Rontheo - Rontheo (Korean Remastered) (1976/2012)

Not a German Folk Rock band, but a duo of Canadians, for some reason living and recording in Germany. Ronnie di Tomaso (guitar, vocals) and Theodor Busch (violin, guitar, percussion, organ) met in 1974 at the Steckdose Folk club in Saarland and decided to form Rontheo, combining their first names.Reputedly they played live in Europe, Canada and USA and in 1976 they recorded their self-titled debut album on the obscure Breitkopf Song label with a guest musician on guitar, Yedz, and vocal lines arranged by composer and producer Peter Muhlbauer.

The Canadian roots of the members is apparently the reason why Rontheo sounded like an American Psych/Folk band and had nothing to do with the local Folk scene.They played an elaborate Folk Rock with a strong sense of melody, decent instrumental work and sentimental vocals, nothing to get too excited about, but the performances are pretty nice.Circulating rumors have them refered as a Prog Folk act, but the truth is that there are very limited progressive touches in the album.The good use of violin might recall some of the lines of neighbours EDEN and the overall style resembles to the softer side of YGGDRASIL, but the limited instrumentation and members' core do not give much of a musical flexibility.The long tracks contain some nice parts with soft interplays and a couple of cuts are mostly instrumental with a decent combination of psychedelic and light progressive vibes.''Tomorrow will know'' is the best of the bunch, featuring some jazzy electric guitars and unexpected choirs, sounding quite German at the very end.

The band is rumored to have recorded much more material over the years, but no archival release has seen the light of day.Both returned to America after their stint with Rontheo, Ronnie di Tomaso lives in the Rocky Mountains in Washington State, while Theo Busch located near Montreal, Quebec.

Cool Psych Folk with a few progressive overtones.Original vinyl is rare and expensive, Spain label Wah Wah Records has taken care of a nice reissue of 500 numbered copies.Recommended...