ULTIMA THULE

A single released at around the time of the Alpha Centauri album (and now available as bonus tracks on some recent reissues of that disc), Ultima Thule is essentially a couple of Krautrock riffs on themes lifted from Fly and Collision of Comas Sola from that album. There's drums, guitars, and conventional rock instrumentation aplenty, with synths mainly used for background texture, and the playing tends to be faster and more energetic than Tangerine Dream are customarily known for.

Come to think of it, that might be the failure of the single as a promotional tool for the band - it didn't sound anything like the album it was trying to promote, so even people who did enjoy the single would have no real idea of whether they'd enjoy Alpha Centauri, and the band were sufficiently uncomfortable with playing in such a commercial format that the composition itself isn't really up to much. I wouldn't say it's worth going out of your way to acquire, but as far as bonus tracks go I think the two parts of Ultima Thule do enhance those versions of Alpha Centauri that include them.