1968 is the latest release from German hard rock/prog act Flying Circus, somewhat of a concept albums as each of the songs deal with specific world events that happened in the year 1968. The band are comprised of Michael Dorp (lead vocals), Michael Rick (guitars), Rudiger Blomer (keyboards, violin), Roger Weitz (bass), and Ande Roderigo (drums). 1968 was recorded at the famous Dierks Studios, and engineered by Wulf-Hanses-Ketteler. The band have now been in existence for 30 years and have a handful of albums to their credit.
If you follow along with the timeline, events such as the Martin Luther King assassination, University of Paris riots, conflict in the South Vietnam town of My Lai, the Prague Spring, and other notable world events are covered here by the band, the arrangements a mix atmospheric prog rock saturated with smoldering Hammond B3 organ, piano, synths, and violin, with more muscular guitar driven hard rock. "The Hopes We Had (In 1968)" is one of the easy highlights here, a wealth of keyboards & violin supporting some strong hooks and a blistering guitar solo, while the crunchy "Vienna" offers up some funky Clavinet alongside some massive riff-o-rama. Then there's the heavy rocking "Berlin", Rick laying down some impressive guitar thunder and Dorp singing up a storm, as well as the groove laden & catchy "Paris".
An impressive album from Flying Circus, a band I'd not had the pleasure of hearing their music until now but I certainly am interested in hearing their back catalog after checking out this latest release.
Track Listing
1, Paris. 5:29
2, New York. 4:49
3, Prague. 5:26
4, Derry. 1:58
5, The Hopes We Had (In 1968). 6:45
6, My Lai. 6:43
7, Memphis. 5:24
8, Vienna. 2:07
9, Berlin. 7:49
10, The Hopes We Had (Reprise). 1:07
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