My Record Collection Random Spotlight #2: German Oak by German Oak
Holy Hell this one is special. My particular version is a 2010 bootleg repress that I scored at the wonderful Domino Sound Record Shack by my house, but this LP initially came out in 1972 on German label, Bunker Records. Crunchy and in-your-face Krautrock peppered liberally with samples from Adolf Hitler speeches; this one is uniquely a product of its' time. The 4 track LP, coming out to 53 minutes and 42 seconds, was "Recorded live at the Luftschutzbunker Duesseldorf-Hamm". For those of you who don't speak German, that means it was recorded in an old WWII era bunker in Dusseldorf-Hamm. Very fitting with the themes and imagery of the album.
Scoring an original pressing of this gem will cost you at least $1200, so it's only for the seriously obsessive Krautrock collectors. Thankfully, it has been repressed numerous times, with varying levels of quality. I suggest the 1999 official Bunker Records repress as the quality is decent and it has a few extra tracks that were initially recorded in the same session as the 1972 LP but didn't make the cut onto the initial LP release.
1999 Bunker Records Re-press:
https://www.discogs.com/German-Oak-German-Oak/release/2415104
While I always suggest the vinyl experience over the Youtube experience, this record is a bit hard to come by, so some generous spirit has uploaded it in full for our listening pleasure. Enjoy below!
Full Album Stream:
Original LP Release:
https://www.discogs.com/German-Oak-German-Oak/release/4282111