(this review can be found at: http://www.synthmusicdirect.com/schdune.cfm)

OK, so its time again to record an album. Trouble is, your previous release was the mighty 'X'. How on earth do you set about a follow up to a monumental slab on synthesis like that??? Klaus seemed to have been on a steady rollercoaster of success since the making of 'Timewind', recording a succession of successful albums possibly reaching a cosmic peak with the aforementioned 'X'. Which brings me to the next problem - when you've reached the top the only way is down??or is it? With music press pundits waiting in the wings, knives, (and quills) sharpened at the ready, was Schulze about to become the latest sacrificial lamb to the end of the supergroup / prog-rock seventies?

Klaus chose a subject dear to his heart for inspiration, gleaning ideas from the epic sci-fi novel, 'Dune',( which he did sound to be a little obsessed with at the time, having already named one of the tracks on 'X' after its author Frank Herbert). Assisted by Wolfgang Tiepold, (returning to add a further dimension to the music throughout the album with his improvisational skills on the Cello) Schulze commits the cardinal sin of introducing vocals to the music, drawing Arthur Brown into the studio to sing on one of the tracks, was Klaus about to critically sink or swim??

'Dune' is now re-issued in a double gated card sleeve with the metallic finish of the original album cover. The bonus on this CD being an additional twenty three minute track. The enclosed 20 page booklet provides photos of Schulze from the era, a section of interview with the great man himself in 2004, a two page write up about the making of the album plus a lyric sheet,( so that you can sing along!!!).

At just over half an hour in length now, ('Dune' is presented at its full length. Was 29.52mins, now 30.28mins) the title track is upon us. To describe the entire piece isn't easy, its not sequencer based but at the same time doesn't drift in an aimless spacey kind of way. This huge slice of sound is simply the most majestic and cinematic of Klaus's work to date. No discernable themes or solo's stand out, the track seeming more intent on conveying impressionistic moods and atmospheres, but nothing that radically detracts from the fact that this is one long flowing piece of music. Tiepolds work throughout the piece is simply amazing, Klaus generously seems to have handed the track over to him to lead the way with different intonations towards texture and feel, painting a more intricate sonic picture for us as Schulze's musical vista's appear then drift away. Changes of key lead to atonal differences which also highlight development within the piece as it moves slowly on through different episodes. Work had already started on the movie,' Dune' the previous year. Bizarrely director David Lynch chose pop group Toto to do the soundtrack for the film, when all the time he had the perfect score sitting right there in front of him, which l'm sure Klaus would have loved him to use. I'm not one for harping on about music over poetically,' Dune' however is something a little different, it does appear to be a work that is meant to be pure soundscape and nothing less, reminding of the otherworldly scorched deserts in which much of the 'Dune' story takes place. Sit back and immerse yourself in this glorious musical landscape. In stark contrast, 'Shadows of Ignorance',(26.22) that follows is a track that is both rhythmic and up-tempo, pointing the way ahead for Klaus's music into the eighties. This is such a change from the music Klaus had produced on his first ten albums, making them seem like a mere warm up to what he and the equipment were really capable of. It's all beautifully engineered sounding bright and punchy. Compression on the drums and sequenced bassline set perfectly, the piece soon chugging along nicely like a well oiled engine. Schulze's creative work sounding like an industrial strength trip around the studio as he improvises with Tiepold.

Arthur Brown enters the picture to do his bit on vocals after the initial eight minutes of musical scene setting. However, the lyric he sings is just awful. Consistently meaningless, at times humorous, (in that the lyric's that bad). At times frustrating and childish. Worst line - "What you are before you were!". I've tried to read it in the context of the song, but no ? l'm lost.

Another failed attempt at electronica with words,( this an album following hot on the heels of Tangerine Dream's ill fated vocal experiment on 'Cyclone' the previous year). Klaus falls foul of all the same problems.

In this case Mr. Brown does his best, but his true ability is stifled, stuck in a minor musical key with a lack of variation. Sounding like he's trying to sing a sermon, its all a little trying, all a little tiring. The music is great, but just not suited to a lyric that's for sure. Browns voice seems to have been recorded in a single take, all very unrehearsed. His timing and phrasing are out by a mile, caught out with unexpected key changes which leave him singing hopelessly out of tune at times.

Swiftly onto our bonus track, 'Le Mans',(23.03), the title referring to the location from which this live recording was taken. This excerpt recorded during the 'Dune' tour of late 1979, has a bootleggy feel to it. Opening up in a fashion that has the polysynths sounding all rather 82'/ Schmoelling period TD the tempo rises and Klaus is really going for it with the soloing!! The metronomic rhythms tick over at about 130bpm whilst Mr. Schulze starts mucking around triggering arpeggiated sounds for his latest round of soloing,( all abit daft really, showing that Klaus doesn't take himself too seriously). This all seems to be going nowhere, but in actual fact Klaus is a step ahead of us programming 'on the fly' ingeniously getting the synths to sound like a race car engine revving up, (he is at Le Mans after all!!!). As l say, all a bit daft, but clever and daring stuff live!!! The tempo is halved at the halfway mark and typically Schulzey leads ensue. Things are gradually stripped back until only the strings remain, slowly building again to a big finale, (sounding very much like the early work of Ian Boddy it has to be said!!).

'Dune' is without a doubt an astounding, and diverse work which leaves the 1979 listener to ponder what Schulze may come up with next, the album stamping on the notion that Klaus may have run out of ideas for his music by the end of the decade, indeed re-enforcing the feeling that all we had really heard during the seventies was merely a façade for his real talent yet to be fully exploited!!! Vocals aside, 'Dune is an album worth buying for the title track alone, it's completely mesmerising as it morphs from one mood to another effortlessly!!! The bonus track, interesting, but wouldn't an instrumental version of 'Shadows of Ignorance' been something!!! That said ? a word of wisdom, what we each hear in the music is largely down to what we look for in the music. Enjoy 'Dune'. (B22)