Phaedra

Fans generally acknowledge the classic era of Tangerine Dream as coinciding with their Virgin years, which this collection rounds up nicely, opening with two landmarks, Phaedra and Rubycon, then including the group's broadening of scope and direction with the live Ricochet, Stratosfear, and Cyclone. This was directly after the early avant-garde years, consisting of experimental, arrhythmic work like Atem and Electronic Meditation, and before the Hollywood years, when Edgar Froese and co. began composing work for movie scores like Risky Business. Phaedra and Rubycon have not dated at all since their early-‘70s recording, despite Froese, Peter Baumann, and Chris Franke’s early adoption of Moog technology, along with Mellotron and other electric or electronic instruments. Along with the full LPs in their most recent remastering, the collection also rounds up single edits and 7” versions when they were originally available.

This second volume completes Decca's compact reissue of Britten conducting his own operas. As with the first volume, it is a self-recommending testament to the synergy of Britten's talents as a composer and conductor, and his continuing preeminence as a recorded interpreter of his own music.

"Lily On The Beach", recorded and released in 1989, had two aspects showing TD's musical direction for the nineties: It was the first TD album featuring Edgar Froese's then 19 year old son Jerome Froese as guest musician playing lead guitar on the track Radio City; Jerome would become a regular member of TD in the next year and get more and more influence on TD's work in the future. On the other hand Long Island Sunset was the first TD composition featuring saxophone, an uncommon type of instrument for TD's music of the eighties, but becoming a strong part of their work in the early nineties.

Optical Race is one of Tangerine Dream's most accessible releases. The melodies and hooks are as strong as on any Dream production, and are complemented by the electronic washes of sound. Pared down to the duo of founder and visionary Edward Froese and fellow synth wizard Paul Haslinger, the music is complete yet questioning, the hallmark of all the best Tangerine Dream recordings. Stylistically it straddles the ground between the preceding Underwater Sunlight and the earlier Tangram. Optical Race also marked a reunion of sorts with former Dreamer Peter Baumann, then head of the Private Music label, which for a time became known for its edgy, electronic music by the likes of Yanni, Azuma, Eddie Jobson, and Tangerine Dream. (Following its purchase by fellow new age label Windham Hill, Private was reborn as a blues label.) The title cut, with its insistent electronic percussion pushing the beat, is a highlight.

Tyranny of Beauty is one of Tangerine Dream's best CDs of the early and mid-'90s. That's not saying a lot. The group's albums from that period - and even back into the late '80s - are relatively weak. And, to be sure, this disc has its weaknesses. However, they are overshadowed by its strengths, and the disc earns high praise. The TD lineup for this CD is Edgar Froese, Linda Spa, and Jerome Froese. Mark Horn and Gerald Gradwohl contribute various guitar performances. Those performances are the keys to this disc's merit. Gradwohl's lead guitar spots play off and to Edgar Froese's lead guitar. The sparring adds clout to the atmospheres. The atmospheres, in turn, build upon each other and create a grand soundscape. The strongest track is "Stratosfear 1995," a redesign of the Virgin era standard. This CD is a return to the basics with polish and tact. It is essential Berlin school electronica.

In Greek mythology Phaedra, sister of Ariadne, is married to Theseus, but falls in love with Hippolytus, Theseus’s son by another woman. Hippolytus turns her down and Phaedra, in revenge, tells Theseus that Hippolytus has raped her. Theseus believes her. What happens then is an open question, since there are several versions of the story. In one of them Theseus turns to Poseidon, who frightens Hippolytus’s horses and Hippolytus dies. In another version Theseus kills his son and Phaedra commits suicide. In a third version Phaedra doesn’t kill herself but Dionysus sends a bull which frightens Hippolytus’s horses.

The Anthology Decades is a compilation of older studio material which has been previously unreleased, though some of the tracks seem to be remixed ('tangentized') or alternate versions of some well-known material: Sunset In The Fifth System obviously bases on an excerpt from Alpha Centauri, Exit To Heaven is very similar to Edinburgh Castle, and Landing On 51 essentially overlays Astral Voyager with some new melody lines. On the other hand, official information from the Tangerine Dream Forum state: "Speculations on so-called 'tangentized' material or the use of some 'overwashed' production methods are completely false. They are compositions out of the 70ies and 80s which have been recorded for the first time or have been taken from Edgar's personal sound library"…

Despite being credited to both Edgar Froese and Jerome Froese, in fact only the final track of the disc carries anything of Edgar's fingerprints, being an alternate mix of his own composition Mombasa, originally released just a few months ago on Booster III (2009). All of the other remixes on DM V are solely the result of Jerome's work on classic TD material from the seventies and eighties, all of which have the original music more or less discernible at some point within them. The most deeply buried of the originals is the brief inclusion of a snatch of Rubycon (1975) as an inner layer to The Return of Time, largely swallowed by a newly minted percussion pulse and swathe of electronic textures. Other tracks, however, offer substantial representations of clearly recognisable original thematic materials, in bold but entirely appropriate new ways, such as the title track from Exit (1981) as Flow Paths…

The Canadian band's tenth studio album follows 2002's Palace of Gold, which found Blue Rodeo reinvigorated and ready to occasionally break out of the country-pop-rock mold that they are inextricably linked to. The ostentatious horns and strings of the group's previous release are gone (except for the stray solo trumpet on the closing two tracks), replaced with a British Invasion feel for the opening cuts. But after the twangy guitars appear on the third song, Rodeo play to their strengths. That's not a bad thing, though, as both founding guitarist/vocalists Greg Keelor and Jim Cuddy have crafted some particularly earnest and soulful country-rock that stands with their best work.

With "Recurring Dreams", the new generation of Tangerine Dream pay homage to the band's timeless beginnings with captivating and emotional renditions of selected classics, such as "Phaedra", "Stratosfear", "Tangram" and "Yellowstone Park". These new recordings are not just re-recorded covers but heartfelt and individual interpretations, featuring all generations of synths and sequencers, added layers and new arrangements, applying Froese's new quantum dream to these highly influential tracks.