Michael Hoenig's only 70's solo venture turned out to be one of the finest of the Berlin School albums from the time, comparable to similar era works from both Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. This was not by accident. Hoenig himself is part of Berlin underground royalty having been a key figure of the pioneering Agitation Free from the early 70s. This was followed by a fine collaboration with Manuel Gottsching (not released until the 90s), and then a brief few months stint as Peter Baumann's replacement in Tangerine Dream. His education with these masters was not lost, and here he provides some fine sequencing, unique tape manipulations (something he patented with his field recordings with Agitation Free), melodic keyboard soloing, and guest guitars. The latter provided by former band mate Lutz Ulbrich. Also guesting is vocalist Micky Duwe from Metropolis, but perhaps best known for participating in the "Seven Up" sessions with Timothy Leary and Ash Ra Tempel. Some enlightened record executive at Warner Brothers had the wherewithal to release this in the United States (perhaps due to his impending relocation as a Hollywood soundtrack maker), where it unfortunately, no doubt, became a buck bin special within weeks. That said, it ultimately lead to Hoenig's album being heard by far more people than would normally be the case for an obscure elektronik artist from Germany. And is now considered a classic for the style. A designation it deserves.
Ownership: LP: 1978 Warner Bros. Single sleeve. Recent acquisition (Feb 2022) from a local store inside an antique mall. Originals are relatively common in the States. In the early 80s, as a teenager just starting to collect obscurities, this was a title I ran into often, and I bought one for $1. I replaced that LP with the below CD many years ago.
CD: 1987 Kuckuk. Standard jewel case release which offers little else. However this is good driving music, so I'll keep it too.
1/1/15 (new entry); 2/1/22; 7/22/22
1/1/15 (new entry); 2/1/22; 7/22/22
I agree, this is definitely a classic of the genre. I bought this on CD not so long ago from a mainstream vendor for a good price and they're still carrying it, so it doesn't look all that scarce to me (not over here in Europe anyway). Now the Hoenig/Goettsching album you mention, that is pretty hard to find, sadly.
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