Ash Ra Tempel - Inventions For Electric Guitar. 1974 Germany

Here's where Manuel Göttsching began his solo career, though he maintained the Ash Ra Tempel moniker for one more album. Inventions for Electric Guitar was a revolutionary album for the day and is still forward-looking over 35 years later. Creating a sound-on-sound electronic vibe using only guitars and tape loops, Manuel weaves a wonderful tapestry of music that is at once intense and yet beautiful. He adds color with vicious solos while the guitar loops are bouncing in the background. Yet another brilliant work - and something entirely different for his past works.

It's been said this is the first electronic album performed entirely on electric guitar. And while Achim Reichel employed a similar tactic, his albums were group efforts. Gunther Schickert, another follower of this technique, also first released his landmark Samtvogel in 1974.

Ownership: LP: 1974 Kosmische Musik. Single sleeve. Online acquisition (2020). Upgrade on former copies. My first LP copy came from The Record Gallery in Dallas (1985) on the Pop Import imprint.

CD: 2004 Arcangelo (Japan). Papersleeve edition as part of a box set that includes Ash Ra Tempel's first 2 albums.

1985; 1995; 2/9/01 (Gnosis); 4//05; 1/10/10 (new entry)