Customer Reviews

Toy Planet

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Having been a fan of `Can' the German Prog/Rock/Psychedelic/Ambient kings of German weirdness I was interested to hear what the individual member's of the group could come up with & this was my 1st Solo listen to Irmin Schmidt. So here's a breakdown of the songs

1st Track `The Seven Game'. Fabulous percussive build up, birds, frogs & other animal noises ushering in a driving tribal drum line to be accompanied by a deep bouncy bass which leads into a high pitch organ riff which eventually gives way to a wonderfully rich saxophone solo. All of this while the beat keeps its pace & various pings, whistles and jungle slaps surround you. Lots of interesting instrumentation going on here and it all ends on a mournful distant Saxophone note. Lovely.

2nd Track `Toy Planet'. Is a wonderfully haunting almost orchestral track, reminding me somewhat of Philip glass. Haunted vocals hovering in the background while a slow sci-fi reverb organic rhythm pulls you into what is the album's most hypnotic track. This would make a perfect accompaniment to a film like `Dark Star' or something dark and wistful. No surprise that Irmin Schmidt went on to make an album called `Film Musik' then.

3rd Track `Two Dolphins Go Dancing'. Bouncy beaty opening. Wonderful percussive & organ play which would actually go very well with `Two Dolphins dancing'. I imagine he had this in mind when he orchestrated the music. Then it turns to old-school synth's which kind of remind me of the `Rockford Files' intro ( I have issues I know). Back into wonderful Saxophone with a truly wonderful hook-line. The beat still drive's the piece along. Wonderfully stuff.

4th Track `Yom Tov'. My favorite instrumental track ever. Of any decade period. It sounds like what I suppose it probably is. Some kind of Yiddish ditty. If this is a culturally incorrect expression forgive me. A saxophone ushers in the song with a distinctly Eastern European feel which turns to a frenetic pace with wonderful Guitar work. I'm really not sure exactly what the instruments are used to produce the sounds so I can only go by what they sound like to my untrained ears. My CD Inlay card mentions `Lyricon', Sopranino', `Tenorsax', `Synth' & `Keyboards' In any case it's basically taking a single line and repeating it in ever increasingly dramatic loops starting as guitar, changing to Saxophone & finally turning into Keyboard/Synth territory where it ends on a high note.

5th Track `Springlight Rite'. Crazy jangly chimes/bells beckon in this track which tinkle wildly through the songs length with other instrumentation free styling in the background. Anyway, I find the whole experience here very meditative and calming after the crazy urgency of the previous track

6th Track `Rapido De Noir'. Reminds me of a cross between `Yello' & `Kraftwerk'. If you listen to it I'll think you'll see why. Suffice to say Train noises and echoey vocals abound in this one. Not a dance track but a very interesting listen.

7. Harp like synths. High pitch wailing Sax's surging like the lapping tide on this one. Very slow and calming. Reminding me a little of the `Bladerunner' Soundtrack actually.
Ending in a oh so happy synthesized cacophony of sound to finish off a very unique album.

This is a piece of history for me, as I got it when I wasn't really enjoying much electronic style music at the time. But this blends acoustic instruments (mainly woodwind) and electronics into a perfect web of beauty and charm. Very traditional German electronic at times, but with a very cool "other worldly" touch.

The previous review gives a wonderful description of each song, so I won't go into them, but the overall effect is a soothing journey through a myriad of colors and rhythms.

My only complaint would be that I wish someone would remaster Irmin Schmidt's entire catalog of music, as it needs a bit of an upgrade. But, this is a thankful acquisition as my vinyl copy is too precious to over play, and this is one of those beautiful yet enlightening albums that never tires or gets dated.

A fine example of the diverse world of German electronic music.