LOGOS... LIVE AT THE DOMINION - LONDON

There's plenty of appeal in this live outing for TANGERINE DREAM. However, whether a fourth live album in seven years is justified is a moot point, especially considering a double live album was to come a mere two years later.

'Logos' is in style a combination of the extended multi-sectioned track form premiered on 'Force Majeure' and the one-part-per-side composition such as 'Rubycon' and 'Ricochet', but is more a child of the early 80s than any of these. Particularly distinctive (and disturbingly poor) is the embarrassingly basic drum track, a huge step backwards from having a real drummer. (An example is the sterile rhythm section at 39 minutes.) As with much TANGERINE DREAM material, little stands out on first listening - bar, in this case, 'Logos Velvet', a memorable tune from 7-12 minutes in. However, repeated listenings alert one to the subtleties of this composition. Much of Part One is quite junglist in sound, a nod to world music TD carried on into subsequent albums such as 'Hyperborea'. That said, I don't believe there's anywhere near enough here to sustain what is a continuous 45-minute composition.

As usual, the music is a combination of passages where the sequencer dominates, and others filled with swirling white noise and synths punctuated with sound effects. Sadly there's no guitar here. While worthy enough, 'Logos' has neither the energy of 'Ricochet' nor the diversity of 'Encore'. I, for one, feel this album was unnecessary and could have, with a bit of work, made part of an interesting studio album.