Ashra- New Age Of Earth

Unfairly, Manuel Gottsching's Ash Ra-outings have been ranked well behind contemporaries in the 70s- the first Ash Ra Tempel-albums helped to put the burgeoning Krautrock-scene on the musical map, even though the band never got the plaudits Can, Neu! and Amon Duul got. And when Gottsching ditched most of his musical partners and concentrated on releasing electronic-based albums in the latter part of the seventies he found himself in the right movement only to find him playing second fiddle to Jean Michel Jarre, Kraftwerk, Vangelis and Tangerine Dream. In the case of this album it was competing with Oxygene, Trans Europe Express, Albedo 0.39 and Stratosfear, trendsetting albums within the genre.
And yet, New Age Of Earth stands its ground amongst these. For one it is by far the warmest sounding album of the bunch. Here Gottsching shows a knack for using sweeping strings without drowning his delicate melodies. Opener Sunrain harbours some of the finest sequencer strains ever composed- they melt in seemlessly with the riffing organ and the melodic arpeggios over the top of them. From that moment Gottsching temporises and concentrates on developing the pieces more naturally; Ocean Of Tenderness is just that- powered on by a submarinally low bass it envelopes the listener like a warm bath. Deep Distance shows out Gottsching's love for minimalist jazzy keyboardwork, surrounded by mesmerising bass and subliminal rhythms. It's not until the last, lengthy track Nightdust that Gottsching straps on his guitar and revives moments of the original Tempel- with this difference that understatement has overtaken exuberance and any overtly threats to burst through the surface and explode into rock riffage is finely toned down in the overall mix, creating an amazing tension throughout the piece.
Gottsching wouldn't repeat these ambient antics on any subsequent albums; he allowed his guitarplay to blossom more but couldn't get the balance as right as on this effort. New Age may be a much maligned term these days but back in '76 it was just that- a defining push towards more technical developments within music and having a group of people showcasing them in groundbreaking albums; New Age Of Earth may perhaps not get that definition but very few of his contemporary artists could better this effort.

Further listening:

Jean Michel Jarre- Oxygene
Klaus Schulze- Timewind
Tangerine Dream- Phaedra