Wisbone Ash 1970

One track longer than 2006's Sometime World: An MCA Travelogue and four deeper than 1993's Time Was: The Wishbone Ash Collection, 2013's Essential Collection makes up for what it lacks ("Phoenix," "Time Was") with affordability. Priced to move, it covers a lot of ground, offering up a slew of Wishbone Ash classics like "Blind Eye," Warrior," "Ballad of the Beacon," and "Persephone," and while it may lack a handful of notable tracks, there's enough here to satisfy both veterans and newbies alike.

Starring Rosi is the fifth and technically final album released by Ash Ra Tempel, as it is the last to feature Manuel Göttsching. It was recorded at Studio Dierks, Stommeln by Dieter Dierks. It was originally released on LP by Ohr under their 'Kosmische Musik' imprint, catalogue number KM 58.007. Generally regarded as something of a turning point for Göttsching, this album to some extent dispenses with the lengthy jams of previous albums and adopts a tighter song-structure. The line-up is a reduced one following the departure of Harmut Enke; Göttsching plays most of the instruments, with Wallenstein's Harald Großkopf guesting on drums.

Recorded in 2000, Friendship marked the return of Krautrock pioneers Ash Ra Tempel, though founding member Manuel Göttsching had been making music under the name Ashra on and off with a host of other players a few years after the 1973 breakup of the band's original lineup. Friendship saw the reunion of Göttsching and fellow Ash Ra Tempel founding member Klaus Schulze, who had spent much of the '70s, '80s and '90s amassing an impressive body of his own solo work. Working as a duo, Göttsching's fantastical guitar leads and Schulze's trademark synth pads are joined by more digital drum programming (also the handiwork of Schulze, who had originally served as the band's drummer back in their earliest days). The album is made up of three lengthy compositions somewhere between trance, deep house, and hints of the early Krautrock experimentalism the band forged in the early '70s.