|
Tortilla Flat, named after a novel by John Steinbeck, was a quintet from the Aachen area founded in early 1972 by the brothers Hermann Josef (fl, g) and Hans Friedrich Basten (dr). The band became very popular in the region over the years through numerous live performances. After the 1973 session recorded for Südwestfunk in Baden-Baden, there were various line-up changes. The band then consisted of the two Basten brothers, Franz Brandt (p), Manfred Herten (g, sfx), Heribert Schippers (b) and Albert Schippers (cga, perc). The sextet recorded their first and only album in December 1974, which was self-published in a small edition that same year. In seven instrumental tracks, it features psychedelic, complex and also very melodic jazz rock with influences from the British Canterbury progressive scene.
Many years later, this private pressing of only a few hundred copies became a sought-after LP rarity and one of the most sought-after German rock albums of the early seventies. At the same time, the album gained a legendary reputation as an outstanding underground jazz/krautrock classic, driving prices for an original to dizzying heights.
|
