LILY ON THE BEACH

This TD record was released on the Private music label, the connoisseur of the good New Age by excellence. We expect to have sound a bit like Yanni or Eddie Jobson. Well, it is effectively the case, but the compositions are less sophisticated. The record has lots of drums, sometimes electronic ones. (like on Genesis' Home by the sea) Edgar Froese shows he is still able to play good electric guitar solos (too hot for my chinchilla, paradise cove) I like Mount Shasta, full of dynamic clean and pure string-like keyboards through dynamic beat and mysterious floating keyboards sounds. The piano on "twenty nine palms" gives me the feeling it is played by Eddie Van Halen! "radio city" is a catchy hard rock guitar riffs through symphonic orchestra-like keyboards. Finally, a very romantic saxophone on Long island sunset! This record sounds a bit like Livemiles, except it is more varied. In my opinion, there is too much bland sequenced beat to put it on the Private music label.

The eighties were the soundtrack decade for TD, but not only. They also released very good live albums as well as some excellent studio recordings (although my fave from that period was "Green Desert" but it was recorded in the seventies).

Now, the music you can discover on this "Lily On The Beach" is quite typical of the eighties (which means not a typical TD album). Pop and short tracks: that's what we'll get. Synthetic drums here and there, electro beats and generally no great music, unfortunately.

The worst is experimented with "Desert Drive". This type of tracks is quite a shock once you're told that TD is behind it. Their previous release already announced this but still, it is quite hard to imagine that the band who released "Rubycon" is the same than the one featured here. But lots of other prog giants have used us to that, unfortunately.

Still, it is never a pleasure to face this. And since I have reached this far, I guess that I will go on with my reviewing of their original / live work from the nineties.

My first TD moment here was the ambient "Mount Shasta": fine for contemplation and tranquillity. It stands out but only because most of the other tracks are quite average to say the least. At times, some good guitar comes on the rescue like "Crystal Curfew". But this is symptomatic enough I guess, even if Edgar played it quite regularly.

This is not a good album. Close to the one star rating which I am quite reluctant to "award" here. So, I upgrade it to two stars, but be cautious with this album: this ain't nothing to do with the great band we love. And it is not the first appearance of Jerome Froese on a TD album that will change my mind about this work; even if "Radio City" is another good song from this "Lily".

This album contains a collection of late 1980s electronic music. People are welcome to appreciate this in whatever context they wish, but for me, this is cheesiness of the worst kind. Forgive any derision.

"Too Hot For My Chinchilla" With a name like this, I wasn't sure what to expect. The overall sound has that 1980s sickeningly sweet sound, with cheesy synthesizers and electronic percussion. However, the guitar soloing is respectable.

"Lily On The Beach" Honestly, this piece sounds like an opening theme for a hip new show about cops and hot college girls that debuted in 1989 and went out of style in 1990. I dare someone to listen to this and not picture actors and actresses with big hair turning their heads toward the camera and cheesing as their names are displayed.

"Alaskan Summer" Layers of synthetic tones and percussion create a decent affair, but is all completely forgettable.

"Desert Drive" A more upbeat piece, with slightly heavier instrumentation, this sounds like music straight out of a Mega Man game.

"Mount Shasta" A faux-Oriental feel, thanks to synthetic flute and bass, is what this track is about (despite the title sounding like a fun place where grape soda abounds). In reality, Mount Shasta is a gorgeous, snow-covered mountain, the fifth highest in California.

"Crystal Curfew" An overall unremarkable piece with shiny synthesizers and a straightforward arrangement, there just isn't much to this.

"Paradise Cove" One of the most upbeat instrumentals on the album, this one actually shows potential, believe it or not, thanks to the drums. The guitar is also a good factor, working well with the synthesizer.

"Twenty-Nine Palms" The piano here is a delightful and highly needed change of pace.

"Valley Of The Kings" A bouncy fake guitar groove keeps this one together as the melody carries on over it. The percussion is just some of the worst I've ever heard though.

"Radio City" This piece juxtaposes phony hard rock segments with airier passages, but just comes across as goofy.

"Blue Mango Café" This sounds like music they put on when one goes on hold.

"Gecko" This just gets worse, with further electronic sounds and drums from that awful decade for music.

"Long Island Sunset" The longest and final track on the album is a tangy one, featuring sultry saxophone and airy synthesizer. To wit: Bad softcore porn music.

The quite unusual lineup of this Nth TD soundtrack is probably the most interesting thing of the album. Jerome Froese (so two guitarists in a shot) and acoustic winds that were probably missed from the TD instruments since long time ago, as if I'm not wrong the last flute was used on "Alpha Centauri". by some Ugo Dennenbourg.

Unfortunately also this soundtrack is full of standardized 80s electronic. Not bad if it wasn't TD. Almost the whole album sounds like what Peter Bardens was doing in the same period, but all the keyboardist were actually using the same equipment, so it's not a strange thing.

Musically it's just a collection of short instrumentals in the TD style of the 80s, that means: if you don't look to the album cover they can be anybody. The newage flavor is present throughout the album, but let me say that the newage has been for me an alternative to the 80s poorness in a period when there was really few prog available.

It's an album I can listen to without disappointment as I'm aware that I'm not listening to the space rock of Zeit. This is what TD were doing in studio and it's not worse than the output of similar electronic artists of that period. I still prefer any TD album to J.M. Jarre, just to mention an example.

Tracks like "Mount Shasta" show an unintentional connection with Mike Oldfield and even if none of the album tracks deserves to be remembered in the next century there aren't too weak moments and effectively all the album can be "consumed" while doing something else.

Hard fans of Bardens, Vangelis and of course TD (as I am) can really enjoy this "light" album, still more oriented to electronics than to newage, so I think it can have three stars without making a scandal.

This album was my first exposure to TANGERINE DREAM. As at the time I didn't know if it was representative of the band, I was rather dubitative during the listen. Same impression for the title and the cover. "Lily on the Beach" clearly follows the new-age orientation taken in the late 80's. However, the music is more rock-oriented and a little more lifely than their recent previous releases. This somehow prefigures the direction the band will take in the next decade. It also marks the first appearance of Edgar Froese's son, Jerome, in a TD album.

The dynamic opener "Too Hot For My Chinchilla" is undoubtly the best track of the record. It features an energic spacey synth with a cool distorted guitar. Assumed but effective new-age. Although less remarkable, "Alaskan Summer" is also enjoyable. "Desert Drive" is good fun. With its typical 80's synth and energic rythm accelerations, it reminds me of CHRIS HUELSBECK's "Turrican 2" soundtrack.

And... that's it. The rest of the album presents navigates between flat and mediocre. The many electronic clichés of this period are present, but unfortunately without the necessary inspiration. One last interesting fact: the saxophone makes its first incursion in TD's music with "Long Island Sunset", an average soft closing track.

Not the best TANGERINE DREAM album of the Haslinger-era, not the worst either, "Lily on the beach" contains rare fun lovable moments. Not recommended for the 70's purists. However, if you enjoy old TV shows or Atari/Amiga video games soundtracks, you can give it a try if you want.