Sternenmädchen – Gilles Zeitschiff

Sounds fantastic, perfect vinyl, poly lined inner sleeve. And as to the music, it’s quite the trip!

Disc Rot! I have had this CD since it was released in1994. It has been stored in a proper CD cabinet, in a sealed poly sleeve. Played it maybe twice back in the day. If asked to grade it based on the packaging alone, I would have said "mint". But today, 29 years later, I took it out and played it. Disc error! On inspection, the CD surface shows signs of disc rot. I tried to make a copy on my PC, failed! This is the first time I have experienced this, after years of collecting music on CD. But my god if you look at it, the CD is definitely blotched with rot! This is the pressing mastered at DADC Vienna.

Very good pressing, recommended. No surface noise, no pops or clicks, excellent mastering.

Well, after the puzzling reissues of Psi-Fi Party and Planeten Sit-In, which turned out to be different mixes than the originals, I can report that this CD also has some anomalies. Most curiously it includes an extra 3+ minute section within/at the start of the track "Cosmic Courier Bon Chance" - now known to be an extract from Tangerine Dream's aborted "Alert!" album created together with Timothy Leary - which no doubt explains the weird edit on the original LP (where it was cut-out due to contractual disagreements). There are some subtle differences elsewhere as well - mostly finer details that were previously lost, and extra/different synth work on the final tracks not present on the original.
review revised

Sternmädchen Gille - Zeitschiff as listed on the original labels
Gilles Zeitschiff as listed on the original spine
Cosmic Jokers - Gilles Zeitschiff on the Spalax LP reissue!

Compilation or very clever concept album? - You decide!

The back cover tell's us....
Live im Quadro-Studio: Gille & Klaus Schulze.
Musikeinblendungen von den LP "Seven Up" (Ash Ra Tempel & Timothy Leary), "Lord Krishna von Goloka" (Sergius Golowin), Tarot (Walter Wegmüller).
Aufgenommen im Zeitschiff Studio Dierks. Im Cockpit Dieter Dierks mit Hilfe von Corinna und Heiner

Thus this is no mere normal compilation. Although, that said, a lot of the music featured is compiled using previously recorded albums on the "Cosmic Couriers" labels from Ash Ra Tempel & Timothy Leary, Sergius Golowin and Walter Wegmuller.
The album is an audio/music documentary about Timothy Leary, his flight to Europe chased by the FBI, meeting Walter Wegmüller in Switzerland, and his work with the Berlin Cosmic musicians. It contains album samples, some fragments of original electronics by Klaus Schulze (some of them large chunks actually, whereas other bits of Synthi-A electronics are used as bridges/cross-fades) and is hosted/narrated by Gille Lettmann. Many other voices are heard: Sergius Golowin, Dr. Timothy Leary himself, Brian Barritt, Walter Wegmüller, Liz Elliot, Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser. The whole experience is quite surreal and engaging, with excellent stereo (quadro) effects and mixing by Dieter Dierks. A heady trip, as they used to say, and one that even benefits from repeated listens.