LA VIE ELECTRONIQUE 5

Episode V in the Schulze retrospective 'La Vie Electronique' consists almost entirely of concert recordings from the winter 76-77 tour. Right at his creative peak and this collection shows it. It's a lavish set, for the price of a regular CD you get 3 CDs again, each one lasting around 75 minutes. Playing these 3 CDs in a row is not recommended, unless you wouldn't mind attending 3 concerts in a row from the same artist.

CD1 starts with "Berlin Schöneberg", a Berlin radio recording from Dec 15, 1976. The sound quality is just bit below the high quality standard of the LVE series. It is still quite enjoyable but it has a bit of a mono feel to it which doesn't really become Schulze's music very well. The second track "Vie de Rêve" is the oldest recording in this set, from in Reims on April 26, 1976. It's one of Schulze's crowning achievements, starting with an half hour long improvisation with slowly spinning minor key chords, beautiful harmonies and an ecstatic build of tension. It's a variation on the material available on LVE4 and one of my preferred versions. It's downright chilling when the moog joins around minute 9. Brilliant. Needless to say this needs to be played at the loudest possible volume your system and ears can manage.

CD2 has two pieces from a concert in Brussels, November 1976. Both have the same basic sequencer pattern and while 'Nostalgic Echo' is brilliant, 'Titanische Tage' would have fared better dropping the sequencers. Fast forward to the ending section which is more experimental and creepy. The CD ends with a short recording for German television, quite well known from YouTube this one.

CD3 mainly consist of a German concert in Oberhausen, 3 days apart from the Brussels concert on CD2. So the music is similar in mood and sound but still it's very impressive how Schulze creates something unique and new every night from the same basic ingredients. 'The Oberhausen Tape' is a concert fragment from the same period.

This collection contains some brilliant gems again but I find none of the CDs to be consistently strong. 3.5 stars. I would place it just a bit below LVE2, LVE4 and LVE6.