Post Description

This is a great “headphones album” similar to early Pink Floyd, Hawkwind, Soft Machine, etc.

Biography by John Bush:

Along with Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel (later Ashra) was one of the first bands to convert the trippier side of late-’60s psychedelia into the kosmische rock of the ’70s. Most Ash Ra titles were solely the work of Manuel Göttsching, plus any other additional players who happened to be around during the recording of his ten albums. Göttsching trained in classical guitar and studied improvisational music plus electronics at school. In 1970, he formed Ash Ra Tempel with no less than Klaus Schulze (fresh from a brief stint in Tangerine Dream) and Hartmut Enke. After a self-titled album in 1971, Schulze left for a solo career; Göttsching continued on with a variety of bandmembers and guests, including Timothy Leary on 1973’s Seven Up (and Schulze again, for Join Inn).

Review by Ned Raggett:

Ash Ra Tempel’s second album featured the first of several personnel changes, Klaus Schulze having departed for other realms and replaced as a result by Wolfgang Muller. A few guest players surfaced here and there as well, with one John L. taking the lead vocals — another difference from the self-titled debut, which was entirely instrumental. The general principle of side-long efforts continued, though the first half was split into two related songs, “Light” and “Darkness.” “Light” itself sounded halfway between the zoned-out exploration of “Traummaschine” and bluesy jamming, a weird if not totally discordant combination that still manages to sound more out there than most bands of the time. Gottsching’s fried solo, in particular, is great, sending the rest of the song out to silence that leads into “Darkness.” Said song initially takes a far more minimal approach that bears even more resemblance to “Traummaschine,” fading out almost entirely by the third minute before a full band performance (including Uli Popp on bongos and Matthais Wehler’s sudden alto sax bursts) slowly builds into a frenetic jam. John L.’s vocals become echoed screams and yelps not far off from Damo Suzuki’s approach in Can, and the overall performance is a perfect slice of Krautrock insanity, sudden swirls of flanging and even more on-the-edge solos from Gottsching and Wehler sending it over the top. “Suche & Liebe” takes up the entire second side, the performers this time around concentrating on the quiet but unsettling approach, Gottsching’s massive soloing kept low in the mix but not so much that it doesn’t freak out listeners. The song concludes on an almost conventionally pretty band jam, something that could almost be Meddle-era Pink Floyd, only with even a more haunting, alien air thanks to the wordless vocal keening.

Enjoy.