2 classics from the letter 'A': Acid Mothers Temple and Ash Ra Temple

The Old Classic from the letter 'A'

Ash Ra Tempel: Schwingungen (1972)
An old fav, and after the Timothy Leary collaboration on "Seven Up" my second exposure to the ashra freaks.

The Guru is lying on the couch reading, while I'm doing whatever the hell it is I do and "Suche and Liebe" is winding up it's glorious conclusion:

Guru: This music scares me.
Harvey Dog: No, it's beautiful!

Well, there you go. One person's terror is another person's balm. To me, the final 10 minutes on this album concludes perfectly the preceding 30 minutes. It is so fucking uplifting!!! I find myself soaring into a better place than planet earth
soaring into unknown dimensions
attaining the peace we all desire.

There is an incredible flow to this album. The vocals (sung in German...so I'll be looking at this a bit different from someone who speaks the language), become another instrument, not unlike the amazing Damo from Can.

I wish I had heard of these guys in my 20s...
opening up experimental valves
exploring the power of 'space'
in music...
and life
exploring the power of 'time'
in music...
and life
***

The New Classic from the letter 'A'

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O: Have You Seen the Other Side of the Sky? (2006)
This album shows a reformed "Melting Paraiso U.F.O" (after the amazing Cotton Casino left), firing on all cylinders. There is a Ghost-like beauty on the quieter songs...and the finale "The Tale of the Solar Sail - Dark Stars in the Dazzling Sky" is a powerful motherfucker!! The 30 minute song takes you on an acid temple trek through many different realms. The title is correct. There's darkness BUT it's also dazzling.

a sense of wonder
and excitement

The "solar sail" takes you to heaven
takes you to hell
it's all dazzling
there is nothing to fear
the adventure continues....

A powerful album that shows that the acid is still strong in the temple of the mothers.
***

Links

A review of Schwingungen from Hippyland. Cool looking site I just found.
The official Ash Ra web site.
Acid Mothers web site.
***