EXIT

Exit is the third album with Johannes Schmoelling, their previous album was a soundtrack to Thief, a movie starring James Caan (I never seen the movie, as those kind of movies, apparently a crime movie, never really appealed to me). Since this came right after Thief, I get the feeling the band wasn't in the mood for side-length pieces (but they went back to that on their next album White Eagles). Kiev shows that early '80s Tangerine Dream sound, there's a lady speaking, I guess, Ukrainian (Kiev is in Ukraine). I also noticed a synth sound that sounded exactly like the intro to Michael Jackson's "Beat It', which meant the same synth was used, the Synclavier II, but, if I remember right, the band was less than happy with the Synclavier II, so it was never considered a major synth in their gear. I guess this album dated from the Cold War, that only makes sense to record a song bearing a title of a major (then-Soviet) city. Much of the album is rather upbeat, compared to Tangram, as clearly shown on "Chorozon" and "Network 23". "Remote Viewing" more or less hearkens back to '70s Tangerine Dream, especially with the sequencers, and does capture somewhat the atmosphere their '70s, even though it's recorded on newer (for 1981) equipment. It's a rather accessible album, that's for sure. If you have an aversion to that early '80s sound, and prefer the mid '70s classics, you probably won't find this enjoyable, but I find Exit rather good, and worth having.