Kraftwerk: Radio-Activity

Following the breakthrough success of 'Autobahn' in 1974, reviewed here, the next Kraftwerk album, 'Radio-Activity' was released in October 1975. Despite being released so soon after the band's first major record, this album shows a significant progression in style and is to be commended thus. This progression between albums is particularly significant in the case of Kraftwerk, which noticeably progress stylistically with every release.

Kraftwerk: Radio-Activity

The album begins with a short introductory track, 'Geiger Counter' before the title track 'Radio-Activity' marks the first musical material of the album. This title track was the only track from the album to be subsequently released from the album and has since been incorporated in the band's contemporary live performances, also appearing in their 'Minimum-Maximum' live album, reviewed here. This is followed up with the highly bleak 'Radioland.'

Kraftwerk are noted as a major influence by many of the big names of the 80's synthpop movement, including Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD). When listening to a later track from the album, 'Antenna,' the clear parallels to synthpop music which was soon to become mainstream are clear. To a lesser extent, the band's use of the vocoder within their musical setting in tracks such as 'The Voice Of Energy' and 'Radio Stars' could be seen as popularising the musical effect into mainstream music, again this was used extensively later by a number of acts.

While the allusions to synthpop are clear throughout the album, the penultimate track 'Transistor' illustrates a musical style akin to the musical style of Vangelis. While this album lacks the same degree of an impact which the band's previous album 'Autobahn' did, the album remains a critical historic release which was highly influential on the subsequent development of western popular music. The album was of critical importance to the development of Kraftwerk's own music, bridging the gap between the experimental days of Krautrock and their later sequence based offerings such as the later 'Computer World' album which greatly influenced the development of techno music.

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Jean Michel Jarre: Hong Kong

The French electronic musician Jean Michel Jarre, who rose to fame in the 1970's following his releases of Oxygene, reviewed here, and Equinoxe, reviewed here, among his performance credits owns the title of the first western musician to be allowed to perform in the People's Republic of China. Later in his career, during March 1994, Jarre performed in Hong Kong, subsequently releasing a live album documenting the performance.

Jean Michel Jarre: Hong Kong

The 1994 tour celebrated the recent release of Jarre's 'Chronologie' album. Unsurprisingly therefore, five of the eighteen tracks on the album are from the 'Chronologie' release, with 'Chronologie Part 2' being the first musical track on the album after 'Countdown' which records the audience and a countdown to the show's opening. The album is commendable for its warm sound and highly exciting feel musically, quickly seen from the start.

Later in the album comes 'Souvenir De Chine' and 'Oxygene 4,' which are both to be expected among a typical performance from the artist. One of the interesting curios of the album is 'Digisequencer' which is not found on any studio album by Jarre. The performance of 'Les Chantes Magnetiques Part 2' which features on this album is also of merit, showing Jarre's exuberance quite audibly.

Unfortunately, this album has neglected to receive critical acclaim, a great shame considering that this is one of Jarre's finest live albums that captures very well the excitement of a live electronica performance from the comfort of your living room.  

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Tangerine Dream: Booster Volume II

Following the success of the 2008 compilation 'Booster,' reviewed here, a second volume, 'Booster Volume II' was added in 2010 to the series which at time of writing includes four volumes in total. This new collection of works again comprise of a combination of live recordings and studio work and also includes some tracks from the group's Five Atomic Seasons series.

Tangerine Dream: Booster Volume II

The album begins with two contemporary reflections of works released several years ago by the group: 'Cloudburst Flight 2008' and 'Scrapyard 2008.' Compared to the original versions, released some thirty years previous, it is evident that both tracks have greatly benefited from modern synthesis and mixing technology. Being typical of Tangerine Dream's Independent Years, the sonic quality of the tracks in the album are a fine example to many electronic musicians.

The album contains in total 20 tracks across two CDs. Of note is the penultimate track 'Beyond The Cottage And The Lake,' which cannot easily be found on any other release. This particular track exemplifies sequence based composition and while it contains largely repetitive material from a musical standpoint, there is great variety in the track which generates great interest for the ear. This track is then followed with 'Trauma' which has become one of the iconic pieces of the group's Five Atomic Seasons series. This track could be considered in some respect to be an electronic application of the contemporary classical music tradition. From its intimidating pseudo-bell introduction to the emphatic musical textures which occur later, this piece is one of the best crafted tracks to be seen in the band's contemporary output.

For the avid collector, this compilation serves as a great accompaniment to the previous 'Booster' volume and showcases a further number of fine compositions by Tangerine Dream.

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Camel: The Snow Goose

The band Camel are well known for their prolific output of progressive rock compositions during the 1970's. 'The Snow Goose' continues their trend at the time of creating concept albums, albums which express a story through its music. In this case, the album tells the story of 'The Snow Goose' by Paul Gallico, having previously found success of their material based on Tolkien's 'Lord Of The Rings.'

Camel: The Snow Goose

The album begins with the sombre and highly brooding musical illustration of 'The Great Marsh.' This lasts little over two minutes and uses repetitive synth dissonances to create its dark mood. Coming next is  the more upbeat exposition of the main character, Rhyader. The track 'Rhyader' goes to town is unashamedly typical of progressive rock in its style and features a very interesting second section.

The later track 'Sanctuary' echoes the brooding mood seen earlier in 'The Great Marsh,' the alternative harmonic setting and use of an acoustic guitar however give it a sense of optimism as 'Fritha' opens. One of the album's notable characteristics is the expression which is achieved through purely instrumental music. One could go as far as to draw links between this and output from Tangerine Dream due to the instrumentation and instrumental nature of composition.

This album is not short on accomplished composition. One of the highlights is 'Dunkirk,' which evolves into a frantic illustration of progressive rock at one of its finest moments. To its credit, this album is one of Camel's most accessible works which fans of many musical styles will enjoy and the composers' skill at illustrating the story of the snow goose is admirable. Such a wide varieties of character and moods are rarely seen in albums today and that is just one reason why this reviewer is proud to have this album in their musical library.

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