Klaus Schulze Ballet 4 CD/ 4 tracks/ time 77.59mins Please go to the Store to buy this item.

'Ballett 4' brings this mini series of linked Schulze albums to a close. The previous three instalments have proved to be albums laced with a certain sustained sobriety whose major highlights appear to have been instigated by Klaus' happy band of helpers who have collaborated throughout the entire set of albums,(Schulze himself - on more than one occasion actively taking a backseat on these recordings). It's a big let down for those of you expecting the series to go out with a big musical bang as the modus operandi remains very much unchanged here. The musical style is again unobtrusive, opting to nestle quietly in the background playing away to itself rather than jumping out and grabbing your attention. For me, that's not really what Schulze is all about, but there we go - personal opinions again. So time for me to take a seat on the critical fence and see what 'Ballett 4' is all about - is it the good, the bad or the ugly? Coming to us in the now familiar gatefolded card clipcase with inlaid transfers of the cover art,'Ballett 4' concludes the series with a kind of irreverent discussion of work in progress and prospective projects in the accompanying 12 page colour booklet. It's largely Schulze's idea's and aspirations rather than a discussion of the album proper as he reiterates the fact that he has said all that needs saying about the 'Ballett' mini series in the previous volumes. This time around we are treated to a ten minute bonus track on the CD, Klaus D. Mueller again filling in on any kind of missing production detail we might deem to be relevant. Track 1:-'Mellowtrone'(13.53), now don't get too excited, this isn't some wild Mellotron workout from the great man himself. We'll have to content ourselves with a sampled Cello sound,( yes okay, it is a Mellotron sample) improvising over the now ubiquitous slow Schulze strings that have been plastered all over the 'Ballett' series. There's not much by way of developments here and the rather shrill upper register of the sampled sound does become alittle grating after awhile. It should have been an emotion filled piece, but instead comes across as being somewhat harsh, cold and clinical when performed with the relatively static sound of a Cello sample as opposed to how it could have been if Mr. Tiepold were on hand for this particular piece. A gentle fade brings 'Soft n' Groovy' into play. This half hour number is the sure fire seller for this album, it's soft, it's groovy, but above all this it's Schulze being Schulze me thinks. Tom Dams is on hand once more to deal with the overall mix on this particular track as Klaus steps up a gear and gets involved in some of the improvising here. Thomas Kagermann does another of his wonderful violin and vocal workout's, again making for an airy and imaginative sound. Klaus enters the fray tentatively noodling around at the keys from the very outset as Kagermann strikes out on the violin with several inspired phrases. It's a very different track to the opening cut as the backbeat is augmented by another light pulsing sequence at the six minute mark, only to be joined by a rhythmic synth pattern and cutting counter rhythm sequence eleven minutes in - we really are into de facto Schulze territory. The violin of Kagermann feature's heavily as he plucks and plays rhythmically against the Schulze sequencer. 'Soft n' Groovy' is all so typical of Klaus' sequencer driven classics, so much so that l even think l hear patterns from 'Mirage's' 'Crystal Lake' ticking over in the background!!! Already we're into the last ten minutes of play and this is turning out to be one hell of a track, the individual sequencer runs overriding one another in a timeless fashion that l could sit and listen to for hours. Violin and vocal incantations try to make their presence felt many times, but it's the electronics that push all else aside. This is a must have Schulze track for sure!!! 'To B Flat'(23.52) has a wonderful dry, breathy sampled vox introduction lasting some four minutes over which Tiepold and Kagermann improvise with both Cello and flute in a disjointed fashion. A non-descript vocal is buried in the mix as the percussion and bass arrive. Vocoded speech rambles on as the flute plays on more harmoniously and again like much of the 'Ballett' series we've slipped into a laid back groove. Kagermann's vocal chants herald change halfway through the track as an eruption of FX return us to the introductory pattern of vox and light strings. Solo interjections from Kagermann and Schulze see the piece through to a beautiful conclusion as again an atonal Cello underpins the overall serenity with a certain mystery and edginess. The bonus track 'Eleven 2 Eleven'(10.14) is with us and again it's a piece edited from the Contemporary Works volumes,( Klaus D. Mueller explains all in the sleevenotes). A swirling synth pad gets things moving and a minute later a pensive bass note pattern, strings and percussion arrive followed shortly by a mono synth lead sound tapped out by Klaus. Again it's all very undemanding stuff that serves to round off the album nicely. A brief switch to a mild trumpet sound brings to an end the soloing, a minute or two later the whole piece tailing off with just the strings remaining. ........and that my friend's brings to an end the 'Ballett' works. Still very much a collaborative set of recordings where for much of the time Klaus has set the stage for the other musicians to come in and tell their own musical stories. Unyet these albums are still very much Schulze affairs both in terms of style and arrangement; this fourth instalment being most probably the pick of the bunch!!! Do those neo-classical leanings really marry up that well with the chill room atmosphere given out by much of the material - only personal taste can tell. I do wish more had been done with the structures of some of the pieces, though here on 'Ballett 4' that niggle seems to have been addressed. The extended pieces really do flow with a sense of purpose, but does the music of 'Ballett' have anything to really say to it's audience? Of that l'm not sure, maybe it's just time for another of those age old sayings l use every now and then to wind things up - here goes, 'The world has music for those who listen - for those that don't there's always the Spice Girls'. (B22)

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