Times & Sounds (Der Sound der Jahre) Reviews

Review in Gedankensprünge 12/2022

by Norbert Fiks, 28 December 2022 (German)

“[Jan Reetze] goes into great depth (…) and dispels many a legend.”


Review in FAZE 06/2022

by Tassilo Dicke, 31 May 2022 (German)

“Jan Reetze and his book (…) provide exclusive insights.”


Review in Friesländer Bote 06/2022

by Thorsten Soltau, 25 June 2022 (German)

“(…) a captivating and, above all, brilliantly compiled reference work on contemporary history.”


Review in Jazz ‘n’ more 03/2022

by Christof Thurnherr, 5 May 2022 (German)

“Reetze makes a long overdue contribution (…) to putting errors right.”


Review at Rockidylle (Instagram)

by Jochen Oberlack, 29 April 2022 (German)

“A better read on the subject would be hard to find in German.”


Review in Jazzthetik 5/2022

by Jan Kobrzinowski, 27 April 2022 (German)

“Absolutely recommended read – also for browsing!”


Review in Slam 5/2022

by Andreas Grabenschweiger, 20 April 2022 (German)

“The book is literally overflowing with information, even the inside pages of the book cover are filled with interesting facts!”


Radio-Feature on Klanghorizonte (Deutschlandfunk)

by Niklas Wandt, 16 April 2022 (German)

Two-hour feature on the book with read text passages by Jan Reetze.


Review in Ox 2/2022

by Gereon Helmer, 7 April 2022 (German)

“Rarely has German pop culture been better portrayed.”


Review in Rock Hard 04/2022

by Jens Peters, 30 March 2022 (German)

“Reetze manages the balancing act of writing in a way that satisfies scholarly demands and yet is also appealing to ordinary readers.”


Review in GoodTimes 2/2022

by Ulrich Schwartz, 25 March 2022 (German)

“(…) probably the best and thus most important book dealing with the development of West German rock music (…)”


Review in Yeah! 1/2022

by Andreas Schiffmann, 19 March 2022 (German)

“Anyone who has absorbed this book will be able to talk about music everywhere in Germany.”


Review in MINT 4/2022

by Steffen Peters, 17 March 2022 (German)

“The author, who lives in Pittsburgh, has gained his knowledge from unassailable sources, namely from science (…)”


Interview in VISIONS 3/2022

by Florian Schneider, 25 February 2022 (German)

“For the next three or four years, I was hardly able to listen to anything other than electronic music.”


Review in Legacy 2/2022

by Andreas Schiffmann, 25 February 2022 (German)

“(…) the beautifully designed hardcover volume with ribbon bookmarks appeals to the aficionado.”


Review at musikzirkus-magazin.de

by Stephan Schelle, 22 February 2022 (German)

“A very compelling work that is a must read.”


Review in Eclipsed 3/2022

by Alan Tepper, 18 February 2022 (German)

“A reference work with high standards!”


Review in Rocks 2/2022

by Daniel Böhm, 16 February 2022 (German)

“The engaging, professional writing style, the structure, the depth of information and not least the great feel make his work (…) an exciting read (…)”


Review in Slam 3/2022

by Andreas Grabenschweiger, 16 February 2022 (German)

“(…) also gives due attention to many players who are often overlooked elsewhere.”


Review in OWL am Sonntag

by Klaus Gosmann, 12 February 2022 (German)

“Excitingly narrated, this book illuminates the music that formed the soundtrack for the most diverse lifestyles in West Germany from 1945 to 1990.”


Review in Goldmine

by Dave Thompson, 30 June 2021 (English)

“A hefty hardback, well illustrated, and sufficiently encyclopedic that it negates more or less everything else you’ve read on the subject.”


Review in iO Pages 6/2021

by Robbert Schuller, 21 May 2021 (Dutch)

“You will learn a lot from Times & Sounds.”


Review in Rocks 3/2021

by Daniel Böhm, May 2021 (German)

“… essential.”


Review on the Instagram page of Now-Again records

by Eothen Alapatt (Egon), 3 May 2021 (English)

“It serves as an intriguing entrée for the uninitiated, and also has some great anecdotes for those that think they know a lot.”


Review in Jazz ‘n’ more 02/2021

by Pirmin Bossard, 3 March 2021 (German)

“Times & Sounds is an exciting piece of cultural and contemporary history from the late 1940s to the early 1990s.”


Review in Electronic Sound 02/2021

by Mark Roland, 28 January 2021 (English)

“As soon as you find out that former Kraftwerker Wolfgang Flür was in a band called The Beathovens in 1966, you know there’s a back story that needs telling.”


Review in Rock Hard 02/2021

by Jens Peters, 27 January 2021 (German)

“Appealing, eloquent and prepared with great attention to detail.”


Review on Synth and Software

by Mark Jenkins, 12 January 2021 (English)

“From this book you can learn as much about the Munich Riots as you can about albums by Satin Whale, as much on terrorist Andreas Baader as on composer Eberhard Schoener.”


Review in Shindig! 01/2021

by Joe Banks, 7 January 2021 (English)

“This beautifully presented and illustrated book is a must for both krautrock and music culture aficionados.”


Review in Record Collector 01/2021

by Ian Shirley, 31 December 2020 (English)

“The best book on German music. What makes it special is the way that the cultural and political fabric of Germany are woven into the story of the development of German music from the 1920s onwards. … Reetze’s knowledge, research and a wonderful writing style, laced with humour, make the 530 pages literally fly by.”


Feature/Interview with Jan Reetze on It’s Psychedelic Baby Magazine

by Klemen Breznikar, 19 December 2020 (English)

“It might be useful to add a German voice, written by someone who was there when it happened.”


Review in MINT 01/2021

by Florian Schneider, 17 December 2020 (German)

“Follows the development of rock music in Germany which finally leads to a completely independent form at the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s. … Always keeps an eye on the political and social upheavels that favored this development. The book is a portrait of Germany from the 50s to the 80s and a history of rock music in Germany.”


Review in Eclipsed 12/2020

by Alan Tepper, 27 November 2020 (German)

“Jan Reetze has written the best book to date on the subject of Krautrock. … Highly recommended.”


Review on info-netz-musik & Tuxamoon

by Manfred Miersch, 21 November and 19 December 2020 (German)

“Times & Sounds is a prime example of exciting journalism, of critical subjectivity and the communication of sometimes little-known facts about German history, paired with scientific-looking research care and a pinch of irony that makes the kraut soup really delicious.”


Review in GoodTimes 06/2020

by Ulrich Schwartz, 20 November 2020 (German)

“Pure gold. Rarely has the development of this music and its protagonists (not only the musicians!), its regional characteristics and worldwide impact been presented in such detail, so expertly, so varied and interesting.”


Feature on Lustwort

by “Gorg”, 18 November 2020 (German)


Interview with Jan Reetze (Music Journalism Insider Newsletter)

by Todd L. Burns, 16 November 2020 (English)

“As a German news anchor once said: Be curious, be a good observer, be open, but keep distance. Be present, but don’t belong to it. And one thing I would like to add: Don’t forget to double-check the spelling of names.”


Summary/Review

by Archie Patterson (eurock.com), 1 November 2020 (English)

“Times & Sounds by Jan Reetze is amazingly detailed and researched. If you read between the lines, you’ll also see how we got to where we are today, and where we may end up tomorrow.”


Review on Musikreviews.de

by Andreas Schiffmann, 24 October 2020 (German)

“The trophy for the niche book of the year goes to Jan Reetze and the publisher Halvmall for this visually magnificent title.”


Radio-Feature on Klanghorizonte (Deutschlandfunk)

by Michael Engelbrecht, 17 October 2020 (German)

“A well-grounded pageturner.”