German Progressive and Krautrock Recommendations?

For the Rocking part of Krautrock I would recommend:

Hairy Chapter
Ash Ra Tempel
Silberbart

 

Madison Dyke - Zeitmaschine
unfortunately relased by Garden of Delights, who can't seem to figure out that their spines are printed upside down, at least this one wasn't ruined by their horrible hippie art as they do most live archival releases....:thumbsdn:

 

To my ears, some of these CT CD's don't sound too comfortable. Maybe it's just me, since I'm np sound expert and someone mentioned they have the same audio as previous editions. I even thought that on one of the Kluster discs (don;t know which, I'll have to check) the beginning of one track was cut off. Still, when I want to hear Schwarz, Rot or Blau, I always grab for my Marginal Talent (Schwarz, Blau) and Plate Lunch (Rot) copies.
I agree the packaging is WAY better, and most CT discs are essential for the bonus tracks.
There is a VERY revealing review of the latest set of Schnitzler remasters (by none other than Serge Leroy of the former Artgallery label) on Dutch EM website www.groove.nl. Select "catalog", search for Schnitzler and select "Early Self Product". The review is there.

 

Any recommendations for the best sounding early Faust CDs or vinyl?

 

I love Garden of Delights except that anytime they have to use vinyl, they no-noise the schit out of it. Such is the case with Madison Dyke, but the previous CD release was horribly no-noised from vinyl also. The album isn't that expensive. Probably best to go with vinyl for this one while it's still pretty cheap.

Sometimes, GoD have also started using no-noise even when they have a tape source, such as that Necromonicon CD cited above.

Still, I love this label for their detailed work on their releases, and couldn't care less how they want to do their spines. I just wish they weren't afraid of hiss. Some of their releases also have some compression, but they are not nearly as bad as some of their peer labels in this regard.

 

For CD, go with the Japanese Polydor pressings. 1st and 2nd pressings are the same.

There is also a cheap 2fer out of the first two albums, but while one of these sounds good, the other was bright and tinny. Can't remember which was which just now. I think So Far sounded okay on it and the first album was a mess, but it's been a while.

 

You preferred the Japanese over the ReR editions? I'll admit I had to resort to headphones to tell a difference between them, but I stuck with the ReRs myself.

Make sure you get the digipak remaster of 'The Faust Tapes' (with the 'Munic And Elsewhere' cover) and not the jewel box original (with the 'Faust Party' single cover) though; both are mastered from vinyl but the earlier edition is a terrible transfer from a very noisy disc. The remaster is carefully done from a much better source (and, I'd wager, using a superior turntable).

The first single-disc CD of 'Faust IV' beats the new 2-disc set. The new one's just slightly worse, though; not awful, and you may find the bonus tracks to be too enticing to reject. (Avoid reading the wildly inaccurate liner notes, though - the 'Wumme Years' booklet in the ReR Box set is MUCH more reliable.)

I could tell no difference whatsoever between the two editions of '71 Minutes.' Apart from the first edition having the songs listed in the wrong order and the remaster changing the song titles, there doesn't seem to be any noticeable difference.

 

How is the sound quality in The Wümme Years box set?

 

No-noised.

 

Darn. I appreciate the info Jeff.

 

I'm not sure I ever heard the ReR versions. I've head the Japanese minis (compressed), the Universal Germany of So Far (compressed), The Wumme Years (dehissed) and that Collector's Choice 2fer which I mentioned above.

 

I rarely see Floh De Cologne listed in these kinds off threads but they belong - big time. I was pointed to a very nice website on German progressive / Krautrock music here:

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/ultimathule/krautrockers.html#f

 

By the 'ReR' versions, I meant the 'Wumme Years' box set; the same pressings are also sold individually.

Matt Murman handled them and, while he's not as anti-NR as Bob Drake is, I find his dehissing is usually pretty light. (Which, I admit, can be like telling someone with a peanut allergy that there's only "some" peanuts in the food)

 

what would you recommend, if I remember they have a lot of spoken/cabaret parts?

 

Fleissbandbabies (1970 or 71). The talking isn't much of it really, and 'fits' the album. I hesitate to say this, but its almost like a German (pre-) rap that segues or interludes on some of the tracks. The playing is wonderful.

 

Thanks. Terrific info. I had a half-dozen or so releases from years ago on the Art Gallery label and enjoyed those, although IIRC on some the sound was sort of rudimentary in quality. I haven't listened for a long time. Most were compilations of tracks taken from Schnitzler's cassette-concert series.

 

I have some of their stuff, but I don't understand German well enough to appreciate their leftist political stuff, although I know I'd appreciate it...

 

I like Floh De Cologne, but some of the CD releases are just no-noised vinyl rips. I feel like I should get some vinyl in order to really appreciate them.

Another band that is essential, IMO, is Ihre Kinder. Their albums on Kukuck are still easy to find on CD and sound great.

I recommend both of these, highly, and I want to hear more from them:


http://www.amazon.com/Leere-Hände-E...=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1223404151&sr=8-2

http://www.amazon.com/Jeans-Cover-I...=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1223404151&sr=8-6

 

by the way... SPV just released two of the best Krautrock records by Frumpy: All will be changed + Frumpy 2.

Both were remastered by the mastering legend Willem Makkee.

A must for every Krautrock fan.

 

I lent my copy to a friend on good faith and he lost it! We're not friends anymore

 

Everything I've heard that he has done these past few years has been compressed and no-noised.

I bought the latest release of Lucifer's Friend s/t on SPV and to my ears it was not even within a hundred miles of the 1990 Repertoire release because of massive compression.

All of the releases Makkee has done for Universal appear to have been treated like this. Jane, Epitaph, Embryo, etc. etc. It's really very sad. I didn't think he even believed in this type of thing, but either I was wrong, he's changed his mind, or someone is tweaking the stuff after it leaves his hands.

I'll pass on the Frumpy because I have the old Repertoire versions and have been burned just about every single time by the Universal Germany and SPV digipack releases.

 

Here's some recommendations as well.

Harmonia- Deluxe
Ash Ra Tempel-S/t
Cluster-'71
La Duseldorf- Viva
Popol Vuh- Attensunde
Ashra- New Age
Manuel Gottsching- E2-E4
Conrad Schnitzler- Rot
Amon Düül II - Tanz Der Lemmings
Floh De Cologne - Fliessbandbabys Beat-Show
Faust - The Wümme Years
Amon Düül II - Yeti
Kraftwerk - Trans Europe Express
Amon Düül II - Carnival In Babylon
Wallenstein - Cosmic Century
Kraftwerk - Ralf and Florian
Amon Düül II - Wolf City
Neu! - Neu! and Neu! 2
Amon Düül II - Vive La Trance
Kraftwerk - Man Machine
Tangerine Dream - Atem
Eloy - Ocean
Can - Tago Mago
Grobschnit - Grobschnit
Kraftwerk - Computer World
Karat - Schwanenkönig
City - City
Eloy - Power and the Glory
Anyone's Daughter - Piktors Verwandlungen
Floh De Cologne - Tilt Rock Show

 

I have bought a lot of Willem Makkee stuff he mostly did all Speakers Corner remasters on LP. Maybe that's a different thing

http://www.speakerscorner.de/Speakerscorner/E/Neues/200600.htm
http://www.musicangle.com/feat.php?id=46&page=0

 

I think SPV stands for Super Pointless Volume.