Far Away Trains Passing By

Ulrich Schnauss

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 1, 2005)
• Original Release Date: November 1, 2005
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Domino
• ASIN: B0007LLOVG
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,854 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Ulrich Schnauss is a German electronic artist who is influenced by forebears like Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk--but unlike retro-space artists, he doesn't sound like he just emerged from their dusty studios after being marooned there for 30 years. Instead, his synthesizers bristle with contemporary electro-rhythms, a bit of New Wave romanticism, and melodies you want to last forever. Schnauss has perfected a balance between quiet yearning and joyful heroism in his music, with sweeping major-chord progressions that are triumphal without being ostentatious, expansive without being pompous. For someone who is so rhythm-centered with crackling snares and electro-glitches, it's ultimately the melodies that draw you in, turned on glistening, bell-like timbres and space-organ sustains. Far Away Trains Passing By is actually his first album, released in Europe in 2001, but it's been out of print and is being issued in the United States for the first time. The reissue comes with a bonus CD that includes six pieces pulled from various Schnauss side projects and tracks that didn't make the original album. Far Away Trains Passing By is electronica with a melancholy soul, and it has lost nothing in the intervening years. --John Diliberto

Product Description
The long-awaited domestic release of Ulrich's dreamy 2001 debut. His 2004 set, "Strangely Isolated Place" was a hit with shoegazer and electronic fans alike, and toured with much fanfare in support of M83. Includes a 6-track bonus EP of non-LP material

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have for serious chillout electronica enthusiasts, December 27, 2005

By	Dean-Ryan Stone "dhry" (Surprise, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

Man, I'm sorry I missed Ulrich's North American concerts earlier this year. This is one phenomenal album, even better now that it's bundled with some bonus tracks. Schnauss's music is catchy, well-composed and perfect to listen to over and over again. My favourite is track #2 - "Between Us And Them" - which I must have listened to literally hundreds of times over the last two years - it is hands-down THE most instantly likeable tune I've ever heard. "Far Away Trains" is my absolute top pick of "cruise music" - coasting down Arizonan or Californian highways with this guy in your ears is magic. Some tunes are a tiny bit derivative - one can hear more than a passing resemblance between Schnauss' "As If You've Never Been Away" and U2's "With Or Without You" but heck, I like BOTH songs. In summary, simply track #2 alone makes "Far Away Trains" worth purchasing, the other tracks are awesome too and most will grow on you. Do yourself a big favour and get this.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars incredibly beautiful sonic soundscape, November 10, 2005

By	Lane A. Wagner "lane" (planet earth) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

this individual is truly gifted in the art of creating soothing yet moving emotional waves of sound. perfect for driving, hanging out on the beach, skiing, flying, working, love, and background ambience for a dinner or party. Undeniably my favorite artisian in the musical spectrum as of late. Not only is this most recent stateside release ethereral and revered but is first stateside release " A Strangely Isolated Place" is exceptional as well.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just when you thought you'd heard it all..., July 11, 2007

By	Matthew J. Cooke "grufnut" (melbourne, australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Don't get me wrong, I love music...but my tastes are pretty narrow in the overall scheme of things. I'm a mad electronica and dance music fan, like some more alternative rock, some mainstream...but not much. I also don't write reviews very often (probably more because I go on about other things instead and stay away from the topic at hand...oh well...

But then I came across this gem. My favourite artists are Depeche Mode, UNKLE, d*note, Cinematic Orchestra, Faze Action, Beastie Boys, Slowdive, Ride, etc, etc...I love them all...but this - this is something special. Yes there are aural soundscapes, yes there are gently evoked moods and rhythms (we've read it all before), but this is music that touches your very core. It talks to you and folds you into its melodic conversation. And THAT doesn't happen often. Buy this...and then buy everything else that Mr Schnauss has done. For what it's worth, I don't recommend music often, but this is absolutely beautiful.