Earthstar - Salterbarty Tales. 1978 USA-New York

Another one from the CDRWL days. Let's check in on those notes first from 11/28/10:

I didn't know what to expect on this rare debut by Earthstar. Would it be the Berlin School tour-de-force of French Skyline or more towards the classically oriented electronic sounds of Atomkraft? Nein, Danke!(?) The opening track had me drooling, with processed fuzz guitar mixed in with the electronics. A definite French vibe pervades similar to what Phillippe Besombes was doing with the Pole label. The next two tracks highlight piano and harpsichord respectively, and are definite proto new age songs. Following this, we are taken back to the otherworldly sounds of the first song, though this time there's oboe buried in the mix. Perhaps the best use of the instrument I've heard in an electronic setting. 

Side 2 opens with a lengthy near side-long composition that at times is sublime and combines the best elements of the 1st and 4th songs on Side 1, and also adds a bit of sequencing. The album closes on a quieter note, but still fits squarely in the cosmic music realm. I was more than pleasantly surprised by the quality of this album.

---6/10/23

I digested that one pretty well on initial impact. It possesses this murky and mysterious feel that only the French seemed to capture. It's all over the place like Humans Only, an album I've only discovered recently. It's not quite as focused though, and some of the new age bits drag on a bit. Long album clocking in at 57:35. In obtaining this LP, I thought it might result in being my favorite by Earthstar, but that title now goes to Humans Only, though this still finds itself in second place among a killer quartet of albums.

Ownership: LP: 1978 Moontower. Single sleeve that includes what looks like a lyric insert, though the album is entirely instrumental. Recent online acquisition (2023) that replaces the cd-r that was the source for the original notes above. 

CD: 2023 Made in Germany. 5xCD set (Collected Works) housed in a fat box jewel case. This package includes all four of their released studio albums plus one bonus album that was unreleased until now. Unfortunately they appear to be from vinyl rather than master tapes. The copy used for French Skyline wasn't the best either. Superior liner notes from band member Dennis Rea provide context to the history of Earthstar. I found myself relating to all of this as if I grew up with them in Utica, New York. I was in faraway Dallas, and arrived to the same musical conclusion a few years later, but much of their background was similar to my own (minus the psychedelics I hasten to add). 

11/28/10 (first listen / review); 6/10/23 (update / new entry); 3/11/24