Thrice Mice - Prost! (1970)

Thrice Mice were a sextet from Hamburg, who got an earlier start than a lot of their contemporaries as the members had paid their dues in various local Hamburg based bands in the 1960's before congregating into the sextet of Wolfgang Buhre (tenor, alto and soprano saxophones, clarinet, percussion), Karl-Heinz Blumenberg (vocals, alto saxophone, percussion, flute, guitar), Werner von Gosen (guitar), Wolfram Minnemann (organ, piano, guitar), Arno Bredehöft (drums) and Rainer von Gosen (bass). By the time the band went into the studio in 1970 to record their only self-titled album they were a tight-knit band that had already figured out how to craft their own sound and stand out amongst the early Krautrock initiates, with their unique mix of blues, jazz and classical music completed with a touch of 60's psychedelia. The album comprised just four lengthy tracks, with even the shortest, 'Fancy Desire', clocking in at eight minutes. On listening to the music you can hear that they were clearly inspired more by the British scene than the escapist trends of their contemporary German compatriots, and 'Vivaldi' was a huge hit for them, with the classical themes redirected into fuzzy wah-wah guitars and the rather soulful brass sounds. The band folded in 1972 after Rainer von Gosen departed, but both he and Blumenberg would collaborate together in Altona, who released two albums in 1974 and 1975. While Thrice Mice aren't your typical 70's Krautrock band, a la Tangerine Dream, Amon Duul or Can, they made one superb jazz-rock album which has remained a favourite of mine for many years, and so I was thrilled to find that when it was re-released in 2003, it included bonus tracks of previously unreleased material, and there was enough on there to make another stand-alone album of new music. Although 'Vivaldi's Revival' is basically a live take of 'Vivaldi' it's still worth hearing, and as with the other live recordings on here I've edited out the applause as much as I can. 'An Invitation' was the first thing they recorded, after they won a Battle Of The Bands contest in Hamburg in 1967, with the prize being to record a song for a four-track EP. Unconventional as ever, they chose to write an original piece for the project, and this collection also shows their love of UK bands of the period with an excellent cover of the 1970 Blodwyn Pig b-side 'Drive Me', so raise a glass and say "prost!" to Thrice Mice. 

Track listing

01 An Invitation
02 Trying
03 Pig II
04 New Life
05 Drive Me
06 Vivaldi's Revival
07 Dawn