Following closely in the footsteps of their first two archival releases, Space Debris return with a third volume of live recordings and bits and pieces. Starting off in an unusually subdued mood, with moody acoustic piano, the 10-minute opening cut Mary-Joe-Anna nonetheless gets going eventually into another heavy jam from the band. The shorter Reprise of the Sun features some nice electric piano. Off course, throughout is the sterling organ work that is something of a signature sound for Space Debris, provided on some tracks by current keyboardist Winnie Rimbach-Sator and on others by former keyboardist Tom Kunkel. But let’s not forget the tight rhythm section of Peter Brettel (bass) and Christian Jäger (drums) and the endlessly creative guitar playing of Tommy Gorny. Those looking for trippy or spacey music won’t find much here (maybe dashes here and there, like the opening of Anima and the spacey drumfest of Astronaut Versus Kosmonaut). But for those looking for some top-notch, 70’s style instrumental rock with some bluesy/jazzy touches (diggin’ the last few minutes here of the 21-minute epic title track) will find plenty to love on Vol. 3. The bluesy stuff really comes out in the appropriately titled Blues; there’s some groovin’ Santana-style Latin jamming on Latrino Mortadella II, and even a bit of moody midnight soul music on the lovely Mynona. The band throw in a few really short tracks too, some fun little fragments like the trippy drum patter of the 27-second Namber Nein and the funky jam of the minute and a half long MoJoMe III. And there’s even the 11-second closing cut, Jerrys Aural Innovations, featuring our own starship captain Jerry Kranitz giving a bit of commentary that, like this collection, really sums up everything that Space Debris is all about.
For more information you can visit the Space Debris web site at: http://www.spacedebrisprojekt.de/info.htm
Reviewed by Jeff Fitzgerald