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ULTIMA THULE / THE CRACK IN THE COSMIC EGG
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Printed editions... |
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Encyclopedia of Krautrock, Kosmische Musik, & other progressive,
experimental & electronic musics from Germany |
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A printed version of the CD-Rom in magazine form. |
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You wanted a printed version of the CD-Rom for easy reference? The 24
magazine edition was too expensive? A new leaner version, in the original
book cover is now available! |
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This "Of Cuckoos And Scrambled Eggs" was a special A4, 36pp
magazine supplement to The Crack In The Cosmic Egg - special 2013 edition,
published by special request. |
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original book
edition reviews... |
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The Crack In The Cosmic Egg Bible,
Qur'an and reading book for Krauts! Not that you think I'm completely turned off
now, but the book I'd like to draw attention to is actually all in one for
the interested Krautrock lover. To lighten the tension: These are The Crack
In The Cosmic Egg by Steven and Alan Freeman, now published in the second,
revised edition by Audion Publications. The
bitter first: Englishmen, who make a fantastic Krautrock Bible - how sad that
in this country such a thing has long been impossible. Although there was an
encyclopedia edition of Günter Ehnert, Rock In Germany, many years ago,
firstly the three editions have been deleted for a long time; secondly, the
research has not been as good as it has been here for a long time. Let's get
to the Cosmic Egg: Even
the cover of the book is clearly reminiscent of record covers by Carthage and
Gila. Inside, things are well organized: Mr. Freeman starts off with a neat
introduction to the Krautrock story, continues to explain the book itself,
then gets details about the sound recordings and concludes the 7-page opening
with explanations of various styles. That makes us hungry for the following:
We find a (subjective) listing of the Top100-Krautrock interpreters with
their records, a map of Germany and a list of cities with assignment of the
bands coming from there - all kinds, all sorts. Special chapters then deal
with the scenes in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg and Munich, before starting on
page 27 with the alphabetical listing of almost all interpreters who had
anything to do with this scene: A starts with Abacus, Z ends with Zyma, and
in between there are over 180 pages to hundreds of familiar and only insiders
common names. For each performer there is a detailed discography with order
numbers, the line-ups of the recordings and plenty of other information that
really arouse the awe-inspiring work done. Who
now thinks that the book is through, that said: Far from it! On other sites
samplers are listed, sometimes really obscure and probably untraceable
nowadays. Then the names of deserving producers of the then scene follow;
afterwards it's all about label customer, past and current names en masse. Then
comes the well-known chapter Rumors & Mysteries, in which one finds all
sorts of artists in which the authors were not completely conclusive on
account of the classification or where deeper information was missing. Behind
it follows the absolutely necessary band index, which contains roughly 1,300
names - madness! Afterwards a list of musicians from artists who have worked
in several bands. That should be around 2,500 names. Finally, a collection of
books and magazines that deal with Krautrock. Conclusion:
An incredible diligence, the total of 288 pages brimming with information. In
English, well. Unfortunately, this book in Germany is difficult to get, and
cheap it is not exactly, the price is between 65 and 70 marks. In my opinion,
this is absolutely justified, such a complex work is truly unparalleled.
Indispensable! Google
translation of review by Wolfgang Pokall at Musikzirkus |
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The Crack In The
Cosmic Egg One of the best instruments available to the German progressive rock aficionado, where he can investigate the essential aspects of the German current, better known as "Krautrock". It is undoubtedly this British publication, which is together with "Cosmic Dreams At Play", the indispensable editorial pair for the best knowledge of the most influential scene of contemporary music of the twentieth century. The work, is a compendium of data collected by the authors Alan and Steven Freeman, also publicists of the English magazine Audion, fans and researchers of the progressive and in particular of the Krautrock. In it we can find analysis of the main regional scenarios that settled the main currents of the Krautrock. In the work are detailed: groups, members, biographies, discographies, styles, topics of the musical context and even maps and family trees of the main trends. The list of the hundred best works is offered in the opinion of the authors, without a doubt a basic picture to begin to know by the most select the Teutonic cosmos. The organization of the compendium, has vast indexes and consultative references, as well as color sheets of the most significant covers. The level of knowledge is profound, but its interpretation is very subjective, given the tendency of authors to glorify their favorites and demonize, those who are not. However, the above is an insignificant defect, which does not affect the work can be considered as absolutely essential, even for the amateur novice or just remotely interested in German progressive rock. For the amateur, it is a must to have it in his elementary musical references box. Google translation of review by
Juvenal Aragón Figueroa at progresiva70s.blogspot |
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Steven Freeman & Alan Freeman Informationen Rezensionen Von:
Udo Gerhards It
is always amazing how small Krautrock is compared to other countries in
Germany himself, what a low level of publicity he "enjoys" in this
country. Practically all the more extensive publications on the subject come
from fans from other countries, as well as the present work of the two
Freeman brothers who publish the British Audion magazine. "Crack
in the Cosmic Egg" tries to be a comprehensive encyclopedia for
"Krautrock, Cosmic Music & other progressive, experimental and
electronic music from Germany", unlike the rather selective and personal
Krautrocksampler by Julian Cope Comparing Dag Erik Asbjørnsen's "Cosmic
Dreams At Play", which sets the cut of the recorded albums earlier in
time, around 1976, while at the Freemans musically relevant albums can also
come from the 80s and 90s. The
Freemans, like Julian Cope, also fall into the fan trap and overestimate the
influence and creative richness of their object when it says "Almost
every groundbreaking new form of music started in Germany". Well. Such
statements can be found again and again, and you have to stop to classify.
And even "The Crack In The Cosmic Egg" is not free from factual
errors (the legend of Dutch descent Rolf-Ulrich Kaisers mentioned by Ralf JG
in his review of the "Krautrocksampler") is repeated here, both
written off at the same source Nevertheless, the Freemans have researched
more carefully than Cope and Asbjørnsen, have conducted interviews with a
number of German musicians and almost all of the albums presented have
probably even heard :-) The
main component of the album is an alphabetical list of bands relevant to the
above-mentioned claim with short biographies, discographies, music
descriptions and staffing lists. This part occupies almost 200 of the total
of 288 DIN A4 pages. This is informative, comprehensive and suitable for
browsing and browsing. The true strength of the book, however, are the many
complementary contents: after a short general introduction, various regional
Krautrock scenes with textual description and family tree graphics are
presented in more detail. Very helpful is the printed map of Germany, which
illustrates not only the foreigners, but also in geography less well-versed
locals the situation of the different centers ... Very
useful is also the detailed index, including a cross-reference index, which
shows each band for each musician all bands in which the member or at least
one recording was involved. Other sections are devoted to the various
Krautrock labels, well-known non-musician scene personalities (sound mixers
and producers), off-screen, yet noteworthy albums, etc. Another chapter lists
legendary albums that nobody knows ... This part is now After more than 7
years since the tape was first published, it has become somewhat obsolete, as
some of the aforementioned obscurities such as "Flaming Bess" and
"Tricolon" have even found their way onto CD. Despite
the above-mentioned weaknesses here is a very elaborate, lovingly assembled
work before, which also contains a pile of information that stimulate at
least for their own research and bargain hunting on eBay. Unfortunately
"The Crack In The Cosmic Egg" is currently out of print (February
2004) and will probably not be reissued in book form. However, a soon to be
reissued in CD-ROM form is planned, a format that lends itself to the many
cross-connections within the scene. Google
translation of review by Udo Gerhards at: babyblaue-seiten |
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Krautrock A to Z, March 11, 2005 - By Robert Carlberg (Seattle) - from Amazon Between the late 1960s and the mid-1980s, there was a veritable EXPLOSION of creativity on the German rock scene. Fueled by an influx of American ex-pat jazz musicians seeking color neutrality, the new portability of music with cassettes and portable radios, the worldwide spirit of experimentation, new instrument technologies and, yes, the popularity of psychedelics, the resulting body of work has been nobly documented by brothers Steven & Alan Freeman. Other books cover some of the same ground -- Archie Patterson's "Eurock" and Dag Erik Asbjornsen's "Cosmic Dreams at Play" for two -- but none are more comprehensive or more compulsively readable than "Cosmic Egg." The level of detail and fair, reasonable analysis make this the gold standard against which all others are measured.. |
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A Crack In The Cosmic Egg Steven
Freeman & Alan Freeman AUDION £23 When
shown a book such as this, one can any doff the old topper in admiration. |
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STEVEN & ALAN FREEMAN: "The Crack In The Cosmic Egg ~
Encyclopaedia Of Krautrock, Kosmische Musik, & Other Progressive, Experimental
& Electronic Musics From Germany" (£20+P&P £5 U.K., £8 Euro, £17
U.S., £20 elsewhere to Ultima Thule, 1 Conduit St., Leicester LE2 OJN.) |
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Krautrock
feature |
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The Crack In The Cosmic Egg: Encyclopedia Of Krautrock, Kosmische Musik
& Other Progressive, Experimental & Electronic Musics From Germany Bypassing the entry on Velvet Universe, consider this summary of Vinegar:
"Reputedly pre-Electric Sandwich, Vinegar played a much more spiced
psychedelic rock in the realms of Tractor or Elias Hulk." That summary
is this encyclopedia in microcosm (mikrokosm?); the detail is astonishing and
the list of ludicrous group names would fill this review. Try Tanned Leather,
Hairy Chapter and Steak, for starters. |
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C. Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Cosmic Dream
sand Cracked Eggs (but were afraid to ask of a German) |
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The Crack In
The Cosmic Egg Steven & Alan Freeman, Audion
Publications, 1996, 288 pages The subtitle of this book is
perhaps a better descriptor than its title: Encyclopedia of Krautrock,
Kosmische Musik, & Other Progressive, Experimental & Electronic
Musics from Germany. The authors are of course, the same Freeman Brothers who
have produced Audion Magazine since the mid-1980s, and have an excellent
track record for coverage of German 'progressive' music, whatever that may
mean. One of the highlights of this volume, and what sets it apart from
others (most notably "Cosmic Dreams at Play")that have attempted to
document the German scene is the well-researched section early in the volume
("A Short Guided Tour") that documents the five major 'scenes' of
early German rock (Berlin, Dusseldorf, Koln, Hamburg, and Munich). These ten
or so pages, complete with diagrams and maps go far to explain the setting
within which all German rock from the late sixties grew, and provide an
excellent springboard to understanding the bigger picture' Indeed, this
writer has been listening to much of the German music in this book for many
years, but this is the first time I've read a good overview where all of the
dots are connected. There is also a solid introduction with general
information on the format that is followed throughout the book. And of course
there is a 'Krautrock Top 100' though one has to question how useful list
like this is when only slightly better than mediocre releases like Amon
Duul's "Psychedelic Underground", "Planeten Sit-ln" and
Mythos' "Dreamlab" are included, but classics like Hoelderlin's
"Traumstadt" and SFF's "symphonic Pictures" or
"Ammerland" are completely ignored. Throughout this volume one will
find well researched entries for almost any German artist one can think of: A
concise history of the artist or band (or as concise as possible given the
obscurity of some of these entries) is followed by a discography listing all
major releases - both the original release, and the CD reissue if one exists,
each with a personnel listing. One complaint, however is that sometimes the
discographies cut off at some arbitrary point where the authors interests cut
off; Kraftwerk is a good example: the discography stops at 1978 and
completely ignores anything after "The Man Machine". Most will
agree that the band's output in the eighties was less than stellar from a
'progressive' perspective and would be better off ignored, but it is still
necessary from a discographical standpoint to document these releases, even
if they are crappy. Samplers and "Festival" releases are covered in
a separate section. A section of black and white photos includes some album
covers and band/artist photos, and a color section includes a number of
album/single covers. The back-of-the-book discographies by label are well
researched and comprehensive in the areas where most readers will be
interested (perhaps in 20 years maybe someone will care about WMMS,
Germanophon, Lost Pipe Dreams, and others but they are handled here with a
quickie paragraph and no listings). Two additional sections "Rumors
& Mysteries" (artists that the authors have heard of, but never
actually heard...) and "Rejects and Misfits" (basically, a section
of items of marginal interest or stinkers that should be avoided) round out
the text nicely. In all this is probably the
best-researched volume on German rock this writer has seen, and while I'm not
quite ready to toss all my old copies of Eurock and other books on German
rock, this one has now become my primary reference. Highly Recommended. Peter Thelen (Exposé) |
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A tip: Google "The Crack In The Cosmic
Egg" "Audion Publications" to learn more! Interesting mentions... |
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