Dark Side Of The Moog, The - The Dark Side Of The Moog IX

The disc starts us off in dark droney tunnels. The tone changes rather quickly. Slow moving brilliance, building to some chilled beats. There are some more upbeat elements similar to alien community I+II's beat oriented material. The music is deep and emotional sounding. With -7:30 in part one, Klaus Schulze shines. This mixes with (at -4:55) an amazing synth combination, that will make you smile. Hypnotic mind trance. The journey slows into a klaus schulze ambient fadeout.

part two -
Again, drones building into something moving, and something impending. A rather intense piece that never seems to let you go. It hovers and haunts.

part three -
A brighter beginning, leading way to an upbeat sequence. There are some nice tangerine dream moments throughout. A beautiful ambient dream swells within. With -1:40, schulze emerges again.

part four and five -
Ambience with a nice build. The beat like sequences slowly tease us with a short coming climax (starting -8:15). A single loop builds with intensity, only to fade away. At -6:53, some electronic tangerine dream synths swirl around the backdrop beat. The cd closes on with some heavenly samples. Slow moving namlook loops, build slightly, and come back down. With -6:53, schulze breaks into the foreground. A slow funky bass lurks through the electronics creating a chilled environment. Again there are some elements from the alien community series.

part six -
A nice highlight of schulze and namlook to end a wonderful journey (even though rather short).

Whats offered here is "Klaus Schultze re-sequencing" - Klaus Schultze provided material that Pete Namlook lay his hands on. While the craftmanship of the two musicians is undoubtedly excellent and the disc is a pleasant listen (for some it is the holy grail of the DSOTM series even), thats not very original in my humble opinion. If you know or own Schultze's "Contemporary Works II." collection, you'll recognize it from the very opener - its a different arrangement of "The Rhodes Elegy" found on CWII. Well, the DSOTM series apparently is one of the most selling series on Fax (if you count the re-releases on Ambient World in, it really must be one of the label's cash-cows), but with this release and its predecessor, I find it has passed its climax, and would be very well put to rest, but alas, rumour has it than #10 is in the making...

This is quite possibly the best in the DSOTM series. Lush and expansive, with a thoroughly cosmic feel. The nods to Pink Floyd are very much in evidence here. Not a bad moment through the entire disc.