Igor91 The following is a review that I originally published on the sister website of Jazz Music Archives, Progarchives, on 1/15/17:

Missus Beastly's "Bremen 1974" is, in my opinion, their best release. This may be hard to believe, considering that it is a live recording from 1974 that was not released until almost 30 years after their final studio album. But this is an incredible, jammy, jazzrock recording that should get more attention.

I'm not really a huge fan of Missus Beastly's other releases, including their wildly different debut, but this one really grabs me. It's loose, yet tight at the same time, and is the only recording of splendid guitarist Eddy Marron's participation in the band. His excellent guitar work soars on this release and leaves one to wonder what the band's subsequent releases may have sounded like if he had stayed on. The album features 3 long, jam-heavy tracks, each one different from the other. The songs incorporate jazzrock, ethnic flourishes, psychedelia, and funk into a masterful live performance. Highly recommended for fans of German jazzrock from that era! 4 stars.

Warthur The cover art is better this time - whimsical and cartoonish being a big step up from the nightmarish grotesqueness of their previous studio album's cover - but that's the only real improvement over the preceding album. Missus Beastly's 1974 studio album (and Bremen 1974 from the same period) showcased a smoking hot cutting edge fusion band at their prime; two years down the line, it seemed the band had fell behind a little, performing with a rather undistinctive and anonymous sound which resembles most other fusion dabblers from the era. Still probably worth a listen if the preceding album bowled you over, but be aware that this one probably won't repeat the trick.

Warthur A decent live album from Missus Beastly, consisting of three live jams - one epic taking up nearly half an hour, and two (comparatively) short nine minute pieces. Since these were recorded for radio the sound quality is decent (and, when it comes to less famous bands from the era, really quite good), and the band were clearly on form that evening, playing a frenetic, Mahavishnu/Zappa-influenced style of fusion which obviously goes down well with the crowd. The radio sessions were apparently recorded to support the release of their second self-titled album, so anyone who enjoyed that album would be well-advised to check out this live release.

Warthur Missus Beastly reconvened after their earlier split to record a new self-titled album (with absolutely grotesque cover art, imposed by the record company). On offer here is an extremely competently performed and exquisitely composed set of mid-1970s fusion, taking into account the latest from Weather Report, Return to Forever, Mahavishnu and other greats of the genre. A funk influence creeps in here and there, especially in the rhythm section, but for me the highlight of the album is the exceptional performance by the group's two saxophonists, who are a joy to behold, especially when they both leap in and start playing off each other. With enchanting and delicate flutework and driving electric piano on top of that, the group attain a technically proficient sound with compositions which retain a lot of emotional warmth, making this one of the better fusion albums of the era. It's not quote on the level where I'd suggest it for someone's first dabbling in fusion, but I would say fusion fans should check it out.

Sean Trane One of the first underground German psych groups around, MB was known as Psychotic Reaction then Reaction before changing their name to an African American TV show doll. They experienced quite a success live, but by the time they came to record their debut album, they had nothing ready for it, so they had to dig up old live songs, and according to bassist Hofman, the album is absolutely not representative of their stage sets. Indeed this first album might appear quite deceiving compared to the band's future jazz- rock albums, because it is a full-psyched-out rock often delving in jazzy-blues-rock. The four main tracks (ranging from 5'30" to 9 minutes) of the album are all in this genre, and while enjoyable and well played, there is nothing extraordinary which would really interest most progheads, outside the psych flavour: they even sound like early TYA. The three shorter tracks (max 3 minutes) are even more psychedelic, but are amounting to being almost negligible. Indeed this album is really not that much essential to progheads, but can be a curiosity to Missus Beastly fans and to those psych-minded progheads as well.

This album will then be pirated (straight from the vinyl, therefore of inferior quality) quickly under the name Nara Asst Incense, and a group named MB with no link with the legit one will then live off the reputation of the name and even record two albums of their own. On the other hand, obviously the real MB was completely disorganized and only partially existed, but at one point the group will align seven musicians (including two wind players). The group will eventually fold, before being reformed on the request of ex-Missing Link Dieter Miekautsch, and former MB Jurgen Benz who asked the only remaining original drummer Lutz Oldermeier to reform. But this is another story.