CYCLONE

Cyclone is a unique album in the early Tangerine Dream discography which has made it surprisingly unfavorable among the fans. The unexpected departure of Peter Baumann from the classic trio lineup shook the band up and so a complete change of direction was decided upon. The newly recruited Klaus Krieger and especially Steve Jolliffe were highly unexpected additions to the band since the fans were definitely not prepared a vocalist joining the ranks of Tangerine Dream at this point of their career.

Steve Jolliffe's vocal contribution on two of these three compositions and an expanded use of acoustic instruments, among which flutes, piccolo, bass clarinet, grand piano, tenor, soprano horns and drums, made the music sound a lot more like progressive rock. Of course let's not forget that this was 1978, meaning that progressive rock was already going out of style which definitely makes this release an even bolder statement from the band. Unfortunately the attempt to combine electronic music with progressive rock arrangements on Cyclone wasn't a successful such even from an artistic point of view, not to mention the commercial such.

The opening track titled Bent Cold Sidewalk isn't really trying to merge the two styles but instead begins and ends with pure symphonic prog while the middle section of this 13 minute composition is just an atmospheric electronic piece that Tangerine Dream are known for. The much shorter Rising Runner Missed By Endless Sender is where the band actually tries to combine the two genres with very unsuccessful results. This composition feels like a mess where different styles clash with each other without creating anything worth a while for the listener from either side. It's a bit unfortunate that Madrigal Meridian was the point where Tangerine Dream dropped the new direction, that they introduced on side one, and instead gave us another one of their electronic epics. This time the results aren't as masterful and the composition does in fact overstay its welcome by at least 5 minutes.

Overall Cyclone isn't as bad as its reputation might suggest and I personally actually prefer it to such classics as Phaedra (just don't quote me on that)! Still, it doesn't really reach the status of excellent release for fans of progressive music.

**** star songs: Bent Cold Sidewalk (13:09) Madrigal Meridian (20:29)

*** star songs: Rising Runner Missed By Endless Sender (5:02)