BEGEGNUNGEN (WITH DIETER MOEBIUS, HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS & CONRAD PLANK)

I am unsure to why this album is listed in Eno's discography, when in fact this is not an Eno album. Instead, what we have here, is a sampling of various solo efforts, side projects, and collaborations by many electronic musicians, including those on the prominent Sky records label (Cluster, Conrad Schnitzler, et al.). Eno actually only makes an appearance on two of the seven tracks.

The first composition on this compilation is by the famed Hans-Joachim Roedelius, who has many, many solo albums. This certain piece is very relaxing, almost new age sounding at times with great guitar and keyboards. "Two Oldtimers" is one of my favorite Moebius and Plank collaborations off of the album Rastakraut Pasta, if I remember correctly. I's very repetitive but highly enjoyable nonetheless. "The Belldog" is the only track to feature Eno's wonderful vocals.

"Nervos" is a track from Moebius's solo effort, Tonspuren. It too is repetitive, but nowhere near as enjoyable as "Two Oldtimers." "Pitch Control" is a very interesting techno piece created by Moebius, Plank, and Neumeier (from Guru Guru); it's another highlight of this particular album. "Dem Wanderer" is a Cluster tune, interesting, but still not as great as other Cluster compositions. The last track, "Schone Hande," is another Cluster and Eno collarboration and a great way to close of this album.

I highly recomend this compilation to fans of Progressive Electronic music. This serves as a great sampler, and could be useful for the interested beginner or the experienced listener. Definitely four stars, would make a great edition to any Proggers collection. By the way, this album has been recently remastered, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find. Happy listening!

Despite the billing on this album, it is not Bian Eno, Dieter Moebius, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Konrad Plank all playing together. It is a compilation of songs from each artist, alone or in groups, taken from other albums. At no time do all artists appear together. In fact, Eno is only on two tracks.

That doesn't make it a bad album. Moebius, Roedelius and Plank were all at the forefront of the German synthesizer scene. And this collection has some fine work on it. My favorite tracks here are The Belldog, the only track with vocals, and Eno's lyrics are great on this one, and Pitch Control, with it's swirling frenetic synth beats.

3 stars.