Harmonia 76 – Tracks & Traces

HARMONIA 76 - TRACKS & TRACES (RYKO RCD 10428) CD 54m
According to the banner across the top of this CD's packaging, it states boldly that this is "A previously unreleased document of the landmark 1976 recording which brought together four pioneers of contemporary electronic music in the studio for the first and only time!" - Wrong! Well "unreleased" is true, but anyone that has THEATRE WORKS by H.J. Roedelius will know that their first encounter in the studio was in 1975, and also this fact that Harmonia & Eno worked together on a number of occasions is well-documented elsewhere. So, either RYKO have been misinformed, or they're spinning a whopper of a fib for promotional purposes. Also, for 1976 (if that's right) this must be at the tail-end of Harmonia history, and clearly this would seem so, as there's scarcely any notable Michael Rother guitar work, in fact very little of his influence is felt at all.
Whatever it is, I don't think RYKO should have bothered issuing this. After all, it's a very strange inclusion for their catalogue, notably as they are usually sticklers for recording quality, and this has all manner of clicks and drop-outs, and there are some amusing bum notes too. Much of the music I recognise as variations on recordings elsewhere, like the opening Vamos Companeros - though I'm not quite sure what it is. Luneberg Heath feels like something from BEFORE & AFTER SCIENCE, a typically sedate song of the era. Best of all is Sometimes in Autumn, an ambient excursion in the Sehr Kosmische vein, or Roedelius' more subtle mid-70's solo work.
So, for completists and real avid fans of the Cluster/Eno axis, this is going to be an essential purchase, for just filling in a bit of history and not its musical merits. Anyone else shouldn't really bother, and put their money to better use with something like a real Cluster, Eno or Harmonia album, or why not the newest cosmic ex-Harmonia super-session, the phenomenal Space Explosion?
my review in Audion #39 (December 1997)