The Dark Side Of The Moog Featuring Bill Laswell - The Dark Side Of The Moog IV FLAC download

I initially didn't think much of this, as the beats kicked in and it felt like it was going to be another Pete-can't-help-his-beats album; falling between the two stools of good Ambient and good Techno. Too much of his back catalogue is this wishy-washy spacey trance; and he's not that good at it, to be brutal. He's better when he responds to a collaborator bristling with ideas, such as Mixmaster Morris, Higher Intelligence Agency or Tetsu inoue. Here, despite my initial misgivings when the kickdrum erm, kicked in, Klaus Schulze, keyboard wizard and teutonic kosmiche rock auteur, fulfils that role. Very Tangerine dream at times, as you'd expect, with the pulsing rhythms and virtuoso noodling, with a retro early-70's feel recalling TD's 'Phaedra'. Again, far from a bad thing. Echoing didgeridoo-like passages between the excitement (Laswell?) give it some breathing space. Fax releases go for silly/outrageous money now, so you have to invest carefully. My verdict: pleasant and retro, but not essential. But damn good.