Sand's Golem could have only come from one
time and place, and that's early 1970's Germany. Anything else, and it
flat out doesn't work. What we have here is a basic folk album drenched
in Kosmische dressing. Somewhat like Dom, but not near as inventive,
pensive, or intense. This is more like watching a common folk act on
stage, but with a good buzz on (and to that point, 'On the Corner' takes
away the fuzzy lens, and it's not pretty). For one thing, it was a
studio project to begin with, mainly to help demonstrate the new
Artificial Head System. Klaus Schulze's fingerprints are all over this
from a sound perspective, so if you're not a fan of his, then I suggest
you maybe steer clear. But once Current 93's David Tibet and NWW's
Steven Stapleton went hogwild on the album (and released it jointly on
CD), it became a cult classic sought after by disciples of both groups.
And now, some years later, the "overhyped" crowd has showed up and are
squawking FOUL. Fair? No, not really. It's an understated and trippy
1970s album, which doesn't always play well in modern times. All the
same, it's easy to understand why Sand isn't highly revered in all
quarters. Take away the electronics, and the appreciation of the
unhinged experimentalism of the era, and there isn't much else to grab
onto here. File under the Good, But... category. And yes, 'Sarah' is the
gem of the album for sure.
Personal collection
CD: 1996 United Durtro (UK) as Ultraphonic Seraphim
This 2 CD set includes much more unreleased Sand material (a full disc and a
half - and as such, is worthy of a separate rating) plus
liner notes from the band, Tibet, and Stapleton + photos, etc.... A real
first class job and well worth owning. I did once have the original LP
in the early 90s, but it was not in very good shape and sold it when the
CD arrived. This is an album that must have clean sounding vinyl, or it
ruins the experience.
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