Klaus Schulze: Trancefer (1981)

Klaus Schulze - Trancefer

KS Canon 14

Track Listing:

1.	A Few Minutes After Trancefer	18:23
2.	Silent Running	18:58

Bonus Tracks:

3.	A Few Minutes After Trancefer (Version 33 Halfspeed)	18:17
4.	Silent Running (Version 45)	19:07

Notes:
(1) Wolfgang Tiepold plays cello.
(2) Michael Shrieve plays drums.

Rating: 5 Stars
Bonus Tracks: 5 Stars

This is the 14th solo album recorded by Klaus Schulze. It's his second album recorded with the GDS (General Development System). Fortunately Klaus is concentrating on making good music this time, not just the type of gimmicks he used on "Dig It".

This was Klaus Schulze's first solo album to be released on the IC (Innovative Communication) label. As I mentioned in my review of "Tonwelle", it was usual for the LPs on this label to be recorded to be played at 45 rpm, not the industry standard of 33 rpm. The reason was supposedly that the basses sounded better. Klaus and his publisher KDM decided to test whether this was really the case. They pressed alternative versions of the LPs to be played at different speeds for comparison. This was a good idea, but, for some reason that both Klaus and KDM have forgotten, different mixes of the tracks were used, making a direct comparison impossible. The alternative mixes have been added as bonus tracks on the CD.

It's difficult for me to say which versions are better. The alternative mix of "A Few Minutes After Trancefer" is less minimalist, and Wolfgang Tiepold's cello is more prominent. At the beginning of the alternate mix of "Silent Running" there are crackling sounds that sound like scratches on an LP, which is impossible on a digital recording. I prefer the original versions, because they're the versions I listened to over and over again when I first bought the LP.