I never thought I would hear myself say the words "I like Krautrock" but hey, "I like Krautrock"! Maybe what I heard in the past wasn't that great? Maybe I just wasn't listening but there are twenty-five tracks on this compilation and there is not a bad one amongst them which tells you something. It has been compiled by Richard Fearless of Death In Vegas who I am a big fan of even though I had never made the connection between them and Krautrock. Now I can join the dots and see how it all makes sense. Krautrock doesn't sound like Germany at all to me, rather it sounds like some sort of Zen satellite state, quite literally attached to Tibet or something. Or maybe it is tethered over it in the cloud?
This compilation includes well known names such as Faust, Moebius, Roedelius and personal favourites of mine Cluster but certainly lesser known names to me who sound equally fantastic such as Phantom Band, The 39 Clocks and You. Apparently Richard listened his way through the entire Bureau B catalogue so it is clear that no stone has been left unturned. This compilation would certainly have me looking back at the previous Kollektions with real excitement. The value for money is also pretty good with twenty-five tracks including a twenty minute monster from Moebius & Beerbohm.
Opener Freedom Of Speech by Phantom Band sets a tone of rebellion and The 39 Clocks soon follow that up with Radical Student Mob In Satin Boots although clearly there is a sense of humour at play here. Perhaps that is something that surprises about this genre as I dip further into it? I always had a sense that this was very 'serious' music and in some ways this couldn't be further from the truth. No doubt there was some major chin stroking going on with some of these bands but to my mind this manifests itself in the 'how shall we do this' rather than the 'what do we stand for' which you get in other genres, say British indie for example.
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I mean it's a loose point I am trying to make but generally if this is the case then it is the end result that benefits from this attitude and the listener gets to feed of that. By the time I get to the second CD I feel I have travelled halfway across Germany and can't wait for the second leg of my journey.
What follows is classic after classic from the big hitters. Moebius, Schnitzler, Kreidler, Cluster, Roedelius and Falco's 'Rock Me Amadeus'. Sorry, scotch that last one, wrong compilation. Thinking about it some of the classical connotations of Falco's belter do have some resonance with the tracks on this compilation. Roedelius' 'Langer Atem' and Cluster/Qluster tracks are a case in point. It could be described as 'classical pastoral', if only I knew what that meant. 'Contemporary classical medieval pastoral' might be better? The soundtrack to a train seen rolling through a pine forest in the distance. And let's not forget a true contemporary classic like 'The Streets' (feat. Lydia Lunch) from Automat.
The variety on the album is superb and yet it holds together as one 'piece' I can happily listen to from start to finish so hats off to Fearless for the sequencing. My head is spinning and by the time I finish I am not sure where I am, maybe Saarland and definitely a happy man.
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