Rheingold : Live At The Loreley

Klaus Schulze and Australian singer Lisa Gerrard (formerly of Dead Can Dance) proved to be an appealing combination on their studio recording Farscape, and they also work well together on Rheingold: Live at the Loreley. Gerrard doesn't appear on all of this release's moody, hypnotic material, but when she is featured, her performances add a lot to this two-DVD set -- which is a live album more than anything. All of DVD one is devoted to a July 18, 2008 concert in St. Goarshausen, Germany, while DVD two contains the 65-minute documentary "The Real World of Klaus Schulze" and a 55-minute interview (the interviewer is singer/guitarist Steven Wilson, a member of the British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree). Schulze's hardcore fans will appreciate the documentary and the interview (Wilson discusses, among other things, the contributions and influence of Tangerine Dream), but the concert in St. Goarshausen is Rheingold's main attraction -- and Schulze is in very good form on the songs that feature Gerrard (the 14-minute "Wellgunde" and the 39-minute "Loreley") as well as the instrumentals that don't ("Nothung," "Wotan," and the 24-minute opener "Alberich"). Some viewers may argue that some of the performances drag on longer than they need to and ask, "Did "Loreley" really need to last 39 minutes, and did "Alberich" really need to last 24 minutes?" But considering that Schulze's creativity is at a high level, one can easily live with his excesses (or perhaps even find them enjoyable). Overall, Schulze had a creatively successful night in St. Goarshausen, and the presence of Gerrard on some of the performances is a definite plus. ~ Alex Henderson