Klaus Schulze: Royal Festival Hall Volume 2 (1992)

Klaus Schulze - Royal Festival Hall Volume 2

KS Canon 25

Track Listing:

1.	Ancient Ambiance	44:55
2.	Anchorage	11:03
3.	Variation on B. F.	11:45

Rating: 4 Stars

This is the 25th solo album recorded by Klaus Schulze. It's a hybrid live/studio album. The first two tracks were recorded live at the Royal Festival Hall, London, on 10th September 1991. The third track was recorded in the studio the following year. It was released on CD only.

It's the fourth of five albums for which Virgin Records refused to sell the copyright and then allowed them to go out of print. If you don't already own the album, I suggest that you download it in MP3 format and actively share it with others, in order to protest against Virgin Records' marketing strategy. When they eventually give in and re-release it (or sell the copyright) you can buy a legal copy.

Both Royal Festival Hall albums were released on the same day, 9th November 1992. Why weren't they released as a double album? The answer is obvious. Two single CD's can be sold more expensively than one double CD. Virgin Records wanted to make more money. I hate corporate greed like this. I just hope that it resulted in more money flowing to Klaus himself, rather than Virgin Records pocketing the difference.

Like the first album, I haven't listened to this for a few years. I slightly prefer the live track on the first album and the studio track on the second album, so I'll give them both the same rating.

One final remark: the misspelling of the word "ambience" in the first track annoys me every time I look at it.