ROCK FUR DEN FRIEDEN 8 55 863 (-82) EAST GERMANY

"Rock fur den frieden" (Rock for peace) was an annual music festival organized by DDR cultural institutions and taking place in East Berlin between 1982-87. It served a dual purpose - both as part of the state propaganda machine and presenting high class domestic rock to the public. A couple of these performances were chosen for issues on EP or LP, as I guess involving some censorship not to interfere with the common political agenda. This was the first in the serie and even if you probably don't get the full picture it's partly very rewarding. Well played with catchy moments and though the audio shifts a little most of it sounds great. The songs by Hans Biebl Band, Gruppe WIR, No 55, Puhdys, Prinzip, Stern Meissen and Karrusell are all fine rock'nroll, going from simple krautish to bombastic with lots of good guitars. I don't understand German, but the music and performance is sufficiant enough. To my knowledge this was the only issue with label as shown here and thin glossy cover. (SÄM*) (GÖXÄ*) (BÅC*) (LYBÖ*) (ÄMY*)