Klaus Schulze: Irrlicht (1972)

Most of my friends know me as a fan of rock music. What they don't know is that I'm also a big fan of Klaus Schulze's music. I own almost all of his solo albums on CD, as well as a few of his collaborations with other artists. I've decided to listen to all of his solo albums in order and say a few words about each of them. I'll also include his collaborations if I consider that he was at least 50% responsible for the music. That's difficult to decide in some cases, but if there are any questions about whether a CD should be included in the list I'll point it out when I get to it.

Klaus Schulze's publisher, Klaus Dieter Müller, better known as KDM, has officially numbered the albums that he considers to be canon. I'll use his numbering, whenever available. He only numbered the first 91 albums, so I'll have to make assumptions about the numbers of the following albums. If he reads this blog and disagrees with any of my assumptions I'll be happy to make changes.

The early albums were released on LP. If a CD re-release includes bonus tracks I'll list them separately. I'll give each album a rating from 1 to 5, based on the quality of the original tracks.

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Klaus Schulze - Irrlicht

KS Canon 1

Track Listing:

1.	1. Satz: Ebene	23:23
2.	2. Satz: Gewitter	05:39
3.	3. Satz: Exil Sils Maria	21:25

Bonus Tracks:

4.

Dungeon

24:00

Notes: Tracks 1 and 2 are combined as a single track.

Rating: 5 Stars
Bonus Tracks: 5 Stars

I found "Irrlicht" in the record store where I usually shopped, Virgin Records on Corporation Street, Birmingham, next door to the Magistrates Court. I already knew the name Klaus Schulze. He had appeared as a drummer on albums made by Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel.

The album was recorded with the assistance of a symphony orchestra at the Free University of Berlin. Klaus was allowed to record the orchestra while it was rehearsing. He took the tape back to his studio (probably his apartment) and played instruments over the recording; mostly an electronic organ, but also a guitar, a zither and percussive instruments.

The exact origin of the bonus track is uncertain, but with all probability it was recorded for Standard Elektrik Lorenz (SEL) as background music for their booth at the 1972 Hanover Trade Fair.

This is without a doubt the album I've listened to more often than anything else. When I was in my first year of university I listened to it every day before I left the house. I've listened to it hundreds of times from beginning to end, pausing only to turn over the LP. I bought extra copies to give to my girlfriends; some appreciated it, others didn't. My own copy wore out and I had to re-buy the LP twice. I bought the CD twice, because my first copy was stolen by Thomas Kuzilla of Dearborn Heights, Michigan. I'll be mentioning him a few times in my Klaus Schulze reviews.

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These are the two albums on which Klaus Schulze appeared before recording his first solo album:

Tangerine Dream - Electronic Meditation (1970)

Edgar Froese (keyboards, guitar)
Conrad Schnitzler (violin, cello)
Klaus Schulze (drums)

Rating: 2 Stars

This album is hardly musical. It's experimental noise.

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Ash Ra Tempel - Ash Ra Tempel (1971)

Manuel Göttsching (guitar)
Hartmut Enke (bass guitar)
Klaus Schulze (drums)

Rating: 5 Stars

The three musicians were jamming in the studio and having a great time. Klaus Schulze has called this album the first ever space rock album, but I don't know enough about the genre to say whether this is correct.