Imagination: Shake It (1980)

From Germany, via the intriguing mind of Düsseldorf-native, multi-instrumentalist Uwe Ziß, comes this unlikely marriage of AOR, balearic, post-disco, funk, R&B, Krautrock, southern boogie, and soft rock. Perfect for days, much like this one, when your loyal blogger has very little time to actually write/keep up with my own set, writing deadlines. Nothing gets closer to encapsulating the simply bananas, yet amazingly memorable music in Imagination’s Shake It than its satirical album cover. If you were a fan of its close cousin, the other, largely, German-made Walking The Voodoo Nights by Santiago, you’ll really appreciate the thematically similar mind of this one. Privately pressed and extremely rare, let’s thank iiurii for sharing this one with me (subscribe to his Youtube channel, if you can, as thanks/encouragement).

For those who don’t have a full browser screen to appreciate it, Imagination’s Shake It features a cover quite literally lampooning The Velvet Underground’s debut. This time around they reimagine the stark, white design in the manner of Warhol’s Pop Art shadow, Roy Lichtenstein. “Thick outlines, bold colors and Ben-Day dots” much like the music inside, Shake It has so much surface action going on that one might really fail to see the finer detail.

“Strawberry Wine” appears to kick off the album with a Faust-like bit of industrial ambient music only to launch into a tasty slice of long form AOR disco where we get to hear the mighty fine Mick Jagger-like, circa Emotional Rescue, vocals of guitarist Roger Mork (who largely) carries each highlighted song forward. Credit due to Imagination for finding a very Zappa-esque way of keeping each seemingly “normal” cut quite untethered to its initial roots. Whenever it gets funky, Imagination never quite cease to twist the varied music they try to tackle.

Melodies that recall American power pop, ala Big Star or REO Speedwagon, or early Dire Straits on “Good Advice” transform into quite devilish, Krautrock-inspired talkbox epics like “Can’t Stand Without You” (a song sung by Uwe) that turns out far more wiggy and psychedelic than they hint at, at first shake. Then there are others, like the hip-shaking, dance floor burner “California” features all sorts of little production tricks that remind me of the moodier, Marina Pop of Ned Doheny which can vacillate from blue-eyed soul to decadent disco in one outing.

Other highlights include the very Lou Reed-like “On the Way Out”, a gorgeous track which starts out as a Coney Island Baby only to sweep in reggae stylistics quite nicely, out of nowhere. My favorite cut goes to “Mornin’ Lights” a spirited five minutes of peak Balearic sunshine funk that once again makes me think of Lou Reed’s Coney Island Baby (a personal fave). This time though, reimagine that nostalgic emotion and take it even further out to the beach, laced with all sorts of beautiful soul rhythms — and that’s “Mornin’ Lights” for ya. Jim Croce fans would probably dig “Waitin’ For Your Call”.

Y’all still listening by then should forgive it’s simpleness and prepare to take in its pretty country-lilting bits since they do in fact prep you for a dime-peace of a beaut: “Clouds Flee Before The Wind”. Sounding like an outtake to the Stones equally misunderstood Tattoo You, it’s the closest Imagination get to matching the power of those forgotten Rolling Stones ballads, from that album. No faint praise comparing such a track with one from one of the best bands to ever grace our earth (if I do say so myself).

Stones, Big Star, Lou Reed, Zappa, Faust, and Jim Croce. Was there anything else I missed? It’s like all that but also laced with all sorts of funk, heady, good time music, and genuine “Kraut” emotion/experimentalism (especially on that final cut). With that I’ll leave you your imagination to fill out the rest. Just don’t confuse them with the other, great Imagination.

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