THE DREAM MIXES

Bought this at a really good price so that was my only motivation in getting this album. It makes for good gym workout music, elevator music, or chillout clubby type music.I did not expect much else really judging from the title of the album. It is not offensive in any way. I was fortunate to see Tangerine Dream live in 1997 or 1998 in the UK where Froese was playing with his son in the group. Thankfully they got stuck into the long compositions of earlier works and the show worked out really well. Thank God they left Dream Mixes alone though. Recommended listening to whilst cycling or doing bench pressups only.

The Dream Mixes series of albums has galvanized a lot of opinion either for or against Tangerine Dream in a way seldom seen in much of their other work. In the late 1990s Edgar and Jerome Froese were each involved in a certain amount of work with diminishing direct participation from the other. While Froese Snr got stuck into his ambitious and acclaimed Dante project, Jerome worked on the Dream Mixes albums, whch purported to involve re-recording or remixing well-known TD tracks, interspersed with some new material, with at least one eye on the dance-floor, though whether they always were an attempt to create out-and-out dance music is open to debate.

Eventually there were four of them (plus a compilation of tracks mainly from the first two), released between 1995 and 2004 of which the last was virtually a Jerome Froese solo album. Each one delved further back in time for its source material, this first one therefore consisting of recent compositions. While it was a joint effort between father and son, it was Jerome who was mainly at the helm.

The initial signs were not good, as some of TD's recent music had already received mixed reviews even in its original form. When released, Dream Mixes was given a definite thumbs down by many people. The band had finally lost it - had blatantly sold out to the rave generation. Others, more optimistic, pointed out that this was the way forward if TD were to see in the new millennium with credentials intact.

Dream Mixes came out in two forms, the U.S. version appearing first, a single CD on Miramar. Its garish yellow and pink inlay featuring a cartoon drawing of a jiving girl probably did its prospects no favours at all - nor did the statement "This album energises the famous TD sound with an infectious beat." The later U.K. version on TDI (the band's own label) and with a different inlay design, came with an entire second disc, titled "Club Dream Mixes."

On first hearing, I was greatly surprised, but pleasantly so. The "famous TD sound" is not buried under a mountain of mindless crashing beats as some have suggested, but the overall sound is fresh and open, allowing the sounds and textures of the actual music to still be heard. Yes, there are some big beats here, but the feeling is that everything has its place. Reworked versions of tracks like "Little Blond in the Park of Attractions," "Touchwood" and "Catwalk," do seem to take these pieces to new areas while still paying respect to the originals. The "Black Ink Mix" of "Catwalk" is an absolute barnstormer.

That said, to my mind it's the new compositions that shine brightest here. With no previous versions to compare them with, you're starting with a clean sheet with these. "Rough Embrace" is just brilliant; "Virtually Fields" is like an entire symphony crammed into seven breathless minutes and set to a maelstrom of complex synthesized percussion; "San Rocco," "Iowa" and "Sojus" are a delight also.

If this first Dream Mixes album was Jerome Froese setting out his stall, then the later DM 2, 3 and 4 saw him refining the produce. As a template this, the original album, to my mind, boded well for the things to come, against a lot of people's (and even my own) expectations.

Hop, skip, jump, or just... skip, skip, skip...?

This is not TANGERINE DREAM, but more like the SON OF TANGERINE DREAM.

I find nothing wrong with Jerome Froese expressing his youthful preferences under the wings of his influential father, but to call it TANGERINE DREAM is a bit far fetched. The series of these Techno, Dub, Trance, Dance material should have been released under a different name.

Quite enjoyable stuff if you are into this genre, but an absolute insult to long-time TD fans. Another rip-off under the umbrella of a formerly respectable band. Besides, Bill Laswell does this style better, playing real and innovative bass - when he is not re-interpreting classic Miles Davis tunes.

I have the bulk of the TD material released - some of which I am yet to hear for the first time. Well, I can assure you that it will be a long time before I'll pay for another TD album.

Again, this is pretty good in the right context, but Tangerine Dream it isn't.

An entire musical genre has been populated by artists who had only one real reverence, the pioneer of electronic music and its granddaddy, the fabled Tangerine Dream. All its subgenres as well, every conceivable dimension, be it synth-pop, ambient, techno, house, chill, orchestral or avant-garde and even, dare I say it, disco! So after a quarter of a century, the German wizards in 1995 produce an album that clearly states a case for a thank you reply to their musical proteges. Yes, we can do the dance floor too! And in my opinion, this is not a sellout but a communication of mutual gratitude between fans and artists. Purists of course will take the easy road once again and claim neolithically that the Berliners have sold out and 'commercialized' their once precious formula, turning it into fluff! Really?

Au contraire, as a testament to their appreciation, the proof of which is that they remixed existing material only, Edgar Froese and company (his son Jerome) simply adapted tried and true tracks that could be rescuplted into a more dance ambiance, while retaining the languid explorations that they excel at. This is worthy of the highest praise as their music here has a rougher, more urban delivery that suits our pulsating society to a tee. (Everything vibrates today, its crazy: car keys, alarms, cell phones and of course, women's purses! Oops!). This disc is no exception, providing a soundtrack for modern living with absolutely no shame and no plunder intended, just another sonic message. Its biting, euphoric, electro-erotic, menacing and infectious, skirting the limits of Deep Forest or Enigma but doing it boldly and with flair. The pulse is also inquisitive and unrelenting, a constantly beating heart, melodic synth fluttering here and there, all headed into some robotic future. Highlighting any one track or giving a track by track essay are both pointless, as the premise here is basic and monolithic vibrancy, body and soul. Therein lies its purpose and its legacy, as it has been sequelled 4 times already!

Personal favorites are the impressive majesty of the opener, 'Little Blond in the Park', a grandiose swath of intense electronica with wailing backing voices, the liquid 'Firetongues' owner of a killer melody and a cool development, a clanging harpsichord-like tone and a rustling drive that just keeps exploring and reconnoitring new horizons. 'San Rocco' is pure 'stun', a harsh demonic beat that reeks of Sven Vath or Midi Rain from that period. 'Catwalk' is another classic melody that has unescapable qualities, simple and beautiful, held together solidly by a powerful pulse, giving a totally anti-organic architecture, within which the senses nevertheless blossom. Tremendous stuff, really! The whole thing succeeds because of its dedicated method, eschewing any kind of dross material that needed some kind of rehashing and just sticking it on some CD. No way, it went entirely along slick rails, a sonic train that can span the music world. Another example of the master showing the students how it's done. With unfailing humility. This is delectable electro dance that surges forward and makes the whole body notice. Pounding, relentless, cocksure and alive, the music has no boundaries with little respite from the beat, searching within instead of without, finding both resolution and artistic contentment.

Well, that's the way I see it, it may be wrong maybe even immoral for some but I adore this TDream recording , top 3 within my 38 albums, with great ease. A masterpiece of its own time and space.

5 citrus thoughts