Mostly harmless
Steve Benner | Lancaster, UK | 05/22/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Anyone looking to replace their worn-out vinyl recording of "Macula Transfer" (or indeed anyone who does not have a copy of that admittedly rather rare vinyl release and now hoping to plug a gap in their collection) with this 2005 CD release may, in fact, end up disappointed. I say "may be" because your level of disappointment will depend upon how much of a purist you are, and how fond you are already of the rather thin, bland original, because this particular Edgar Froese solo CD re-release has not only been digitally remastered, with extensive noise reduction and massively extended frequency response, it has also been "augmented" with the addition of numerous new synthesiser washes and stabs. Unlike many Froese rethinks, however, the additions here are mostly harmless in terms of damage to the original--unless, as I say, you are deeply enamoured of the simplistic and banal sparsity of the original, which has been all but blown away completely here. Most additions are at least in keeping with the original material (which is more than can be said for most Froese make-overs) and do nothing to obscure the essential character of each track (or indeed to improve them much beyond beefing them up).
If you are unfamiliar with the original release, then this disc may come across as an interesting, although fairly unexciting, example of 1970s' meditational electronica. The five tracks, which vary in length between 4 and 11 minutes, have not been extended in any way and so the overall running time remains the same as the vinyl at a rather parsimonious (some might say mercifully short) 35 minutes or so. The track titles are, somewhat unimaginatively, derived from the airline designation numbers of the flights during which they were supposedly penned in 1974 and 1975. Which probably gives you some idea of just how exciting they are not.
In short then, this release either revitalises or totally bastardises Froese's original 1975 release, depending upon your point of view. Overall, however, I would say that what we have here is a disc that the complete Froese collector will just have to have, regardless of whether or not they have the original. Those looking to make up for the lack of this release in their collection can be both simultaneously pleased to have acquired it at last (for it has been a long time coming) and also comforted by their continuing need to hunt out a copy of the original for completeness or for comparison (for such is the nature of the collector). Personally, I am endlessly bemused by Froese's apparent need to keep re-writing the past with rehashes such as this and can't help but wonder why he does it, rather than simply move on. It couldn't be the money, could it? Oh, surely not...?
If you already have and love this album and are looking for more of the same, try Froese's Ages album from about the same time."
Mr. Fix It is at it again
Chromefreak | 07/29/2008
(1 out of 5 stars)
"Just wonderful, Edgar. Yet another aesthetic cosmetology job on an early analog classic. Ignore these fix-up fiascos from Edgar W. Froese and stick with the original releases. While you're at it Edgar, why not do a touch up job on all the Tangerine Dream albums from the 70's?"
Track Listings (5) - Disc #1