Gurnemanz - No Rays Of Noise (Reissue) (1976/1996)

GURNEMANZ is a prog folk band from Germany, Bergheim, east of Aachen in Rhineland, who formed in May 1972. They began as an acoustic folk troupe with band members John Cremer (autoharp); Lukas Wolfgang Scheel (guitar, vocals, mandolin, banjo, lute); Manuela Schmitz (vocals, tin whistle, percussion, recorder, kazoo); Siegfried Bushuven (double bass, lyre, kazoo) and Wolfgang Riedel (guitar, vocals, percussion, harmonica, bouzouki. Occasionally they were joined by Georg "Köbi" Köberlein on Electric Piano, and Bernie Schacht on Percussion.

Their first LP in 1973 was "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" and "spielmannskinder" followed in 1975. "No Rays Of Noise" was then released in 1977 on EMI's Songbird label. The band were dextrous playing a number of different instruments to complement the sound such as flutes, harmonica, lute, lyre, mandolin and kazoo. They sung mainly in English, though incorporated German from time to time. Their brand of music might be likened to traditional troubadour folk, though "No Rays of Noise" had a more progressive approach. In 1979 GURNEMANZ had planned to release "Blue Moon" but it was not to happen, though some live versions of the tracks exist.