TANGERINE DREAM

They're down to a duo(Froese&Franke) at this point with a guest drummer and cello player.As others have mentioned they've added some "Rock" to to their spacey soundscapes on this one with the drums and guitar being rather prominant. "Force Majeure" is the side long opener at over 18 minutes.Waves of sound to start as this twittering(no not THAT twittering) comes and goes.A change 4 minutes in as it turns darker but it's brief as piano,drums and guitar come in quickly making it a lot brighter.This section sounds really good.Synths join in as well before 6 minutes.Moog takes over a minute later as the sound changes once again.It turns spacey 9 1/2 minutes in with no melody and it's kind of dark.Twittering is back and moog as well.What an uplifting soundscpae before 14 1/2 minutes.Drums16 minutes in.Spacey to end it. "Cloudburst Flight" opens with acoustic guitar as spacey synths come in.This reminds me of FLOYD.Synths then take right over.Drums before 3 minutes then the guitar comes in.Excellent sound here.Synths take over late to end it. "Thru Metamorphic Rocks" is probably a title they gave it to describe the sound late on this one.It opens with piano as the guest cello slices away.Drums follow as piano continues.Guitar before 2 1/2 minutes.It changes after 4 1/2 minutes as electronics take over.it's building 8 minutes in.I like when the spacey background synths come in.Just an onslaught of sounds follow(breaking thru the rocks) before it calms down to end it. For me an enjoyable 4 star album

Flame by tangerine dream starts with Synth Affection (4:28) nice start a great start with a mellow relaxing sound which for me is addictive and pleasing start with slow beat and nice playing slowly to this track i can see myself playing this again and again very nice and relaxing a great start i absolutely love this first track,next is Pier 54 ( 5:41) which starts to me a bit disco sound and the keys playing but the disco bit playing more of a role,not a bad sound either,but not the best to me but still ok,at the 1.40 mark a nice wavey sound comes in and sounds nice with the disco bit in background still playing,the wavey bit definatley for me makes it sound better,the track goes on till the end i an see myself playing this again but its not as good as the first track,next is Lord Nelson (5:07) which starts like and under water sound for a few seconds,and a beat which isnt loud but relaxing and medium seed and sounds great with a wavey like sound coming in for little bit,and high keys sound playing comes in which is nice to hear the synth hear really sounds great and relaxing this is a great track which again to me i can see myself playing this again and again the wavey bit playing sounds great and at times the synth plays for little bit to the end,a great track a little like the first track,next is . Ça Va - Ça Marche - Ça Ira Encore (Orchestral) (5:01) which starts really mellow [great]and the synths in background mellow and a new beat comes in and the wavey keys sound really nice hear and this track is another great track abit drum and bass in the background with he keys playing bit faster which when it does it just sounds great and its best when it does get to this around he 4.19 mark it goes mellow with just the keys playing ithout the beat and ends great track and addictive to,next is Timeless (4:05) which starts like your in the universe to me with a really nice mellow sound with a beat hich is mellow and the wavey keys sound playing with a beat which sounds like underwater like feeling and the keys playing like a soft sound like bit like the other tracks abit like but to me not repeaty,around the 2.30 mark the wavey sound gets little more louder which sounds great and the end bit [last 30 seconds nds nicely to,next is Ride On The Ray (Atlantic Ocean Version) (6:18) starts with a medium beat sound in background and keys playing more role hear and it just sounds relaxing around the 1.40 bit a guitar playing comes in which is a big welcome really nice and not to bad either playing really goes well with the keys and the beat a really addictive piece of music the guitar just plays for till the 3.43 mark around and the keys and wavey background bit playing and then the beat starts again a really addictive sound and the guitar plays again and i love it this is so addictive to me then the track ends with guitar playing till end ,great track,next is Peddington At Five (7:14) starts mellow with a slow beat drum sound mellow in background with wavey keys sound and this just is so relaxing this all plays when at around the 2.30 mark the beat in background gets bit faster which sounds great this is great sound really addictive to it just playsalong and is really good to hear and at around the5.50 mark it starts to slow down and a really great addictive sound to me and then ends with keys slowly fadeing out great track,next is,Morning Star (5:01) which mellow and then a more beaty track here and a great track with the keys playing and the beat which i hink is the fastest sound but not a bad sound the keys here really playing a nice track and at around 2.20 mark it sows down abit with the beat still going,and alitte bit on it gets goiing again and the keys playing the nice track sound againwhich gets stuck in my head and nice to and this plays till the end which fades out and ends,this album flame by tangerine dream is a really nice good album i can see myself playing this again and again and likeing it more everytime i hear it,addictive o every track to me was a nice listen and i would probably say that tjhis for tangerine dream later albums and newer ones is one of best for a while.for later dream you cant go wrong with this.4 stars.

Strange, I didn't expect it, but this works. Rich, colorful, with a lot of variations (important fact), layering like an onion, possessing rhythm (weird, but I can get used to it) and getting ourselves towards the great concept of space-themed story. Of course unspoken, it would be, well, strange at least to have spoken TD. I have to wonder why this works, while so many other TD albums failed. And given that this is one of their worse (generally accepted) albums, I'm surprised that I like it so much.

4(+), so far 2 TD disappointments and 2 wins, that makes average 3 stars. Oh, bad track here is Astrophobia, about first half, or 2/3, because of drum'n'bass feeling (strange to hear it there), while a lot of songs here are good atmospheric pieces (oxygen atmosphere anyone ? let's make some pun fun with space).

Too slow, too atmospheric and too repetitive, even given that I can enjoy all of these things when they're not too much. I saw how it worked with all of you (other people reviewing here), so I though, when it's rated so highly, wouldn't it be great album to start with Tangerine Dream ? (The band about which I get to know via analysis of Dream Theater's Octavarium). OK, it has celestial sounds, mostly repeated 4-8 times (4/4 rocks, I mean electro-rocks), sometimes 16 or even 32x with only minor variations. I already found album that I don't like at all (Alpha) and the one that I can enjoy (live, read my review), but this fails to get my attention and not that I hate it. OK, typical rock music also repeats the ideas (chorus/bridge pattern) and prog rock (note the word "rock") has far more pleasant form & has more space to some experimentation (while, again - note the word "while" being still relatively easy to listen) and so on.

2(-), with only better piece being this: Mysterious Semblance At The Strand Of Nightmares, so all my senses tells me that this is music "only-for-fans", strange, this means that almost everyone is fan here.

Explanation: I didn't grow up with this music, so I have to judge them by my rational, adult mind and also I'm not keen fan of electronic music, nor find it interesting so much as others. It can be a reason too. First track i really disappointment.

Phaedra is one of Tangerine Dream's best-known records, and not surprisingly so. They were one of the major pioneers of electronic music, along with Jarre, Kraftwerk, and Vangelis, though this album is much more ambient than the ones made by those artists.

The title track is a cosmic, psychedelic masterpiece. A sequencer gives order and direction, as electronic noises soar freely in the background. This type of music can create many different feelings, depending on the person, the situation, and what happens to be in their blood at the time- it can be frightening, or peaceful, or meditative, all depending on how you look at it. After about ten minutes, the sequencer noises fade into nothingness, and empty, echoing noise that seems to be from another world rattles around in the void, until it is filled with gentle synthesizer noise.

The second side, however, does a bit less for me. Mysterious Semblance seems like not much more than a ten-minute mellotron workout, which isn't really bad, but not exactly great either. Movements of a Visionary picks things up again, making a dark, ominous track that feels like the cold, lifeless void of space. Finally, Sequent C is a short, flute-led song, evoking a peaceful, pastoral feel.

Phaedra's title track is a long ambient electronic masterpiece, the stuff of dreams and nightmares, of trips to outer space and the inner realms. So, despite some less than amazing stuff on the second side, I'll give Phaedra four stars, rounded up from about 3.75. Recommended to fans of ambient, chill-out type music and spacey music.

Thoughtful Electronic Music

Being my first Tangerine Dream album, I was expecting from it what Ashra(not Ash Ra Tempel) offered on their first two albums: stellar spacey electronic music which leaves your mind blank for a couple of hours. Well, Ricochet, or simply Tangerine Dream, offer a not quite different style of electronic music, but sufficiently different so as to not produce the same effect that Ashra produces.

Already opening with a dark enwrapping synth you'll know that this album will not give you good dreams. While it later evolves to the typical electronic pattern, unlike Ashra's electronic patterns which are only made by a sequencer, Tangerine Dream adds the mellotron for a deeper and more atmpospheric soundscape which as a result makes the music a whole lot darker and less pleasing, that is if you're looking for chilling spacey moods. Also the addition of a gentle, early Nick Mason-esque, persistent percussion plus an odd melody played by the guitar which reminds me of ancient Egypt, just makes you think of the music even more which is not what you want for a chilling spacey experience. However that's just the first half of the first part of Ricochet, after that it abruptly changes to the more straight-forward electronic you expect with pretty frenetic keyboards. Even if it still presents a pretty creepy soundscape overall, it pretty much takes your mind elsewhere.

The second part of Ricochet fortunately continues in the vein of the second half from the first part. While it introduces itself with some simple piano, which is pretty awkward, it then develops into a fantastic dreamy ambience which is full of intricating synth cascades and echoey guitars, and as a result creating an incredible electronic masterpiece. As for the creepy feature from the first part, this part also presents it but it acts in a superficial way fortunately, meaning that while you can still listen to pretty creepy resoundings it just works for the flow of the music itself unlike in the first part which was the main feature.

My conclusion is that Tangerine Dream while probably the epitome of Prog Electronic at it's finest, it's also at its most adventurous way, which as a whole it's not the easiest way to get into the genre. I, for one, prefer a rather more simplistic kind of electronic which doesn't make you think, that is based solely in spacey atmospheres which barely features dark moods or odd melodies, clear examples of this is either New Age of Earth by Ashra or Oxygene by Jean-Michel Jarre.

4 stars: excellent adventurous prog electronic, but probably will be my last of that style for now.

Third leg of their Japanese adventure (although "Kyoto" was an early attempt already). Each of this predecessor ended up quite satisfactorily on a three stars rating on my scale. Nothing brilliant, but good music overall.

What to say about this "Autumn"?

Well, it is not any better than "Spring" or "Summer", on the contrary. TD has evolved in sound and style throughout the years (which is nothing but normal I guess). But how could I prefer these techno beats ("Trauma") to the wonderful and admirable sounds from the middle seventies?

These are reminded during the sweet and light "Reset". A tender and soft keyboards oriented song with no other goal than to be beautiful, pleasant, moving and melodic. How much I love TD while playing this sort of music! Such a great treat for your piece of mind. Do try it to be blown away!

It is prolonged during the fine "Awareness" which is also a very relaxing piece of music which should reconcile any old freaks with this work. The vocalized section is quite moving to be honest (and I am not particularly keen on vocals of any sort in association with TD music).

The most "Japanese" oriented track from this album is by no doubt "Novice". To say that it is one of the best one is not really in line with my thoughts. Too much of the same line for almost five minutes is too much challenging and at the end of the day: dull.

The rest of the album is full of ambient passages and rather similar to tell the truth. Nothing bad but hey! One can't be blamed to expect more form TD, right? Still, there is one great moment on this album: the one during which Edgar displays a great, a fabulous guitar solo ("Insight").

As a conclusion, I wouldn't recommend this "Autumn" very much. Five out of ten is the mark I have reached. Nothing wrong but nothing (or little) captivating here. Maybe more exciting "Winter" when available. Two stars.

The mid to late eighties period for Tangerine Dream is one that takes plenty of flak from fans that joined in the early to mid seventies. Gone is the icy, space music of the likes of Phaedra and Rubycon, which are replaced by short, concise and more straightforward tunes with an 80's pop/rock production. Times and musical tastes have changed and so did TD. Long gone is Peter Baumann and in the past couple of years Chris Franke and Baumann's replacement, Johannes Schmoelling have also exited. Edgar Froese replaces them with two talented youngsters, Paul Haslinger and Ralf Wadephul. For people who accept the fact that this is a different type of music, there is much to be enjoyed here. The albums Tyger, Live Miles, Optical Race, Destination Berlin, Canyon Dreams and Miracle Mile are all represented. There are two tracks from days gone by that have been reworked. Phaedra 88 has a drum pattern added to it which I believe give it a bit more muscle and completely changes the feel of the song. Not better but a strong piece in its own right which now fits in with the other tracks. Logos 88 also gets a make over but it is not as drastic as Phaedra. It is also very good. I saw TD on this tour and while I had read about the darkened concerts from the past, this was a very good look at a very good band who had evolved into a sleeker more modern unit. While the music is for the most part not my definition of prog, it is a very good work.

4 stars.

Surreal would be the best way to describe the music and like good Avante Garde Jazz this music creates an atmosphere and Avante Garde and ambient is the structure of these electronic compositions. The songs are all credited to the band which comprised of Edgar Froese, Christopher Frank and Peter Baumann. Christopher Frank handles all the drums and percussion but all the band play organ at some point throughout with Edgar Froese on the Mellotron ,Guitar. Peter Baumann and Christopher Frank play the old Putney VCS3 synth as well.Voices ( vocals) are only on the last track from this album.

Atem the first track to commence the album is the longest with a running time of just over 20 minutes and basically is a slow build up with same main sequence over a layer of synth which is really only the first 1/3 of the track which then drops off and ambient would be the best way to descibe the remainder of the composition. I will admit that trying to describe the tracks on this album seems ludricous as you really need to hear them for yourself.

With sounds throughout like birds, water, insects wind etc over synths and organs you have a true soundscape and yet this album to me seems dark at the same time. It is not suprising that Edgar Froese is constantly doing soundtracks as his compositions are so vivid yet you still hear this album without even trying to listen to it.

Edgar Froese is a pioneer in elecronic and ambient music and this is the last album that Tangerine Dream would record on the Ohr Label. Coming from Germany the band has that distinct slant on progressive music with what seems to be only created in Europe. The album to follow Phaedra will be regarded as their best by many and will cement the bands position in Electronic music forever.

Great album and something really different for 1973.

This is another remake by TD. And another doubtful release.

IMHHO, the original album was a masterpiece. One of their best record.

This new edition has been sliced into seven tracks (while the original featured one song; two parts). Needless to say that the whole sounds much more upbeat and dance oriented than the beautiful and moving spacey original.

It is a true massacre in terms of opening: what is called here "Wisdom and Tragedy" and that lasts for about eight minutes is almost an insult to the original piece of music which was called "Tangram".

At this stage of their career, I don't understand AT ALL what the band is trying to reach with such a record. Sales? I don't believe taht they have fooled millions of fans with this. Innovation? You're telling me!

So: what's left?

I really have no clue and I'm somewhat voiceless when confronted with such a work. Totally useless of course: just grab the fine original. Close your eyes and listen to its beauty. But not to such a denaturized "product". Because it is only a product. And not a good one (the awful and dance "Wu Wei" is the poorest moment available).

For healthy reasons, I guess that the short and moving "Leaving the Masters For Good" was imposed to get some good notes in all this messy mix. To be honest, I also have to mention that " Point of No Return" also features a great opening (for about four minutes). After this, the "dance" pleasure starts all over again.

You might have understood that this is another album which should have remained unreleased. But gluttony was stronger?Here and there, some decent portions of music, but really scarce. Like the fine closing "Terra Coda" which is close to the original.

Two stars (upgraded from three out of ten because I am a deep fan of the band).