PETER BAUMANN

Peter Baumann - 1979 - "Trans Harmonic Nights".

In between experimental and straight progressive electronic ideas splashed with the inevitable drum/boxes and CASIO mini-keyboard like sequences and Mr. Baumann's early compulsive obsession of building melody lines at all times, which is kind of a trademark in him, but becomes an obstacle to the far more daring electronics which actually steal the show, outweighting in creativity the "sweetness" and irredeemably cheesy melody riffs which fill most, if not almost all, of the tracks.

A couple of microscopic highlights emerge here and there intact but the rest is subdued or reduced to a simplistic and excuse my words, foolish, musical expression.

Peter Baumann's comic sense of irreverence kind of saves the day, but then again his melody lines are not that attractive as to toy around with them.

I had great expectations set in this release, due to its date, but some stuff is no good, no matter when or where...DAMN!

**2 "for T.D.'s or DisneyWorld's X-treme fans only" PA stars.

Without any kind of high expectations but totally open to its offerings, I waited for this 2016, once a Tangerine Dream's "dreamer" (1972-77), Peter Baumann's fifth solo project "Machines of Desire".

Good ideas that never seem to take off. Its music composition, although identifiable, sounds dated, a bit too much, as to move along its own comfortable zones to the point of predictability, which may be the reason why it scarcely goes beyond those launching pad borders.

As for TD's hard core fans this release will throw them back in time to those early days, less the experimental side, the good side of this is that it delivers here and there some nice and catchy melody lines (i.e."Ordinary Wonder', track 5).

As for me, eventhough it has some "nice moments", its predictable approach and its dated sound, as its "fear of heights", will hardly rate above the 3 stars mark, therefore it will be easily lost in the crowd of so-so progressive electronic albums.

2.9 PA stars.

This is the first Peter Baumann release after Tangerine Dream, I think it reflects what he was adding to TD, the melodic lines and the sounds of the synth leads. The first side starts with Bicentennial Present that is really in the TD way of doing things but with a bigger melodic develop and clear simplicity, the second Romance it has a more catchy mood it runs with two sequenciers and adding the melody above passing from one sound to another really in the TD textures but more plain less obscure or mysterious than previous works, the last track of this side Phase By Phase is in the same line than the others two may be tents to a little climax and then it fades out. The production is excellent every thing sounds so net and clear, it's seems more individual rather than epic or for big audiences project, may be the reason why he left TD before several times, one of those Michel Hoering had replacement he for Australian Tour cause Peter was involuted in a trip to Nepal, and something of this you can notice in this album stepping way of the rock system and looking for more personal or spiritual resources. The second side of the album, I do have the vinyl that still sound great, it's goes more mystic the name of the two parts pice is Meadow of Infinity with a sort of interlude between call the Glass Bridge. The first part it goes slow all with Philharmonic sounds and little electronic and it's conducted by H Baumann that I think is the same Peter Baumann only with the H of Hans that it's his first name. Even that this side is darker than the first still it has same clarity in the arrangements, the second piece of this side speed up with the sounds of toms and voices above. Then still percusions and some strings and oboes to add tension that leads to a kind of climax. The percusions back very low mixing with electronic percusions and now the sounds goes mellow and electronic, till the voice chorus back and starts the second part of Meadow of Infinity with the sound of mellotron leading the rest and directing to a kind of if not epic but meaningful end. I do appreciate the effort of trying to exposure his personal vision of what music have to express, the beautie of the first melody The love feelling of the second that may be don't have it's place when you play with a band, the warm of the analogical synths. I think this album it's better than most of the TD of the eighties, reflects serenity but not in a easy way, and have all the character of that era (combination of instruments and ideas) that made now classical and unique. It worth four stars

I spent many years procrastinating on getting Romance 76' . I like his follow up Trans Harmonic Nights better only because it was a pleasant progressive electronic album with very nice production and sound, especially the vinyl from Virgin, so I thought as this was released earlier and being his debut it would be more abstract and obscure. Well unfortunately it is neither and largely a poor album. I can see perhaps why he parted ways with TD as his music always hinted at more commercia,l even disco electronic sounds, reference the similar yet awful Romanelli from the early 80's. In terms of highlights on this album not many but would single out the second side " Meadow of Infinity" if for nothing else for extended sound sequencers and some unpredictable soundscapes. A major disappointment and I should have stayed with my gut instincts of procrastination. For collectors only.

On his second solo album, Baumann shows his cute sense for rhythm and playful melodies again. It still sounds very 1976 Tangerine Dream but at the same time it has learned a trick or two from the Kraftwerk synth pop sensibilities.

The opening This Day is a gentle piece that brings together Kraftwerk's minimalism, TD's melodious qualities and a hint of Schulze's lush textures. Also Chasing the Dream is a delightful and catchy tune. The next piece of note is Meridian Moorland which could have come right off TD's Stratosfear. The Third Site is the best track here, similar to Kraftwerk's minimal techno again but with more melody. Name it Kraftwerk for beginners.

This album is slightly derivative of Bauman's own TD past but it's a pleasant electronic album. 2.5 stars.

Romance 76 gives lot of evidence of how big Baumann's influence was on Tangerine Dream. While Froese's Macula Trancefer of the same year still harkens back to the sound palette and krautrock of earlier years, Baumann's first solo album sounds as fresh and crisp as Stratosfear. Therefore, this album comes recommended to all fans of "Stratosfear" and "Encore". The main difference with Tangerine Dream would be that this work is lighter and brighter, there's a playfulness in some of the tracks that brings us closer to Kraftwerk then to the seriousness and darkness of Tangerine Dream of that era. I will follow the general consensus here. This is a good album that every TD fan would want to seek out, but it's not mandatory if you're only casually interested by the Berlin school of electronic music.

Peter Baumann (ex-Tangerine Dream) released a handful of solo albums during the late 70's. This compilation is an honest recapitulation of his career, delievering the best from his first Romance 76 to Trans-Harmonic Nights (1979) and Repeat-Repeat (1981). The musical aesthetism and style include a lot of variety and specific moods, sometimes very closed to TD's spaced out kosmische leads and sometimes closer to clinical, cold electro pop. The album starts with the disconcerted part of his work with the kitschy, almost dancing disco-like Repeat Repeat. Hopefully we have rapidly the pleasure to re-listen to the introspective, delicate and shimmering electronic piece This Day (from Trans-Harmonic Nights) with its icy hpyno-minimal patterns, serene and deep melodic waves. Clearly one of my personal favourites from Baumann. This album also includes the majestic-experimental epic Meadow of Infinity I & II (originally released in Romance 76). The dense, enigmatic and ambiental invokation Phase by Phase is also included. An interesting selection that stresses Baumann's sense of musical ecclectism.

A familiar Tang

In 1977, Peter Baumann left Tangerine Dream intent on pursuing a solo career. About a year before he did so, he released his first solo album while still a member of the band. "Romance '76" feels very like a Tangs solo album, in that it has the sound of one of the multi-track channels recorded by the band around this time. The structured layers of TD's albums are replaced by single synthesiser soloing, with appropriate rhythmic support.

The album has six tracks, three on each side. "Bicentenial present", "Romance" and "Phase by phase" are all stereotypical TD pieces, the slightly sparser arrangements not creating any discernible difference overall. The music is pleasantly diverting with trademark repetitious rhythms and sound which at the time were still relatively new and exciting. There is a slightly underdeveloped feel to these pieces, their brevity in TD terms perhaps implying that Baumann needed the other band members to bring out his compositions to the full.

The second side is effectively a side long suite in three movements, the two parts of "Meadow of infinity" book-ending the brief "The Glass Bridge". The first part of "Meadow of infinity" was the only part of the album not recorded in Berlin, the recordings for this section taking place in Munich. This allowed Baumann to call upon the assistance of members of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by one H. Baumann. The piece has a quasi modern classical feel, predating by a couple of decades Tangerine Dream's forays into such areas on the "Dante's inferno" trilogy. While the music here is less accessible, it is bolder and more experimental. "The glass bridge" is aptly named being a delicate, flute like link between the two main sections. The closing part of "Meadow of infinity" has the most symphonic atmosphere of the album, the multi-layered synth and mellotron like strings creating fine washes of sound.

In all, a decent statement from Baumann, who simply demonstrates that he can create Tangerine Dream like music single handedly. Subsequent to this album, which understandably sees Baumann sticking to the formula which brought success to the band he was in, he started to move towards dance and pop. This therefore is the best of the bunch as far as his solo output is concerned.

Peter Baumann's debut solo effort sounds exactly like what it is: one-third of a classic TANGERINE DREAM album from the band's mid-'70s creative peak. Working without his fellow T. Dreamers Chris Franke and Edgar Froese left the album with a curious sense of uncluttered, homemade minimalism, further reduced by the sometimes amateur simplicity of the music itself. Baumann was clearly no keyboard virtuoso, but he could accomplish wonders with very little compositional effort: a little sequencer pattern here, some easy one-fingered arpeggios there, all of it dressed up in an attractive wrap of cold, antiseptic atmospherics.

The first three tracks in particular (Side One on vinyl) should strike a chord in any fan of Tangerine Dream circa "Stratosfear" or "Sorcerer". But it's on the latter half of the album that Baumann reveals the deeper side of his musical personality, in a side-long suite recorded with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir.

Don't expect anything resembling symphonic rock, however. The atonal voices, spare electronics, and driving percussion all combine into an eerie neo-classical experiment more suitable for the soundtrack of an imaginary sci-fi movie (Stanley Kubrick might have loved it). This is ambitious stuff even by the high standards of the time, perhaps showing a direction toward which Baumann hoped Tangerine Dream might turn, and maybe explaining why he left the band when they didn't.

On the other hand, Baumann himself didn't pursue anything similar on his own subsequent albums. But don't blame him for the sudden de-evolution of musical culture in the latter half of the 1970s. Be thankful instead that he didn't begin his solo career a few short years later, after the market for such creative self-indulgence had all but disappeared.

The second solo album by ex-TANGERINE DREAMer Peter Baumann was a transitional effort, moving away from the homegrown minimalism of his 1976 debut toward something closer to the more lucrative techno-pop territory of Jean-Michel Jarre. And that, in an electronic nutshell, points to the album's biggest shortcoming. Once a pioneer, Baumann was here cast in the role of an imitator, following a well-worn path already successfully blazed by too many others (Jarre, Vangelis, take your pick).

To his credit, he wasn't the only electronic musician looking for a shortcut out of the art rock ghetto at the end of the 1970s. Listen to "Meridian Moorland", the closest thing here to the sci-fi spirit of classic Tangerine Dream, and not only because the title recalls the likeminded alliteration of "Madrigal Meridian", released a year earlier on the TD album "Cyclone". Both tracks (indeed both albums) share an almost identical high-tech pedigree, but on his own Baumann had trouble sustaining the same level of invention as his erstwhile bandmates, who not coincidentally were at the same time wrestling with their own commercial demons.

A couple of other tracks stand out: the haunting album opener "This Day", and the jaunty vocoder melody of "Biking Up the Strand". But elsewhere the lush electronic veneer isn't enough to hide the almost childish lack of sophistication in the music itself. Programming the synthesizers to ape the fuzz of an electric guitar, or adding some genuine acoustic percussion (mostly floor toms, enthusiastically bashed), may have rendered the album more accessible, but in the long run also robbed it of any lasting interest beyond the strictly nostalgic appeal of all those analog keyboards and sequencers.

Electric music had come a long way in the few short years since Baumann first put his signature touch on the unearthly cosmic drones of early Tangerine Dream albums like "Atem" and "Zeit". But by the end of the decade he must have realized he was painting himself into an aesthetic cul-de-sac with such lightweight material as this (the cover portrait on his 1981 album "Repeat Repeat" even shows an unfortunate resemblance to New Wave one-hit wonder Gary Numan).

Wisely, he would soon direct his talents toward successfully managing his own record label. Perhaps this album is best regarded today as a now somewhat dog-eared calling card for his new career at the time.