THE BOOTLEG BOX SET VOL. 1

This 7 CD box set is excellent value for money, and has a great deal to offer hard core TD fans. For many people the Franke/Froese/Baumann line up heard on most of these discs was the definitive one and 1974 - 1976 was their classic era. Every concert was completely improvised and although official live albums were released at the time, most notably the excellent Ricochet, they were compiled and edited from different performances; these discs present their lengthy electronic improvisations live and unedited.

The 7 discs are taken from 5 concerts and are presented in chronological order. As it says on the box, these are bootleg recordings; the sound quality ranges from remarkably clear to just about acceptable, with some featuring a lot of ambient noise from the audience (coughs, sneezes) and in the case of the Bilbao concert the kind of whooping that would be more in keeping with a heavy metal gig. The pick of the bunch for both sound quality and historical interest has to be the 1975 Royal Albert Hall set, spread over 2 cds. This particular concert was recorded by the BBC and was taken from their tapes complete with John Peel introducing the proceedings. This is also of great interest as this was taken from the tour where Michael Hoenig briefly replaced Peter Baumann, which makes it the only official (or at least semi-official) document of this chapter in TD's history. The other 2 UK concerts also sound pretty good. The Sheffield concert from 1974 sees them at their most chilled out and abstract, creating a slowly evolving sound sculpture, while the Croydon show features a segment that was used on Ricochet and features the sequencer driven sequences that were pretty much their trademark at this stage in their career. The Bilbao set features some of their most exciting playing but also probably the worst sound quality - the audience sound very enthusiastic and this clearly had an effect on the performance, but the audience is just a little too prominent on this recording. The final disc from Berlin is similar to Bilbao both in style and sound quality, and is probably the least memorable of the lot.

For those Tangerine Dream fans who think that the Virgin years were the band's peak (and that's probably the majority) this box set is well worth picking up. The Albert Hall recording with Michael Hoening (who isn't mentioned in the packaging at all) makes it essential for the hard core fan, but casual listeners and newcomers would be better off with Ricochet or Encore.

Name that tune

Over the years, bands have explored various ways of beating the bootleggers at their own game. Some such as Yes and Deep Purple release live albums from at least one leg of virtually every tour, while others such as Led Zeppelin will simply resort to legal (and other!) action.

In the early 21st century, Tangerine Dream (and Emerson Lake and Palmer) decided to accept that the demand will always be there for such recordings. They therefore gathered together selections of the most popular bootlegs of their work, and packaged them as official releases. This box is the first such set of Tangerine Dream recordings.

Before going any further, it must be emphasised that the term bootleg here is not some sort of marketing gimmick, these are genuine bootlegs usually recorded by a member of the audience. They are raw, untouched, mono recordings, probably made using a concealed cassette recorder, complete with coughs, splutters, and general fidgeting. They remain though, a delight to hear.

The seven discs which make up this first box set cover 4 gigs by the band between 1974 and 1976, three in the UK and one in Bilbao. They were thus recorded during what many consider the band's golden age, while signed to Virgin records.

Tangerine Dream's music is notoriously difficult to identify due to its very nature. The performances are entirely instrumental with long ambient phases and broad similarities between many of the compositions. I have to confess therefore to being unable to put names to the pieces which can be heard here, if indeed they have them. The track titles offer little assistance, merely stating the date and venue. The likelihood is that these are a mixture of variations on album tracks and genuinely new pieces composed for the tours. Whatever the source of the music, it is very much in keeping with that which appeared on the studio albums around that time, and thus becomes a sort of holy grail for those seeking more of the same.

Those who enjoy Tangerine Dream's 1970's studio albums would be well advised to investigate this collection, with the strong proviso that you are willing to compromise significantly in terms of audio quality. My two star rating simply reflects the target audience.

In a final masterpiece of kicking the bootleggers where it hurts, the Tangerine Bootleg boxes have now been made available for legal free download, in the UK at least and perhaps elsewhere, through the advertising sponsored WE7.COM website.

A must for TANGERINE DREAM Froese/Franke/Baumann fans !

This box set consists in 5 concerts performed between 1974 and 1976, dispatched in 7 discs. The main point is that, at this moment, the music played live by the band was FULLY IMPROVISED and completely new at each show ! The audience came to live an UNIQUE audio experience. Whereas official studio and live albums only capture snapshots of TANGERINE DREAM with tracks whose duration do not exceed 20 minutes, pieces here are uncut and present the trio's ambitions and universe in their truest form.

The concerts come from the Tangerine Tree project (Series 1 & 2): shows recorded from audience tapes and remasterised by fans for fans. The project was initiated some years ago to spread TD's live concerts and harmonize the band's different bootlegs. For this box set, music was re-remasterized from the Tree's discs by Jerome Froese to offer the best possible sound quality.

First concert is Sheffield 1974, also known as Tangerine Tree #02. The band was just getting out of its kosmische period. The music is between Atem and Phaedra: no real melody, no sequencer, no rythm. Just slow mellotron and synth waves coupled with mysterious flutes and experimental sonorities. A bit hard to get into.

Second concert is London Royal Albert Hall 1975, also known as Tangerine Tree #09, Phaedram, Ruby in the Sky and Coefficient Of Aural Expansion. Of the concerts featured in the box set, this is the longest, the darkest and probably the most futuristic. Furthermore, this is one of the rare performances in which Michael Hoening replaces Peter Baumann. Introduced by John Peel himself, the band displays here soundscapes very reminiscent of the Rubycon album. A long travel into mysterious obscure stellar galaxies begins. Pulsating sequencer passages and rythmic sound sometimes quite modern for 1975 ! The near-perfect sound quality enhances this impression. A must listen, in the dark for better effect.

Third concert is Croydon 1975, also known as Tangerine Tree #07. This is the performance from which are extracted musical passages of the Ricochet live album (essentially for Ricochet Part 2). The band's cohesion and alchemy are at their best. Sound quality is also very good. But what makes the interest is the music, which may be the most dreamy here. Arranged around the Ricochet theme, the concert features much more variations, experimentations and guitar improvisations than the official live track. The ending is simply a masterpiece of spacy contemplative 70's sequencing !

Fourth concert is Bilbao 1976, also known as Tangerine Tree #06. This is the recording with the worst sound quality, with the audience talking and clapping hands (!). Fortunately, the material fully justifies its inclusion in this box set. Indeed, this is largely the most adventurous and surprising concert here. Music goes through various things such as tribal, metal and even jazzy passages ! Froese plays serious guitar and the band tries quite experimental sounds and rythmics.

Fifth concert is Berlin 1974, also known as Tangerine Tree #08, Electronic Rock At The Philharmonics, and even more known as Soundmill Navigator, in better quality. For those not familiar with the official TDI release, the music performed here is closest to the Stratosfear album and announces The Sorcerer soundtrack. Sequenced synthetizer in a mysterious cave. Sound is rather vaporous, mineral, crystaline, theme progresses and reaches its climax at the end.

The mystery, the darkness, the dream, the adventure, the mineral, this is what all these shows are about. Not to be recommended to beginners, this Bootleg Box Set 1 is just essential for anyone into the Froese/Franke/Baumann era and willing to discover the true essence of TANGERINE DREAM ! 4.5 stars !