Frank Klare & Friends Red and Black

So effective as part of Synco, yet luke warm as a solo artist, there is a school of thought that Frank Klare is at his best when collaborating with other artists. If you agree then this is the album for you. Of the 8 tracks, all but one are collaborations with perhaps Bernd Kistenmacher being the best known. The only solo outing is the opener 'Joy', an appropriately bright outing which is sequencer based in the main with steady drumming and a straight forward melody which, despite only lasting for 3½ minutes, does go on a bit. Jürgen Kern of Traumklang appears on 'The Omen', a 19 minute slab of traditional electronica which certainly does bring the heady days of Synco to mind. The steady rhythm is woven from a mixture of repetitive drum lines and sequences. The piece is bereft of key changes giving it a hard, almost intimidating, edge which contrasts sharply with track 1. Massed synth ranks often play a key role as subtle changes take place in the sequence lines. It's certainly a powerful concoction but it's all a bit plodding and after a while it feels as if it's going nowhere fast. 'Prelude D-Moll' (with Manfred Kröpelin) is a smartly presented collection of synth sounds with a classical edge, while 'Underworld Mirage' (with Artemiy Artemiev) underlines the variety on show with an atmospheric excursion into swamp territory, before a sequence starts up to give the piece some structure and the overall result holds the attention. The title track 'Red and Black' opens strongly with a pulsating electronic beat, but unfortunately the vocals of Jana Tobias then make an entrance. I've nothing against vocals in EM, but when the material is weak and the delivery half-hearted the combination is doomed to failure - and make no mistake this is failure on a spectacular scale. Ex Synco counterpart Werner "chaos" Brandt lends a hand on 'Sequence Drive'. Lively enough, and the track has an air of Jarre's 'Orient Express' about it. But again the phrase "going through the motions" comes to mind. Uninspired, nothing to make it stand out. At almost 20 minutes 'First Contact' is the longest track on the album. Bernd Kistenmacher guests so hopes are high for a sequential romp which will compensate for the largely mediocre fayre served up so far. Well, I'm delighted to say that this piece is a quantum leap ahead of previous tracks. It could almost be a different album. The opening atmospherics build anticipation and the sequencer run is superb. Purposeful, complex and varied, it rampages through the middle section of the piece blowing away the cobwebs which have formed during the previous 45 minutes. A searing Schulzian MiniMoog solo weaves around the sequences as the track builds progressively. Also in classic Schulze mode they throw in a key change after 10 minutes, then more frequently as the the track continues. The sequence lines are subtly tweaked as it begins to subside, then it mutates completely to close leaving a bass throb backed by unerring synth lines. Great stuff! The final piece is 'New Age (Remix)' with Carsten Lehmann who seems to be from a band called Syntrolight. If this is representative of their work then I'd like to hear more. This is a barn storming outing based around a throbbing dance beat and syncopating synth lines. The opening ¾ of an hour of this album is eminently forgettable. The only question is - does the 27 minute salvage operation which follows do enough to turn things round? I must admit I'm unsure. Good as the last 2 tracks are, Frank Klare just isn't producing the goods in a consistent enough fashion. (GG)

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