Birth Control – Hoodoo Man

Beloved by rock rebels everywhere, the gloriously taboo-busting Birth Control (the name itself says it all) have enjoyed a lengthy, five-decade career filled with excellent albums and plenty of controversy.
From the very beginning the core of the group has been vocalist/drummer Bernd Noske and guitarist Bruno Frenzel, both of whom featured on every single album between 1970 and 1982, the groups first phase of activity and their peak years.
Whilst their self-titled debut established their credo - it came deliberately housed in a round sleeve designed to look exactly like the contraceptive packaging of the era - it was their second and theird albums, 'Operation' and 'Hoodoo Man', which truly introduced them as a top-notch progressive rock group to be feared.
Issued in 1972, 'Hoodoo Man' is arguably the pick-of-the-bunch, a superb, organ-doused heavy prog record filled with pulsating instrumental interplay and featuring some of their best-known songs, chiefly 'Gamma Ray' and the wondrous 'Get Down To Your Fate'.
Later albums, such as the remarkable 'Plastic People', would see them switch to a more spacey, Pink Floyd-inspired style, but they would never forget their roots despite a series of constant line-up changes.
At the heart of everything was Noske and Frenzel, the duo were the mainstays throughout, though organist Wolfgang Ne deserves special mention for his firey and energetic displays on 'Hoodoo Man'.
If you have to start somewhere with regards to Birth Control, make sure you start here.