ruphus, Earth & Fire. Between 1976 and 1981, they released four albums of which the first two, "The Boat of Thoughts" (1976) and "An Ocean of Rocks" (1978), are by far considered their best. The subsequent "Rubber Angel" (1979) and in particular "Hart Am Rand" (1981) which features a male singer, are unfortunately not on par with the first two.
Perhaps leaning more towards rock than prog, their music crosses over various musical lines, mixing classic prog elements such as multiple rhythm changes, and straight-ahread rock with a little bit of blues thrown in. Searing guitars dominate the mix but you'll also hear plenty of synthesizer and some fine keyboard solos…

Octopus from Norway (don't be confused to countless bands with same name) was and is an obscure prog band gone unnoticed in prog circles. They released only one album in 1981 named Thaerie Wiighen (taken the name from a hero from literature of famous norwegian writer Henrik Ibsen). There is not much to find about this band or when they were disbanded. The music offered is pretty good all the way, symphonic prog with a nordic feel very similar in places with Bo Hansson releases , with some spacey moments here and there with an Eloy atmosphere, lots of instrumental sections aswell. Excellent are the keyboards passages very reminescent of Rick Wakeman or Genesis, some parts remind of Kerrs Pink. All in all a very solid album gone under the radar, definetly worth checking.