ANGST (OST)

There's nothing to be enthusiastic about this soundtrack made by Klaus Schulze. There's no longer the presence of gorgeous, out space loops or moving, floating analog synth strings that caracterizes so well his classic period. The music here is only made of minimal soundscapings with some naive pop-ish moments. All compositions are really passable if not mediocre. This is a kind of common mix between glacial abstract melodies and kitschy sci-fi atmospheres for B movies. Regarding the materials used and the constant access to minimal-accessible melodies, this album is in the direct vein of Klaus Schulze & Rainer Bloss fruiful collaboration. The best soundtracks written by Klaus Schulze definitely remain the scary-intense-majestic-intricate Body Love I & II. I frankly believe that Schulze didn't success to renew his style after the seventies. Dune is probably the last that belongs to his golden years. Published in 1981 and in1983 Trancefer / Audentity announce a certain musical decline and an opening door to easy-listening, friendly radio-ish electronic grooves. Babel and Dig it are for sure his two best 80's albums because they bring something new to his musical aesthetism without being mainstream. It's absolutely not the case with the conventional Angst.

The previous soundtrack from Klaus led to a remarkable and astounding album ("Body Love II"). Almost unmatchable for sure. This "Angst" (fear) holds some fine ambient part like the opener "Freeze" which should please any fans from the great man. A tranquil ballad from the outer space. Who couldn't be charmed?

The brilliance of the early days aren't matched of course. The magic is not as possessive as it ought to be. Most of the tracks are pleasant but somewhat meaningless at the same time.

Take a song as "Pain" for instance. It is quite a good example of a tune that features both aspects from the great man: elegant spacey parts combined with electronic beats from the eighties. No wonder if I tell you that the former holds my preference.

The splendid feel from the seventies masterpieces or great work are quite behind though. I acknowledge that it was quite difficult to keep on the same high quality level (actually, exceptional to tell the truth) and the eighties were not so brilliant for Klaus (at lest it is my HHO).

There are not many songs that are worth a mention, unfortunately (except "Freeze") and I can hardly rate this album above the three stars rating. The music performed could have been more enjoyable, more spacey, more grandiose. Instead, the fan got some standardized "dance" beat tracks as "Surrender" which are quite disturbing. The same direction as TD seems to get a hold in here. But Klaus was some years ahead.

Some parts are quite enjoyable to be honest (even if more on the electronic beat side). A sculptural song as "Beyond" is remarkable and should deserve by its own merit at least a four star rating. But as a whole, I can't get over the three stars rating for this one.

The most remarkable thing about Schulze's second soundtrack is that it only contains short pieces. The longest of the 5 tracks clocks off at 10.15. That aside, there are a number of other features here that make this album hardly sound like a Schulze album. And hardly like a good album in general.

Freeze is a dreamy opener featuring a light sequence of synth vibes and some moody synth voice chords. It is rather different from his 70's work and sounds more composed then the improvisations of old. The result maintains the rich melancholic mood that is so typical in Schulze's works. A good start.

Pain is something else entirely and adds an almost synth pop flavour to Schulze's sound. It starts very captivating and its slow steady beat suggests a change towards a more upbeat continuation. When that happens around minute 4, the result is a bit disappointing. As expected, the beat gets faster but it's not really captivating, it hasn't aged that well and makes the piece rather monotonous.

Memory is a disappointing new age excursion. Typical soundtrack stuff.

Surrender features a slightly industrial beat and synth voices. The combination is weird at first but not totally undeserving. It is the sound of an artist trying to evolve by experimenting with contemporary influences. Not bad but hardly vintage Schulze material.

Beyond sticks closer to the style of the previous 3 albums but it goes by pretty much unnoticed.

Overall, not a very strong album from Klaus and not enough good material for 3 stars. Maybe the bonus on the 2005 reissue adds a star but I'm not planning a purchase any time soon.

Angst is, to me, Schulze's first really compelling album of the 1980s. Although I don't think he managed to successfully integrate his long-form compositional style of the 1970s with modern equipment on his "serious" albums from around this time such as Audentity, on Angst he is confined to working with short pieces and consequently is compelled to edit - and on editing down his monolithic works to get at the root of a musical idea, his sound is enriched. Album highlights include Freeze, a spooky track on the verge of the dark ambient material Brian Eno would unleash on On Land, which would find use in Michael Mann's Manhunter.

Not one of Klaus Schulze's better albums, Angst is nonetheless pretty good, which says a lot: by my count, Schulze has eight albums which I consider worthy of four or five stars.

It's no surprise that Angst was intended as soundtrack music. It employs sounds similar to those used by Harold Faltermeyer on the Thief of Hearts and Beverly Hills Cop soundtracks, and even more like Jan Hammer's Miami Vice score - - all of which were released in 1984. Angst appeared first, though I very much doubt that it was a direct influence on either Faltermeyer or Hammer. At any rate, if you're looking for soundtrack music built around mid-1980s sequencers and LinnDrums, you've come to the right place.

If you approach Angst as a fan of Schulze's 1970s work, as I did, you might be persuaded to believe that this is some other musician named Klaus Schulze. And if you're a pessimist, it'll confirm everything you've heard about 1980s progressive music: the songs are indeed shorter, less sophisticated, and more mechanized.

While some 1970s prog-rock bands (E.L.O., the Moody Blues, Rush, etc.) actually produced some of their classic work in the 1980s, that doesn't seem to be the case with Schulze, although I've not yet heard his entire output from that decade. Still, Angst is clearly better than its predecessors, Audentity and Dziękuję Poland: Live '83. It may be less intricate than those works, but its clarity and focus make for an enjoyable listen.