Jerry Berkers "Unterwegs" 1972

Unterwegs (Pilz 1972)
Genre: Folk/Rock
Album Legnth: 34.11
Best Song: "Seltsam"


Tracks:
1. Jeder Tag sieht ganz anders aus 5.38
2. Glaub mir, Susanne 3.20
3. Es wird morgen vorbei sein 4.15
4. Dafur lebe ich nur 4.39
5. Grauer Bettler 3.41
6. Ich Klage An 4.26
7. Gelobtes Land 3.08
8. Seltsam 5.04

Overview:
Jerry Berkers was born in the Netherlands. He is best remembered for his work with Wallenstein ('Blitzkrieg' and 'Mother Universe') as well as his appearance on two of the Kosmische Kurrier LP's ('Lord Krishna Von Goloka' and 'Tarot'). In addition, he performed with Witthuser and Westrupp on their classic 'Bauer Plath'. According to Harald Groskopf, a member of Wallenstein during Berkers' tenure, Jerry had been a member of a "muzak playing dancefloor band" in Australia that was asked to perform by the United States army for US soldiers fighting in Vietnam. During one of their gigs a GoGo girl was shot by sniper fire. Later, Jerry quit this band and headed back to Europe after experiencing a bloody tank attack. In an interview with Krautrock Towers, Harald explained that Berkers "went insane during the recording sessions of his first solo album... They brought him into a psychiatric hospital. He never became 'normal' again."

Jerry Berkers was able to record a solo album in 1972 utilizing members from the various bands with whom he had played. Unterwegs contains eight tracks in total. The music is a cross between folk-flavored rock and singer-songwriter pop. The songs are presented in a tightly structured straightforward manner which is different from most of the bands with whom he played. Aside from Jerrys talents, this album showcases some of Jurgen Dollas' (Wallenstein) best (in my opinion) and most effective keyboard and piano work. By far the two best tracks are 'Ich Klage An' and 'Seltsam'. Both tracks have a very slow and downbeat almost sad quality and in the case of 'Ich Klage An', some very haunting lyrics which might stem from his time in Vietnam.

This was a Pilz production and the usual players can be found on this album, which is highly recommended for those of you who collect the Ohr/Pilz releases.
[3/5 Doug]

Musicians:
Jerry Berkers - Guitar, Vocals, Bass, Percussion
Bernd Witthuser - Guitar
Jurgen Dollase - Keyboards
Walter Westrupp - Harmonica
Bill Barone - Guitar
Thomas Engel - Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Dieter Dierks - Vocals