Search - Klaus Schulze :: Cyborg

"Cyborg" Reissued!!!

Louie Bourland | Garden Grove CA | 09/15/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Cyborg" is Klaus Schulze's second solo album and is an epic piece of avant-garde mastery. The original album consisted of four long tracks taking up one side each on vinyl. Musically, it picks up where his debut "Irrlicht" left off and includes many innovative and orchestral music experiments.

For the latest CD reissue, the music has been remastered from superior tape copies and removes a lot of the hiss and hum heard in the original CD version (which didn't sound too bad at the time either). Also, the track titles and their running order are presented on CD for the first time in their correct order as they appeared on the very first LP issue. Therefore, what most fans thought was "Synphara" in later years was actually "Chromengel". The track titles now correspond to the correct music. Also, the reissue includes an excellent 51-minute bonus track which will be discussed below.

"Cyborg" opens with the beautiful "Synphara". Klaus's Farfisa organ dominates this piece accompanied by a percussive rhythm from his newly acquired VCS3 synthesizer. The mood of this piece is extremely dark and funeral-like. At the same time, it reminded me of walking into a giant cathedral with a large pipe organ playing consistently. There is very little change throughout this piece but it's themes and variations along with it's synthetic rhythms are superb.

The next track, "Conphara" is a 26 minute drone-fest opening with a chaotic cacophony of what sounds like air-raid sirens. Underneath, a steady bass pulse emerges which sets the tone for the rest of the piece. After the 'air-raid siren' intro fades out, the orchestra comes charging in with a long dramatic theme. This is music that would not sound out of place in a horror film of some sort. Towards the end of the piece, things settle down a bit as the orchestra backs off and some delicate flutes take over. The buzzing pulse heard throughout the piece then fades into silence.

The second half of the album opens with "Chromengel" (supposedly German for "Chromium Angel"). Here, the orchestra is up front and center with a beautiful wandering progression. Throughout the piece, Klaus creates an endless series of drones, bleeps and wind storms with his VCS3 synthesizer. This piece maintains the same mood throughout except when it moves towards the end. For the final six minutes, the orchestra drops out and Klaus is left alone in the mix conjuring up seas of white noise from his synth.

The closing track on the album is the experimental "Neuronengesang" ("Brain Song??"). Throughout the course of its 25 minutes, dark and grunting drones drift in and out the mix accompanied by a wandering Farfisa organ. Sharp synthetic bursts scatter throughout the piece sounding like an alien game of laser-tag. There are brief moments of calmness but for the most part, it is layer upon layer of droning pulsating tones creating an intense atmosphere. There are similarities between this piece and Tangerine Dream's "Nebulous Dawn" from their 1972 classic "Zeit". Both tracks feature the same idea of droning notes pulsing in and out of the mix.

The long bonus track, "But Beautiful" was recorded live in October 1977 at St. Michael's Cathedral in Brussels, Belgium. In contrast to the harsh experimentation heard on the original "Cyborg" album, this live piece is a calming atmospheric sequencer-style piece that is typical of Klaus's music ala "Timewind", "Moondawn" and "Body Love". There are enough changes, spontaneous playing and energtic passages to make this long epic piece flow by like shooting stars. This is some great classic Schulze here.

"Cyborg" was definitely ahead of its time when it was released back in 1973. It is still highly regarded as an avant-garde masterwork. Klaus wasn't finished after "Cyborg" though. After this, he went on to produce timeless classics such as "Picture Music", the groundbreaking "Timewind", "Moondawn", "Mirage" and "X", all of which are regarded as important works from this important musical genius.

The recent reissue captures "Cyborg" in its best quality yet. The sound is sharp and clear and is a real treat to be listened to with headphones. The new liner notes from Klaus Schulze and Klaus Mueller are also great too.

Classic Early Klaus Schulze and a true Avant-Garde Masterwork!!!

"

I get chills just thinking about the album

filterite | Dublin, Ireland | 02/11/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What an album. What a sound. The album title is definitely a good description for what the album sounds like. And what it feels like. It's totally alien. It's.....quite frankly beyond words. No amount of words is ever going to give you an idea of how the music should sound and if there were then they would totally destroy the whole ethos and the whole mystique around the music. It's just something you need to experience.....absolutely no words can do this album justice at all."

When this album is on, I'm glued to my chair, salivating, an

Rykre | Carson City, Nevada | 02/02/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is probably my most favorite CD of Klaus Schulze. However, of all my favorite CD's of Klaus Schulze, this is the one new re-mastered re-release of his albums that I find less desirable.



First of all, let's talk about the re-mastering. My original copy from SPALAX Music (France) 14922, is recorded very well and it's even a little louder in the mastering than this new release. All four of the original tracks on this double CD are some of Klaus Schulze's most intricate work. So, therefore, what is kind of disappointing about this new re-issue of "Cyborg" is the bonus track itself. The bonus track "But Beautiful" is a live recording recorded about 5 years later than "Cyborg." And this bonus track has some inherent tape flaws. Even, just about 10 minutes into it, you'll hear a part where it sounds like the tape was crinkled in the machine. And there are some other sound flaws throughout its entire 50 minute recording.



I would have enjoyed this re-release more if it didn't have "But Beautiful" added as a bonus track. What I would have rather had was maybe that totally obscure recording from about 1970 called "Searching," It is only currently available on Rhino's 5 CD collection called "Supernatural Fairytales: The Progressive Rock Era". However, I believe even that's out of print now.



The recording called "Searching" is about 12 minutes long but I can't help but think that it might have been edited for Rhino's Box Set. If there is a complete version of "Searching" available somewhere, I'd sure like to see that made available as a bonus track on a re-issue of these Klaus Schulze CD's.





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