E2-E4

The culmination of many years' work, Gottsching produced a masterwork that left it's fingerprints all over new wave and popular 80's house and dance music. On a listenability scale, this may rank low for some. The loping beats and trancing flourishes are prone to lulls, yet remain exciting for the seasoned listener. The influence factor is off the charts for this one though, as progressive clubs in from Munich to Casablanca to London incessantly played this music, eventually morphing it into dancepop in the New Order Depeche Mode style. Progressive in every sense, the reach far exceeds the grasp. I can see how the Phideaux, Genesis, Anekdoten crowd wouldn't appreciate this album, but it's a progressive masterpiece in the true sense of the word. A fine cover and a rare release under his own name make two cherries on top.