Grobschnitt had many elements that made them so special - a great dual guitar sound, good keyboards, and a strange drummer/effects man (Eroc) who brought an element of silliness and humor to the group (one of the things that made Gong so fascinating in their heyday.) Their first five albums are all classics and are for various different reasons. Deriving from early seventies space rock and the best of Santana, Grobschnitt's first album (self- titled) is a fantastic album that builds and releases tension in style and may be one of my personal favorites (I am a huge Santana fan - this band is way too overlooked in progressive circles.) A change of style into more symphonic realms occured on their double second (reissued on 1 CD) Ballermann which featured one record of varying length symphonic songs and one record that contains the cosmic suite "Solar Music" Maybe their least immediately accessible album, subsequent listens reveal this album's majesty. Moving to a more "accessible" sound on their third LP Jumbo, Grobschnitt moved into the realms of Yes-styled symphonic progressive while remaining very German. Funny voices (by Eroc) permeate the album on the minute long cuts which balance the epics (especially "The Excursion of Father Smith") quite well. A German version of this album exists as well. Maybe the one Gibraltar readers will like the most is the band's fourth, Rockpommel's Land that moves even closer into the Yes realms, featuring a beautiful Roger Dean-styled cover. Four tracks here, including a 20 minute same-titled, epic, this concept album is basically about a young boy and a hugebird (the maraboo) that consistently helps him and bails him out of trouble. This album is also very symphonic and has more of a keyboard presence than the first three. In my opinion, a landmark in space/cosmic rock is Grobschnitt's fifth, a live rendition of the classic "Solar Music" from Ballermann - Solar Music Live. This album is almost wall-to-wall guitar solos that shimmer and glide along a space rock backdrop - absolutely amazing music. I haven't bothered to find any of these guys later albums - sources say they fall short of these five - but their sixth Merry Go Round can't be much worse than Solar Music Live can it? Rockpommel's... and SML have both been reissued on CD as well as Ballermann and are all musts. I hope to see the first and third get the same treatment.