Blackbirds - Give Me Freedom (1971)

Blackbirds

Studio Album, “Touch of music”, released in 1971

In early 1970 band leader Werner Breinig had to look for new musicians to join the band, and he found Peter Bely, who would replace Hubert Koop on the organ, and Eckhard Groß, who stepped in for drummer Georg Klein. Klein had already replaced Helmut Vigneron on the drums after the LP "No Destination" (LHC38) had been finished. Heinz Koop remained bass guitarist. The group tried to create an independent program and was eventually contracted to make records for BASF's sub label "Cornet". They changed their name into Blackbirds 2000, a fact that Werner Breinig comments on as follows: This was the record company's wish. Their aim was a long-term perspective, and the name Blackbirds 2000 was supposed to put this across.

In 1970 the single "Let's Do It Together"/"Preludium" (Cornet 5025) was published. The record company had "Woodstock-Sound" printed on the cover, so potential buyers would know what musical style the songs were. And indeed, "Let's Do It Together" turned out to be a psyche-delic-rock earworm that could compare with international recordings. "Preludium" on the B-side recalls Johan Sebastian Bach's opus, not just in name, but also in content, similar to "The Nice". This type of music was very popular back then. The proceeds of the single did not fulfil BASF's expectations and the contract was not extended. The band then changed their name back to the original The Blackbirds, and Werner Breinig set course for Progressive Rock. In 1971 the band recorded their 2nd LP "Touch Of Music" in the Rhenus Studio Cologne. Konrad (Conny) Plank, relatively unknown at that time, operated the mixing desk. Only Werner Breinig was left from the original band, and apart from vocals and guitar, he was now also responsible for flute and violin.

Peter Bely was still playing the organ, Wolfgang Bode the bass guitar and Charles Sikora the drums. The distinctive feature of the music was its very refined musical structure. Songwriter Werner Breinig had begun writing down the titles on sheets of music, not least since Peter Bely, although an excellent note reader, was less able to make own contributions and had to read from the sheets of music. Therefore it was up to Werner Breinig to hand in the score for "Touch Of Music", which got good reviews in contemporary reference books.... ”

Tracks:

1. Präludium (2:17)

2. All You Need (8:30)

3. Return From The Water (7:08)

4. Give Me Freedom (5:49)

5. What Is Free (4:08)

6. Come Back (10:55)

+ Bonus tracks:

7. Let's Do It Together (2:51)

8. Preludium (2:21)

Line-up:
- Peter Bely / piano, organ, vocals
- Wolfgang Bode / bass, vocals
- Werner Breinig / guitar, violin, flute, vocals
- Charles Sikora / drums, vocals