Smile A While

From Baden-Baden in southern Germany, the members of Brainstrom first got together as the beat group Fashion Pink in 1968. By the time the band signed to the Spiegelei label in 1971, bassist Harold Wagner had left following a road accident, but not before recording some tracks for SWF Radio. Now comprised of Roland Schaeffer on saxophones and guitars, Rainer Bodensohn on flute and bass, Eddy von Overheidt on keyboards and Joachim Koinzer on drums, the band recorded their debut album, Smile A While, at Intercord's Studio 70 in Munich. The record is a monster combination of jazz and rock, certainly influenced by their British contemporaries. "Zwick Zwick" features fuzz organ reminiscent of Mike Ratledge's powerful tone, while the three-part "Bosco Biati Weiss Alles" also has a Soft Machine vibe, as von Overheidt offers some scat vocal on top of his organ lines. The short "Snakeskin Tango" is full of humor, while the title track returns to serious jazz-rock over its 15 minutes. Koinzer proves an inventive drummer, laying down a solid groove with Bodensohn. The band recorded a second album in 1973, Second Smile, which picked up from where the first left off. The highlight is the opening track "Hirnwind" (roughly "brainstorm"), unfolding to a rising chorus of organ, guitar and gentle vocals before the band unleashes its full fury with Mellotron, angular guitar and flute in a sonic assault. Fantastic. Brainstorm never got around to recording what would have been their final album; and by 1975, the band called it quits, with Roland Schaeffer joining Guru Guru. Koinzer subsequently worked with Herbert Joos and was a member of the jazzy Open Music.