Black Birds-Touch Of Music (1971)

Black Birds are one of Germany's longest-running bands. Founded in the mid-1960s, they were still active in 2014. Hailing from Puettlingen, the band was created by guitarist Werner Breining and has seen a continuous succession of members. Their style, brimming with psychedelic sounds, rock, pop, and avant-garde elements, driven by Peter Bely's excellent Hammond organ and heavy guitar riffs, along with Breining's powerful voice, are their hallmarks. In 1971, they released their best work, "Touch of Music", their second album and ultimately their definitive discographic epitaph. At this time, Blackbirds consisted of keyboardist Peter Bely, drummer Charles Sikora, bassist Wolfgang Bode, and the aforementioned Werner Breining, who handled guitars, violin, flutes, and vocals. An album that clearly shows the band's psychedelic orientation with tracks like "Präludium" and "All You Need", while the lysergic rock "Return from the water", the sinister "Give Me Freedom" and the avant-garde "What is Free" and "Come Back", close a meritorious work of inspired germinal psychedelic and progressive rock.