Klaus Schulze: Shadowlands (2013)

Klaus Schulze - Shadowlands

KS Album 53

Track Listing (CD 1):

1.	Shadowlights	41:12
2.	In Between	17:07
3.	Licht und Schatten	17:23

Track Listing (Bonus CD):

1.	The Rhodes Violin	55:24
2.	Tibetan Loops	17:50

Rating: 5 Stars
Bonus Tracks: 4 Stars

This is the 53rd solo album recorded by Klaus Schulze, his first album since "Big in Japan" in 2010. This is the longest gap there has ever been between albums. I suspect that he was slowing down because of his health problems. It's fortunate that his fans were being kept happy with the recent La Vie Electronique albums.

It's a strange CD, as far as the packaging is concerned. The liner notes are written by someone who doesn't know how to write good German. Several other musicians appear on some tracks, but they're not listed, except on the Discogs web site, which I don't consider 100% reliable. That's to say, it's only as reliable as its contributors, and I don't know who wrote the Shadowlands page. It starts off by calling the album "ambient", which is utter nonsense.

In the case of past albums, bonus CDs were included with the rereleased versions. In this case the bonus CD was only included with the first printing. The version currently on sale at Amazon only consists of the first CD. It's also more expensive than the price I paid for the double-CD.

"Shadowlights" is a standalone track. "In Between" and "Licht und Schatten" are a single piece of music, separated at the point of the mood change. In "Licht und Schatten" there's a female voice that sounds like Lisa Gerrard. If it really is her, it's doubtful that she actively participated in making the track. Her voice is only briefly used, so it's more likely that Klaus used pre-recorded samples.

The best track is "Shadowlights", which is slow, repetitive and hypnotic. A violin is interwoven with the synthesizer sequences. It's one of the best tracks recorded by Klaus in his later years.

"The Rhodes Violin" is a good track once it starts, but it takes a long, long time to warm up. The first 20 minutes are painfully slow. "Tibetan Loops" is full of annoying male vocals which sound like they're made by Thomas Kagermann. Whoever it is, he should have remained quiet.