OPTICAL RACE

It's 1988 and the two survivors have left behind Jocelyn Smith, Christian Gstettner and most of all Chris Franke.

The album doesn't start badly: the opener "Marakesh" is a very good track. Hardly recognizable as a TD product if you come from the 70s, but surely good. Unfortunately what follows is not all at the same level.

"Atlas Eyes" sounds similar to Peter Bardens' "Seen One Earth": same sounds, similar chords and same period. Not bad for a thing released in the 80s, but quite uninteresting.

"Mothers Of Rain" is on the same line. Initially the melody is nice and let's imagine an ambient track to come, but when the drone drumming starts it's just new age of the kind that Pete Bardens was doing at the same time.

"Twin Soul Tribe" makes me think to Soft Machine's "Palace of Glass". Similar even though the SM track features a jazz orchestra. A nice track unfortunately followed by the ridiculous title track. Imagine Jon Anderson's South American dance songs just to have an idea..

At least "Cat Scan" is a Tangerine Dream track. Not one of the best, almost in line with what the band is now used to do on their soundtracks.

"Sun Gate" starts promising. No drone drumming, a keyboard's soundscape and a quite good piano. Even this track is very "80s" and quite new age, too. Edgar Froese places on it a nice guitar solo. Not a bad track, really. Probably the only one together with the opener which shows some value.

"Turning Off The Wheel" is another quite good track (for this period). It's a bit repetitive, and for Froese & co this is a good thing. Nothing special also this.

"The Midnight Trail" is probably influenced by the soundtrack works of the decade. It's a new age instrumental based on a trivial sequence of chords. Again Pete Bardens comes in mind.

The album closer is called "Ghazal (Love Song)" and I can't not call it new age. In that period I was effectively listening to new age and I remember a band called "CHI" (perhaps a duo if I'm not wrong) making very similar things. I quite liked them so I can't say that I dislike this track, but it has nothing to do with progressive electronic and with Tangerine Dream. It's also in line with Pete Bardens "Speed Of Light" (the album). In addition it fades out, that's something that I don't like.

I have rated Tyger with 3 stars so I can be generous also with this album, but please keep in mind that's not a proper Tangerine Dream release. Unfortunately this is what the 80s were made of for a lot of great artists.

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