Pinguin -

Pinguin was a German sax-rock band that released the 1972 album Der Grosse Rote Vogel on Zebra. They first grouped as Talix, a psychedelic sextet behind the 1970 album Spuren.

Members: Klaus Gebauer (vocals), Markus Schaub (guitar, percussion, vocals), Joe Voggenthaler (guitar, percussion), Tom Wohlert (bass, bongo), K.D Blahak (drums), Volker Plitz (organ, percussion), Elmar Kast (saxophone, flute, percussion)

Background

The members of Pinguin had their roots in The Jay Five, a beat quintet with guitarist Joe Voggenthaler, bassist Tom Wohlert, drummer K.D Blahak, and saxophonist Elmar Kast. They cut seven albums of mostly pop covers between 1966 and 1968 and masqueraded as The Goosies and The High Spots. Voggenthaler also cut two schlager singles as part of Joe & Erik, a duo with Jay Five pianist Günther Eric Thöner, whose departure led the others to reconfigure as Talix, a sextet with keyboardist–songwriter Volker Plitz and second guitarist Markus Schaub.

Talix – Spuren

As Talix, the band released their first album, Spuren, in 1971 on Vogue.

The album centers on flute, organ, and saxophone voicings that shift between atmospheric passages and tight ensemble bursts. Guitarist Rolf Henning and keyboardist Volker Plitz alternate rhythmic pulses and tonal leads, with Plitz weaving in electric piano, organ, and vibraphone textures.

Saxophonist Wolfgang Miersch provides layered counterlines and thematic phrasing across the extended arrangements. Bassist Wolfgang Hering and drummer Thomas Hering form a grounded rhythm base, anchoring the band’s dynamic flow with an even pulse and suspended fills.

A1. “Spuren” [Traces] (4:02)
A2. “Jeder Abschied” [Every Farewell] (5:15)
A3. “Herbstbegegnung” [Autumn Encounter] (3:47)
A4. “Lieben, Lieben, Lieben” [Love, Love, Love] (4:35)

B1. “Nicht Für Uns” [Not for Us] (4:19)
B2. “Liebe Ist Das Gewohnheit” [Love Is the Habit] (4:30)
B3. “Oh Mann” [Oh Man] (3:44)
B4. “Elena” (5:40)

Volker Plitz produced and arranged the album, which the band recorded for Moon Music International under Deutsche Vogue Schallplatten GmbH. Label pressings identify Deutsche Vogue GmbH as manufacturer and list Moon Music as publisher.

After Spuren, the band reconfigured as Pinguin with a seventh member, singer Klaus Gebauer.

Pinguin – Der Grosse Rote Vogel

As Pinguin, the band released their second album, Der Grosse Rote Vogel, in 1972 on Zebra.

The album pivots around dense ensemble playing shaped by layered saxophone, organ, and overdriven guitar, spaced with rhythmic breaks and chant-like vocal phrases. Soloist Markus Schaub trading lead figures against the percussive stabs of organist Volker Plitz and tenor saxophonist Elmar Kast. Schaub and Kast counter one another in stacked phrasings and unison breaks, while guitarist Joe Voggenthaler reinforces sectional patterns with clustered chordal accents. Bassist Tom Wohlert underpins the set with fluid transitions between electric and acoustic low-end voicings, joined by drummer K. D. Blahak’s centered pulse and compact fills.

“Die Angst” builds tension around looping keyboard figures cut by sharp guitar surges and dissonant sax phrasings that give way to brief, grounded stretches. “Der Frosch in der Kehle” shifts between brisk flute runs and percussive passages, rising in energy with alternating guitar leads and reintroduced organ layers. “Der Blaue Wind” slows the pace with subdued textures and clustered flute–organ interplay that bends into unstable, free-form stretches. “Der Traum” closes on softened phrasing and low-end counterpoint, using bass and keyboard alignment to hold shape around fading rhythmic structures.

A1. “Der Große Rote Vogel” [The Big Red Bird] (8:43)
A2. “Die Angst” [The Fear] (6:09)
A3. “Der Frosch In Der Kehle” [The Frog in the Throat] (7:18)

B1. “Der Blaue Wind” [The Blue Wind] (7:46)
B2. “Die Nachtmusik” [The Night Music] (5:17)
B3. “Der Traum” [The Dream] (6:06)

Pinguin recorded the album at Löwe-Studio in Köln with engineer Gerry Flamminger under the direction of producer and composer Volker Plitz.

The cover of Der Grosse Rote Vogel shows a large red ibis suspended mid-flight over a colorized nighttime image of the New York City skyline, with the Chrysler Building and other midtown landmarks in view. The bird appears disproportionately large—looming over the buildings with a downturned beak and wide-spread wings—casting it as a surreal, intrusive presence.