Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

While the first record of the band consisted of acid jams of psychedelic space rock , on its second album Gila , this time consisting mainly of members of the Popol Vuh group, offered something more soothing. Although Connie Veit has always been the leader of the group, this album is more like his solo work. This is a concept album inspired by the book of the same name by De Alexander Brown , which told the world community about the plight of the North American Indians. The complex, superimposed guitar melodies create a muted beauty that falls into memory in a rich baroque setting, and some of the texts are taken from genuine Native American sources. The composition of "The Buffalo Are Coming" with a long instrumental fragment and stylized North American rhythms and chants became the apex of the album. The rest of the vocals slightly distract from the music, and the album as a whole is too close to the soft atmosphere of the new age , especially in comparison with the acid-destructive explosion of the first album ^[1] .

On this album, psychedelic effects painted with space rock give way to touching folk and pop songs dominated by unearthly female vocals. The album is very reminiscent of Popol Vuh , especially in acoustic moments. Easy and enjoyable listening ^[2] .

A concept album with a strong influence of Popol Vuh thanks to the presence of Florian Fricke , who plays the mellotron and piano. This is not space rock , but rather psychedelic folk . The first composition "This Morning" is beautiful, unearthly, but at the same time dynamic and positive, with beautiful spiritual texts about the harmony of man and nature. The second composition "In a Sacred Manner" moves along the same lines with texts about spiritual life. On both things, an excellent guitar sounds with pleasant inserts of an air vibraphone and magnificent cymbals. The album also contains influences of ethnic music, in particular, on the gloomy intriguing "Little Smoke". In general, far from a masterpiece, but another sample of genuine psychedelic folk from Germany ^[3] .

If Gila's first album was a psychedelic masterpiece (with a strong left political slant), this album is much more progressive . The group’s leftist convictions again come to the fore, the Indian massacre in Windy-ni in 1973 is condemned here. The album is strongly influenced by Jefferson Airplane , the female vocals of Sabina Merbach and the style of Popol Vuh leader Florian Fricke also play a significant role. The general view is rather naive, and when you listen to “Buffalos Are Coming”, the feeling that none of the musicians really communicated with any Native American ^[4] does not leave.

1. This Morning - 5:40
2. In A Sacred Manner - 4:42
3. Sundance Chant - 4:09
4. Young Coyote - 3:18
5. The Buffalo Are Coming - 7:20
6. Black Kettle's Ballad - 4:24
7. Little Smoke - 5:06

Bonus track

1. Mindwinds And Heartfrost - 5:56

• Connie Fite - basic guitars, vocals, vibraphone, bass guitar, flute, Mug's synthesizer
• Florian Fricke - piano, Muga synthesizer, mellotron
• Daniel Fihelscher - drums, percussion, bass guitar
• Sabina Merbach - vocals

• http://www.allrovi.com/music/album/bury-my-heart-at-wounded-knee-mw0000458427 (not available link)
• http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=5056