Ash Ra Tempel (Germany)Schwingungen (1972)Genres: progressive rock, kraut rock, space rockThis is Ash Ra Tempel’s second album. I haven’t heard the first, but it is supposed to be instrumental. Here a character named John L. sings (or whatever) on the two tracks of the first side of the record. The first track can best be described as space-blues, with bluesy guitar and rhythm section, as well as “spacey” electronic sounds in the background and John L. moaning and whispering his way through the song. It works better than you might suspect, I might add.
On the second track, “Darkness: Flowers must Die”, John L. screams like a madman for twelve minutes, supported by various unspecified electronic devices, sax, guitar and a rhythm section that sounds like Hawkwind (if you disregard the fact that the rhythm section of Hawkwind includes guitar). The whole thing is actually really good and you can hardly keep yourself from screaming along when John L. shouts “I want to be a stone” and sounds as if he meant it. The lyrics are of the anti-modern-urban-life kind, but that won’t bother you if you dislike stuff like that, because it is nearly impossible to hear what the singer is screaming most of the time.
Unfortunately the second side consists of one long piece of uninteresting background music. I guess it is supposed to be atmospheric but it sounds like a lame version of King Crimson’s “Moonchild”. Rather disappointing after the first two tracks.
Schwingungen consists of three long tracks. The two tracks on side A are floating aggressive space-blues in the case of “Light: Look at Your Sun” and then a furious vocal performance in the even more aggressive “Darkness: Flowers Must Die”. A raga-like kraut-rock song with lots of percussion and saxes. It’s, however, the energetic and bewildering singing and shouting that steals the show on this one. Vocals aren’t usually part of Ash Ra Tempel’s instrumentation but on this album they are. Together with bass, guitars, keys, drums and saxes.
“Suche und Liehe” takes up all of side B but in contrast to the two other songs this is a long floating, non-aggressive contemplation piece with no vocals. The last minutes of the piece develops into a more “normal” song structure and even offers some wordless singing of the “Aaaaah” type, pretty good actually. It sure feels very much like a background song, the kind of music that don’t really do much for you but you don’t mind have it going on in the background whilst doing something else and maybe only partly taking notice of the music. The song is full of quiet sounds and effects from various instruments, I agree with the other reviewer in that that’s not unlike Crimson’s “Moonchild” but never as exciting or interesting
This is a good album of space and kraut rock, not overly so but good.
