Krautrock II Companion

Albums

La Leyla 1976
Eternity Rise 1978
Light Fantastic 1981
Control Me 2000

La Leyla (Sky 1976)

Album Legnth: 36:48

Recorded: Sept/Oct 1975 Connys Studio

Genre: Symphonic Rock

Best Song: 'La Leyla'

Release Info: 1976 Annuit Coeptis LP Release (Sky's American Branch) AC-1002

Tracks:

1. Devil Inside 4.45
2. La Leyla 7.25
3. Garden 5.03
4. Noise (aka War) 6.25
5. Someone Like You 8.13
6. American Dream 5.00

Overview:

'La Leyla' is a glossy symphonic rock album which comes off as a mixture of Eloy, Siddhartha, and Lightshine. This was only the second album ever to be released on Sky Records. A nice production, the album is dominated by ethereal instrumental passages of organ and synthesizer. Conrad Plank's heavy handed engineering can be heard throughout as the sound is lush and textured. In addition to the organs and synths, the album has nice dual guitar solos which remind me of the Siddhartha 'Weltschmerz' album. The album kicks off with the cosmically tinged 'Devil Inside', which features pompous synth work guaranteed to make your head spin. Kicking it up a notch, 'La Leyla' is a melodic up tempo track with wonderful lead guitar work, gently floating synthesizers, and a soft musical bridge complete with cosmic chorus. 'Noise' is a lyrically dominated heavy rocker reminiscent of the polished 'Power And The Passion'-era Eloy approach. It is interesting to note that on the German version, 'Noise' is entitled 'War' and includes war sounds. Ramses had to alter the track for the US release adding traffic noises instead war noises. 'Someone Like You', the album's opus, features prominent hammond organ, harmonic synthesizers, romantic lyrics, and a delicate lead guitar. 'American Dream' builds slowly with a soft organ riff and celestial chorus before launching into a symphonic heavy rock sound again reminiscent of Eloy. A must for fans of Eloy and symphonic rock in general, 'La Leyla' was well received upon its initial release selling over 20,000 copies. [3/5 Doug]

Musicians:

Norbert Langhorst - Guitars
Winfried Langhorst - Keyboards, Vocals
Herbert Natho - Vocals
Hans Klinkhammer - Bass
Reinhard Schröter - Drums, Percursion