AUDENTITY

With Audentity Schulze incorporated avant-garde elements in his sound. I've always been only mildly enthused by this, but the current re-issue series offers real value for money. Nice packaging, good sound and always interesting bonus material from what must be immense vaults of unreleased Schulze gems!

Cellistica is interesting for the cello contributions from Wolfgang Tiepold. Schulze withdraws to a background of minimal sound effects and a 4/4 mid-paced dance beat. Every few minutes, the melodic main theme helps us to digest this extended piece. It is done very subtle and the result is adequate but never overwhelming.

Spielglocken is similarly minimalist and cold. I think the clinical 80's sound doesn't work well for Schulze, at least not in my ears. Either that or there was a lack of inspiration on Schulze's part. Usually he has that magic touch that breathes live into his machinery but I don't feel that here.

Sebastian Im Traum however is a beautiful piece. It starts with a very noisy and dissonant modernist part before it gives way to a charming sequence of synth vibes. The atmosphere is still chillingly cold and distant but somehow the beauty of the music shines through this.

The second CD of the 2005 reissue starts with the short Tango-Saty, a rather unusual piece for Schulze. It's like an avant-garde version of Kraftwerk's synth pop. Amourage is more typical Schulze, a laid-back ambient piece with slowly spinning melodies and gentle dots of piano. Romantic, sad and harmonious, one of the album's highlights. It is followed by another short avant-garde synth pop piece Ophelylissem. It's not really memorable again. I can't say I'm very impressed with the computer drum sounds used on this album.

At this point the original album's track list would be over. The reissue however adds another 58 minutes of music, split into 5 separate tracks. This bonus material sure equals the overall quality of this release. It has a Tangerine Dream kind of quality to it. The sequences and synth melodies on wouldn't be out of place on TD's Hyperborea album of the same year. It's a bit too long but it's a nice treat for fans.

Audentity is an unusual Schulze album that you should not skip as a fan. Together with the preceding Dig It and Trancefer, it's one of his best albums of the 80's. 3.5 stars