This obscure German heavy prog group from Speyer, the cathedral city in Rhineland-Palatinate, emerged from a beat band which renamed itself Tyburn Tall, following a change in musical style in 1969. A bizarre name, which takes its origin from a tall gallows tree in the small English town of Tyburn during the Cromwell era. Influenced by bands such as Colosseum, Renaissance and The Nice, with whom they had performed numerous successful live shows as the support act, they decided to make their own album.

In the spring of 1972, they recorded four tracks from their well-rehearsed live set for their debut album at Lutz & Kern Studio, a small private recording studio in Bellheim, approx. 20 km away from Speyer. The five-piece band consisted of Klaus Fresenius (vocals), Rheinhard Magin (Hammond organ, piano, vocals), Werner Gallo (guitar), Stefan Kowa (bass, vocals) and Hanns Dechant (drums, percussion). The keyboardist and the bassist had both completed classical training, which is reflected in the band’s musical style. They played a hard, organ-dominated progressive rock with influences drawn from classical works by composers such as Bach and Dvořák. The interplay between organ and guitar, featuring heavy grooves, extended keyboard runs and long jam sections, characterizes this progressive organ rock with unusual lead vocals.

Their only self-titled album was released in the same year in a gatefold sleeve, adorned with a rare copperplate engraving by Merian depicting the city of Speyer during the Renaissance. Originally, only 200 copies were pressed, but more than half of them were destroyed in a fire at the Markus music shop in Speyer. Today, this LP is one of the most expensive German private pressings of all time!