FIRESTARTER (OST)

The joy of experimentation in the end of the 60's led that the prog rock via "psychedelic" increased the interest in the electronic sound production and manipulation. That changed with the invention of the modular Moog synthesizer. Rock musicians began to include the sound worlds of the synthesizers, in addition to the classic prog rock bands that "only" used the synthesizer as an additional instrument. There were others who wanted to create a new kind of music with the help of these devices. This was especially made by German musicians that took new paths. Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze became famous in the early 70's with long, melancholy instrumental pieces under the term "cosmic music". Others, like Kraftwerk, made it later work more song oriented and are now considered the forefathers of the techno.

Tangerine Dream is next to Kraftwerk as the most famous electronic formation in Germany. They were founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. With their second album "Alpha Centauri" (1971), still recorded with predominantly conventional instruments, and with "Zeit" (1972), Tangerine Dream created a kind of cosmic music with overlong, rhythmic and structure-free pieces without recognizable melodies, demanding the utmost attention from the listener. This initial musical phase, also called "The Pink Years", lasted until the beginning of 1977 and is generally considered the phase in which the group's most mature albums were created, like "Zeit", "Phaedra", "Rubycon", "Ricochet" and "Stratosfear".

From the year of 1979, the quality of the earlier works didn't reach the band again. However, some very interesting and good albums were released, like "Force Majeure", "Tangram" and "Hyperborea". The 80's were the years where Tangerine Dream also had a successful career composing film soundtracks, creating over 60 scores, which had been started in 1977 with the soundtrack "Sorcerer". This was the case of "Firestarter" too, which is the object of this review.

"Firestarter" is the seventeenth studio album of Tangerine Dream and was released in 1984. "Firestarter" is the soundtrack made by Tangerine Dream to an American science-fiction horror film released in the same year and based on a Stephen King's novel of the same name which was written in 1980. The plot of the film concerns about a young girl who develops pyrokinesis and the secret government agency known as the Shop which seeks to control her instincts. The film was directed by Mark L. Lester, and stars David Keith, Drew Barrymore, Martin Sheen and George C. Scott.

"Firestarter" is an action-packed thriller with dark and sinister references. That description applies to the film and to Tangerine Dream's soundtrack. As a body of work, their film music is somehow inconsistent and uneven. There are some outstanding scores and some real clunkers. Still, this is a good album as a whole. The music has strong character and integrity and the classic Tangerine Dream's sound with its dark atmospheres. However, the music they came up with for this film isn't really a horror score at all, but one that is very almost dreamy, if you will. The music on the soundtrack is in general good and is from one of the band's most prolific lines up, Froese, Franke and Schmoelling.

About the individual tracks, all have a distinctive sound, but they all merge together to combine into the final work. "Crystal Voice" is one of my favorites on the album. It sort of is the main theme for the release which gives it that certain "feel" to it that makes it an enjoyable piece. "The Run" and "Testlab" are, perhaps, my least two favourite tracks here. But, they're two nice tracks too. "The Run" is more a faster paced piece which uses oscillating drums to offset the rhythm. "Testlab" is a track with some oriental flavour. "Charly The Kid" is another standout composition that shares the same common theme of "Crystal Voice". This is another highlight on the album. "Escaping Point" is another one of my favourite tracks here. "Rainbirds Move" is one of those tracks I didn't care for at first, but the more I listened to it, I became accustomed to the piece. "Burning Force" is another of my favorite tracks on the album which is very dark and deep. This track takes a hold of you and it keeps a grip on you. "Between Realities" is a great filler piece, but it's more a soundtrack driven track than something that would be put on a regular album. "Shop Territory" has a constant rhythm and is a track that must be listening by its own. "Flash Final" is another of my favourite tracks on the album. It's very intense and hypnotic. "Out Of The Heat" closes the album nicely. This piece has heavy chord samples and it's dark too.

Conclusion: "Firestarter" is an album in the usual tradition of the soundtrack films of Tangerine Dream in the 80's. It reminds to me two other albums of that era, which I know very well, "Wavelength", another soundtrack album and "Le Park". Both albums were already reviewed by me here on Progarchives. "Firestarter" is an album very uniforme, well balanced and without weak points. It doesn't belong to their most creative and spacey era but it remains, for me, a very good album, maybe more commercial, but it still remains a true nice album to hear. The electronic music that Tangerine Dream brought with "Firestarter" is actually more accessible to the general listening public than the usual electronic sound. It's melodic, it's more light than dark and it's rhythmic enough at times to hum. This is a nice listening, indeed.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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