Krautrocksampler Paperback – January 1, 1995

I did know very little about german rock music from the 70's before I bought this fantastic book. It was very hard to find back then and I got it at the Virgin Megastore in Times Square. It was a complete revelation but the discs themselves continued to be very elusive back then Only a handful of the Neu! records were available as well as the Can discography. Anyway, Julian Cope does a splendid work in introducing people to this kind of cosmic music as he calls it. This was music that has gotten a very bad reputation in the post-punk new wave area and completely undeservedly so. The music explored was very often extremely innovativae and had roots in the rock of the Velvet Underground and others from the 60's. This book made me discover the first Kraftwerk records as well as artists such as La Düsseldorf, Ash Ra Tempel and Cosmic Courriers. Really Heavy stuff. This book is one of the best in its grenre. Not only does he provide with a very selected discography froom which one can progress but Julian Cope has written some really nice essays on some important parts of German rock. Maybe not as complete as one would want later on but it s a fantastic place to start. The pocket book format makes it perfect for carrying with you when going to stores in search of music. One wishes he would write a more complete follow-up. His web-site is well worth a visist though.

Somebody please reprint this effing book!

This book,by a very large margin,is my absolute favorite on the topic of popular music.At the time,I was just beginning to discover the Krautrock genre (outside of Kraftwerk and Can)so this was an indispensable guide to a "newbie" like me.Julian's reviews are "unique" to say the least - both hilarious and quite creative in his attempt to communicate what each album "is about".I find myself flipping thru this little gem of a book over-and-over,particularly when i'm in a "Krautrock" mood and about to make a trip to the record store! I have yet to be "burned" by any of his spot-on reviews.Now,if it would only be reprinted so everyone that missed it the first time can enjoy Julian's mind-altering "reviews".

This is probably the most read book I own. For the last 10 years, scarcely a month goes by that I don't pull it out to re-read some tid-bit. Really fascinating.When I bought it, I owned a couple of the albums listed, and a few compilations. I now own 49 out of 50 in Julian's list. And scads more to boot.When I see that the cheapest copy listed is for $177, I think "I should really think about selling my...uh, no" Sorry to say, I couldn't part with mine for that. Not even close.Really, it's that obsessive at this point.