CHRISTIAN DEATH, Atrocities (1986, death rock)

After 2 albums that (for various reasons) were maybe not absolutely convinving, Valor - after Rozz Williams had gone - has probably produced the best album of his own CHRISTIAN DEATH. Even if it probably doesn't contain only good tracks, it's very tense, the work on guitars is really outstanding - sometimes it sounds like some analog synths or organs - and can remind the way it sounded in "Only theatre of pain". The general impression again is "death rock meets psychedelia", and there are some really moving tunes too : "Stranger Fortune" is a classic song to me, "Danzig Waltz" or "Chimère de-si de-là" are really convincing. The main problem, listening to this album 23 years after it's been released, is the way snare drums sound : much too loud and very 80s indeed! And the end of the album, with the cover of "Gloomy Sunday" and the dark ambient "Death of Joseph", is a bit too long.
My rate : 4,5/5
And here it is (at 192kbps).
ps : I couldn't find the almost black original artwork, so here is the copy of a re-release edition - same picture but very different and awful treatment.

CHRISTIAN DEATH, Catastrophe ballet / Ashes (1983 / 1985, "death pop")

Despite the lack of interest of my readers about CHRISTIAN DEATH' 1st (less than 60 downloads for such a masterpiece!!), I keep on posting their essentials recordings from the 80s.

About "Catastrophe Ballet" : second album and first major shifts in the line up, alas. Tell me if I'm wrong, but only the singer Rozz Williams is still there (with a completely different singing though)! A major change is the arrival of guitarist and singer Valor Kand, who would soon lead the band through the 80s until now. It's not a surprise that "Catastrophe Ballet" sounds so different from "Only theatre of pain" : not punk agression, no feedbacks in the guitar, no echo is the drums and organs etc... on the contrary, the sound seems dangerously monotone and polite. And what about the compositions? Well, one on two is good, the other is often too simple and boring (like the 1st track). But I confess that the overall ambience is quite coherent and intriguing.
I remember that those who liked C.D. were considering this album their best, maybe thanks to the lyrics that seemed mysterious and beautiful. I don't know, I don't try to understand the lyrics. But you probably speak english better than me...
My rate : 3/5
Highlights : The Drowning, Sleepwalk, As evening falls, Electra Descending.

About "Ashes" : roughly the same line-up for a more accomplished album in my opinion. Better produced and spacier than "Catastrophe Ballet", it doesn't work as a series of singles but should really be heard as a whole instead. The 1st side obviously is better composed, the 2nd side may be boring, to say the truth (the too long "Luxury of tears" and the spoken words "Of the wound" that don't really work...). You'll note that it's the 1st album where all the songs are not basic rocks tunes (the ambient "Ashes Part II", the cabaret "Lament" and the spoken words "Of the wound"), what would become a kinf of tradition for the next albums from the 80s.

My rate : 3,5/5.
Highlights : Ashes, Ashes part II, Lament.

After "Ashes", Valor Kand, who was invited to play the guitar at first, would lead the band alone, after founding member Rozz Williams had quit (at this time, he was told to have committed suicide... what he's finally done, but 15 years later).
Here are this 2 albums, in a single file.

CHRISTIAN DEATH, Only theatre of pain / Deathwish EP (1981 / 82, death rock)

It's cold outside, so it's time for a little goth cliched (more or less) music period. I don't know how long nor for how many abums it will be. Not too much...

Let's start with the ultimate "death rock" (american "batcave"? - anyway, nothing in common with "death metal") album, CHRISTIAN DEATH's 1rst. I love it, there's absolutely no humour here, nevertheless I don't feel there is so many cliches either. Well... The guitar is fantastic (a kind of early SONIC YOUTH's distortion and feedback style), the voice is very similar to Robert Smith's around "Pornography" era but even more desperate, the music is tense, well composed, a kind of "punk meets psychedelia in a cave". Many great songs, nothing useless.
Well, I won't tell better than this comment picked on rateyourmusic.com :"The beginning of everything we like is right here: heavy guitars, amazing bass lines, harmfull moods, desperate vocals which you really can get whatever Rozz is saying."

In the file you'll find C.D.'s 1st EP, recorded in 81 but released in 84 only. It sounds more like a demo, but a good one, and it features 3 songs that won't be on the album, particularly one of the darkest songs I have, "Desperate hell". Almost frightening! Great!!
Again, a right comment on rateyourmusic.com :
"Deathwish", "Desperate Hell" and "Cavity" suggest psychedelia, distorted hard rock riffs, existential terror and a horrifying intensity. "Romeo's Distress" adds romantic elements to the recipe, "Dogs" displays doom synths and electronic effects, while "Spiritual Cramp" is a punk maelstrom.
It demonstrates the formidable power of the first Christian Death line-up, and features excellent guitar and vocal work by Rikk Agnew (ex Adolescents) and Rozz Williams respectively."

My rates :
> Only theatre... : 5/5
> Deathwish : 3,5/5

No prejudice, try it here (ripped at 192)
Be warned : I will post most of the albums the various incarnations of CHRISTIAN DEATH have released, as they've really made some good albums.

SIGNAL, Waves+Lines (1997)

RE-UP BY REQUEST
Good EP released by Raster-Noton in the 1995 / 2000 minimal wave - a very accessible entry for those who are afraid by "minimalism".
Find it here.

ELLI & JACNO, Boomerang (pop, 1982)

RE-UP BY REQUEST.
As all the old links (on the shitty MassMirror server!) are dead, here's a new link for this LP-Rip of a french pop classic album that has never been released on CD (am I wrong?).
Here it is.

ZWEISTEIN, Trip - Flipout -Meditation (krautrock, 1970)

"Krautrock" electronic soundscapes / experimentations in the same mood as SCHNITZLER / early CLUSTER. Only for the fans of this kind of music, the others may find this double LP really boring... I confess now that I'm not sure I should have posed it any more, but as I've made the job, here it is!

CONRAD SCHNITZLER, Rot (1972, Experimental Krautrock)

By request.
Not my favourite kind of krautrock. It's basically two long drone-like pieces based on early synths radical experimentations. Obviously, it's not the best way to discover krautrock, but it's interesting for all those who like early (or pre-) industrial music.
Maybe, some of you know the first CLUSTER (and KLUSTER) albums, SCHNITZLER had just left the band in 1972 so "Rot" is not far from these albums.
And it's here.

KRAUTROCK TOP#50 : BRAINTICKET, Celestial Ocean (1973)

At last...
After a much too crazy (and overrated - who's able to listen to side A at once??) first album, BRAINTICKET added some pop in their craziness, and became more accessible though they kept on experimenting. It's especially true on the 3rd album, "Celestial Ocean", even if some tracks may appear a bit too pretentious (in the typical 70s too serious style). It's hard to describe : not far from AMON DÜÜL II, with plenty of eastern instruments but more electronic, with vintage synths and organs, and softer too. Well, I'm happy to end this selection with such an abum, because actually it's really good.
As it's short, you'll find on this link the 2nd album "Psychonaut" too, it's less adventurous and less surprising, but good too.

Thanks to all the readers who've been following this basic krautrock selection for so many weeks (sorry for those who are not interested in it!). Of course, I could have posted many more albums, but it was not my goal. Nevertheless, if you've heard about one album you'd like to discover, just ask, if I have it I'll try to post it.

KRAUTROCK TOP#49 : IBLISS, S/T (1972)

Not far from KOLLEKTIV you've found here last week or from ORGANISATION / early KRAFTWERK. Probably a little more repetitive and sometimes tiring, it's a really good album for all the fans of this kind of repetitive and motorik krautrock. It seems they made only one album.
Sorry, it's only a 128 kbps CD rip, and it's here.

KRAUTROCK TOP#48 : TEMPLE, S/T (1976)

One may think that the only album of this minor band doesn't deserve to be part of this selection. It's a very underground band from the second (and last?) wave of krautrock, and, like PATER NOSTER, SIDDHARTA etc..., let's consider them a "pre-gothic rock" band, as they sound dark and spacey at once.
The music, full of mellotron, moog and organ, + the classic bass / guitar / drums trio, could habe been much better if the male singer "Poseidon" (with such a name...) had sounded better, it's totally shitty. Why couldn't F. singer Pauline Fund sing more? She's really ok and even sometimes moving! Instrumental versions would have been much more interesting, and I'm afraid that most of you won't have the courage to hear more than 1 or 2 minutes. It would be a mistake!
Anyway, you should try, and it's here. (ripped at 192 kbps).

KRAUTROCK TOP#47 : KOLLEKTIV, SWF Sessions (1973)

KOLLEKTIV made only one album, but this is a live recording for the radio SWF, it is very similar to the album but sounds even better in my opinion, with longer and spacier tracks.
To describe the music, let's say that it's a kind of groovy KRAFTWERK in their early days (K1, 2 or ORGANISATION), it's fully instrumental and very well produced. A bit too repetitive maybe?
Those who love KRAFTWERK (until 74), CAN and even NEU will probably like it, though KOLLEKTIV is probably not as inventive as them. And here it is (192kbps).
If you like it, check also the S/T album of course - its artwork is far better than this one!!

KRAUTROCK TOP#46 : COSMIC JOKERS, Galactic Supermarket (1973)

Second release of the ultimate cosmic band featuring members of ASH RA TEMPEL, WALLENSTEIN, KLAUS SCHULZE and friends, produced by Dieter Dierks. And it's really the ultra cosmic trip you could expect from a band with such a name. The direction of the music is less obvious than in the 1st album, it's more experimental but not too hard to listen to if you know krautrock. What I love particularly here is the adventurous electronic trickery and the tremendous mix by Dierks, one of his most extreme work I think.
By the way, it's hard to describe it better for a non english speaking (and even in french!!), I propose you try it here, ripped at 192kbps.

KRAUTROCK TOP#45 : EMBRYO, Rock Session (1973)

Well, the track named "Warm Canto" (3rd track) is by itself a reason to get this early EMBRYO's album, a band that some of you may find too much "jazz-rock" oriented - I think they're often right (listen to the much too long 2nd track here). I would also say that if you don't like this album, don't try the other EMBRYO's recordings (except "Opal", posted sooner), contrarily to what some say, they are not so different, at least in their 1971 / 76 period - I don't mean they're not good though, it's a very interesting band with a sound typically of their own.
Find it here, ripped at 192kbps.

ps : don't you find that the artwork is quite extraordinary? The 2nd part gives it all its meaning and is really funny.

PROMO : CARBONE LIVE à Paris

CARBONE, c'est votre serviteur et son comparse Guillaume, pour un petit set 100% synth analo, quelque part entre Add N to X et WhiteHouse - juste à titre indicatif, parce que les références écrasantes, hein...
Le tout en cloture d'une soirée orientée punk "alla early Wire".

KRAUTROCK TOP#44 : VINEGAR, S/T (1971)

Sorry for being so long in completing this top 50 list, I've lost many MP3s in my hard-drive problems.
VINEGAR made this only album, and probably they could have been better if they had kept on recording, as the main problem of this album is obviously a lack of charisma. The music is good, it's much darker than the sleeve, I don't have the words to describe it because it's basically a bass / guitar / drums / organ combo, nothing more, but nothing less. With a little more personnality, it would have been higher in my top 50.
Only ripped at 128kbps, I'm sorry for this, I don't have the original CD...
Try it " here.

KRAUTROCK TOP#43 : SIDDHARTA, Weltschmerz (1975)

To say the truth, this is probably one of my favoutite krautrock albums these days, but I wouldn't admit it until now.
It's one of the later bands of what I consider the "classic period" of krautrock (AMON DÜÜL 2, AGITATION FREE etc...), they released one album only, and the least you may notice is its weirdness! Why?
1. It's absolutely dark and "pre-gothic" in the tone (extraordinary series of minor chords to awake the dead and scare your gand-ma!)
2. I don't know another album where there are so many breaks and changes in rythm, sometimes several times in 10 seconds, as if it was a problem for the band to keep the same tempo for one minute or more.
3. It's very rich in the instruments, but doesn't sound like a demonstration.
4. You'll hear plenty of harmonies and melodies, alternating with some more improvised moments, in an almost prog style, but typically german and kraut.
5. the band seems to have great technical skills, I wish I saw them playing live, were they able to play their music as well as in the album? Their weakness is probably the voices, that may be surprising at first glance (listen to the female voice that appears in the first second? Surprising no?), but I love them now.
For all those reasons, and because the production is (unfortunately) rather amateurish, I suggest you listen to the album many times and carefully if you want to appreciate it. Finally, I would compare it to a dark early NEKTAR, to a prog PATER NOSTER, to a dark PINK FLOYD in its 70/72 era.
here's is the link.

KRAUTROCK TOP#42 : LILIENTAL, st (1978)

Well, the "supergroup" LILIENTAL will particularly interest those who like CLUSTER, NEU and HARMONIA. It's basically a CLUSTER side project with jazz krautorock band KRAAN members and the producer Conrad Plank, and it's very similar to CLUSTER / HARMONIA albums of the same era. It's sometimes naive early electronic music, sometimes space and nearly drone music, even if it's sometimes a little boring it's a very good and tasty album.
Find it here.
And, yes, I'll try to post more albums in the next days and weeks...

KRAUTROCK TOP#41 : ELOY, Inside (1973)

Obviously not the best krautrock you've heard here, "Inside" has its moments nevertheless, especially in the opening 17 minutes long track. And there's this almost classic tune that ends the album, the very melancolic "Up and down" - I love it, what a pity the sound is not better. Well, it's 25 minutes of good music (the album is only 37 minutes long), not so bad...

What do you have to know about ELOY..? Well, after a rather mediocre and straight rock 1st album, the band discovered space and prog rock; it resulted in "Inside" and, the year after, "Floating" (very similar though a little harder, that's the reason why you'll find the album too here). In 1975, ELOY seemed to enjoy so much the new direction taken by PINK FLOYD with "Dark side" and "I wish you were here" that they simply copied them; and sometimes it was rather good, like "Power and the passion" in 1975, but the truth is that it was often very boring (I can't understand why their double "Ocean" is so reputed... not bad, but so so so boring...).
In the 80s, the band has probably moved towards more 80s prog rock, but I don't really have listened to the albums...

Of course it's not the funniest nor the newest music of this selection, but "Inside" and "Floating" are really worth listening.
Find "Inside" here and "Floating" there.

KRAUTROCK TOP#40 : TANGERINE DREAM, Rubycon (1974)

Problems with my uploads make me late in the top 50, I'm sorry for this.
I was absolutely sure that I had already posted this, but... where is the post?
It's the second album of TD' "second era", after "Phaedra", their first album for Virgin. I prefer this one, it's really good if you play it loud. The two tracks are structured in the same way : at first, some ambiant noises and waves (almost new-age on side A, darker and almost like an horror movie soundtrack on side B), and then a shift towards bass sequences and simple synth / electric piano melodies, that create a fascinating soundscape in my opinion.
TD would try one last album in this style, "Stratosfear" (not forgetting the good live album "Ricochet" before falling into pure cheesy new-age music - I confess I don't know it much...
If you don't have it, find "Rubycon" here.

KRAUTROCK TOP#39 : NEKTAR, Remember the future (1973)

Back again.
With a second album by NEKTAR, remember I've posted their excellent first album sooner. It's amazing that after a rather good second album, the 3rd one xas absolutely shitty. More surprising then was this extraordinary concept album.
I think there will be 2 categories of people : those who'll love it, and those who'll hate it. The album consists in 2 long "progressive krautrock" tracks (one on each side), sung in the typical progressive way that you may not like. In my opinion, some moments sound so great that the worst moments are quickly forgotten (the beginning is probably the worst!). I'm personnaly impressed by the technical skills, NEKTAR were obviously the kind of musicians that punk rocker wanted to kill! And the album evolves beautifully towards a surprising end : a 5 minutes near disco-funk rock - remember that it was composed in 1972, from this point of view I think NEKTAR were ahead of their time.
I wanted to create more tracks to make it easier to listen to but I didn't have time, maybe I'll try to do it later if you're interested.

For the next posts, my classification does not mean as much as for the 40 first albums : obviously, TANGERINE DREAM, AMON DÜÜL II, ASH RA TEMPEL, NEU or CAN should appear again (and they probably will), but I may forget some of them to favour some other "new" bands.
here is the link (when I forget it, find it on the title of the post).