Made In Germany

There is a lovely moment in "La Krautoma," after the surf music intro gives way to a strange Peter Leopold drum solo and moves on, that the sound begins to mutate into early-'70s Hawkwind, a gleeful nod from one notable space rock outfit to another. "La Krautoma" is more than that, though; it's a six-minute distillation of acid rock, space rock, and Krautrock that shows the band's knowledge of their own history. It is also an eyebrow-raising moment in the midst of this particular, which spends more time getting into the same space as mid-'70s Europop, providing an antimatter universe version of an average Eurovision song contest lineup -- think early ABBA in vinyl raincoats, singing ditties about old King Ludwig and the like. Equally perverse, the Blue Angel motif of the cover fits completely with this approach: life as a cabaret, the decadent edges visible through the veneer. In many respects, it's a neat record, though sometimes a bit too glossy and clever for its own good -- nowhere near the sprawling Tanz Der Lemminge, for example. One of the essential set, however.