(KrautRock) Walter Wegmuller - Tarot 2 CD (1973), Germany - 1973, APE (image+.cue)

Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 3 from 28. July 2007

EAC extraction logfile from 30. October 2007, 10:41

Walter Wegmьller / Tarot - CD1

Used drive : LITE-ON COMBO SOHC-5232K Adapter: 1 ID: 0

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
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Combined read/write offset correction : 0
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000

Used output format : Internal WAV Routines
Sample format : 44.100 Hz; 16 Bit; Stereo

TOC of the extracted CD

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1 | 0:00.32 | 3:55.13 | 32 | 17669
2 | 3:55.45 | 4:39.00 | 17670 | 38594
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10 | 35:25.15 | 4:01.35 | 159390 | 177499
11 | 39:26.50 | 3:36.65 | 177500 | 193764
12 | 43:03.40 | 3:27.42 | 193765 | 209331

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Filename D:\HQ Releases\Tarot\Walter Wegmьller - Tarot CD1.wav

Peak level 100.0 %
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Copy CRC 14D65D4A
Copy OK

No errors occurred

End of status report

Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 3 from 28. July 2007

EAC extraction logfile from 30. October 2007, 11:04

Walter Wegmьller / Tarot - CD 2

Used drive : LITE-ON COMBO SOHC-5232K Adapter: 1 ID: 0

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Combined read/write offset correction : 0
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000

Used output format : Internal WAV Routines
Sample format : 44.100 Hz; 16 Bit; Stereo

TOC of the extracted CD

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1 | 0:00.32 | 4:56.50 | 32 | 22281
2 | 4:57.07 | 1:19.40 | 22282 | 28246
3 | 6:16.47 | 4:47.23 | 28247 | 49794
4 | 11:03.70 | 3:38.05 | 49795 | 66149
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7 | 24:57.45 | 2:50.32 | 112320 | 125101
8 | 27:48.02 | 3:03.18 | 125102 | 138844
9 | 30:51.20 | 2:06.25 | 138845 | 148319
10 | 32:57.45 | 8:41.15 | 148320 | 187409

Range status and errors

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Filename D:\HQ Releases\Tarot\Walter Wegmьller - Tarot CD 2.wav

Peak level 96.1 %
Range quality 99.9 %
Copy CRC 168438ED
Copy OK

No errors occurred

End of status report

Basically this is another Cosmic Joker/Couriers album, as the album is credited to the Swiss artist Walter Wegmuller, but Berkers, Dollasse, Grosskopf (all three from Walenstein), Schulze (after his TD and ART days but not yet into his solo career proper), Henke & Gotsching (both from Ash Ra Tempel) and Westrupp (of W&W) are all present on this double album (and double Cd as well). Please read my friend Phillipe Blache’s excellent intro on the Kosmische Muziek on the Wegmuller entry-page for more on the ramifications of this German movement that was one of the specificity of the Krautrock movement.

In either case, this lengthy double concept album (you guessed it about Tarot) is one of the most expensive album around in its full original form: indeed the vinyl came out with a full deck of cards drawn buy Wegmuller himself from 68 to 74 partly in association with Sergius Golowin, another driving spike of the Cosmic Joker/Courrier thing. While Wegmuller takes on vocal duties (more often reciting duties really), the music is really up to the all star line-up ion the album, recording in the well know Dieter Dierks studios and released on the legendary Ohr label. The music is just as suitably spacey as you could ever wish it to be, and while not fascinating, it is often enthralling, even if the concept is rather hard to follow (unless you grasp German good enough), but who cares, anyway? Tarots are not one of my passions, anyway. But there is a storyline explained in two languages, but I never paid attention to it as the album can be enjoyed without that side of the oeuvre. As you can easily guess, there are imperfections and lengths, but nothing to scare anyone, even the most demanding progheads.

While there are more essential Cosmic Couriers projects, this one is also much worthy of your investigation, but forget looking after the original vinyl, though. The Spalax reissue (in digipack) is an excellent bet. Hard not to give its fourth star.

Walter Wegmuller was a Swiss painter who was an expert on the subject of tarot cards.He is not a musician,but is on this double album to offer up his thoughts on each tarot card with his spoken and whispered words.He has an all-star cast playing the music here including Manuel Gottsching and Hartmut Enke both from ASH RA TEMPEL,Jurgen Dollase,Harald Grosskopf and Jerry Berkers from WALLENSTEIN and Walter Westrupp from W&W and Klaus Schulze.These guys were also known as THE COSMIC COURIERS and THE COSMIC JOKERS.Dieter Dierks and Rosi are also listed as guests.For more background info and the subject matter of this recording i would highly recommend you read the bio here at ProgArchives and Sean Trane's review.The spoken words are all in German which suits me fine as it is all about the amazing music.Speaking of which this is such a great example of what krautrock was all about."Tarot" is a cosmic trip with mellotron,synths and electronics creating a spacey base, while the guitar,bass,drums and percussion create a variety of sounds and styles to make your trip both an exciting and relaxing one. I'd like to touch on some of my favourite tracks. Disc one opens with the only english on the recording as the band is introduced one by one as an uptempo melody is played.Nice."Die Hohepriesterin" features slowly spoken words as waves of mellotron and sound drift along.Great sound. "Der Herrscher" has some fantastic guitar playing front and center from Manuel as spoken words come in.This is one of the few tracks that isn't spacey.Love the guitar that goes on and on. "Der Hohepriester" has this beautiful piano melody with intricate guitar as whispered vocals and flute come in.Simply an emotional,uplifting song that has to be heard. "Der Wagen" opens quietly but the sound is building.Very cool.Spoken words before 2 minutes.Some prominant drumming on this one as spacey sounds are shooting around.A wall of sound before 3 minutes.Spacey winds are blowing before 5 minutes."Die Gerechtigkeit" is dark and serious with haunting spoken words.It's like impending doom is near.While the next song "Der Weise" is light with piano,mellotron and fragile spoken words.Gorgeous song. "Die Kraft" features tribal-like drumming as Gottsching lights it up with his guitar. On disc two "Die Massigkeit" opens with spoken words as the guitar rips it up big time.Eerie sounds 2 minutes in as guitar is still on fire.Organ replaces guitar late. "Der Teufel" features dual guitar melodies,whispered vocals and flute. "Die Zerstorung" opens with piano as softly spoken vocals come in then waves of mellotron.Explosive sounds before 3 minutes as drums go crazy. "Die Sterne" builds slowly as guitar and spoken vocals come in.Drums 2 minutes in before synths and mellotron washes arrive before 3 minutes.Spacey,cosmic winds 5 1/2 minutes in. "Das Gericht" features beautiful,heavenly sounds(mellotron etc.) as spoken words come in.Heaven must sound like this. The final track is "Die Welt" and it ends this double album in fine style.Marching-like drums early as guitar makes some noise.A great rhythm comes out of this with psychedelic guitar playing over top.Awesome sound.Spoken words and spacey waves with mellotron come in.Percussion 3 minutes in.It gets so intense 5 minutes in as Manuel is absolutely on fire! Drums continue to pound.A wall of spacey sounds can't contain the blistering guitar.In the end though the spacey sounds win out as the song and album drift away. Essential for krautrock fans in my opinion.This is the stuff that legends are made of. 4.5 stars.

Tarot is a major German electronic music piece composed & directed by Wegmuller & played by the Cosmic Jokers. Originally released in 1994 as a limited box-set & long out-of-print. This double CD reissue includes the original 16 page booklet. Gatefold digipak.

a project which is basically an Ash Ra Tempel + Wallenstein thing, i.e. Ash Ra Temple with more melodic piano passages. The best thing - the tarot artwork - is missing in this version, which makes it much less enjoyable. Afterall, it's a little jam session that similar to the cosmic jokers series (e.g. galatic supermarket, etc). Not very impressive, a nice collectible anyway.

In 1972, Rolf Ulrich Kaiser of Ohr records and a group of musicians from the Berlin Underground scene (Ashra Tempel) seriously started to think about cosmic rock music to satisfy their adventurous life with appropriate sounds. The idea of “Cosmic music” was also born as a protest against UK and United States obvious influences on rock music worldwide. The aim was to create typical German “acid” rock music. To put in practice his project, Rolf Kaiser founded his own label and called it “Cosmic Couriers”. The name of “Cosmic Couriers” is an attitude of mind that emerged during the 60’s. It was an idealistic movement which conceptually tries to look for ways to stay in high states of consciousness thanks to mescaline, LSD trips. The first album released under Rolf Kaiser’s drug inspired philosophy was “seven up” with the guru of “acid test” Tim Leary and Ashra Tempel musicians. Soon after, the Kaiser produced two others albums with personalities from the underground psychedelic movement. There was the mystic, esoteric writer Sergius Golowin (on recitations for the cosmic/psych folk project “Lord Krishna”) and the Swiss gipsy folk artist Walter Wegmuller for the project around the symbolism of “Tarot” cards.

In 1972 will be released the “Tarot’ album with the help of many krautrock musicians, notably Manuel Gottsching (for many guitars parts), Klaus Schulze (for electronic & effects), a few members of Wallenstein as Harald Grosskopf (on drums), Jurgen Dollase (on keyboards) and Walter Westrupp (on acoustic parts). Musically “Tarot” consists of numerous short tracks that we can describe as a great synthesis of everything that emerged during the first krautrock years. Consequently the stress is put on hallucinatory, psych effects, bluesy/ trance guitar sounds, free form rock augmented with sophisticated synth sounds, acoustic folk passages with flute and guitar, piano pseudo romantic arrangements, odd recitations. Each track represents an idea developed by a “tarot...read more