OFF : Tangerine Dream

[M Holmes]

flossbac writes:

> > > P.P.P.S.  I'm ignoring Tangerine Dream because I don't know enough about
> > > them...I see merit in their first 'rock' album (Electronic Meditation),
> but
> > > I was bored with 'Zeit.'
>
> Tangerine Dream has long been one of my obsessions.  The band is pretty much
> useless now (and has been for quite some time-- at least a decade), but the
> earlier stuff is some of the greatest experimental music of all time.  Until
> you've heard "Atem" I don't think you know the true majesty of what space
> rock might be-- cataclysmic stuff!  A lot of the earlier tangerine dream is
> very intense and demands close listening to fully appreciate it--it's a very
> subtle music and you can tell that the musicians were RIGHT THERE with each
> note, feeling each note as it was played--it's not nearly as arbitrary as it
> might seem with a casual listen.  After "Atem" the band became much more
> electronic and turned out the classics "Phaedra" and "Rubycon" (both of
> which I think are indispensable to a psychedelic education).  The live album
> "Encore" from '77 was incredible in its peculiar balance of
> classically-influenced keyboard stylings and prog noodling....a masterpiece,
> with a beautiful and melancholy sequenced coda at the end!  After this, the
> band was beginning to show the first signs of a long ailment....But
> basically, in my opinion everything up to 1983 is generally pretty good.
> "Thief" kind of sucked and so did "Exit" (except for one or two songs), but
> the rest of the albums are pretty good from that time period.  There would
> even be a few bright spots later with the opening track on "Underwater
> Sunlight" and the "Livemiles" album, but then TD really started to stink
> beyond anyone's imagining--on the same level of total new age shite as Yanni
> and whatever else is out there.  PS--the edgar froese solo albums are very
> nice too, particularly "Epsilon in Malaysian Pale" which has some very
> pretty mellotron.
> John Majka

What he said except that I'd add that the albums "Ricochet" and
"Stratosfear" which marked their switch from the atmospheric to the
melodic albums are truly amazing. After that highlights are "Cyclone",
the indispensable "Force Majeure" (play that loud and I defy you not to
do it again immediately) "Encore", "Logos" and "White Eagle". I'd concur
that from the second Froese got his kids into the band in 1989 there's
been nothing but new age fusion and some middling film scores or
compilations. I've been told that they've come back to their old style
recently and I'd give 'em another try if someone knowledgeable would
recommend an album - I used to go to TD gigs in the same way I did
Hawkwind gigs and I've kinda missed 'em. I did hear "Goblin's Club" which
showed some promise.

FoFP