Customer Reviews

Picture Music

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There seems to be some annoying distortion in this version, especially on Totem, not present in earlier versions. Don't know if it's because the tapes are now thirty years old or just a mistake in the mastering process. The bonus cut is an extended/remixed version of Totem which is quite good. If derived from the same master tapes I can't understand why distortion is present in one track and not the other. Still an excellent re-issue otherwise and am looking forward to others from Klaus Schulze including his new album "Moonlake" (Sept. 2005).

"Picture Music" is Klaus Schulze's third solo album recorded in 1973 and released during the early part of 1975 (after the release of "Blackdance"). The album has gone on to be one of the most innovative electronic music releases from the German music scene and paved the way for Schulze's breakthrough opus "Timewind". Over 30 years later, "Picture Music" still does not disappoint and sounds just as modern as it did when it was initially recorded.

The original album included two long tracks. The opening track "Totem" is a nearly 24-minute tour-de-force consisting of a hypnotic bubbling sequencer rhythm and cosmic synth leads. The piece builds with intesity as it approaches the middle with the rhythm speeding up building to a climax which leads to a calm cathedral-like organ finale.

The other track, "Mental Door" begins with what almost sounds like a continuation of "Totem" before shifting into an improvised chordal synth lead giving way to a Krautrock jam with Schulze playing drums, percussion and a wild synth solo. The piece then moves into its final section with haunting string-synth chords and the drum beat being pushed to the back of the mix.

The newly remastered CD not only presents "Picture Music" in astounding quality and expanded liner notes, it also sports a 33-minute bonus track, "C'est pas le meme Chose", which is an alternate mix of "Totem" with extreme stereo separation, sounds not heard in the original album version and an extended final section which is completely different from that on the original version.

With all this said, the expanded remastered version of Klaus Schulze's "Picture Music" is THE definitive edition of this classic album. It is definitely an essential title for electronic music connisuers (sp?) as well as fans of Schulze, Tangerine Dream and others from the German electronic music school.

One of Klaus Schulze's all-time Greatest!!

This album is the start of a string of astounding and important works in the history of German electronic music, works which would prove influential to many things that would come after, in addition to being just satisfying spacemusic. Following in the wake of the singular and curious pulsations and dronings of "Cyborg", Klaus began to work with sequencers on this and "Blackdance"...and the results are fantastic. The characteristic Klaus Schulze sound of epic sequencer and sound-wash ambience comes to the fore on these two long-form pieces. Many albums in this style would follow throughout the 70s and into the early 80s, the majority of which are critical listening for anyone interested in the 'kosmische musik' genre.

In my opinion there are 3 albums in K.Schulze's discography that are unsurpassable: Timewind,Moondawn and Mirage.All the rest is very good,good or quite good.Picture Music is a very good album which predates the three above mentioned masterpieces of electronic music.The bonus track is as great as the original version of Totem ,though it is 10 min. longer and sounds different.I recommend this new version of the disc to all K.S. fans.Great stuff!

Although I certainly appreciate and enjoy 'Timewind', which seems to be Schulzes commonly acknowledged masterpiece among his diehard fans, it is this album more than so many of his other works that I find myself listening to time and time again. Being a 70's synthesizer junkie, the sounds that come out of his ARP 2600 and Odyssey (as well as an EMS) are absolutely magical and wizard-like, and the sonic patterns he creates on 'Picture Music', in my opinion, are every bit the equivalent of 'Moondawn' and all of his other more critically praised records. It holds up amazingly well, and 'space music' fans cannot afford to be without a copy.

It's pretty safe to say Picture Music is to Schulze what Phaedra was to Tangerine Dream, both had defected from Ohr and started moving to away from experimental space music and to the realm of electronic music that would influence the likes of Jean Michel Jarre and countless others. Picture Music was said to be recorded late in 1973 (after Cyborg) but not released until 1975, after Schulze found a better record deal (in this case, Brain). Blackdance was offically his first album for Brain. That album still found him sticking with basically the EMS Synthi "A" and Farfisa organ (like he did on Cyborg). With Picture Music he started moving away from the Farfisa organ and EMS synth effects and more in to serious electronic music that had a huge influence on people like Jean Michel Jarre. The reason for Schulze's move to Brain was the Cosmic Jokers. These albums were a series of late-night jam sessions featuring Schulze and members of Ash Ra Tempel and Wallenstein, in which Rolf Ulrich Kaiser (heard of Kosmische Musik, formerly Ohr) released those albums behind everyone's back and not paying the musicians involved. Schulze filed lawsuits against Kaiser, which forced him out of Germany and the Kosmische Musik label to go under. Despite the circumstances, the Cosmic Jokers albums are some of the finest Krautrock I have ever heard and I suggest you seek them out (start with their self-entitled offering or Galactic Supermarket first). Anyway, back to Picture Music, now that the Cosmic Jokers fiasco was over and he was now recording for Brain, he really started getting more serious with electronic music. He started purchasing more synthesizers (like the ARP 2600) to give more variety in his sound. As with many of his works, this album features only side-length cuts. The first cut, "Totem" contains a lot of electronic pulsing sounds. It sounds quite close to techno. A lot of this also reminds me of Jarre, which comes to prove that without Schulze, you probably would have never had an album like Oxygene. "Mental Door" is perhaps most interesting for the synth solo played on the ARP 2600. Here Harald Grosskopf (ex-Wallenstein and Cosmic Jokers) gives us some nice drum work as Schulze gives us that synth solo. The album is full of great spacy electronic music. The EMS Synthi A is still present on the album, he still used it for spacy electronic effects, but it no longer takes center stage like it did on Cyborg. Still, this album is a wonderful album to have if you like electronic music.

The year that this record was recorded was 1973 (Sept - Oct). It was marketed three years later (Jan. 1975). Personally I think it was a bit ahead of its time for 1973, so it waited a bit for the masses to be able to grasp the album.

I dont think they would've understood it had it been released in '73. Germany was a breeding ground for high quality electronic music. Kraftwerk was beginning their career. tangerine Dream was already underway quite well. And K Schulze (who performed in the first T Dream album) was no exception.

His first album Irrlicht marked his musical proposition. Then came 'Cyborg', a mamoth album that will amaze for many years to come. It's surprising that it still astonishes people when they hear it. The third album Black dance, was in my objective opinion the 'preparation' for the 4th release 'Picture music'. Black Dance was like the calm before the storm (without overshadowing it). Following Picture music came Masterpiece # 1, Timewind. Picture Music is like the Intro to Timewind. Klaus matures musically and goes in a direction that would lead him to digital recording (Dig it 1980). In short, Picture music is a quality record that should be purchased and enjoyed. The listener will hear in later albums from the 80's and 90's (and now 00's), some of the pivotal sounds and textures that were first tapped with Picture Music. It is a legendary album. One that will be remembered for very long, for marking Klaus' sound in a traditional and original way.

Picture Music remains something of an anomoly in Schulze's canon. Rather than the long, sweeping synth pads and choirs on other albums of this period, it relies primarily on a chunky, fascinating bass line that flows effortlessly underneath gentle and moody solos. Side 2 is less successful, employing an awkward drum kit and some synth work that is a little too invasive, but overall this album is a essential for any Schulze fan. It could also serve as a great introduction for those unfamiliar with the Old Master because of it's bassline hook and flowing rhythm.

Klaus Schulze claims to have recorded this album in late 1973, trying to explore new musical ideas. Explored he did, but the album was not released until late 1975. With such a delay, who knows whether his words should be taken literally. On the one hand, one of the two tracks, Totem, sounds exactly like an experiment from 1973, but on the other hand, 'Mental Door' features musical inspirations that Schulze showed in 1975 and later, with emphasis on acoustic standard percussion. Albums from "Moondawn" of early 1976 to "X" of 1978 were recorded with help of a German percussionist and drummer, Harald Grosskopf. 'Mental Door' does not significantly differ in musical texture from those releases, and more to the point, the drumming is almost identical. What are we to make of it? I don't know, but I'd rather listen to those who claim that Klaus heavily edited and re-recorded the album in 1975, adding elements he was fond of at that time.

This said, "Picture Music" is an incredible album. 'Mental Door' starts very promisingly, providing us with deep introspective music which borders on spooky and frightening, but after just a few minutes the drums slowly fade in, together with a crazy, vibrating organ tune which is hard to withstand. Fortunately, at about 5 minutes from the end of the track, Klaus reaches the apogeum of improvisation, and the composition once again returns to its moody, spacey, atmospheric climate, which is very attractive. Long-winded synthesizer passages calm us down, and in the deep background, Klaus (?) plays the percussion solo, a delicate one, since it does not interfere with the aquatic overlay of synthesizers.

The real value of this album lies in the fact that it features 'Totem', one of the most innovative compositions ever made in the electronic genre, indeed a work of genius. Even if Klaus rarely matched this level in future, we should treasure Totem and be grateful that the album is still in print. Even after 13 years since I first heard it, 'Totem' still chills my spine. It's incredibly atmospheric, with a muted tam-tam drum sequence which fades in and out, in and out, for 20 minutes, only sometimes pushing to the front layer of the composition. The whole set of instruments is muted, faded away. In a sense, this is the ideal of a deeply meditative background music. It's perfect for reading, for dreaming, for creative work of any type. You can also listen to 'Totem' with absolute concentration, and I guarantee that having looped this track, you will feel as if you achieved the state of nirvana. In a compositional sense, it's complex, but yet simplistic. The music of Klaus Schulze is all about atmosphere, about feelings, about trains of thoughts, and ultimately - about meditation.

This is one of three best releases from this artist, and if you are a beginner, you might just as well start here. The other two albums which will provide about the best Klaus Schulze has to offer - are "Mirage: Eine Elektronische Winterlandschaft" of 1977 and "Dune" of 1979. All three feature two tracks only, one of which is an absolute masterpiece of meditative music.

I too noticed some extreme "digital" distortion on this reissue of this fantastic music, which completely wrecked the experience for me. I am sure that this is not due to the tape source, because it sounds just like digital "clipping" effects, possibly caused in the mastering process of the CD. This is a defective disc, and lovers of fine electronic music, should all send this one back to the manufacturer, Klaus Schulze deserves better! I give this 5 stars for the music, and a zero for the company that released it with this issue!