The Petards
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1966-67) - Horst Ebert -- vocals, guitar - Klaus Ebert -- vocals, guitar - Hans Jürgen Schreiber -- drums, percussion - Rüdiger "Roger" Waldmann -- vocals, bass
line up 2 (1967) NEW- Franz Bender -- drums percussion (replaced Hans Jürgen Schreiber) - Horst Ebert -- vocals, guitar - Klaus Ebert -- vocals, guitar - Hans Jürgen Schreiber -- drums, percussion - Rüdiger "Roger" Waldmann -- vocals, bass
line up 3 (1967-70) NEW - Arno Dittrich -- drums, percussion (replaced Franz Bender) - Horst Ebert -- vocals, guitar - Klaus Ebert -- vocals, guitar - Hans Jürgen Schreiber -- drums, percussion - Rüdiger "Roger" Waldmann -- vocals, bass
line up 4 (1970-71) - Arno Dittrich -- drums, percussion (replaced Hans Jürgen Schreiber) - Horst Ebert -- vocals, guitar - Rüdiger "Roger" Waldmann -- vocals, bass NEW- Bernd Wippich (RIP 2014) -- vocals, lead guitar (replaced Klaus Ebert)
line up 5 (1971) - Arno Dittrich -- drums, percussion - Horst Ebert -- vocals, guitar NEW- Ray King -- lead guitar - Rüdiger "Roger" Waldmann -- vocals, bass NEW- Bernd Wippich (RIP 2014) -- vocals, lead guitar
line up 6 (2002-2003) - Arno Dittrich -- drums, percussion NEW - Norbert Drews -- bass NEW - Martin Grosskurth -- keyboards NEW - Rolf Hellweg -- vocals NEW - Bern Kuhl -- guitar NEW - Uwe Muller -- lead guitar - Bernd Wippich (RIP 2014) -- vocals, lead guitar
line up 7 (2003-2005) - Arno Dittrich -- drums, percussion - Norbert Drews -- bass - Martin Grosskurth -- keyboards NEW - Bern Kuhl -- vocals guitar (replaced Rofl Hellweg and Uwe Muller) - Bernd Wippich (RIP 2014) -- vocals, lead guitar
line up 8 (2005-) NEW - Mick Brehman -- bass (replaced Norbert Drews) - Arno Dittrich -- drums, percussion - Martin Grosskurth -- keyboards - Bern Kuhl -- vocals guitar (replaced Rofl Hellweg and Uwe Muller) - Bernd Wippich (RIP 2014) -- vocals, lead guitar
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- Achtzehn Karat Gold (Horst Ebert) - Amon Düül II (Klaus Ebert) - Blue Heaven - Cliff Cennerth & the Lights - Ducs - Flitter Mouse - Friar (Bernd Wippich) - Hardy (Klaus Ebert) - Hepp (Klaus Ebert) - Johannes (Horst Ebert) - Karat Gold (Klaus Ebert) - Odin (Bernd Wippich) - Randy Pie (Bernd Wippich) - Showorchester - The Sonics - Trouble Boys - Wheels - Freya und Bernd Wippich (Bernd Wippich) - Zonk (Dietrich Arno, Ebert Horst, Klaus Horst, Rüdiger "Roger" Waldmann)
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Genre: pop Rating: 3 stars *** Title: A Deeper Blue Company: Europa Catalog: E
313 Country/State: Schrecksbach, Hessen, Germany Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: German pressing Available: 1 Catalog ID: 1019 Price: $40.00
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Quite a popular beat band in their native Germany and Czechoslovakia, that they never came close to making an impact in the UK, or the States ...
The band's roots go back to 1962 when brothers Horst and Klaus Ebert formed a band while still in high school. Originally known as The Magic Stompers (I love the name), they played a strange combination of instrumental covers and jazz oriented material. By 1964 the Eberts had been joined by drummer Hans Jürgen Schreiber and bassist Rüdiger "Roger" Waldmann. Splitting their attention between college and a new found interest in beat music, they also opted for a name change; going with The Petards (roughly translating as The Firecrackers).
Bolstered by an appearance in court where they were charged with violating local noise restrictions - the presiding judge had them bring their instruments to court and play before finding them guilty and hitting them with a 50 mark fine, by 1966 ongoing club performances saw The Petards attracting some media attention. Signed by the small CCA label, 1966 saw them release a roaring, fuzz guitar, garage-inspired single which attracted national attention, as well as the opportunity for follow-on 45s which brought television exposure:
- 1966's 'Baby Run, Run, Run' b/w 'Pretty Miss' (CCA catalog number 5021) - 1966's 'Right Time ' b/w 'She Didn't (CCA catalog number 5033) - 1967's 'Shoot Me Up To The Moon' b/w 'Lazy Moon' (Somerset catalog number S 1007)
Original drummer Schreiber left in early 1967. He was replaced by Franz Bender, who was quickly replaced by Arno Dittrich. With the new line-up in place, television exposure saw them signed by the budget Europa budget, which promptly released their debut album - 1968's Bert Varell produced "A Deeper Blue".
left to right: Klaus Ebert - Hans Ebert - Arno Dittrich - Rüdiger Waldmann
While the cover photos made The Petards out to be a pretty mod and happenin' outfit, about half of their debut album featured a dated beat band flavor. That wasn't meant as a criticism, since tracks like the ballad 'Summerwind', 'I Won't Come Back', and 'Drive' showcased good taste in terms of their British and American musical influences - Beatles, Monkees, etc. That wasn't the case for everything - the sappy ballad 'Roses for Kathy' would have sounded bad back in 1964 and 'Love Is All Around' was horrible schlager pop music. While the album liner notes didn't include performance, or writing credits, I'm guessing these were all band originals and song-for-song the results were quite engaging; even more impressive for a band for whom English was a second language. With all of the performances in English, the band was blessed with three decent singers who delivered the goods with very little to complain about n terms of accents. The collection was also surprisingly diverse. In addition to Merseybeat nods ('I Won't Come Back'), the collection found the band taking credible stabs at raga ('If You Want To Go Away'), blues-rock (the title track), and even Hendrix-inspired psych ('Confusion All Day').
"A
Deeper Blue" track listing: 1.) Sun Came Out At Seven - 2:06 Yeah, it was released in '68, but had a distinctive beat feel. Actually, to my ears 'Sun Came Out At Seven' has always sounded like a good The Guess Who rocker. Nice rocker that had considerable commercial potential. rating: **** stars 2.) Firetree - 3:30 Overlooking the odd title (guess something got lost in the translation), overlooking the needless siren and motorcycle sound effects, 'Firetree' was another beat pop tune that wouldn't have sounded bad on a mid-'60s Monkees album. Nice guitar solo from one of the Eberts brothers. rating: **** stars 3.) Summerwind - 2:54 Pretty ballad with a nice Merseybeat touch. Some folks will find it irritating, but the fact 'Summerwind' was a slower number served to underscore the band's heavy German accents. Personally I didn't find it to be an issue. rating: *** stars 4.) If You Want To Go Away - 2:36 Built on a raga flavored melody complete with lots of sitar and Dittrich's wild drumming, ' If You Want To Go Away' was easily the album's most lysergic tinged tune. Not particularly original, but they'd clearly been listening to lots of British psych bands. rating: **** stars 5.) Drive - 3;26 Nice Beatles influenced rocker ... how could you not like a German band that could work Florida and Georgia into their lyrics. How many American bands have ever worked Bavaria or Niedersachsen into a song ? rating: **** stars 6.) I Won't Come Back - 2:22 Likeable and very commercial up-tempo Merseybeat flavored pop number that sounded very 1965, rather than 1968. Great harmony vocals on this one. rating: **** stars
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2) The title track was a nice, bluesy rocker that showcased what was probably the album's most up-to-date feeling and vibe. The song was tapped as the album's lone single. rating: **** stars 2.) My Little Heart - 2:43 If you didn't think a German band could sing a decent ballad in English, then I'd suggest checking out 'My Little Heart'. Always loved the herky-jerky refrains. 3.) Love Is All Around - 2:25 One of the album's most pop oriented performances, 'Love Is All Around' may have been written with airplay in mind, but it simply wasn't very good. With a blue-eyed soul edge and a recorder solo, it was catchy in the same way a mouthwash commercial, or a rash might be. rating: ** stars 4.) Baby - 2:59 Built on some wonderful lead guitar that alternately reminded me of something Steve Cropper, or Hendrix might have played, the bluesy ballad 'Baby' was another album highlight. Shame this one wasn't tapped as a single. rating: **** stars 5.) Roses for Kathy - 2:43 Back to early-'60s beat moves, 'Roses for Kathy' was a pretty painful listening experience. With some hyper-sensitive lyrics and a lame melody, the German accents were very prominent on this one. rating: ** stars 6.) Confusion All Day - 2:36 And thankfully the album closed on a high note with the Hendrix inspired slice of heavy psych 'Confusion All Day'. Inspired might have been an understatement since the band seemingly did everything short of recording their vocals on top of Hendrix outtakes ... Okay, it wasn't very original, but their performance kicked butt so you can overlook any shortcomings in originality.
rating: **** stars
All told, a nice and quite impressive debut from these guys and more than enough to make me look into their other studio albums.
For anyone interested and capable of understanding German, the band has an extensive website at: http://www.thepetards.com/index.htm
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Genre: pop Rating: 4 stars **** Title: Burning Rainbows Company: Bear Family Catalog: BFX
15088 Country/State: Schrecksbach, Hessen, Germany Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: German pressing Available: 1 Catalog ID: 2147 Price: $50.00
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I'm not a Petards scholar, but as I understand the story, 1970 saw singer/lead guitarist Bernd Wippich joining the band as a replacement for Klaus Ebert. The following year the group went into the studio recording material for their projected fourth studio album. Produced by Klaus Ebert, this time around material like '(And You All) Talk About Heaven', 'Allright, Tonight You'll Be a Woman', and the title track sported a harder, Hendrix-influenced sound. Unfortunately their label (Liberty Records) wanted nothing to do with the material, rejecting the tapes. Unable to find a label interested in releasing the material, the tapes sat on a shelf for a decade until the Bear Family label released it as part of a massive Petards reissue project.
About all I can say is 1981's "Burning Rainbows" was one of those albums that deserved a far better fate. With the exception of the seven second song fragment 'Speed Freak' and 'The Dust of My Way'. there weren't any bad songs on the collection. You weren't going to find any schlager tunes, or sappy MOR-pop ditties in these groove. Powered by Wippich's gravelly voice and impressive guitar moves, this was barebones, hardcore rock and roll that would have put most of the American and English competition to shame. How do you pick a standout tune when there were so many good ones? Well, if I had to pick my top three it would be the opening rocker '(And You All) Talk About Heaven ' (sporting a little nod to Teh Stones), the crushing '(Today Is My) Birthday', and the closing ballad 'Roses'. Given how good this album is, it appears to be all but unknown. I looked and looked and as far as I could tell, there wasn't a single English language review of the album out there. How is that possible?
"Burning
Rainbows" track listing: 1.) (And You All) Talk About Heaven (Horst Ebert - Klaus Ebert) - 3:03 It sounded like they'd "borrowed" more than a little from The Stones' 'Jumping Jack Flash', but the result was so engrossing, who cared !!! You had to wonder how a band this good escape recognition in the Anglo world. Killer tune that should have made them mega stars. rating: **** stars 2.) Allright, Tonight You'll Be a Woman ( Horst Ebert - Klaus Ebert) - 4:16 It may seem like a crazy comparison, but kicked along by Wippich's wild (and impressive) guitar workout and Roger Waldmann's frenetic bass, 'Allright, Tonight You'll Be a Woman' has always reminded me of a Hendrix tune. Simply a killer rock tune. rating: **** stars 3.) One More Chance To Be Blue (Burning Rainbows) ( Horst Ebert - Klaus Ebert) - 2:45 I've always liked Wippich's gravely voice which went a long way to covering up his accented vocals. He seldom sounded as good as on this tune. Yeah, the lyrics were kind of a mess, but the song had a great, vaguely country-rock (emphasis on rock)) flavor with a killer Wippich guitar solo. Judging by this track, they pulled off the country-rock genre far better than many of their American compatriots. The band's still plugging away; a little older, a little more grey, but sounding surprisingly good on this live version of the tune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIWnOxaS-Z8 rating: **** stars 4.) Green Eyed Paradise ( Horst Ebert) - 4:40 Built on a nifty little guitar riff, it sounded more like a studio jam than a completed song, but what a jam. Darn these guys could rock !!! rating: **** stars 5.) Speed Freak ( Horst Ebert) - 0:07 This was literally a couple of synthesizers chords ... rating: * star 6.) (Today Is My) Birthday (Klaus Ebert) - 2:46 ' (Today Is My) Birthday' was another Hendrix-influenced rocker and while it may have been a little short in the originality department, the performance was raging. How did a group of young German musicians come up with such an impressive performance ? rating: **** stars 7.) Alone ( Horst Ebert - Bernd Wippich) - 4:26 Wippich had a fantastic voice which was just as good on ballads, as convention rock tunes. That said, the real highlight on 'Alone' was Waldmann's bass. People always talked about bassist who can carry a band, but Waldmann was the real thing. Check out his dazzling work on this track. rating: **** stars
(side 2) 1.) The Dust of My Way ( Horst Ebert - Klaus Ebert) - 2:08 The album's first misstep, while 'The Dust of My Way' was built on an intriguing guitar figure, the title refrain was simply irritating. rating: ** stars 2.) Someday I'll Cry ( Horst Ebert - Klaus Ebert) - 3:32 'Someday I'll Cry' was a heavy blues-rock tune that was way better than you'd ever imagine. You had to wonder how Wippich avoided tearing his voice box out ... I even liked the shrill backing vocals on this one. rating: **** stars 3.) Come To Me, Come To You ( Horst Ebert - Klaus Ebert) - 2:21 Wippich's slashing slide guitar made this one a keeper. rating: *** stars 4.) You Better Move Right Now ( Horst Ebert - Klaus Ebert) - 2;20 One of their more pop-oriented tracks, it took a moment for 'You Better Move Right Now ' to kick into gear, but ultiimately Arno Dittrich's martial drumming and Wippich's growling voice saved the day. rating: *** stars 5.) Goky and Me (Bernd Wippich) - 4:20 One of two Wippich originals, 'Goky and Me' was unlike anything else on the album. A stripped down acoustic ballad, you've probably heard dozens of tracks that sound similar. Still, Wippich's delivery was impressive and enthusiastic. rating: *** stars 6.) Who Will Sell His Dreams ( Horst Ebert - Klaus Ebert) - 5:20 'Who Will Sell His Dreams' found the band trying to find a balance between Hendrix-styled rock and a more commercial sound. Not an entirely successful experiment with the arrangement actually sounding like it was two separate song mashed-up together, but Wippich turned in another first-rate slice of lead guitar and I quite enjoyed the performance. rating: **** stars 7.) Roses (Bernd Wippich) - 4:06 A tour-de-force for Wippich -'Roses' sounded like a Three Dog Night ballad on steroids. One of the album highlights. rating: **** stars
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