Sireena Rec.
Efendi's Garden (D,1979,1989,re.2010)***°
This German rock band was founded by Wolfgang Krantz, former band member from Jane and Harlis (-Harlis & Halis were also re-released by the label-), together with Klaus Hess on guitar, with bass player Frank Meier, drummer Wolfgang Schreiner, sax player Heinz Alberding and singer Thomas Stender aka Curtis Efendi. (Some of the members had been in Rattlers also). They were a Hannover rock band which basically is a song focused band whose style has an eclectic weirdness besides a near mainstream almost cover-band styled song approach, with a band capable of sounding more progressive but doesn't, because there's no need for it. On the earliest ballads strange things happen. Curtis Efendi's voice is weird and grotesque, on “Lazy Man Crazy” comes near to a lazy Captain Beefheart, and on “The Garden” an original idea is tried with an Arab song (with an harmonium approach on the organ). Such mixes of the exotic and the mainstream, or a strange seriousness mixed with cabaret cynicism, with rock in the core, keeps the curiosity and attraction vivid. Also the second album after their reunion in 1989 fits well. A few ideas go further here, bringing them closer to Klaus Nomi's surreal world of gay pop, with a few synthetic percussion elements, Effendi's Garden never keeps seriousness (melancholic-dramatic ballads) too far while being off-the record and unreal as well. Enjoyable. English lyrics.
