Vanity Of Sounds

 

 

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Klaus Schulze's 84th ( !!! ). With so many Schulze albums out there it's really very daunting trying to sniff out the really good ones. For me it's been hit and miss. Not all of them are capital "G" great, but all lot of them are. "Vanity of Sounds" is just a hair 'underneath' such truly phenomenal releases as "Mirage", "Kontinuum", "Live@Klangart" and ""Rheingold" ( w/ Lisa Gerrard ). "Vanity" is more linear than those, and this may be, for me, why it doesn't quite make it into the upper of the upper echelon. I love it when Schulze layers and paints lush, complex pieces that seem to fractally regress infinitely in texture and sound picture. "Vanity of Sounds" however, features another side of Schulze - his more lateral, horizontal or more 'linear' style. He sets up some really great rhythmic motifs, very finely crafted for sure, and then plays his improvised melody lines over top, rather than the forward movement being achieved through the massive shifting of repeated motifs, as on "Mirage" and "Kontinuum" . In that respect this one is probably closer to "Live@Klangart", which strikes a very nice balance of layered textures and linear improvising. In fact the inner photographs of "Vanity of Sounds" were taken at the same even as those used to illustrate "Klangart".

"Vanity of Sounds" is a re-release of the first disc of a set of 10 previously known as "Contemporary Works I" from 2000. That original volume of work saw Schulze collaborating, on most of the discs of that set, with a Cologne music/dj collective, 'Solar Moon System. Many of his fans at the time bemoaned all the collaboration and demanded more solo Schulze. So when arranging for the this re-release he opted to re-issue only his solo work. He states quite clearly that the 10 disc set will NOT be re-released. The album has a very 'live' feel and that's largely due to the fact that he was playing live so much around that time in his career and producing at least two 30 minute pieces a day for at least a year!

Schulze describes "Vanity" as actualy being one long piece, divided into four movements - the four long tracks of the CD. The album opens with the title track, a typical Klaus Schulze piece in classic Berlin School style - sequencer dominated arpeggios and minor key melody lines. Good, nice, like it, not a problem but it's the rest of the album that really shines.

Track two, "Sacred Romance" has some very fine elements to it. The backing tracks, synth figures, bass, percussion provide a rich context for the three main melodic sections. First, the lead melody line is laid out extempore with a sampled electric guitar sound that gives each note a crisp, "plucked" attack. Later after a still point at its centre, the melody work returns with some really nice Hammond B3-like textures. There is another 'tacit' in the music briefly then a third section of some really nice 'classical guitar' soloing comes in to close the piece off. He seems to have a great affinty for classical guitar as his melodic figures are very close approximations of what an actual guitarist would play on strings. Great musical intuition in that. His melodic work is clearly improvised and as such doesn't always shape and resolve itself perfectly, but that's not why you listen to Schulze anyway. Melodic development is not his strong suit, but when you let go, as is always best when listening to his music, and just enjoy the ride. Listening to Schulze is more like watching the scenery roll past your 'windows' as you journey along. After an appropriate while the melody disappears and we groove along to the sequenced bass line and subtle percussion variations, which set up the entry of some very lovely synthesizer work that finishes the piece off. Moody, somewhat funky with that late night feel so often heard in his work. This is the track that really takes you "IN", submersing you in that stream of eternity that Klaus Schulze is famous for. The rest of the album too, is pure gold.

Track 3, "The Wings of String"begins with some aleatory effects and the muted sound of monks chanting before the synth work starts. In a minor key, of course, this piece features a very nice display of haunting synth arpeggios, which then segue into airy and mysterious string and choral sounds. "Wings" then slowly and gradually floats 'down' into a laid back groove with hushed textures and glides along there for long space of perceptual time. Then before the piece ends, the original synth arpeggios reprise in one last flourish before the track settles into the segue to the last track, "From Words to Silence". The last section is a dark, mysterious finish that recapitulates the effects and chanting monks that appeared at the beginning of the song.

"From Words to Silence", the last 'movement' of "Vanity of Sounds" finishes of the 'suite' in a very cool laid back tone with an eerie vocodered speaking voice that's indecipherable. The funky, quasi-reggae beat along with its accompanying punctuating bass line drives the piece along in a close your eyes and roll your head in rhythm tempo. A surprise shift happens and the album finishes in an evanescent mist of mood and silence. A lonely distant 'pipe' organ line coda's the album in a yearning, atmospheric finish that dissolves ever so slowly into eternity. Wonderful.

The more I listen to "Vanity of Sounds" the more I like it. I am growing to love it now and hugely appreciate that this one didn't grab me right away. Now it has become an indispensable part of my Klaus Schulze collection.

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