DELUXE

A wonderful album that manages to sound a little like Cluster (no surprise, with Moebius and Roedelius on hand), Neu! (member Michael Rother is on board), and even Kraftwerk and Can (hey, it's Germany, after all). It's interesting to hear musicians with a predominantly instrumental background throw some vocals into the mix, along with a sense of humor. I'd have to say that the participants were at their respective creative peaks right about this time. Michael Rother's first few solo albums and Moebius and Plank's "Rastakraut Pasta" and "Material" came out about the same time, and all are among my favorite Krautrock releases. Interesting textures, rhythms and melodies abound, and the sound quality is clear and crisp, unlike Harmonia's debut and some of Cluster's albums.