Germania

Jane's late-'70s and '80s albums noticeably drift away from the progressive sound that was prevalent on 1972's Together or 1975's Fire, Water, Earth, Air, which combined jazzy elements of guitar and percussion with a subtle space rock sound. With Germania, the trio is found playing straight-ahead hard rock, with only hints of their older sound emerging once in awhile through Klaus Hess's guitar playing. Just before the release of Germania, bass player Martin Hesse left to form Rizzo, replaced by the average-sounding Charly Maucher, whose style isn't quite so dramatic or pronounced. One of the better songs comes in the form of the title track, which uses German lyrics for only the second time in the group's career and has an advancing rock & roll flow initiated by Peter Panka's stalwart drumming. Switching gears completely is the swaying reggae beat of 'Get Back to You,' a very unique attempt from a European band but is catchy nonetheless. 'I'm So Down,' 'Driving Me Crazy,' and 'Rock & Roll' are hard, driving rock tunes that fail to cast any distinct characteristics of Jane, but still show some positive energy. By the time Germania was released, which was the album that ended their stint with the Metronome label, the band began to resemble the Scorpions to a slight degree, and even the smallest trace of Jane's progressive rock leanings had disappeared.