“Dziekuje Poland is to the newborn era of Digital EM what ...Live... was for the analog one”
CD 1 (75:53)
1 Katowice 26:22
2 Warsaw 24:16
3 The Midas Hip Hop Touch 25:15
CD 2 (78:34)
1 Lodz 20:59
2 Gdansk 15:45
3 Dziekuje 5:52
4 Dzien dobry! 35:58 (Bonus Track)
IC| KS 80.040/41 (1983)
Revisited Records | SPV 304972
(2 CD 154:27) (V.F.)
(Minimalist and orchestral Berlin School EM)
Recorded during the Polish tour that followed the release of Audentity, DZIEKUJE POLAND is to the newborn era of digital EM what ... Live... was for the analog one. Masterly, Klaus Schulze restores the main lines of his last studio album with staggering versions of Spielglocken and Cellistica while diving into his immortal X with a version of Ludwig II von Bayern. Powerful and puzzling with some violent orchestral intrusions which change abruptly the course of long musical frescoes interpreted with a surprising cohesion, it's an inescapable in the career of Klaus Schulze. And Revisited Records continues to dig in the vaults of the German virtuoso by offering a reworked version which includes another surprising version of Katowice.
A soft synth floats in a mood with slow evolutions that a strong blow of orchestral sampling à la Schulze strikes quite hard, releasing Rainer Bloss delicate piano which cavorts on a light and harmonious air. Another slicing symphonic warning shot! And the movement becomes dizzier, jerky on a tempo alienated by undisciplined segments. The calm returns on a hyper melodious piano which lulls its last notes up to the implementation of a brisk and twitchy sequential movement. The tempo is furious and beats an unbridled measure around the roaring of primates which switch into acuteness solos hissing on a nervous and minimalist rhythm. A rhythm that we know to have heard it on Audentity in the shape of Spielglocken. This puzzling spiral fresco changes its intonations on the knocks of samplings which parade all along the track, opening the corridors on hard-hitting synth solos and beautiful orchestrations where cello and violin are melting themselves into these luxurious samplings. And this wonderful movement of rhythmic alienation that is Katowice is dying in a little restful finale where some violent cacophonous bows and other more pleasant ones caressing the paradoxes of an ending to the instincts of Audentity. In great shape, Klaus is serving us a splendid interpretation of Audentity's Spielglocken. Warsaw is my preferred track here. Nervous and pulsating, the rhythm settles down straight with a piano rolling on nervous keys, and where the incisive orchestral arrangements let off steam in the waiting of another rhythmic direction. And the rhythm becomes fluid. Warsaw (Cellistica) flows with a held frenzy around the metallic percussions, banging like iron tubes colliding, on a heavy but flowing movement. A frenzied minimalist movement which crosses the barrier of time through superb synths solos. Wild synth which adjusts their long kermises on great permutable structures, shaped by intense whirlwinds, which modify the rhythmic axes to filter some tunes that stick into the eardrums, thanks to an incredible play of synth. This synth is quite audacious and gobbles up all of the electronic marvels that shook my ears since a very long time. The layout of the metallic percussions is beyond any imagination. This is great art with a soul that could only come from an artist as Klaus Schulze and the 11th minute always strikes me quite hard. The Midas Hip hop Touch is the first bonus track of this Revisited Records. It's a track that we can also find on the Jubilee Edition with a five minutes in plus. This has a very supple frenzy on tribal conga drums that gives the impression of being at a clanic incantation. I do believe that it shouldn't be there because it doesn't fit within the mood of the wild rhythms of DZIEKUJE POLAND. It's a loud track which spoils the fiesta begun with Katowice and Warsaw.
The CD 2 begins with Lodz. Klaus Schulze talks to the crowd and announces that he is going to make an interpretation of Ludwig II Von Bayern from the timeless X. And a huge wave of dark organ opens this movement which aims towards a more crystal clear tone; the big strings section which amplified the original version being absent. But, believe me, that remains a very beautiful live rendition with all the nuances in it and the whole subtlety in Ludwig's phases. It's a little bit like hearing an acoustic interpretation of it, except that the orchestral are denser and more intense, respecting thus the foundations of this structure incredibly fluid that is Ludwig II Von Bayern. After this classical, Klaus Schulze and Rainer Bloss let hear us their knowledge by delivering a mini jam which sometimes touches slightly the indifference while that in certain place the coherence reaches its target. I was never able to stand Gdansk and Dziekuje. To me, they are two noisy whirlwind of fillers where Schulze ends by thanking everyone (Dziekuje), except Rainer Bloss...or I simply missed it! The bonus track is worthily. It's a more complete and less random interpretation of Katowice that began this double cd set live album. More fluid it maintains all of its beauty of its avant-gardism.
The magic behind DZIEKUJE POLAND is Klaus Schulze. We feel a Schulze inspired by the events of Poland (the Solidarność movement) who displays all of his dexterity and understanding of the country by merging his solos, sometimes totally outside this world, in his rhythms to thousand abrupt turnovers. This is a must and an inescapable in KS long and surprising career, build around so many outcomes, and a unique live performance that you will never hear somewhere else. And once again Revisited Records throws at us a reedition which hits its target. Offered in a nice digipack presentation and a beautiful booklet containing interesting notes about this tour, it also contains a music with a very good sound restoration (not a remastering) and a capture which is much softness than the original that I find a bit colder. But the most important thing is that it’s wraps a unique concert which takes a sublime outcome with Dzien Dobry! If you don't own it, go grab it. Either this reedition or a use copy on the Net, this concert is a necessity. And if you have the IC version, I'm still convinced that the sound on Revisited Records seems slightly warmer.
Sylvain Lupari (February 2nd, 2007) ****½*