More of the same, and that is no bad thing — the twin-guitar prog sequel. Epitaph’s second album picks up almost exactly where their debut left off: five long tracks of post-psychedelic progressive rock built on the twin lead guitars of Cliff Jackson and Klaus Walz, Bernd Kolbe’s Mellotron and the same jam-friendly, British-flavoured approach. If anything it leans even further from Krautrock into straight progressive rock. It is the last album by the band’s original quartet, and a consistent, satisfying second chapter.

The short version

Epitaph’s second studio album, recorded in April 1972 at a Berlin studio and released that year on Polydor; five lengthy tracks, around forty minutes, with a clutch of 1973 singles added to later reissues. The line-up is the same classic quartet as the debut: Cliff Jackson on lead and acoustic guitar and vocals, Klaus Walz on guitar and vocals, Bernd Kolbe on bass, Mellotron and vocals, and Jim McGillivray on drums. Stylistically it is very close to the first album — extended, twin-guitar-driven progressive rock — and it is the final record before the band’s line-up and sound began to change.

The original quartet’s last stand

This album closes the first chapter of Epitaph’s story. It is the last to feature the founding quartet in full, with Scottish drummer Jim McGillivray still in place before he departed and, eventually, made his way to Eloy. Like the debut, it belongs to that curious fraternity of German bands who looked to Britain, sang in English and took their cue from the heavy progressive rock of the day, standing alongside groups like Lucifer’s Friend and Blackwater Park. Neither of Epitaph’s first two albums managed to break the band to a wide audience, and it was only afterward, once McGillivray had gone and the group tightened its approach, that they would make their most focused record. Stop Look and Listen is the sound of the early band at full stretch, doing what it did best one more time.

The sound

Extended, post-psychedelic progressive rock in the British heavy mould, even more of a pure prog record than the debut. The defining voice is again the twin lead guitars of Jackson and Walz, weaving harmony lines and trading solos across long, patiently developed tracks, while Kolbe’s Mellotron adds depth and a touch of gloom to the slower passages. There are occasional jazz-tinged accents and plenty of room for jamming, and the writing favours the slow build and the extended workout over tight, punchy songs. It is less raw and a shade less Krautrock than the first album, leaning instead toward the melodic, guitar-led progressive rock that British bands were making at the time. Unhurried and satisfying, it rewards listeners who enjoy a band stretching out.

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The songs

The album opens with Crossroads, an original of the band’s own rather than the blues standard, easing into their unhurried, twin-guitar style, before Nightingale and Uptight keep the momentum with more melodic, mid-length pieces. The two long tracks are where the album really lives: the near-nine-minute Fly gives the guitars and Mellotron room to build and roam, and the closing title track, Stop Look and Listen, is the record’s epic at almost ten minutes, the one piece written by the whole band and a fitting showcase for their extended, jam-based approach. Reissues add the band’s 1973 singles as bonus tracks, offering a glimpse of their shorter, punchier side.

Reception and legacy

Stop Look and Listen is well regarded as a solid, consistent follow-up that stays true to the template of the debut — twin-guitar progressive rock with Mellotron and long, developing tracks. It is not as celebrated as Outside the Law, the tighter album that would become the band’s acknowledged peak, and like the debut it passed without commercial success at the time. But collectors of early-seventies German prog value it, and it completes the picture of Epitaph’s original incarnation before the changes that followed. For anyone who enjoyed the first album, this is simply more of the same good thing, and a rewarding listen in its own right.

The verdict

A satisfying album for fans of the debut and of extended, twin-guitar progressive rock — consistent, unhurried and warmly played. Come to it for the interplay of Jackson and Walz, Kolbe’s Mellotron and the long tracks, rather than for anything markedly new. Play Fly and the title track. Then the self-titled debut for its near-twin predecessor, Outside the Law for the tighter peak that followed, and Eloy for the neighbouring band their drummer would later join. The original Epitaph’s final word — and a fine second helping of early-seventies German prog.

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