Krokodil – Schooldays / Marzipan
This video is for the purpose of entertainment only……
The images used within this video are taken from photos of my personal vinyl LP jacket/cover/labels, original German pressing of Krokodil – “Getting Up for the Morning” (1972) on Bacillus Records BLPS 19117.
Krokodil’s lineup on the “Getting Up For The Morning” LP was as follows;
Walty Anselmo – Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Sitar, Lead Vocals.
Düde Dürst – Drums, Percussion, Vocals.
Terry Stevens – Bass, Electric Guitar, Klavino, Lead Vocals.
Mojo Weideli – Harp/Harmonica, Flute, Vocals.
“Krokodil” bio borrowed from Alex Gitlin’s website
Krokodil (German for “Crocodile”) were constantly promoted by the labels they signed to as a Krautrock band, yet though they had the spirit of Krautrock in their veins, the truth was that they were Swiss, not German. So naturally, Liberty Records tried to present them as the Krautrock answer to The Groundhogs. Well, Krokodil did have blues origins, they really knew how to rock-it and had a flair for the experimental, so they did have the same sort of attitude as The Groundhogs. But, all that aside, Krokodil were innovators in their own right, not at all copyist, except for maybe their John Mayall type roots. Like most Swiss bands, Krokodil were an unlikely combo, mostly of German-Swiss extraction, with one Englishman: Terry Stevens. Early on, the quoted “Swiss Bob Dylan” Hardy Hepp seemed to be in control, his softer folk and blues mix, and Mojo Weideli’s harmonica, gave them a more down-to-earth sound.
After Hardy’s departure for a solo career, Krokodil really blossomed with the extraordinary “An Invisible World Revealed”, an album that took on all sorts of ethnic and fusion elements, becoming like a hybrid of Amon Düül II, Man and Third Ear Band, all mixed into that unique Krokodil style. Ethnic elements had figured in earlier Krokodil recordings, but not so much as here, where the sitar, tablas and flute are heavily featured. Krokodil had become the finest of Swiss Krautrock bands.
A change of label, to Bacillus, their next album “Getting Up For The Morning” (1972) offered a similar blending of rock, blues and ethnic styles, though in a more condensed song-based concoction, still sounding very progressive at times. The double album “Sweat & Swim”, though it had a couple of duff tracks, also contained some of their best, not least so the 17 minute cosmic-ethnic trip “Linger” recalling the masterworks of “An Invisible World Revealed”.
