17: Cluster - Sowiesoso

Continuing both the Revolver records tape haul and my unashamed love of Cluster, comes their last entry under the Cluster name. Never purchased until now, this seems like a terrible oversight on my part - why did I chase the Neu's and Amon Duuls when these incredible records were available? On the cover Hans and Dieter are chilling by the lake, in the inside cover (of the CD version at least) they're hanging out at what appears to be a building site. Gone are the feverous drones and aggression of the last two albums and in their place is a contentment.

The title track is 8 minutes long and sounds a bit like Popol Vuh but with a rhythm and more synths. It's incredibly beautiful and for something which basically goes pretty much nowhere, feels a little on the short side. Halwa continues the trend of mixing guitars and synths in a twangly way and then Dem Wanderer ups the twang factor, including comedy twangs a plenty. Umfeitung is more rhythmic and more plinkety plonk. Zum Wohl is nice but Es War Einmal is stunning - sounding a bit like Boards of Canada but with much more clarity and vision, for me it's the masterpiece on the record. The last track In Ewigkeit is the most laidback of them all, Cluster manage to make so much out of so little.

And then it's gone. Cluster seem to be overlooked a little in Kraut round ups which seems a little unfair. They don't have the magisterial psych of Amon Duul, or the electronic influence of Kraftwerk. They are simply getting on with making stunning electronic music that is both ahead and behind it's time. As I've said before, I think Cluster, more than any other Kraut band, hang outside of any convention within the genre - they stand unique. I'm really glad I revisited these records, and took the effort to own them rather than having them on bootleg cassette.

16: Cluster - Zuckerzeit

Even my terrible German knows that this is Sugar Time. This continues the cassette haul from the legendary Revolver records in Bristol (Richard King writes way more eloquently than me here: http://caughtbytheriver.net/2012/04/original-rockers/) and this is a continuation of my Cluster love in. Basically Cluster are the Real Deal.

Zuckerzeit is the quintessential Krautrock / Electronic record - all about that mixture of warm synths and harsh drums. There's just something about Cluster though which, like Cluster 2, straddles any conventional music and hangs outside - not arch but pretty far out. Gone are the drones and hums of Cluster 2 and, in their, place is a more accomplished and more engaging electronic sound. Basically, Boards of Canada but recorded in 1974. It has tunes aplenty.

And, for a krautrock album, it has 10 tracks. They're all winners. Hollywood is all shuffled drums and synths but, unlike the previous record, had direction and impulse. And the motorik thing is in full effect - on the following track it's the same but taken further - at times touching on Neu territory. Rote Riki is more experimental but still retains some essence of the beat and Rosa sounds more contemporary than anything that's gone previously.

Caramba sounds like the Human League in the Future era, all synths and drums. James (skipping Fotschi Tong) takes them back to Cluster 2 times with drones and twangs, then Marzipan and Rotor continue the happy go lucky synth sound.

And then round to Heisse Lippen which Google turns into Hot Lips. This is the quintessential Krautrock sound - totally motorik, with a workmanlike electronic sound. Haven't heard Zuckerzeit for about 10 years or so but it still sounds as fresh and as terrifying as it did when I heard it way back when. There's just something astounding about a record which continues to sound contemporary despite being made nearly 30 years ago. Cluster are the winners of Krautrock.

15: Cluster - Cluster II

As a sweaty teenager, I used to spend my time between Replay and Revolver records in Bristol. Replay had a bigger stock and the chances of getting something good for cheap were pretty high. Revolver was way cooler and the very model of a classic british record store. Over time Revolver has been responsible for tipping me off to various records (most notably the Steven Jesse Bernstein LP) and a whole load of Bristol stuff that passed through the doors. At the height of kraut rock frenzy the topic of Kraut came up, and the owner duly offered me a copy of the Faust LP (more of that later) and also showed me the Harmonia and Cluster LPs. At the time these were like the Holy Grail and my childish mind was wondering how much they would be, and how high I was prepared to go to get them. They weren't for sale, however, but he offered to tape them all for me for a small donation. Thus a week later I drove home from Bristol with a tape of all the Cluster LPs and the Harmonia LP. At some point later I bought the Cluster II CD with it's gaudy cover listened to it once and filed it.

In contrast to Can who I like the idea of but the reality is too difficult to bear, Cluster are the real deal. Avant, Electronic and Fiercesome to the max with not a hint of compromise. Like a lot of great music, they hang outside of any attempts at categorisation - sounding of the future and the past at the same time. Out of all the groups in KRS, I think Cluster are the ones that I would defend to the last.

I've never heard the Kluster LP but each of the records are incredible. This one stands out as being the most arch and the most uncompromising. It's a fairly brutal listen - Plas is all sinister electro drones and humming. Then Im Suden with a trill of guitar and more heavy hum and crackle for 12 minutes. Fur Die Katz is then all wibbles and wobbles, swishes and drones. Like a lot of early electronic music it sounds like people with a whole bunch of equipment with not much clue how to shape sounds.

On the next side, Live in der Fabrik continues on the wibbly front, Georgel and Nabitte continuing the mixture of electronic and acoustic music. It's a difficult record to deal with overall because it is simply unrelenting and non-stop drone and fear. Outside of any kind of music I've heard before or since. For me, this is one of the best kraut LPs and despite being a tough listen, I can listen to it over and over and over.

14: Can - Delay 1968

Again, not one I bought prior to this and to be honest a bid of an odd inclusion in the list. According to Wikipedia this was meant to be the first Can album but was too raw, so they made the more accessibile Monster Movie. Though referenced that sounds like nonsense to me - if anything this record is more straightforward than Monster Movie - it's not like an album with a 20 minute track is more accessible than one with regular songs on it...

Anyway - my copy of KRS is lost in decorating debris but I seem to recall Cope describing this record as the link to Can's desire to be like the Velvet Underground or the Stooges and this is borne out somewhat on the record. The stuff here is closer to Outside My Door than it is to Tago Mago. Butterfly is fairly Stooges like, all repeated lyrics and heavy riffing. Pnoom is a joke song (27 seconds) and is mainly parpy sax. This was part of the Ethnic Forgery series, I never quite understood what this series was meant to represent. A lot of it was collected on the Unlimited Edition album and I always thought it was a useful indicator of the worst tracks on the album. Utter bobbins.

Nineteen Century Man is like Butterfly part 2 but less tempo and more pontificating and moves the band into more of the Velvets territory. Thief could have come off Tago Mago or one of the later albums and is closer in the sound of Can than anything else on the record.

Man named Joe is stupid singing and largely forgettable. Then it ends with the best tracks - Uphill which is still quite Stooges like but works better than the other tracks with Mooney doing his man on the edge stuff. Then Little Star Of Bethlehem which sounds like it's going to be awful but actually works pretty well.

And that's Can. Despite them being revered, I think when it comes down to it, I like the idea of Can far more than the realisation. The idea of a bunch of Stockhausen students and devotees getting together and make heavy rock is awesome, but there's too much of the ethnic forgery in them for my liking. I remember a discussion with the guy in Revolver records where he chastised me for starting with Tago Mago, as everything else is downhill from there. To be honest, I could live with just that record in my Can collection. 

13: Can - Ege Bamyasi

Never heard this one, I tried to order it on Amazon a while back but it was out of stock - the omens were there but I never expected it. How do you follow Tago Mago? Well, for me at least, you go in a slightly less interesting direction.

This is a friend's favourite Can record - I had high expectations but something about this makes it feels a little like some of the experiments on Unlimited Edition and so on. Like there's a nice sound to it and it all works but it doesn't feel coherent enough to be memorable as a whole. Which is surprising since Tago Mago was almost painfully coherent really so maybe it's the fallout from that achievement that lead Can to this.

Pinch is all drums and bass but is largely forgotten when it's left. Sing Swan Song starts of with a bit of water rippling - not far off Popol Vuh but leads in to quite a beautiful lament with mostly Damo muttering away. Again, quite pleasant but largely disconnected from the previous track and when it's gone it's gone. Then it's off into plastic Can territory with One More Night - there's something about the bass and guitar sound that only Can have that sometimes works but sometimes feels too alien and too considered to be enjoyable.

Vitamin C brings back some of the tension of the Mooney era and genuinely feels quite frightening in parts. Soup is the 10 minute track, so the longest on the LP but feels a bit like Faust: there's about 3 or 4 different tracks fighting to get out of there. Again none of them are pretty memorable.

I'm So Green, however, is incredible and had it not been issued on a 45 would be a reason to get the LP. The drums are all shuffly and the guitars are tingly. Damo sings the title over and over and for the first time on the record it feels like they're going somewhere. But then Spoon ends everything and it's okay but a bit like they've wheeled out the synthesiser for some "experiments".

And that was the forgettable Ege Bamyasi. I really thought I'd like it more than I did and to be honest, beyond I'm so green, it falls into the bad Can category with the previous caveats. To be fair though, I've listened to the other records so much it might just be a question of familiarity...