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Krautrocksampler: One Head's Guide to the Great Kosmische Musik
What could be more appropriate than a German-language version of Julian Cope's landmark tome, KRAUTROCKSAMPLER? Well, here it is. Already out of print, as is the English version, but now in German, with the same content as the English version (but in German), and even a bit of added colour to the inner covers that was not present on the English version. With a striking colour cover adapted from Amon Duul II's Yeti album, Cope passionately, even breathlessly, explains why he believes krautrock happened, and, maybe most importantly, provides an appendix listing and describing the cream of the crop of artists and albums involved in this Germanic music revolution that began in the late 1960s and peaked during the 1970s, influenced as much by Albert Hoffman's "Problem Child" as the heads of San Francisco, but adding electronics, distortion, free form experimentation, and maybe even a little bit of crazed paranoia so that the West Coasters sometimes sounded a little tame by comparison! Some may argue that krautrock is too musically broad to really be a genre, but Cope presents strong evidence to the contrary, without ever stooping to parse the minutiae that bogs down so much commentary about this movement. With all versions and translations of this important volume out of print, and Cope adamantly pronouncing that it will not be reprinted or otherwise updated, this is a perfect time to begin your collection of krautrock literature. You might be surprised to find out just how much of it is out there, but Cope's groundbreaking book remains an important and influential starting place, much in the same way that Steven Stapleton's Nurse With Wound List inspired music hunters around the world. Next stop, the Freeman Brothers' encyclopedic Crack in the Cosmic Egg. Tune In, Turn On, and Blast Off. excerpted with kind permission from "Scrambled Eggs and Fried Minds" by Val-dor "Kanny" Kelmitschen (Ruthless Press, 2009).
140 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
18 people are currently reading
1339 people want to read
About the author
Julian Cope
30 books90 followersJulian Cope (born Julian David Cope, on 21 October 1957) is a British rock musician, author, antiquary, musicologist, poet and cultural commentator. Originally coming to prominence in 1978 as the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band The Teardrop Explodes, he has followed a solo career since 1983 and initiated musical side projects such as Queen Elizabeth, Brain Donor and Black Sheep. Additional to his own work as a musician, Cope remains an avid champion of obscure and underground music.
Cope is also a recognised authority on Neolithic culture, an outspoken political and cultural activist, and a fierce critic of contemporary Western society (with a noted and public interest in occultism, paganism and Goddess worship).
As an author and commentator, he has written two successive volumes of autobiography called Head-On (1994) and Repossessed (1999); two volumes of archaeology called The Modern Antiquarian (1998) and The Megalithic European (2004); and three volumes of musicology called Krautrocksampler (1995), Japrocksampler (2007) and Detroitrocksampler.
Cope is also a recognised authority on Neolithic culture, an outspoken political and cultural activist, and a fierce critic of contemporary Western society (with a noted and public interest in occultism, paganism and Goddess worship).
As an author and commentator, he has written two successive volumes of autobiography called Head-On (1994) and Repossessed (1999); two volumes of archaeology called The Modern Antiquarian (1998) and The Megalithic European (2004); and three volumes of musicology called Krautrocksampler (1995), Japrocksampler (2007) and Detroitrocksampler.
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April 11, 2009
I was very fortunate to get the opportunity to read this book at all. Back when British postpunk/psychedelic musician Julian Cope self-published this book in the mid-90s, it sold quickly and soon went out of print. He's done a couple of reprint editions since then, but there just aren't that many copies of this in existence, and since it is currently out of print, any that are for sale tend to go for upwards of $100. I wasn't willing to pay that much, but due to the good graces of the internet, I was recently able to locate a .pdf copy that was available for download from a blog.
I'm so glad I did. I had an absolute blast reading this book. While it was every bit as informative and entertaining as my most recent music-history read, Simon Reynolds' "Rip It Up And Start Again," Cope's book is far shorter--only about 150 pages total--and read less like a scholarly work and more like a nonstop thrillride. If Reynolds is comparable to Greil Marcus, then Cope is more like Lester Bangs, filling every page of his book with overbrimming enthusiasm and out-of-control stream of consciousness rants about all of the great Krautrock records he grew up listening to. He couches these rants in a framework of the genre's history, and does a very good job of delivering a primer for all those (like myself) who are only vaguely aware of the circumstances in which these records were created. Cope explains how "Krautrock", far from being the derogatory term many have taken it to be, was actually a self-created label jokingly applied to their own records by many bands of the genre--Faust even going as far as calling the opening track on their fourth album "Krautrock." He explains the genre's roots as well, pointing to such disparate influences as the West German-based group of American GIs The Monks, 20th century German minimalist composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, and The Velvet Underground as essential building blocks for what came to be known as Krautrock. He further details the movers and shakers of the genre, both those who were inextricably linked to one project (Edgar Froese of Tangerine Dream, the members of Can and Faust) and those who bounced around from band to band willy-nilly (Klaus Schultze, Manuel Gottsching, Klaus Dinger), and tells the hubristic story of Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser and his manipulative power trip as the mastermind behind the Cosmic Jokers.
Above all, Cope expounds gloriously upon the merits of nearly every album he mentions, creating within his reader an insatiable urge to hear them all with such sentences as: "What the hell is going on in that song? Something scary is implied but the meaning always eludes me." and "Fuck Jim Morrison's ridiculous 'Renaissance Man of the Mind' description. That was just an excuse to be a fat slob. That was just an existentialist knee-jerk. No. No. No. These freaks were fit. Superhuman. Superman. They were here to go. But all in good time." (Those excerpts pertaining to Amon Duul II and Ash Ra Tempel's collaboration with Timothy Leary, respectively.) I tried so hard not to get out of control, not to toggle constantly between the .pdf and my downloading program, recklessly cueing up every new album Cope mentioned. But in the end, I couldn't restrain myself. I've downloaded at least 30 Krautrock albums in the last 24 hours, and I don't even want to think about how frustrating an experience reading this book would have been back in the days when I couldn't do such a thing, and had to hit up record stores in the often-fruitless quest to locate some of thse obscurities. Rest assured, I will eventually buy many of these albums (the Can and Neu! albums alone have been on my list for years). But it is a relief to get to hear them right now, and even more of one to discover that Mr. Cope is almost always justified in his effusive praise. This truly is a musical genre inhabited by an embarrassment of riches. And there is no better book to read in order to get excited about discovering all of them. Check this thing out--but try to avoid getting soaked on Ebay in the process. Some judicious Googling will work wonders.
I'm so glad I did. I had an absolute blast reading this book. While it was every bit as informative and entertaining as my most recent music-history read, Simon Reynolds' "Rip It Up And Start Again," Cope's book is far shorter--only about 150 pages total--and read less like a scholarly work and more like a nonstop thrillride. If Reynolds is comparable to Greil Marcus, then Cope is more like Lester Bangs, filling every page of his book with overbrimming enthusiasm and out-of-control stream of consciousness rants about all of the great Krautrock records he grew up listening to. He couches these rants in a framework of the genre's history, and does a very good job of delivering a primer for all those (like myself) who are only vaguely aware of the circumstances in which these records were created. Cope explains how "Krautrock", far from being the derogatory term many have taken it to be, was actually a self-created label jokingly applied to their own records by many bands of the genre--Faust even going as far as calling the opening track on their fourth album "Krautrock." He explains the genre's roots as well, pointing to such disparate influences as the West German-based group of American GIs The Monks, 20th century German minimalist composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, and The Velvet Underground as essential building blocks for what came to be known as Krautrock. He further details the movers and shakers of the genre, both those who were inextricably linked to one project (Edgar Froese of Tangerine Dream, the members of Can and Faust) and those who bounced around from band to band willy-nilly (Klaus Schultze, Manuel Gottsching, Klaus Dinger), and tells the hubristic story of Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser and his manipulative power trip as the mastermind behind the Cosmic Jokers.
Above all, Cope expounds gloriously upon the merits of nearly every album he mentions, creating within his reader an insatiable urge to hear them all with such sentences as: "What the hell is going on in that song? Something scary is implied but the meaning always eludes me." and "Fuck Jim Morrison's ridiculous 'Renaissance Man of the Mind' description. That was just an excuse to be a fat slob. That was just an existentialist knee-jerk. No. No. No. These freaks were fit. Superhuman. Superman. They were here to go. But all in good time." (Those excerpts pertaining to Amon Duul II and Ash Ra Tempel's collaboration with Timothy Leary, respectively.) I tried so hard not to get out of control, not to toggle constantly between the .pdf and my downloading program, recklessly cueing up every new album Cope mentioned. But in the end, I couldn't restrain myself. I've downloaded at least 30 Krautrock albums in the last 24 hours, and I don't even want to think about how frustrating an experience reading this book would have been back in the days when I couldn't do such a thing, and had to hit up record stores in the often-fruitless quest to locate some of thse obscurities. Rest assured, I will eventually buy many of these albums (the Can and Neu! albums alone have been on my list for years). But it is a relief to get to hear them right now, and even more of one to discover that Mr. Cope is almost always justified in his effusive praise. This truly is a musical genre inhabited by an embarrassment of riches. And there is no better book to read in order to get excited about discovering all of them. Check this thing out--but try to avoid getting soaked on Ebay in the process. Some judicious Googling will work wonders.
Read
August 13, 2016Julian Cope makes every band he writes about sound like the best band in the world, even the shitty ones
December 3, 2017
Commento del marzo 2013:
Al’età di 16 anni rimasi folgorato dall’ascolto di Ummagumma dei Pink Floyd. Mi spalancò orizzonti sonori sconosciuti e cambiò radicalmente i miei gusti musicali, facendomi sembrare banale quanto sentito sino ad allora.
Trascorsi dei mesi cercando di ascoltare qualcos’altro che mi procurasse delle sensazioni simili, ma con poco successo. Va detto che in questo modo scoprii un sacco di buona musica, di artisti e dischi fondamentali, ma le mie orecchie adolescenti erano affamate di suoni estremi e non c'era quasi nulla che riuscisse con lo stesso fervore a trascendere la forma-canzone per lanciarsi ad esplorare l’ignoto. I successivi dischi dei Pink Floyd mi suonavano, e mi suonano ancora, piatti e patinati. Neppure molta di quella che mi veniva spacciata come psichedelia riusciva a soddisfarmi. Arrivai a concepire l’idea borgesiana di scrivere recensioni di dischi inesistenti che immaginavo potessero appagare le mie aspettative.
Grazie al fitto scambio di cassette ed informazioni con altri musicofili riuscii ad ascoltare Yeti degli Amon Düül II e finalmente mi si spalancarono “le porte del cosmo, che stanno su in Germania”, per citare un noto brano di Finardi. La mia fame di suoni visionari fu saziata. Dopo le jam session orgiastiche degli Amon Düül II conobbi le estasi mistiche dei Popol Vuh, i trip lisergici degli Ash Ra Tempel, l’horror vacui di Tangerine Dream e Klaus Schulze, le inclassificabili, futuristiche, nevrotiche avanguardie di Faust, Can, Neu!, Cluster e via dicendo…
Mi stupiva che la scena musicale tedesca dei ’70, il cosiddetto krautrock, venisse considerata per lo più come marginale dagli altri cultori e dalla critica (con qualche eccezione, in particolare il prezioso volumetto “La musica rock progressiva europea” di Al Aprile e Luca Majer).
Eravamo negli anni ’80, fu a metà del decennio successivo che giunse a colmare la lacuna questa appassionata guida/ode alla grande Kosmische Musik. Il musicista/druido Julian Cope trasfonde nella scrittura lo stesso estro creativo ed allucinato che lo guida nel far musica. Scordatevi l’asettica completezza ed imparzialità delle enciclopedie, Cope si lascia guidare dal suo trascinante e contagioso entusiasmo di fan (“I was a teenage krautrocker” è l’incipit del libro), usando uno spericolato ed irresistibile linguaggio fatto di espressioni gergali ed iperboli. E’ semplicemente lo stile che questa musica richiede. L’ideale sarebbe cimentarsi con la lettura in lingua originale, ma la il traduttore Luca Fusari ha fatto un ottimo lavoro per questa tardiva ma meritoria edizione italiana. Peccato solo che, a differenza dell’edizione inglese, la copertina non abbia recuperato l’iconica immagine del “tristo mietitore” che campeggia sulla cover di Yeti degli Amon Düül II.
Krautrocksampler accende inevitabilmente la miccia della curiosità nelle menti ignare. In me ha risvegliato il desiderio di riascoltare certi vecchi dischi in vinile, e riscoprire immutata la magia della musica incisa in quei solchi. Secondo Cope è la musica di una generazione bisognosa di creare qualcosa di nuovo ed estremo, per rompere col passato ed affrancarsi dall’eredità del nazismo.
"...musica furiosa e armonizzata fatta di luce pura, da cui si rovesciano frammenti che radono al suolo la stanza. Riff dopo riff, titolo assurdo dopo titolo ancor più assurdo. L'ascoltatore è catturato da una ragnatela di suono denso denso. Stringere la copertina non vi salverà, perché ormai siete nel mezzo del più grandissimo trip Amon Düül di sempre. Non-uomini con voce di Dalek chiamano e ghignano, riff forgiati da Orchi-punk e Sacerdoti Fantascientifici vi intrappolano."
Al’età di 16 anni rimasi folgorato dall’ascolto di Ummagumma dei Pink Floyd. Mi spalancò orizzonti sonori sconosciuti e cambiò radicalmente i miei gusti musicali, facendomi sembrare banale quanto sentito sino ad allora.
Trascorsi dei mesi cercando di ascoltare qualcos’altro che mi procurasse delle sensazioni simili, ma con poco successo. Va detto che in questo modo scoprii un sacco di buona musica, di artisti e dischi fondamentali, ma le mie orecchie adolescenti erano affamate di suoni estremi e non c'era quasi nulla che riuscisse con lo stesso fervore a trascendere la forma-canzone per lanciarsi ad esplorare l’ignoto. I successivi dischi dei Pink Floyd mi suonavano, e mi suonano ancora, piatti e patinati. Neppure molta di quella che mi veniva spacciata come psichedelia riusciva a soddisfarmi. Arrivai a concepire l’idea borgesiana di scrivere recensioni di dischi inesistenti che immaginavo potessero appagare le mie aspettative.
Grazie al fitto scambio di cassette ed informazioni con altri musicofili riuscii ad ascoltare Yeti degli Amon Düül II e finalmente mi si spalancarono “le porte del cosmo, che stanno su in Germania”, per citare un noto brano di Finardi. La mia fame di suoni visionari fu saziata. Dopo le jam session orgiastiche degli Amon Düül II conobbi le estasi mistiche dei Popol Vuh, i trip lisergici degli Ash Ra Tempel, l’horror vacui di Tangerine Dream e Klaus Schulze, le inclassificabili, futuristiche, nevrotiche avanguardie di Faust, Can, Neu!, Cluster e via dicendo…
Mi stupiva che la scena musicale tedesca dei ’70, il cosiddetto krautrock, venisse considerata per lo più come marginale dagli altri cultori e dalla critica (con qualche eccezione, in particolare il prezioso volumetto “La musica rock progressiva europea” di Al Aprile e Luca Majer).
Eravamo negli anni ’80, fu a metà del decennio successivo che giunse a colmare la lacuna questa appassionata guida/ode alla grande Kosmische Musik. Il musicista/druido Julian Cope trasfonde nella scrittura lo stesso estro creativo ed allucinato che lo guida nel far musica. Scordatevi l’asettica completezza ed imparzialità delle enciclopedie, Cope si lascia guidare dal suo trascinante e contagioso entusiasmo di fan (“I was a teenage krautrocker” è l’incipit del libro), usando uno spericolato ed irresistibile linguaggio fatto di espressioni gergali ed iperboli. E’ semplicemente lo stile che questa musica richiede. L’ideale sarebbe cimentarsi con la lettura in lingua originale, ma la il traduttore Luca Fusari ha fatto un ottimo lavoro per questa tardiva ma meritoria edizione italiana. Peccato solo che, a differenza dell’edizione inglese, la copertina non abbia recuperato l’iconica immagine del “tristo mietitore” che campeggia sulla cover di Yeti degli Amon Düül II.
Krautrocksampler accende inevitabilmente la miccia della curiosità nelle menti ignare. In me ha risvegliato il desiderio di riascoltare certi vecchi dischi in vinile, e riscoprire immutata la magia della musica incisa in quei solchi. Secondo Cope è la musica di una generazione bisognosa di creare qualcosa di nuovo ed estremo, per rompere col passato ed affrancarsi dall’eredità del nazismo.
"...musica furiosa e armonizzata fatta di luce pura, da cui si rovesciano frammenti che radono al suolo la stanza. Riff dopo riff, titolo assurdo dopo titolo ancor più assurdo. L'ascoltatore è catturato da una ragnatela di suono denso denso. Stringere la copertina non vi salverà, perché ormai siete nel mezzo del più grandissimo trip Amon Düül di sempre. Non-uomini con voce di Dalek chiamano e ghignano, riff forgiati da Orchi-punk e Sacerdoti Fantascientifici vi intrappolano."
June 15, 2008
Cope's Krautrocksampler is an absolute classic. It was one of the first books to break through and appear on record store shelves so that a kid from anywhere USA could learn about the great German musical experimenters in their prime period of creativity of the late '60s and early '70s, when Krautrock really was getting defined as a genre unto itself. While I would credit the Freeman Brothers and their Audion Magazine / Ultima Thule record shop as predating Cope with writing, reviewing, and making many of these rarities available, you must give Julian the props of being the first celebrity to enthuse about this music to a larger audience, thereby opening the floodgates for reissues that continue to this day. Julian's writing style is fun and sucks you into each chapter, making you really want to run out and find whichever release he's going on about. It's a mix a fan appreciation writing, and a great knowledge of musical forms in general that really catures the spirit of these original pioneers of the German Kosmiche scenes. While Julian gives you his favorites, and he's pretty dead on correct with the classics - I would suggest also obtaining the Freeman Brother's Crack in the Cosmic Egg so that you will be able to futher explore the bands and releases that Cope does not mention, dislikes or ignores - and there are many many wonderful bands and albums beyond Krautrocksampler. At the time of this writing, both of these books are scarily high priced in the collector market fetching obscene numbers. Thankfully the Freeman's have "repressed" their book as a beautiful cd-rom with more content including audio and visual additions.
April 28, 2008
This book is definitely written as a fanboy love letter. I had heard much about it and was hoping there'd be more in the way of historical information. There's some, but each band is only limited to a chapter each and a few pages at that. Some, like Popul Vuh and Guru Guru (and Kraftwerk!), only come up briefly. Also, an epilogue would be nice as Cope only sees the era ending as he thinks each suggestive band gets exhausted (for Can, this means before Soon Over Babaluma! Blasphemy!). Overall, it's an entertaining take on the subject matter, but by no means definitive.
August 16, 2013
I love this book for two reasons. First, when it came out it introduced me to the wunderbare welt of Krautrock (if lucky you could then still find many of the original albums that Cope writes about.) Second, it is absolutely hilarious. Cope's writing is funny, personal, informative, full of enthusiasm and most importantly it is independent. We need these kinds of independent publications that cover subjects that no established publisher would touch with a long stick. We also need great personalities like Mr Cope to write such publications. What more can you ask from a music book?
May 17, 2020
I read this (possibly illegally) as a poorly photocopied PDF downloaded from the internet, as there was no way I was shelling out to buy a physical copy. A thoroughly entertaining, subjective, self-indulgent, opinionated, but highly enthusiastic and spirited guide to a movement in German experimental rock of the 1970s. Julian Cope's writing is refreshingly devoid of critical jargon and prone to flights of fancy and hyperbole - he makes every band he writes about sound like the craziest thing. Very useful list of records at the back too. You should try to find a way to read this if you're at all interested in Krautrock, as I would describe it as essential. His writing is as wild and free as the music itself.
June 29, 2015
It is pretty fair to say that no one expected Julian Cope to prove to be so well-suited to the task of historian and critic. This short, impassioned book on Krautrock - which essentially put the genre back on the map and gave it a critical shape by separating it from the lumpen morass of (mostly derivative) prog that it had to often share shelves and turntables with - came out in 1995 and was an immediate revelation. It has since gone out of print, although it is suggested that Cope will republish it again shortly, possibly with an e-book version. Or maybe, we suggest hopefully, with an update or maybe another 50 of his wizardly album reviews.
Why is it a revelation? Because Cope strikes the perfect balance between scholarship and context on the one hand, and sheer infectious joy on the other. This means that just as the head and heart are both stimulated in the best Krautrock, so are we taken on a journey through these years of fervent, febrile, fertile output with the ultimate guide. He teaches you and turns you on, berates you and inspires you. You trust his taste because he lays it out open. For him, once the restless searching spirit 'evolves' into chops and technique - as you could say occurred with Tangerine Dream as they turned the corner of sobriety towards Phaedra and Rubycon - then Cope zones out and moves on to something else. Can's lengthy playout through the 1970s, shorn of their bizarre and unmistakeable vocalists and seeking muso grooves, gets a similar cold shoulder, and while he makes positive noises about Klaus Schulze's groundbreaking ambient electronic career, he leaves all that outside the scope of this book and treats him more or less as a pretty face.
Actually I am writing this short review after doing suitable penance for never having sat down and listened properly to Amon Düül II. Oh, I had heard their name and could probably name a couple of choice tracks, but that was all music scholar bluff. I hadn't really listened to Phallus Dei or Yeti or Dance of the Lemmings. Or any of their other albums. And I had listened to Popol Vuh's stunning soundtrack albums for Werner Herzog, but not the amazing East-West dance of Hoasianna Mantra. And Cluster with Eno, and a couple of tracks on the Roedelius compilation, but never their own classic albums. Now, led by Cope's enthusiasm - first formed in his adolescence and carried on down the years - and his wonderful musician's ear and capacity to even dare to tackle the gargantuan task of trying to explain in words the subtlety and enormity and madness and timelessness and dexterity and sheer questing versatility of the music that was being made by these ornery glitter-eyed Germans in the late 1960s and early 1970s, I can do just that. And the truly bizarre part is that much of this music is almost 50 years old, but it literally could have been made yesterday.
Why is it a revelation? Because Cope strikes the perfect balance between scholarship and context on the one hand, and sheer infectious joy on the other. This means that just as the head and heart are both stimulated in the best Krautrock, so are we taken on a journey through these years of fervent, febrile, fertile output with the ultimate guide. He teaches you and turns you on, berates you and inspires you. You trust his taste because he lays it out open. For him, once the restless searching spirit 'evolves' into chops and technique - as you could say occurred with Tangerine Dream as they turned the corner of sobriety towards Phaedra and Rubycon - then Cope zones out and moves on to something else. Can's lengthy playout through the 1970s, shorn of their bizarre and unmistakeable vocalists and seeking muso grooves, gets a similar cold shoulder, and while he makes positive noises about Klaus Schulze's groundbreaking ambient electronic career, he leaves all that outside the scope of this book and treats him more or less as a pretty face.
Actually I am writing this short review after doing suitable penance for never having sat down and listened properly to Amon Düül II. Oh, I had heard their name and could probably name a couple of choice tracks, but that was all music scholar bluff. I hadn't really listened to Phallus Dei or Yeti or Dance of the Lemmings. Or any of their other albums. And I had listened to Popol Vuh's stunning soundtrack albums for Werner Herzog, but not the amazing East-West dance of Hoasianna Mantra. And Cluster with Eno, and a couple of tracks on the Roedelius compilation, but never their own classic albums. Now, led by Cope's enthusiasm - first formed in his adolescence and carried on down the years - and his wonderful musician's ear and capacity to even dare to tackle the gargantuan task of trying to explain in words the subtlety and enormity and madness and timelessness and dexterity and sheer questing versatility of the music that was being made by these ornery glitter-eyed Germans in the late 1960s and early 1970s, I can do just that. And the truly bizarre part is that much of this music is almost 50 years old, but it literally could have been made yesterday.
September 27, 2013
Long out of print, I finally managed to find a PDF (and some GHB and BC-2 to go along) and I jumped in the magical top dropped acid dropped deuce&1/4 and left with the cosmic couriers to find God knows what.
Finding a good treasure trove of things in Cope's newer JAPROCKSAMPLER, I was hoping my world would be opened up here, having never gotten the $ to be able to read this first. It's kind of a cosmic sneeze, really. You know what's coming and its exciting and a total rush, man, but there is nothing really new. People have complained that Cope has covered only the more popular Krautrockers (and its true) but he does it well enough. And his long-running Ur-jokes and jabs start here and carry over to the net, so thats kind of fun to pick apart, I guess.
This sampler being much smaller than the other I quickly got the top 50 in the back only to find that they're in alphabetical order, not order of hotness. Kinda of a disappointment as it comes of as just an index of records you know he drools over instead of a real _LIST_ of things with some thought put to the order. Internet digging and most of all TIME has shown this book its age: he gleefully dotes on things that're more RAWK than others, and shits on some bonafide CLASSICS, all because he thinks they're 'new age' or something because it isn't the caveman rock of early TD and Guru Guru.
One huge plus this has over JRS: Cope was THERE, man. Krautrock being the British phenomenon it was, Julian got to see Amon Duul and Can play and his small explanations of the shows and their timing/success are the best thing 'bout the book.
If you can, 'pic this up fer'a tennah' as J. would say. Otherwise, use your cosmic browser and found your own head heritage.
*edit* I should mention the copy I read had AD2's "YETI"s review (and the accompanying page) completely missing! So if that review is godlike and I don't know it, disregard everything I wrote.
Finding a good treasure trove of things in Cope's newer JAPROCKSAMPLER, I was hoping my world would be opened up here, having never gotten the $ to be able to read this first. It's kind of a cosmic sneeze, really. You know what's coming and its exciting and a total rush, man, but there is nothing really new. People have complained that Cope has covered only the more popular Krautrockers (and its true) but he does it well enough. And his long-running Ur-jokes and jabs start here and carry over to the net, so thats kind of fun to pick apart, I guess.
This sampler being much smaller than the other I quickly got the top 50 in the back only to find that they're in alphabetical order, not order of hotness. Kinda of a disappointment as it comes of as just an index of records you know he drools over instead of a real _LIST_ of things with some thought put to the order. Internet digging and most of all TIME has shown this book its age: he gleefully dotes on things that're more RAWK than others, and shits on some bonafide CLASSICS, all because he thinks they're 'new age' or something because it isn't the caveman rock of early TD and Guru Guru.
One huge plus this has over JRS: Cope was THERE, man. Krautrock being the British phenomenon it was, Julian got to see Amon Duul and Can play and his small explanations of the shows and their timing/success are the best thing 'bout the book.
If you can, 'pic this up fer'a tennah' as J. would say. Otherwise, use your cosmic browser and found your own head heritage.
*edit* I should mention the copy I read had AD2's "YETI"s review (and the accompanying page) completely missing! So if that review is godlike and I don't know it, disregard everything I wrote.
January 3, 2012
There's not many books on the subject of Krautrock, or Kosmische Musik, but Cope's was one of the first to bring the music back into something approaching the mainstream. Cope's approach is that of the fanboy, a headlong rush to preach the Krautrock gospel and convert the uninitiated. Sadly that means objectivity goes out of the window.
The early part of the book where Cope sets the scene and introduces the main players is good and his pieces on bands such as Neu! and Tangerinee Dream are effective, but later on he gets all metaphysical and trippy and starts trumpeting the virtues of some of the more obscure offshoots of Krautrock. That's where he loses me.
The last part of the book is dedicated to Cope's highly selective and personal Top 50 Krautrock records, for which he provides reviews. Again his love of the music comes through in the passion of his writing, but again he has no objectivity and his highly personal cut-off point for some bands is questionable.
Cope has said that he has no plans to revise or update this book, which is long out of print (you can, as I did, locate a PDF of it with a simple google search), and he has acknowledged that there are factual and interpretive errors. But for all that it is an enjoyable and informative read, just take it all with a pinch of salt.
The early part of the book where Cope sets the scene and introduces the main players is good and his pieces on bands such as Neu! and Tangerinee Dream are effective, but later on he gets all metaphysical and trippy and starts trumpeting the virtues of some of the more obscure offshoots of Krautrock. That's where he loses me.
The last part of the book is dedicated to Cope's highly selective and personal Top 50 Krautrock records, for which he provides reviews. Again his love of the music comes through in the passion of his writing, but again he has no objectivity and his highly personal cut-off point for some bands is questionable.
Cope has said that he has no plans to revise or update this book, which is long out of print (you can, as I did, locate a PDF of it with a simple google search), and he has acknowledged that there are factual and interpretive errors. But for all that it is an enjoyable and informative read, just take it all with a pinch of salt.
November 24, 2008
Very personal, idiosyncratic, and passionate. If you're into it, it's worth hunting down.
Also check out Julian Cope's "Head Heritage" Web site for more great, enthusiastic writings about heavy psychedelic music, old and new.
Also check out Julian Cope's "Head Heritage" Web site for more great, enthusiastic writings about heavy psychedelic music, old and new.
Want to read
January 11, 2021omg. have been wanting to read this for years but my library doesn't own it and it's been out of print + $80-$200 used on amazon. PDF form is here:
http://www.swanfungus.com/2006/10/kra...
found via http://www.dangerousminds.net/comment...
http://www.swanfungus.com/2006/10/kra...
found via http://www.dangerousminds.net/comment...
July 7, 2020
A beautifully written overview of this beautiful movement, and what do I mean by movement? I find it difficult to call it a genre, as most bands veer into either experimental rock (such as Can, Faust and Neu), unabashed psychedelia (both Amon Duuls, Ash Ra Tempel or Cosmic Couriers label) or ambient/electronic (Popol Vuh, Tangerine Dream).
The book is informative and downright entertaining, and I actually love the honesty and lack of pretense of Cope's writing, especially in his descriptions of bands and albums, even if they are somewhat enthusiastic to a fault. But saying this, I would almost say he is entirely spot on with his choices, and introduced me to a lot of Cosmic Jokers and Sergius Golowin and Walter Wegmuller in particular, some of my favourites.
There are certain things I disagree with, like his assessment of Tanz Der Lemminge and his skimming of Agitation Free, from which I would swap La Dusseldorf's Viva (although I do like it) with one of them. But agree with him on Future Days. It is however, too easy to disagree on a list and whine about what is and what isn't on the list, after all I make my own in my head (or even expand it) and leave it at that. After all, being enthusiastic (especially with this) can leave people feeling disappointed, I had experiences of this as the reader or as someone recommending music, always take things like that with a grain of salt.
But music is subjective overall, and we have to mention it is in the title itself. It is a sampler of the best to be introduced to, and doesn't have the pretense of being a fountain of knowledge in concerns of how obscure a record can be. Anyone who wants to explore the movement, again I refrain from using word genre here, could check his top 50 (which can be easily found on the interwebz) or can read a rather flawed photocopied version on the Internet Archive as prices on this is ridiculous. It is a great beginner's guide, and it leaves more for people to explore the topic deeper themselves, as I and arguably many others have done. Or some may want to just listen to those bands as recommended and leave it at that, regardless of whether they find it enjoyable. This, alongside Mike Stax's much more formal and accurate on music, has influenced my thoughts on music through music journalism or music archaeology. So yeah, check this book or list, and enjoy the music. But be warned, whilst I do consider most (opinion) to be ahead of its time, it is of its acquired taste!!
The book is informative and downright entertaining, and I actually love the honesty and lack of pretense of Cope's writing, especially in his descriptions of bands and albums, even if they are somewhat enthusiastic to a fault. But saying this, I would almost say he is entirely spot on with his choices, and introduced me to a lot of Cosmic Jokers and Sergius Golowin and Walter Wegmuller in particular, some of my favourites.
There are certain things I disagree with, like his assessment of Tanz Der Lemminge and his skimming of Agitation Free, from which I would swap La Dusseldorf's Viva (although I do like it) with one of them. But agree with him on Future Days. It is however, too easy to disagree on a list and whine about what is and what isn't on the list, after all I make my own in my head (or even expand it) and leave it at that. After all, being enthusiastic (especially with this) can leave people feeling disappointed, I had experiences of this as the reader or as someone recommending music, always take things like that with a grain of salt.
But music is subjective overall, and we have to mention it is in the title itself. It is a sampler of the best to be introduced to, and doesn't have the pretense of being a fountain of knowledge in concerns of how obscure a record can be. Anyone who wants to explore the movement, again I refrain from using word genre here, could check his top 50 (which can be easily found on the interwebz) or can read a rather flawed photocopied version on the Internet Archive as prices on this is ridiculous. It is a great beginner's guide, and it leaves more for people to explore the topic deeper themselves, as I and arguably many others have done. Or some may want to just listen to those bands as recommended and leave it at that, regardless of whether they find it enjoyable. This, alongside Mike Stax's much more formal and accurate on music, has influenced my thoughts on music through music journalism or music archaeology. So yeah, check this book or list, and enjoy the music. But be warned, whilst I do consider most (opinion) to be ahead of its time, it is of its acquired taste!!
December 10, 2022
Be prepared to have a wide swathe of your music collection paved over to make way for a high-speed, multi-level, interhemispheric highway to the Cosmos. The only thing better than reading Julian Cope writing about himself is reading him writing about other musicians. His research is vast, his taste is Olympian, and his shit-talking is hilarious.
The loose grouping of German musicians featured in this survey of a late-60s-70s musical movement may already be familiar to you (Can, Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk) but this book will open the entire world of Kosmik Musik to you and you will be shown maps of where all of the greatest monuments that you should visit are located.
This book was written just pre-Internet but it is almost tailor-made for the era of on-line music playlists. And there are many Krautrock playlists to accompany your reading, including at least one that follows the songs as they appear chronologically in the book.
It's out of print and expensive on eBay but I will end on this one recommendation: I don't regret any of the headaches I got reading the poorly scanned pages on the Internet Archive one bit.
The loose grouping of German musicians featured in this survey of a late-60s-70s musical movement may already be familiar to you (Can, Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk) but this book will open the entire world of Kosmik Musik to you and you will be shown maps of where all of the greatest monuments that you should visit are located.
This book was written just pre-Internet but it is almost tailor-made for the era of on-line music playlists. And there are many Krautrock playlists to accompany your reading, including at least one that follows the songs as they appear chronologically in the book.
It's out of print and expensive on eBay but I will end on this one recommendation: I don't regret any of the headaches I got reading the poorly scanned pages on the Internet Archive one bit.
April 21, 2025
Warto przeczytać sam wstęp, w którym autor w niewybrednych słowach wypowiada się o angielskim prog-rocku i nakręca jakąś narrację w stylu oblężonej twierdzy, gdzie twierdzą nie jest twierdza wrocław, lecz raczej niemiecka sztuka ambitna, a oblężają ją angielskie pismaki. Reszta to ciekawostki do znalezienia na wikipedii, może w 1995 to było potrzebne, ale dzisiaj każdy jest w stanie sobie kupić kurczaka po seczuańsku i udawać greka z filmu "grek w krainie lawaszów, czyli historia o bratobójczej kradzieży dziedzictwa kulinarnego".
March 23, 2020
This book is more valuable for Cope's enthusiasm, personal recollections and fabulous discography than for its tenuous history of that German phenomenon called "Krautrock." Well worth having, if you can find a copy at a reasonable price.
July 8, 2022
Elvis Costello famously said that writing about music is like "dancing about architecture". In that tradition Cope is one of the greatest ever dancers, a true British eccentric and wonderfully engaging populariser of the esoteric.
March 23, 2020
Decent fanboy history of the genre.
January 11, 2021
Essential !
August 20, 2025
I've been familiar for 25 to 30 years with 85% of the recordings mentioned herein, so it was a lower-case thrill to read descriptions of Can, Faust, Neu, Popul Vuh, all the major "west" German favorites, and for me lesser-liked entities like Kraftwerk, Ash Ra Tempel, Tangerine Dream. But it was a THRILL when reading descriptions of recordings I'd never heard of, let alone heard, like Witthauser & Westerupp, Cosmic Jokers, Sergius Golowin (Lord Krishna von Goloka), Peter Hammill (Nadir's Big Chance), Tony Conrad (Outside the Dream Syndicate), Walter Wegmuller (Tarot).
The writing style, the language, was fun too -- semi-overblown loose rock gonzo journalism doing its best to make sense of all this cosmic outre output. Very much from the perspective of someone who was there (in the UK) at the time listening to this stuff as it came out, forming impressions mediated at most by John Peel and NME and random record stores. Often humorous: comparing Amon Duul I commune dwellers on bongos and maracas to a band of orcs, describing Can as The Meters playing avant-garde rock. Informative too: I'd never heard the bit about how Jaki Liebezeit (Can drummer) was confronted by a freak while playing free jazz who instructed Jaki to play monotonously, immediately changing Jaki's approach. Also a good point about how Can could've released recordings that eventually came out on Delay '68 but wanted to come out and make a clear statement with Monster Movie. Knew next to nothing about the musicians in Neu and Faust.
First heard about the existence of the book maybe in the late '90s, maybe in a piece about Sean O'Hagan of The High Llamas, how he was reading this and wouldn't stop talking about it. (For some reason when I half-remember this I see, without a doubt, the escalator at the Quakerbridge Mall in Princeton-ish area NJ, as though I were told this anecdote while there or read it while sitting in that area, but no idea why?) Never encountered a copy in the wild and didn't think about it until a few days ago when I searched for it online and saw that copies were available, sure, if you had a few hundred dollars to spare. So I bookmarked a PDF online and read it with total pleasure this Independence Day weekend on my iPad, which is a recommended way to read it, not because it's infinitely cheaper than acquiring a print edition but because you can flip from browser to popular music app and save everything mentioned that you don't know.
Like the Yacht Rock sitcom on YouTube, would love to see a ridiculous dramatic sit-com animated series about all these groups, considering the cross-over among so many of the musicians. The only detraction I'd say is Cope's less than total reverence for Can's Future Days and Gottsching's Inventions for Electric Guitar. Also the brief reviews at the end of the albums I wasn't all that familiar with was like listening to someone tell you their dreams -- or, more so, worth skimming for now, and worth returning to once the source material's consumed and integrated in the next few weeks.
The writing style, the language, was fun too -- semi-overblown loose rock gonzo journalism doing its best to make sense of all this cosmic outre output. Very much from the perspective of someone who was there (in the UK) at the time listening to this stuff as it came out, forming impressions mediated at most by John Peel and NME and random record stores. Often humorous: comparing Amon Duul I commune dwellers on bongos and maracas to a band of orcs, describing Can as The Meters playing avant-garde rock. Informative too: I'd never heard the bit about how Jaki Liebezeit (Can drummer) was confronted by a freak while playing free jazz who instructed Jaki to play monotonously, immediately changing Jaki's approach. Also a good point about how Can could've released recordings that eventually came out on Delay '68 but wanted to come out and make a clear statement with Monster Movie. Knew next to nothing about the musicians in Neu and Faust.
First heard about the existence of the book maybe in the late '90s, maybe in a piece about Sean O'Hagan of The High Llamas, how he was reading this and wouldn't stop talking about it. (For some reason when I half-remember this I see, without a doubt, the escalator at the Quakerbridge Mall in Princeton-ish area NJ, as though I were told this anecdote while there or read it while sitting in that area, but no idea why?) Never encountered a copy in the wild and didn't think about it until a few days ago when I searched for it online and saw that copies were available, sure, if you had a few hundred dollars to spare. So I bookmarked a PDF online and read it with total pleasure this Independence Day weekend on my iPad, which is a recommended way to read it, not because it's infinitely cheaper than acquiring a print edition but because you can flip from browser to popular music app and save everything mentioned that you don't know.
Like the Yacht Rock sitcom on YouTube, would love to see a ridiculous dramatic sit-com animated series about all these groups, considering the cross-over among so many of the musicians. The only detraction I'd say is Cope's less than total reverence for Can's Future Days and Gottsching's Inventions for Electric Guitar. Also the brief reviews at the end of the albums I wasn't all that familiar with was like listening to someone tell you their dreams -- or, more so, worth skimming for now, and worth returning to once the source material's consumed and integrated in the next few weeks.
May 16, 2013
This book is more or less considered to be the Holy Grail of all Krautrock books. It's incredibly rare and insanely expensive. But it's all justified because of how influential it is to an entire sub-genre of music. For me to get my hands on a copy was about as exciting for a Krautrock fan as...well, getting my hands on any of the ultra-obscure albums included in Cope's hallowed "50 Best Albums" list.
Which brings me to my thoughts on the book. The book simply gets 4 stars for how influential it is. It has spawned interest in a largely-forgotten genre and catapulted seminal bands like Neu!, Can, and Faust to their exalted pedestals today (where they sit, unanimously worshipped by the rock intelligentsia).
Cope is an interesting character, because while his words on these bands have been so highly regarded, he is still marginalized somewhat because of his eccentricities. But maybe there's some truth behind that characterization...his writing style is truly bizarre, but it's charming at the same time because of the sheer excitement he has for the music. He is a fan boy of the best stripe.
My gripe with the book is that the descriptions of the music are quite unorthodox. He's not really in the same league with other rock journalists, at least as far as descriptive writing style (I'm thinking of Simon Reynolds here, for instance). He writes from the heart, though, almost like a teenager would tell his best friends about his favorite bands (and his book is replete with many of the same head-scratching colloquialisms that a teenager might use, too). But it's impossible not to sense his infectious enthusiasm for these bands.
The biggest contribution of the book--and the segment of it that has made the book so important to Krautrock enthusiasts and collectors--is his list of his 50 favorite Krautrock albums. He includes this in the end of the book, and it's quite possibly as close to Krautrock canon as it gets. Sure, others have been critical of the book and the list as not being truly comprehensive...but Cope makes no pretensions of this. He's purely sharing his own opinions and invites the reader to check them out, too.
I would love to see this book back in print as a newer edition. But Cope has long said that he will not do it, and so I have to get in line with the other fans to get one of these rare gems. Still, this is an eye-opening book that turns on true rock "heads" (his words) to some music really worth checking out.
Which brings me to my thoughts on the book. The book simply gets 4 stars for how influential it is. It has spawned interest in a largely-forgotten genre and catapulted seminal bands like Neu!, Can, and Faust to their exalted pedestals today (where they sit, unanimously worshipped by the rock intelligentsia).
Cope is an interesting character, because while his words on these bands have been so highly regarded, he is still marginalized somewhat because of his eccentricities. But maybe there's some truth behind that characterization...his writing style is truly bizarre, but it's charming at the same time because of the sheer excitement he has for the music. He is a fan boy of the best stripe.
My gripe with the book is that the descriptions of the music are quite unorthodox. He's not really in the same league with other rock journalists, at least as far as descriptive writing style (I'm thinking of Simon Reynolds here, for instance). He writes from the heart, though, almost like a teenager would tell his best friends about his favorite bands (and his book is replete with many of the same head-scratching colloquialisms that a teenager might use, too). But it's impossible not to sense his infectious enthusiasm for these bands.
The biggest contribution of the book--and the segment of it that has made the book so important to Krautrock enthusiasts and collectors--is his list of his 50 favorite Krautrock albums. He includes this in the end of the book, and it's quite possibly as close to Krautrock canon as it gets. Sure, others have been critical of the book and the list as not being truly comprehensive...but Cope makes no pretensions of this. He's purely sharing his own opinions and invites the reader to check them out, too.
I would love to see this book back in print as a newer edition. But Cope has long said that he will not do it, and so I have to get in line with the other fans to get one of these rare gems. Still, this is an eye-opening book that turns on true rock "heads" (his words) to some music really worth checking out.
October 17, 2013
While it is undeniably important in the popularization of Krautrock, it's less useful for a contemporary reader. Cope is a reasonably entertaining writer, but KrautRockSampler has the feel of an out-of-date textbook. The band bios are sub-liner-notes in quality and don't have much that you can't get from a well written Wikipedia page. His list of 50 top Krautrock records leaves out canonical records like Can's Future Days as well as bands like Agitation Free that were uncovered more recently.
Still, the book is a fun and short read. One highlight of the book for me was hearing Cope's stories about growing up a Krautrock fan in England. He was there as this music washed up on the radiophonic shores and is able to tell a convincing and entertaining story of how interfaced with British music.
Still, the book is a fun and short read. One highlight of the book for me was hearing Cope's stories about growing up a Krautrock fan in England. He was there as this music washed up on the radiophonic shores and is able to tell a convincing and entertaining story of how interfaced with British music.
August 17, 2012
Guía fundamental para viajar la época (finales de los años 60-principios de los 70) en la que el rock alemán construyó su propia tradición desde la nada sembrada tras la II Guerra Mundial, para lanzarla inmediatamente después al espacio y alumbrar la llamada Kosmische Musik. El estilo de Cope, ruidoso, místico, sofocante y alucinado, muy pop, y en ocasiones basado en descripciones literalmente imposibles, tiene la sonoridad perfecta para un libro así. Su top 50 de álbumes es ideal para escuchar durante la lectura, aunque no pretende ser una lista "objetiva", sino un recorrido prácticamente biográfico construido alrededor de su experiencia y sus recuerdos. Porque, ¿de verdad Kraftwerk no merecía un capítulo propio en este ejemplar de gastronomía típica alemana?
October 6, 2013
this is a wonderful, if regrettably brief, overview of one of the most fertile and fascinating periods of music. i read it accompanying a deep immersion in the waters of krautrock and it has been a great experience i would recommend to anyone. sometimes cope's attempts to describe things are a tad clumsy and either fall short or oversell the music itself, but i found his blazing enthusiasm most endearing. yes, it could be argued that his campaign to smear most of british progressive rock while praising the krautrock scene is a bit unnecessary, but if you really feel so butthurt about it you probably take yourself a tad too seriously.
September 14, 2014
If you're reading this review, you've likely already made up your mind to read this staple text.
Whatever anyone says about Julian Cope, this book is canon in the history and development of elektronishe kosmische musik.
It was a breeze of a read - completed in one quick and enlightening sitting, and surely inspires the reader to look up the recordings cited and to further explore the wonderful sounds of Germany's motorik music.
While English printings command hundreds of dollars on any used book marketplace, there is a circulating (crudely-scanned) PDF which will suffice as a reference text until you can secure the real deal.
Whatever anyone says about Julian Cope, this book is canon in the history and development of elektronishe kosmische musik.
It was a breeze of a read - completed in one quick and enlightening sitting, and surely inspires the reader to look up the recordings cited and to further explore the wonderful sounds of Germany's motorik music.
While English printings command hundreds of dollars on any used book marketplace, there is a circulating (crudely-scanned) PDF which will suffice as a reference text until you can secure the real deal.
March 19, 2015
This is a very good initiation for anyone taking their first steps into the krautrock world, providing at first some general historical and sociological basis for its development in Germany and then focusing on bands seperately offering trivia and reviews. Even though it is very personalized at times, rather than an objective overview (as objective as you can be when talking about music...) it offers great input for anyone to start searching more. It also helped me discover Walter Wegmuller who's awesome. You should check this book out and also watch the BBC documentary on the genre: Krautrock, the rebirth of Germany.
August 23, 2017
Aún si no te gusta o nunca has escuchado la Kosmische Musik, Julian Cope, con su intenso fanboyismo, te convence ―al menos durante 140 páginas― que es el mejor género que jamás existió. Con un intenso conocimiento sobre el Krautrock, Cope explica las circunstancias sociológicas en las cuales este tipo de música fue creado, además de su desarrollo y su declive, y lo cuenta con tanto detalle que podrías pensar que él estuvo presente en cada momento.
Krautrocksampler es un libro para reavivar tu amor y pasión por la música.
Krautrocksampler es un libro para reavivar tu amor y pasión por la música.
June 30, 2014
This tiny tome packs a powerful punch! Written passionately by someone who experienced these albums as they came out and so he is able to portray the living context of their time period. Passionate, authentic and biased, but so detailed that enables you to make your own decisions. And most important - it makes the music come alive and had me reaching for the computer constantly to youtube songs or albums that I don't own or haven't heard yet.
November 15, 2011
Was finally able to peruse this one via .pdf file, and I must say, it's a doozy! Cope's love for the "krautrock" scene is infectious, and some of the behind the scenes insights really helped flesh out the intricate web that is German experimental music for someone who considered himself (wrongly) and authority on the subject. How about an expanded reissue of this bad boy, eh?
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