Customer Reviews

X

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"X" (or Ten) was the 10th solo release from the pioneering German synthesist Klaus Schulze. Originally released in 1978, "X" has since gone on to become a classic of electronic music. Its mix of orchestral elements, with hypnotic sequencers and progressive rhythms still sends shivers up the spine 27 years later.

"X" was an extremely long album for its time - a double album with each side containing close to 30 minutes of music each. It was also a conceptual effort with each piece of music being named after a specific author of whom Schulze admired. The original LP also included a booklet loaded with historic photos of Schulze's first 10 years as well as an essay (printed in German) by Schulze and his manager/publicist Klaus Mueller.

Since the introduction of the CD, the "X" album has exsisted in what is pretty much an inferior fashion being mastered from second generation tapes with rather tinny sound quality and several seconds of music edited off the ends of the original tracks. Now in 2005, that has all changed with the newly remastered reissue. All six of the original album tracks were remastered from the original master tapes with newly restored clarity and sound quality. Additionally, two of the tracks ("Frederich Nietzsche" and "Georg Trakl") are presented here in their full-length versions as opposed to the truncated versions which appeared on the original album (the full version of "Trakl" had only been previously released on the mammoth limited edition CD set "The Ultimate Edition" while "Nietzsche" is presented here in its full version for the first time ever). To top it off, the reissue concludes with an historic bonus track, "Objet D'Louis" which is a live version of the classic orchestral masterwork "Ludwig II Von Bayern" performed with a full string orchestra. While the sound quality of the bonus track is not up to standard, its musical quality definitely is. This was one of the very few times Klaus had performed live with a full orchestra and to have a recording of this in any form of quality is definitely a treasure.

The CD booklet includes new liner notes from Klaus Schulze himself as well as reproductions of some of the photos included in the original LP booklet. The original German essays are also reproduced (unfortunately without any English translation).

Hands down, this is some excellent synth music from one its leading pioneers. Having it finally reissued with amazing sound quality is simply like having a new album all over again. Also, the fact that the reissue is a double-CD for the price of one makes this a steal. Don't hesitate. This is Klaus Schulze in his prime with one of his very best albums.

I had been listening to Irrlicht and Timewind for the past few days, which I consider to be masterpieces, before I got "X". I put the cd on the stereo starting with the second cd (a tradition of mine).

I WAS SCHOCKED! I could not believe it. How much higher can this composer reach ? I was stunned. Classical music coming out of the loudspeakers, an exhilarating melody, music so powerfull so captivating, such strength. I kept listenning, it was only getting better and better. A full blown string orchestra with choir in the background and synthesizer. Is that for real ?

I have just described the first minutes of "Ludwig II. Von Bayern", a 29 minute musical odyssey of immense strength. The song gets slower after a while and almost 7 minutes before the end the percussion starts. Agonizing classical music with an uconventional finishing. Nobel prize material !

Then, "Heinrich von Kleist" follows. Crying violins start the scenery along with synthesizers in the background but it soon drifts to superb "Schulzian" cosmic music. Slowly evolving, with a lot of similarities to his earlier work but more mature and more clear. It is like Schulze was strugling all these years to solve the puzzle of the perfect cosmic music and now he seems to have found the solution. He is more confident and the music surrounds the listener, its not hiding any more. At the second half of the song an ethereal galactic choir starts its journey through the heavens. Music of the highest quality. Everything is perfect here, the amount of choir, the synth, the percussion at the end (sometimes Schulze hits it a little bit too hard for my taste). Everything seems to follow a predetermined path to a glorious epic end. Nobel prize material again.

"Friedrich Nietzsche" at 24 minutes is the first song of the first cd. Powerfull. Very poerfull. Again, Schulze has a plan, knows what he wants and achieves one of his greatest moments in this one. Synth oriented, percussion starts very early, again in right proportions with the rest of the music. Choir is always on the background following an epic circle, the song is a continuous triumph, rising musical scales every few minutes.

"Georg Trakl" is a shorter piece at 5:25. The most serene music I have ever heard. Purely cosmic with a nice sequencing. "Frank Herbert" is a 10 minute long sequencer-oriented space music piece with choir and beat that continuously escalates. Its like a chasing scene from a film. Very melodic and briliantly performed music. It is reminiscent to the music of the film Blade Runner by Vangelis.

You have to listen to this music. It will appeal to both Schulze enthusiasts and not.This is a mature Schulze at his best. "X" is a masterpiece.

Instruments played: Moog, PPG synthesizer and sequencer, Minimoog, ARP Odyssey, Korg polyphonic synthesizer, Polymoog, Synthi A, Mellotron, AKG BX 20 Hall, plus a small string orchestra.

Klaus Schulze dedicates this album: "..to my precious synthesizers" !

I picked up this deluxe edition for a very good price and I was blown away by the sheer brilliance of this man. A keyboard lover's wet dream to say the least. Washes of mellotron, synthesizers, drums and percussion, strings(real strings!) with the strings sounding like synthesizers at times. Sound quality is very good. A detailed booklet/history/notes from Klaus himself. A must have for fans. Disc 1: 4 tracks/79.45. Disc 2/3 tracks/79.43. The label side of the cds look like lps complete with grooves. Digipack. I prefer Disc 1 over Disc 2 due to the fact that Disc 1 is harder edged, lots of Tangerine Dream stylings and faster paced. Disc 2 is a bit slower but brilliant nonetheless. You may hear some slight distortion in spots on Disc 2 since it is the louder of the two particularly on track 3/the bonus track. Very minor quibble however.

Released in 1978, X (the tenth album by Klaus) is a magnificent album of electronica that features loads of spacey, gothic sounding analog synthesizers and subtly haunting moods. Based on the liner notes, the album was recorded as a score for a film (entitled Barracuda) so Klaus had a larger recording budget than normal. In fact, the extra finances were used to incorporate a string section here and there - it works very well and sections of the string parts were looped (i.e. via tape loop). Joining Klaus once again on a full drum kit was Harold Grosskopf - they work wonderfully together on this album.

Klaus plays an impressive assortment of analog synthesizers on this album including big moog synthesizer, PPG synthesizer and sequencer, minimoog, ARP odyssey, Korg poly synthi, Polymoog, EMS Synthi A, and Mellotron, in addition to various bits of percussion including tom toms and cymbals. I love the synth tone colors that Klaus selects on all of his albums, and they are just as warm and organic sounding on X even though some of the instruments were capable of fairly mechanical sounds. The mellotron use really works for me too and the sounds of the Korg and Polymoog are great. With respect to the other players, a cellist plays on Heinrich von Kleist, a violinist plays on Friedemann Bach and a small string orchestra is featured prominently on Ludwig II Von Bayern. The stringed instruments blend seamlessly with the banks of synthesizers and bring a very interesting (vaguely experimental/avant-garde) and haunting textural element to the music. There are also various tape effects and psychedelic flourishes here and there that add yet another layer.

The tracks on this album present musical "biographies" of sorts that are devoted to various figures from disciplines as varied as philosophy, literature and music. The pieces are extremely long and grand in both scale and texture, with many close to or over 20 minutes in length - two tracks last for nearly a half hour each (Ludwig II Von Bayern = 28:39 and Heinrich Von Kleist = 29:32). The shortest track lasts for "only" 10:51. Lengthy pieces like these were used heavily in minimalism, and X achieves a similarly hypnotic effect (for me at any rate) - this album is simply fantastic to listen to late at night on a good pair of headphones and become completely immersed in the sweeping soundscapes. Although all of his pieces were long, this (at the time double LP album) recording seems to pull out all of the stops.

This remastered, two-disc release by RevisitedRec (InsideOut) is simply amazing and features the pieces as they originally appeared on the original album with excellent sound quality, loads of informative liner notes, and glossy color photos of Klaus. The bonus track includes a live performance of Objet D'Louis featuring Klaus and an orchestra - the sound quality is "so-so" although the performance is excellent. Overall, this version of X is very much a "deluxe" package.

All in all, this is a remarkable work of electronica from Klaus Schulze and is very highly recommended along with Mirage (1977) and Timewind (1975).

I've been listening to electronic music constantly ever since I was first wowed by Jean-Michel Jarre's "Oxygene" on 8-track in 1978. In the electronic music universe, Klaus Schulze is God. In 1978 the God of electronic music created his perfect masterpiece, "X" (or "Ten"). You've heard of people who saw "Star Wars" two hundred times? I've heard "X" two hundred times, because "X" is the "Star Wars" of electronic music. It is the perfect driving music. It is the perfect music to play at work. It is the soundtrack of my life.

The album begins with the 24 minute long "Friedrich Nietzsche" track, evoking sunrise and a fresh new day as it gathers itself together and finally gets underway in one direction like a train. Electronic music never sounded so organic. Not even Tangerine Dream can touch this, too often their sequencers seem to be left running on automatic and the human element of improvisation is lost. Clocking in at a short (for Schulze) five minutes, Georg Trakl uses an ingenious tape loop of a bass line as a skeleton which is gradually fleshed out with real drums, keyboard jabs, and a jazzy wandering lead that builds to a gentle hilltop and slowly drops down the other side, leaving you wanting more. Frank Herbert is the rocker on the LP, eleven minutes of relentless speed and fury, yet at no point does it become in any sense mechanical. I will forever associate this track with driving very fast over long, straight, and flat highways built over the swamps of Alabama and Florida.

The next three tracks are all long and more contemplative. Friedemann Bach is a pioneering example (together with the entire Schulze LP "Mirage" of a year prior) of what today is called "Dark Ambient." This 18-minute track is by far the darkest, scariest, most melancholy selection on "X" (although the impenetrable chaos at the heart of "Kleist" gives it a run for its money). Ludwig II. Von Bayern features a small string orchestra which Schulze made sound bigger by recording the material twice and doubletracking it, and then performing his electronic music on top of that. This track is usually considered the best one, and an excerpt was included on a greatest hits CD. At about 30 minutes, Heinrich Von Kleist is the longest and last track on "X." It begins as a calmer version of "Bach" and ends as a more climactic version of "Von Bayern," but the center of the track can only be described like this: somehow, Klaus Schulze managed to record an opaque and unknowable hole ripped out of his soul.

Made in GER in 19??, Serial# 833-627-2, Playing Time 116:16

Originally released in 1978, and as the title suggests, this is album #10 for Mr. Schulze.

This album was disappointing to me, possibly because it often lacks the cosmic appeal of his 5 previous (and highly satisfying) efforts: "Moondawn", "Timewind", "Body Love" (volumes 1 and 2), as well as "Mirage".

There are 2 types of tracks of the album: the more "predictable" spacy, almost esoteric/relaxation type, and the electronic with percussion (somewhat reminiscent of "Cyborg" era).

There's a bit of dabbling into the classical genre, with the occasional presence of a small string section. Personnally, I found that the usual charm was often missing, often replaced by simple progressions that somehow don't allow the same escape-inducing atmosphere present in his latest efforts.

Still, it's a good album, but not 1 of my top picks from his 70's material. Maybe it's because it's his 4th album within 2 years. It should also be noted that, compared to the vinyl pressing, the ending of "Ludwig II..." has now been shortened a bit in the fade-out.

Worth buying, but not as a first pick. Also note that this 2-disc set has been released as 2 single-discs. Same material, but more expensive...

This double album ranks as a masterpiece of Klaus Schulze recordings. Released in 1978 it is a unique collaboration of powerful electronics and drums which was, speaking of musical creativity,on par with his releases like "Timewind" and "Mirage" and the music that Tangerine Dream was putting out at that time. If you're new to Klaus Schulze check out these 3 CD's and you get a glimpse of why he was and STILL IS the master of electronic music.

The new material including the full version of "Georg Trakl" and the full orchestral version of "Ludwig II von Bayern" recorded live make this worth having. The two items are the length of many CDs, well over 50 total minutes, and the material is excellent.

Keep in mind this was originally recorded and written in 1978 this collection of epic songs inspired mostly by authors is not only vintage KS but perhaps is his defining moment in his early/mid career.

As a musician, I stole so many techniques and compositional ideas, some that I use today, and they as this album are contemporary. KS brings his drone technique with some drums which may seem tame but are very well played considering most drummers in 78' had very little clue how to play with a bunch of sequenced synthesizers. There are times even Klaus sounds lost although only he would know for sure. Those moments make this recording alive and in fact, there is a live feeling to "X" that is appealing.

For the keyboard geek there is a nice synthesizer list used on the album and some good pictures, particularly of the "Big Moog" which looks about 6 feet tall (although none I've used were more than 3 or 4 feet high). Also included is an article in semi-interview style which is interesting and useful for setting up how and why the "X" album was developed.

Historically, "X" made Klaus a international star, even though this was his tenth album! The CD quality is excellent, especially if you have the older CD release which misses a lot of this releases material and has a terrible remastered sound.

Things to listen for if you're not familiar with this masterful album:

1. note the sounds, many are still in use today, these were KS developed timbres which many musicians spent their developing years trying to copy.

2. the development of songs point to the concept used by post rock artists for the last ten years...perhaps more. That's because the song development is masterful but in due course owes a good deal to classical music forms

3. the unabashed willingness to use technology to define a new form of music is so aptly demonstrated on "X's" compositions that it's the first KS album I recommend to new listeners and people that are seriously considering doing solo work with synthesizers. It is important to remember that despite four or five synths playing sequences with KS playing drones and melody on top of them, this was fairly new to rock oriented listeners who helped this album deserve it's near-mythic status.

If you like synth music, if you like post rock such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor then you will find many of the forms they use and in many synth artists more than a few ideas that post date this album.

The fine packaging and sound make it a must have for KS fans and a great place to start for future fans.

Indeed this is an ambitious but highly successful album, a fullfillment of his vision, the peak of his brilliance in electronic music.

This is a very powerful record. Considering that this album follows in the direction that Timewind, Mirage and later Body Love II and I instigated; Klaus pulled off as Klaus D. Mueller says 'Masterpiece # 3'.

Schulze uses very wisely all instruments in his arsenal. Organs, Moogs, analog synthesizers. Only Schulze was able (not very many others came close) to produce such beautiful and twisted music.

We are treated on this double album to six biographies of German thinkers (Fredrick Nietzsche, Heinrich Von Kleist, Friedmann Bach, i.e.).

In my objetive opinion this double album is no more than Timewind or Mirage - which are supposed to be the other two awesome efforts by Schulze. Again in my objective opinion Mirage doesn't get to me, and I prefer Body Love II far beyond 1977's Mirage. Just read my review of Mirage to see my full notion.

All is not perfect even in Mr Schulze's electronic world, but on this double album ALL cylinders click and take you to places unthought of by human perception.

5 well desrved stars. I hope Mr. Schulze can grasp what I'm saying here.