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KRAUTROCK

A Progressive Rock Sub-genre


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Krautrock definition

Krautrock (also called "Kosmische musik") is a German avant-garde / experimental rock movement that emerged at the end of the 1960's. It was intended to go beyond the eccentricities developed by the wild psychedelic rock universe of the US, by giving a special emphasis to electronic treatments, sound manipulation and minimal hypnotic motifs (continuing the style of "musique concrete" and minimalist repetitive music but within a more accessible environment).

Krautrock put the emphasis on extended and ecstatic instrumental epics, neglecting the format of conventional psych-pop songs. The term Krautrock was first used by the British music press in a very derogatory way. The term rapidly found a better reputation in underground music circles and finally gained a certain popularity (thanks to the Brain-Festival Essen...)

The Krautrock movement is widely associated with notorious bands such as Popol Vuh, Amon Duul, Faust, Neu!, Ash Ra Tempel, Agitation Free, Guru Guru, etc. With their own particular artistic expression, these musical collectives provided rocking psychedelic incantations, mantra like drones, melancholic lugubrious atmospheres, long and convoluted collective improvisations, binary repetitive drum pulses, fuzz guitars, feedback, primitive electronic noises, hallucinatory ballads, and garage blues rock trips. Krautrock can be described as an anarchic, intense, acid, tellurian, nocturnal, spacey, dark and oniric "adventure" through rock music.

The most consistent years of the Krautrock scene cover a relatively short period from 1970 to 1975. After their first spontaneous, hyperactive and psychedelic efforts, the bands generally split up or declined into other musical sensibilities, more in line with mainstream rock or with ambient soundscapes.

Each region develops its particular musical scene, interpreting differently the Krautrock musical structure. For instance the Berlin school focused on "astral" synthscapes, weird electronic experimentation and acid jams (Ash Ra Tempel, Agitation Free, Mythos, The Cosmic Jokers, Kluster...), The Munich scene offered fuzzed out (Eastern) psych rock mantras with some folk accents (Popol Vuh, Amon Duul, Gila, Guru Guru, Witthuser & Westrupp...). Cologne and Dusseldorf underground scenes focused on happenings, political rock, electronics, pulsating rhythms and clean sounding Krautrock (Floh de Cologne, La Dusseldorf, Neu! Can...).

This musical cartography is correct in the absolute but naturally reveals some variations and exceptions. This intriguing and freak 'n' roll 1970's German scene enjoyed a rebirth in recent years thanks to a large number of reissues (of long lost classics) published by several independent labels (Spalax, Garden of Delights, Long Hair Music...) as a direct result of Krautrock's musical inspiration of modern post rock bands. There are actually some neo psychedelic rock bands who try to hold up Krautrock, and who notably find a major place to express themselves during the historical Burg Herzberg Festival in Germany.

Philippe Blache
December 2007



The responsibility for the psych/space, indo/raga, krautrock and prog electronic subgenres is taken by the PSIKE team,
currently consisting of

Mike (siLLy puPPy)
Andrew (Gordy)
Dan (earlyprog)
Brendan (Necrotica)

Krautrock Top Albums


Showing only studios | Based on members ratings & PA algorithm* | Show Top 100 Krautrock | More Top Prog lists and filters

4.23 | 184 ratings
EDGE OF TIME
Dom
4.16 | 384 ratings
HOSIANNA MANTRA
Popol Vuh
4.16 | 470 ratings
ASH RA TEMPEL
Ash Ra Tempel
4.12 | 731 ratings
FUTURE DAYS
Can
4.09 | 598 ratings
YETI
Amon Düül II
4.13 | 165 ratings
LETZTE TAGE - LETZTE NÄCHTE
Popol Vuh
4.24 | 68 ratings
EISZEIT
Gam
4.07 | 403 ratings
TANZ DER LEMMINGE [AKA: DANCE OF THE LEMMINGS]
Amon Düül II
4.08 | 223 ratings
GILA [AKA: FREE ELECTRIC SOUND]
Gila
4.04 | 470 ratings
NEU!
Neu !
4.34 | 35 ratings
NIBELUNGENLIED
German Oak
4.01 | 509 ratings
PHALLUS DEI
Amon Düül II
4.05 | 184 ratings
KÄNGURU
Guru Guru
4.04 | 157 ratings
VOLUME 10
Electric Orange
3.98 | 814 ratings
TAGO MAGO
Can
3.98 | 578 ratings
EGE BAMYASI
Can
4.37 | 28 ratings
PIECES FROM A BROKEN STAR
Cielo Drive
4.15 | 60 ratings
BROKEN DOOR
Prosper
4.00 | 220 ratings
ELECTRIC SILENCE
Dzyan
3.98 | 347 ratings
WOLF CITY
Amon Düül II
3.98 | 316 ratings
MALESCH
Agitation Free
4.16 | 50 ratings
TONY CONRAD & FAUST: OUTSIDE THE DREAM SYNDICATE
Conrad, Tony
4.01 | 164 ratings
EINSJÄGER & SIEBENJÄGER
Popol Vuh
4.08 | 81 ratings
AND THE WATERS OPENED
Between
3.99 | 184 ratings
AGUIRRE
Popol Vuh
4.09 | 61 ratings
PHALLOBST
Rufus Zuphall
3.98 | 178 ratings
SELIGPREISUNG
Popol Vuh
3.95 | 306 ratings
FAUST IV
Faust
3.99 | 129 ratings
A MEDITATION MASS
Yatha Sidhra
3.95 | 237 ratings
IN DEN GÄRTEN PHARAOS
Popol Vuh
3.93 | 278 ratings
NEU! '75
Neu !
3.98 | 112 ratings
DIE GRÜNE REISE (THE GREEN JOURNEY)
A.R. & Machines
3.99 | 101 ratings
ON THE WAY TO A LITTLE WAY
Popol Vuh
4.01 | 84 ratings
ECHO
A.R. & Machines
3.94 | 157 ratings
THE COSMIC JOKERS
Cosmic Jokers, The
4.00 | 75 ratings
LE BERCEAU DE CRISTAL (OST)
Ash Ra Tempel
3.99 | 78 ratings
AR4 [AKA: A. R. IV]
A.R. & Machines
3.94 | 135 ratings
CLUSTER II
Cluster
3.99 | 70 ratings
EILIFF
Eiliff
4.11 | 37 ratings
AM ENDE DER WELT
Weserbergland
3.91 | 192 ratings
JOIN INN
Ash Ra Tempel
3.95 | 96 ratings
LA DÜSSELDORF
La Düsseldorf
4.00 | 57 ratings
TAROT
Wegmüller, Walter
3.96 | 76 ratings
KOLLEKTIV
Kollektiv
3.87 | 291 ratings
FAUST
Faust
4.10 | 33 ratings
KNIRSCH
Et Cetera (DE)
3.87 | 225 ratings
2ND
Agitation Free
3.89 | 114 ratings
CLUSTER
Cluster
3.93 | 74 ratings
FULL HORN
Cornucopia
4.20 | 21 ratings
TRAUMSPIEL
Bairy, Herbert F.
4.71 | 9 ratings
MAGICAL MIND
Scarecrew
3.97 | 50 ratings
MORBUS
Electric Orange
3.98 | 46 ratings
ON THE WAY TO THE PEAK OF NORMAL
Czukay, Holger
3.83 | 362 ratings
SOUNDTRACKS
Can
4.78 | 8 ratings
VERTIGO OF FLAWS
Trees Speak
3.93 | 58 ratings
ORANGE PEEL
Orange Peel
3.81 | 437 ratings
MONSTER MOVIE
Can
3.93 | 58 ratings
HOLGER CZUKAY & ROLF DAMMERS: CANAXIS 5
Czukay, Holger
3.95 | 47 ratings
ADVENTURE
Brainticket
3.86 | 112 ratings
INVENTIONS FOR ELECTRIC GUITAR
Göttsching, Manuel
4.18 | 19 ratings
IN HER GARDEN
Colour Haze
3.84 | 138 ratings
CELESTIAL OCEAN
Brainticket
3.94 | 47 ratings
RAVVIVANDO
Faust
3.93 | 50 ratings
FROB
Frob
3.90 | 61 ratings
DIE NACHT DER SEELE - TANTRIC SONGS
Popol Vuh
4.81 | 7 ratings
FANTASTIC PARTY
Staff Carpenborg And The Electric Corona
3.91 | 53 ratings
I'M AROUND ABOUT MIDNIGHT
Lard Free
4.15 | 19 ratings
THE NAZGÛL
Nazgûl, The
4.12 | 21 ratings
LET IT OUT
Dymon Jr., Frankie
3.80 | 213 ratings
COTTONWOODHILL
Brainticket
3.91 | 47 ratings
VOL. III [AKA: SPIRALE MALAX]
Lard Free
4.30 | 13 ratings
DER GROSSE ROTE VOGEL
Pinguin
4.08 | 22 ratings
ECSTASY
Deuter
3.86 | 66 ratings
IMPRESSIONS ON READING ALDOUS HUXLEY
Brave New World
3.86 | 58 ratings
MOVIES
Czukay, Holger
3.83 | 79 ratings
VAMPIRE STATE BUILDING
Alcatraz
4.33 | 11 ratings
TERRA INCOGNITA
Metabolismus
3.93 | 35 ratings
GETTING UP FOR THE MORNING
Krokodil
3.94 | 32 ratings
THE LAST LP
Faust
3.96 | 28 ratings
HOLGER CZUKAY W/ JAH WOBBLE & JAKI LIEBEZEIT: ‎FULL CIRCLE
Czukay, Holger
3.77 | 170 ratings
PSYCHONAUT
Brainticket
3.77 | 172 ratings
THE FAUST TAPES
Faust
3.78 | 124 ratings
DAS HOHELIED SALOMOS
Popol Vuh
3.90 | 36 ratings
DEBON
Brast Burn
3.81 | 75 ratings
OSMOSE
Annexus Quam
4.72 | 6 ratings
HET!
Dolorosa
4.56 | 7 ratings
VOLUME FIVE
Kosmischer Läufer
3.87 | 38 ratings
SEHR KOSMISCH, GANZ PROGISCH
Weserbergland
4.36 | 9 ratings
LOTTERY OF MEMORIES
Swara Samrat
4.13 | 14 ratings
DIE NEUEN WELTEN
Hedersleben
3.79 | 76 ratings
GILBERT ARTMAN'S LARD FREE
Lard Free
4.14 | 13 ratings
SILENCE BEYOND TIME
Between
3.74 | 205 ratings
SCHWINGUNGEN
Ash Ra Tempel
3.82 | 49 ratings
AUSSCHUSS
Eulenspygel
4.05 | 16 ratings
2000 GURUS
Guru Guru
3.78 | 76 ratings
KRAUTROCK FROM HELL
Electric Orange
3.75 | 106 ratings
TIME MACHINE
Dzyan
3.78 | 68 ratings
TIPS ZUM SELBSTMORD
Necronomicon
3.76 | 90 ratings
DANCE OF THE FLAMES
Guru Guru
3.86 | 33 ratings
HANUMAN
Lied Des Teufels / ex Hanuman

Krautrock overlooked and obscure gems albums new


Random 3 (reload page for new list) | As selected by the Krautrock experts team

MY SOLID GROUND
My Solid Ground
VAMPIRE STATE BUILDING
Alcatraz
PLANET OF MAN
Code III

Latest Krautrock Music Reviews


 BBC Sessions + by FAUST album cover Boxset/Compilation, 2001
3.44 | 15 ratings

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BBC Sessions +
Faust Krautrock

Review by Syzygy
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars BBC Sessions+ is a stand alone release of disc 5 in The Wumme Years box set, which also included remastered versions of Faust, Faust So Far, The Faust Tapes and 71 Minutes of... . It's an excellent selection of odds and ends from Faust's classic early 70s line up, but it's also difficult to rate.

The first half is a sessions that was broadcast by John Peel on BBC Radio 1 in 1973, and although there are three distinct pieces it is indexed as a single track on my copy. The Lurcher is an otherwise unavailable 8 minute instrumental slice of early 70s Faust that meanders according to its own internal logic, starting with saxophone blowing over a lazy beat and slowly morphing and mutating until Krautrock kicks in at around the 8 minute mark. This isn't radically different to the version on Faust IV, although the individual instruments are more clearly audible. The BBC session closes with an alternate and slightly extended version of Stretch Out Time from The Faust Tapes.

The second half gathers together a few otherwise unavailable fragments from Faust's early years, along with a couple of pieces that had previously surfaced on Munic & Elsewhere, The Last LP Party 9 is very much of a piece with other Faust instrumentals of the era, while 360 is a tape collage Faust at their most experimental. Party 10 would have slotted nicely onto The Faust Tapes, and then we're into the the heavily treated drums and percussion of Party 1. This leads into We Are The Hallo Men, and then we get alternate versions of So Far and Meer.

The BBC Session is superb, and justifies owning this album on its own. Prospective buyers should be aware that the session was also issued as part of a bonus disc with some Faust IV reissues, although Bob Drake's remastering gives this much better sound quality. The remainder of the album is a kind of supplement to 71 Minutes Of... , and overall you get a pretty good overview of Faust's world in the early 1970s. If you see it at a bargain price it's not a bad introduction to Faust's early years, but you would be better starting with Faust and working forward from there. 3 stars.

 Live in Keele 1977 by CAN album cover Live, 2024
4.04 | 6 ratings

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Live in Keele 1977
Can Krautrock

Review by Syzygy
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars Live in Keele 1977 documents another gig from the same UK tour as Live in Aston 1977, and it was actually recorded a couple of days earlier. Can's most recent release was Saw Delight, and they were performing as a 5 piece with former Traffic member Rosko Gee on bass, with Holger Czukay on 'waveform receiver and special sounds'. Percussionist Reebop Kwaku Baah was absent for the UK dates, but did perform with Can in Europe later that year. Although they probably didn't know it at the time, this was only a couple of months before Can's final concert in Lisbon in May 1977.

The first few minutes of this concert had been previously issued as part of the Can Live 1971-77 collection as Fizz, and Eins jumps in where that release left off. The band had well and truly hit their stride by this point in the proceedings and they explore the theme for 10 minutes before launching into Zwei, which is loosely based on Pinch from Ege Bamyesi (this and Vitamin C were regular fixtures in their setlist at this point, along with more recent material). Drei is a 10 minute instrumental version of Don't Say No from Saw Delight, and is a rather more aggressive take on things. Vier is an improvisation, before proceedings are brought to a close with Funf, a 25 minute hypnotic reading of Animal Waves.

This is the stronger of the two releases from the 1977 tour. It's a soundboard recording, and both Rosko Gee's and Holger Czukay's contributions are much more clearly audible than on Aston 1977. The extended versions of two pieces from Saw Delight are ample proof that Can could still deliver the goods on stage even if their studio albums had become rather hit and miss by this point, although they never recaptured the manic energy of the Damo Suzuki era. They were also leaning more into extended jams than spontaneous compositions at this point - it's hard to define where one approach ends and the other begins, and one isn't necessarily better than the other, but it's fair to say that the Godzillas had been tamed.

It looks like this is the last Can archival live release (for now), and it's not a bad point to finish on. Can's trademark hypnotic grooves are present and correct, and if Rosko Gee's bass is a little busier than Holger Czukay's, he and Jaki Liebezeit gelled into a supple and muscular rhythm section, laying down a solid foundation for Karoli and Schmidt to extemporise over, while Holger Czukay beamed in noises from another dimension. A solid 4 stars.

 Spuren (as Talix) by PINGUIN album cover Studio Album, 1971
3.09 | 2 ratings

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Spuren (as Talix)
Pinguin Krautrock

Review by von bathel

3 stars 01 Spuren 02 Jeder Abschied 03 Herbstbegegnung 04 Lieben, Lieben, Lieben 05 Nicht Für Uns 06 Liebe ist das Gewohnheit 07 Oh Mann 08 Elena -------------------------------------------------------- LINE-UP: Volker Plitz - keyboards Klaus Gebauer - vocals Markus Schaub - guitar Joe Voggenthales - guitar Tom Wohlert - bass Elmar Kart - saxophone, flute K.D. Blahak - drums

Full Hammond B3 Organ, flutes, winds, strong bass and drums.Some parts are pop music, but the best part it's a progressive kraut rock ,in vein of Cornucopia. The second album is better and we can listen echoes from Uriah Heep keyboards style.The vocal is in Germany idiom (both albuns),the voice is not so good, but all right.The pop parts are near of rock"n"roll with some organs.

 Disaster / Lüüd Noma  by AMON DÜÜL album cover Studio Album, 1972
1.76 | 33 ratings

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Disaster / Lüüd Noma
Amon Düül Krautrock

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

2 stars AMON DUUL were one of the first Krautrock bands to come out of late sixties Germany. They were like this commune of drugged out hippies who also tried to make some music along the way. Of their five studio albums, four came from the same sessions including this one. You talk about milking a session to death. These sessions were from late 1968 or early 1969. No one remembers. The guys and some girlfriends are all banging on something, with acoustic guitar and vocals also being part of the sound and not much else

If the music itself wasn't bad enough, the sound quality only makes things worse. And naming this "Disaster" could not have been more appropriate. And while I had a glimmer of hope during that very first spin with the opener. That glimmer vanished quickly as this played out for a painful 67 minutes. It's just gets annoying very quickly to hear all this banging and not much else.

This is one of those purchases that I really regret. I'm still kicking myself for not just being content with the one good record they did make in "Paradieswarts Duul" with a different lineup and three significant guests. Two from AMON DUUL II and Hansi from XOHL CARAVAN and later with EMBRYO and more.

Barely 2 stars for this one and a waste of time and money.

 Monster Movie by CAN album cover Studio Album, 1969
3.81 | 437 ratings

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Monster Movie
Can Krautrock

Review by A Crimson Mellotron
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Unique, expressive and visionary, Can's debut album (credited to The Can on the animated album cover) is one of the truly fascinating rock releases of 1969, the sole early album by the band with original vocalist Malcolm Mooney, and one of the earliest examples of what the British media would go on to define as krautrock - in reality, a branch of experimental music with repetitive rhythms that might go on for a few minutes or for a good twenty-something or so, with various vocal, guitar-based experiments and effects playing over them, resulting in an indulgent, challenging and crafty amalgamation of psychedelic patterns and unusual soundscapes, always utilizing the traditional rock instrumentation, with the occasional use of more unorthodox instruments. It seems like 'Monster Movie' by Can is all about that delightful, frivolous and smirky experimentation, wherein the Hamburg-based band and its members come off as bold innovators, carrying the progressive spirit all throughout.

All four tracks appearing on the album have their distinctive characteristics, which all add up to the eclectic nature of 'Monster Movie', an album for which it would be more difficult to trace the influences of, rather than go on and understand how much of popular music has been influenced by it and by Can's trippy, expressive, and mechanically repetitive music. Opener 'Father Cannot Yell' is an accomplished krautrock staple, with its avant-garde psych-experiments and lightweight references to the Velvet Underground, as we see how Can would use tape experiments, improv and sound layering to create pieces of music that work in an almost-monolithic way. The use of reverb and various other guitar effects is prominent on the album, and the second track is a good example of that, with the elegiac tones of Michael Karoli's playing swaying in-between the sounds of the song. A more upbeat and shorter third piece 'Outside My Door' redirects the listener to the pomp of psychedelia, leading you towards the final, 20-minute-long closing track 'You Doo Right', the epitome of the entire album, a musical monolith of experimentation and tape editing, with wailing screams and stomping guitar flares, this is a gorgeous, startling and eerie piece of music that could have only appeared on a Can album. And with all this in mind, how could one oversee the gritty debut album of this rather unconventional German band, blending a variety of genres and techniques, and offering music that is nothing short of achingly compelling.

 Live in Aston 1977 by CAN album cover Live, 2024
3.36 | 9 ratings

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Live in Aston 1977
Can Krautrock

Review by Syzygy
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars Live in Aston is the first of a pair of releases that capture Can circa Saw Delight playing at universities in the English midlands. On these dates the core quartet was joined by Rosko Gee on bass (Rebop Kwaku Baah wasn't with them for the UK tour), with Holger Czukay in a proto sampling role on short wave receivers and special sounds. This particular release would have more or less fitted onto one side of a C90, and appears to be the first half of the gig.

Eins is a strong opener, just under 14 minutes of the trademark open ended musical exploration that Can did so well. It may not have the manic intensity of the free form freak outs that can be heard on earlier concert recordings, but Schmidt and Karoli weave fascinating patterns over an ever evolving groove laid down by Gee and Liebezeit and it demonstrates that Can could still conjure beguiling music out of thin air. Zwei is based on Vitamin C from Ege Bamyesi, beginning with Irmin Schmidt's keyboard arpeggio and exploring the theme from there. We stay with Ege Bamyesi for Drei, which uses Pinch as its jumping off point and which is where they really cut loose and let fly. It's also where Holger Czukay's contributions are most audible. Vier is a heavily deconstructed Dizzy Dizzy and brings proceedings to a satisfying conclusion.

Although they were touring Saw Delight at the time, this release leans heavily into Ege Bamyesi and Soon Over Babaluma in terms of both musical themes and overall feel. Rosko Gee's bass is busier than Holger Czukay's and both he and Czukay are relatively low in the mix most of the time. It's an interesting document of a frequently overlooked and under appreciated phase of Can's career, but is a solid rather than inspired addition to the archive live recordings.

 Monster Movie by CAN album cover Studio Album, 1969
3.81 | 437 ratings

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Monster Movie
Can Krautrock

Review by Lobster77

3 stars in their earliest incarnation, Can still sound very rough, proto-krautrock à la early Amon Düül more than their later selves. This is more a matter of sound than of essence though, because the basic ingredients are all here already: the lock grooves, the repetition, the occasional hypnotic quality. Musically, it's like an unfinished draft for the real thing, but it's nevertheless very accomplished.

Most Can fans maintain that it took Damo Suzuki to take the vocals to the right level, and I kind of agree, but it's really hard to argue with Malcolm Mooney's vocals either: his indistinct mumbling before he spouts out some understandable bits and pieces, and certainly his ability to be a lot more repetitive than his successor have a compelling quality. Listening to this, it makes sense that only a few months later, he would suffer a nervous breakdown on stage, being unable to stop singing "upstairs downstairs". He feels quite on the edge on this record too, and it's precisely this somewhat morbid aspect that adds an interesting dimension to this music.

4.0

 The Singles by CAN album cover Boxset/Compilation, 2017
4.00 | 14 ratings

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The Singles
Can Krautrock

Review by Syzygy
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars Your one stop shop for Can.

On the face of it, this is not an obvious choice for a Can compilation. In their heyday they were famous for thirty minutes plus freakouts on stage and wildly experimental studio albums, neither of which are obvious contenders for chart toppers. They did, however, release a steady stream of singles throughout their career and even enjoyed some success; Spoon was a sizeable hit in Germany, and I Want More got into the UK top 30 and earned them a Top of the Pops appearance.

This collection covers all their studio albums from Soundtracks to Rite Time, with the exception of Out of Reach, and there are several non album tracks and a similar number of edited down versions of their more extended pieces. The editing was mainly done by Holger Czukay, who generally managed to distill the essence of a longer track onto one side of a 7" single. The collection kicks off with Malcolm Mooney's two lead vocals on Soundtracks and then heads into the Damo Suzuki era. There are two non album tracks here, Turtles Have Short Legs and Shikako Maru Ten, both enjoyable slices of eccentricity that would have slotted nicely into Unlimited Edition. Two Tago Mago tracks were used as b sides, including a drastically edited Halleluwah, and Future Days is similarly slimmed down. Then we're into the quartet era, with edited highlights from Soon Over Babaluma, Landed and Flow Motion; the pairing of I Want More / ...and More may not be to everybody's taste, but it works surprisingly well. Silent Night is the first bump in the road - Can's version of the classic German Christmas carol has not aged well, and it is followed by the full version of Cascade Waltz. We then briefly dip into the Rosco and Rebop line up with an edited version of Don't Say No and the non album b side Return, which is like a slightly funkier reboot of I Want More / ...and More. Can Can, the famous Offenbach tune, was performed by the three remaining founders Karoli, Schmidt and Liebezeit, and while it might have seemed like a good idea at the time it is the one total dud in this collection. In the 1980s Malcolm Mooney joined the core quartet for a one off reunion album, Rite Time, and Hoolah Hoolah was picked as the single. Both the single and the album were better than expected, even if they're not exactly vintage quality.

Four stars for this collection. It's the only single disc collection that covers every Can line up, and which traces their development almost from the beginning. It's also the only place to get all the non album tracks in one compilation; none can be considered essential, but aside from Silent Night they are all worth having for completists. The edited versions of longer tracks are sufficiently different from the originals to be of interest, although some are more successful than others. The sleeve notes warn that not all the original tapes were available. so the sound quality is a little inconsistent, but I didn't notice anything particularly jarring. If you're a Can newbie this is a good place to start; if you're an established fan it's pretty good to listen to while driving or exercising.

 Vortex by AMON DÜÜL II album cover Studio Album, 1981
2.94 | 53 ratings

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Vortex
Amon Düül II Krautrock

Review by Lobster77

4 stars Beginning around "Pyragony X", Amon Düül II began embarking on a more streamlined prog sound - more accessible, less weird, and generally less interesting, if still quite good. By the end of the '70's, however, this lineup pretty much petered out, leading to the far more intriguing version known as Amon Düül (UK). But II still had one more album to do, and "Vortex" was the result. And you know what...a lot of fans dislike this one (as they do all the '80's Amon Düül releases), but forget all of that. "Vortex" is a fantastic album, easily the best one Düül II had made since "Hijack". It is still more (cough) commercial (cough) than that one, but what on earth. It is really one outstanding work and a great way for Düül II to go out. Of course, Amon Düül II would return in the '90's, but this was a fine swansong for them and a fitting signpost for what Amon Düül (UK) would go on to achieve.

4.0

 In Den Gärten Pharaos by POPOL VUH album cover Studio Album, 1971
3.95 | 237 ratings

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In Den Gärten Pharaos
Popol Vuh Krautrock

Review by Lobster77

4 stars German krautrock/ambient group Popol Vuh's second album possesses strong ethereal & cerebral qualities that slowly envelope the listener until you find yourself inside a huge pulsating wall of ambience that threatens to cave in on you with the tribal element leading you into an almost trance-like state. The title track takes a few different directions from Eno-style ambience to a more trippy, tribal feel before settling into a jazzier vibe towards the end. Both tracks are very spacey but "Vuh" is the stronger of the two & is seriously dark for something released in 1971. Don't expect to sit back & chill to this. Expect to find yourself engaged on a physical & emotional level that most music is not capable of. This is BIG music! I actually really enjoy the two bonus tracks on the re-release. An Eastern influence is very prevalent on "Kha-White Structures 1". It reminds me a lot of the more ambient works of modern minimal techno artists like Plastikman with it's use of subtlety & repetition. "Kha-White Structures 2" is a total headcase of the highest order & again hints at modern techno as well as dark ambient. "In den Garten Pharaos" is a timeless classic of epic proportions. I honestly feel that I would've reviewed this album exactly the same way had it been released yesterday.

The album misses any rocking attitude this is not a straightforward rocker. The first two tracks, which made up one side of the original LP each, are Ambient and Drone, partly with a thick carpet of percussion lying underneath. In particular the quality of the title track shines. Both bonus tracks are more in the direction of experimental electronic. The percussion is nearly completely missing here. Nevertheless they are an absolute enrichment of the original album. In total a very strong recording. 4.0

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Krautrock bands/artists list

Bands/Artists Country
Å Italy
A.R. & MACHINES Germany
ABSCHAUM France
ACHTZEHN KARAT GOLD Germany
AG A.M. Germany
AGITATION FREE Germany
AINIGMA Germany
AIR Germany
ALASKA RANGE Switzerland
ALCATRAZ Germany
ALEX ORIENTAL EXPERIENCE Germany
ALTONA Germany
ALUK TODOLO France
AMON DÜÜL Germany
AMON DÜÜL United Kingdom
AMON DÜÜL II Germany
ANIMA-SOUND Germany
ANNEXUS QUAM Germany
ANONIONS United Kingdom
ANT-BEE United States
ARKTIS Germany
ASH RA TEMPEL Germany
ASHINOA France
ASHTRAY NAVIGATIONS United Kingdom
ASTERIX Germany
AT THE HEAD OF THE WOODS United States
ATTEMPT TO RESTORE Germany
AVARUS Finland
AVEC LE SOLEIL SORTANT DE SA BOUCHE Canada
AWAKE & GALLO Greece
BABA YAGA Germany
BACKNEE HORN Israel
BAD STATISTICS New Zealand
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