GREEN DESERT

Tangerine Dream have a very large back catalogue and we sometimes feel a bit disoriented by the lack of creativity which gains the two last decades. The band didn't success to renew their own style with consistence, preferring more mainstream & conventional synth sounds. Re-issued during the 80s, "Green Desert" represents a good breath after many indulgent albums. The album was originally written in 1973 and it reveals some of the most TD innovative materials. It's the first time the band uses their famous electronic arpeggios (in the mysterious and majestic ambient "Astral Voyage"). The title track is one of the most amazing TD compositions and negotiates a link between their most accessible electronic synthesis and their first attempts in "abstract" experimental contributions. The track begins with a deep moody "sustained" drone, then concentrates on a spacey guitar solo accompanied by technical drum parts and electronic effects. "White Clouds" features luminous, dreamy-like synth chords covered by "helicopter" drums. "Indian Summer" uses the same environemental ambience with a similar electronic material. Only linear, elegiac tones with no "hypnotic" pulsations. This album is without doubts very commended for beginners despite that it doesn't reach the musical level of the three previous efforts.