Rattles* – The Witch

1970 saw the band undergo another set of personnel changes with drummer Peter Beckerlead replaced by Herbert Bornhold. Vocalist Henner Hoier also left, opting for a solo career. Bass player Kurt Lüngen and lead guitarist Frank Mille turned to an unlikely choice for Hoier's replacement in the form of Edna Bejarano. Prior to ing The Rattles Bejarano had recorded a couple of obscure folky German solo sides, but never really enjoyed much recognition:

- 1967's 'Herz muß Dabei Sein' b/w 'Es Ist Nie Zu Spät' (Decca catalog number D 19 851)
- 1969's 'Für Mich ist Sonntag' b/w 'Gib mir eine Antwor' (CBS catalog number 3534)

She certainly seemed an odd choice for a band that had never had a female member. Technically she wasn't the most polished singer you'd ever heard, though she certainly had some belting power. Imagine a German version of Shocking Blue's Mariska Veres and you wouldn't be that far off the mark. For what it was worth, like Veres, some of her performances (particularly ballads like 'I Will') were heavily accented. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, rather just took a little getting use to. Musically the set was also quite different from their earlier releases, with tracks like 'You Can't Have Sunshine Every Day' and 'Where Is the Friend' marking a distinctive move towards a more commercial, hard rock sound.

- 'You Can't Have Sunshine Every Day' showcased Bejarano's piercing vocals on a weird, but extremely likeable mixture of hard rock and catchy pop. Easy to see why it was picked as a single. rating: **** stars
- Written by guitarist Frank Mille and bassist Kurt Lüngen, 'The Mask' was an even heavier number. Kicked along by Bejarano's shrieking voice and keyboards, the song had quite a bit going for it, including some a killer chorus. Very nice. rating: **** stars
- After two rockers, 'I Will' was a surprisingly effective ballad. Heavily orchestrated, including a pretty flute solo, the song actually served as a nice showcase for Bejarano's softer side. rating: *** stars
- Penned by Bejarano, 'Where Is the Friend' showcased a truly bizarre, jittery new-wave feel. Showcasing an almost paranoid vocal with some equally disturbing Mille guitar, it literally sounded like something that could have been released in the mid-1980s. rating: **** stars
- A raw and blazing rocker, 'Guy' was the kind of song The Golden Earring would have killed to have written and recorded. With her wild voice Bejarano could have taken out a tank at 200 yards rating: **** stars.
- Side two opened up with one of their best known songs. This was actually a remake; they'd first recorded the track in 1968 with Henner Hoier handling the lead vocal. With Mille's roaring fuzz guitar and Bejarano's shrieking lead vocal, this psychedelic version was even better than the original. Simply a great song, the track went top 10 throughout a large chunk of Europe and even managed to hit the US top-100 charts. rating: **** stars
- For a band where English was a second language, 'Worm Eaten Wood' had some surprisingly inventive lyrics. Mille's jazzy lead guitar was the winning ingredient on this ballad. rating: *** stars
- 'Virgin' found the band dipping back into the hard rock bucket. This time out the lyric was actually pretty funny with Bejarano repeatedly yelping 'can you imagine I'm a virgin ...' Not sure how to answer that one. rating: *** stars  
- Kurt Lüngen's inventive bass took what was a good song and made it even better - in this case the pounding rocker 'Rescue Me' may have been the best song on the album. Just as propulsive and catchy as 'The Witch' but without the hyper shriekiness ... Great track. rating: **** stars
- The breezy, acid-drenched 'Man' was the album's first disappointment. In spite of tons of percussion the song simply didn't have much of a melody, or rhythm and even though you kept waiting for it to build into something, that never really happened. rating: ** stars

"The Witch" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) You Can't Have Sunshine Every Day ( Herbert Hilderbrandt - Winhauer) - 3:00
2.) The Mask (Frank Mille - Kurt Lüngen) - 2:37
3.) I Will (H. Boneval - R. Romer - Edna Bejarano) - 4:40
4.) Where Is the Friend (Edna Bejarano) - 2:20
5.) Guy ( Herbert Bornhold - Frank Mille - Krieger) - 2:16

(side 2)
1.) The Witch ( Herbert Hilderbrandt - Winhauer) - 2:56
2.) Worm Eaten Wood (Frank Mille) - 3:28
3.) Virgin ( Herbert Bornhold - Frank Mille - Krieger) - 2:44
4.) Rescue (Frank Mille) - 3:36
5.) Man ( Herbert Hilderbrandt - Winhauer - T. Oberdorffer) - 2:46

The album was tapped for a pair of singles:

- 1970's 'The Witch' b/w 'Get Away' (Fontana catalog number 6004 010)
- 1971's 'You Can't Have Sunshine Everyday' b/w 'Where Is the Friend' (Philips catalog number 6003 095)

In the States 'The Witch' was released by ABC's Probe imprint:

- 1970's 'The Witch' b/w '' (Probe catalog number -480)

Fans of the original line up will probably howl in disagreement, but I'll go on record as saying this is my favorite Rattles LP.   

For anyone interested, YouTube has a couple of video performances showcasing material off the album:

German television performance of 'You Can't Have Sunshine Every Day':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaYwl8motbA

Goofy promotional clip for 'he Witch':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_abGp7psLpg&feature=related

There's an equally goofy promo segment from the BBC's Top of the Pops television program. Its worth seeing just to watch the dancers trying to figure out how to dance to the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2X_BifQ7TM&NR=1