Three friends from Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, formed a band in 1969 and named themselves Excalibur, after the legendary sword of King Arthur that grants invincibility. The trio, consisting of Werner Odenkirchen (vog, g), Hartmut Schölgens (org, b, voc) and Manfred Terstappen (dr), soon became known in the region for their rousing live performances. And so it wasn’t long before they landed a record deal with the German division of the US label Reprise Records. In 1971, they went to Windrose Studios in Hamburg to record their debut LP, The First Album. They were supported by three guest musicians: Achim Reichel („Gorilla”) (b), Christian M. Lembrecht („Lemmi“) (perc) and Hans Lampe („Flipper“) (perc).

The sextet in the studio was managed by Dicky Tarrach, the drummer of The Rattles, who also acted as producer. The album is characterised predominantly by an organ-driven hard rock sound, mixed with hints of blues rock and a few symphonic elements, particularly in the slower tracks, which allow this sound to drift into the progressive. Despite the elaborate production and songs that were exceptional for German music at the time, the band’s first and only LP achieved no commercial success whatsoever. The band split up shortly afterwards. In contrast to their brief history, they certainly left their mark on the annals of German hard rock in the early 1970s. This album is now an absolute rarity and is highly valued by collectors.