Tangerine Dream – Shy People

It's very difficult to recommend this release to any serious Tangerine Dream fan. Why? Simply because all of these tracks have been released before on other compilations of TD Eastgate/TDI releases, making this a compilation of other compilations. It's a tricky business, but that's what it is, business. There has been no further remastering of the sound - which was excellent in the first place - and the only thing that's really "new" here is the digipack and its design. It's also difficult to recommend this set to those new to TD, simply because there is so much other material that's more cohesive and more important than what's here, from Edgar Froese's various incarnations of the band.

Another in the long line of soundtracks by Tangerine Dream is actually one of the strongest in concept for any film they have done. The movie has a high degree of tension and the score by T.D. does just the trick. They use mostly hard driving sequencer rhythms to maintain the tension of the film. Listeners will find that this is nearly how all of the music is composed. There is very little melody within the structures of the music. But even with this lacking, the score is very well suited and very listenable. A couple of nonsequencer tracks are also on the album and break up the hard rhythms pieces.

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.

"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.

Originally recorded in 1973, Green Desert did not see the light of day until it was remixed and released as part of the In the Beginning box set in 1986, then as its own album later the same year. It is difficult to ascertain how radical this release is from the original recording, but as it stands, it is a logical step between the rawer-produced Atem to the ambient/sequencer-driven style of Phaedra. A key element of this is attributable to Edgar Froese's guitar playing on the title track, an unhurried solo that lasts only about five minutes in the nearly 20-minute piece, yet is easily the most memorable part of the entire song. None of the three shorter songs are as dynamic as the first, each containing a keyboard melody played over synthesized noises and the rhythms of drums, sequencers, or a series of chords.

Tangerine Dream's 'Wavelength' is the soundtrack to an obscure Robert Carradine sci-fi film from 1983, and while it offered nothing truly fresh or groundbreaking from the band, it's still makes for a fine background listen while offering several variations of spacey/electronic ambience. Composed by the trio of Edgar Froese, Christopher Franke and Johannes Schmoelling, considering the albums around it such as 'Hyperborea', 'White Eagle' etc, 'Wavelength' still features the ghostly Melloton, as well as having a distinct mid-70's TD period sound instead of the cold plastic 80's that was emerging during that time. It's mostly comprised of short little interludes and snippets which unfortunately means that many of the tracks rarely get time to develop better, and some sections are reworked pieces from previous albums…

Music For Sports - Power And Motion is the second of a two-part compilation (the first being Music For Sports - Cool Races). It compiles ten tracks from the following albums: Transsiberia (1998, two tracks); Ambient Highway Vol. 1 (2003, one track); Dalinetopia (2004, one track); One Times One (2007, three tracks); The Anthology Decades (2008, three tracks). This compilation contains no new material, but notably two of the tracks originally had been released on solo albums by Edgar Froese.

The music of this album was inspired by the German writer Christian Morgenstern, but there was also another idea behind the CD title, as Edgar Froese explained: A different view of earth as a Goblins Club from high above during a transatlantic flight. For this release, TD could not yet use all the advanced technology planned to introduce into their music. Not all of these devices did already work perfectly, so TD had to perform with this new technology step by step. This resulted in a musical product similar to its predecessors in style. This time, TD even had used wide-spread computer samples or presets: Fans were surprised when they found the passage of foreign female lyrics on At Darwin's Motel almost identical to the track The Child In Us on Enigma's CD Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi…

The material of this album was composed during Tangerine Dream's North American tour back in August/September 1988. Weeks after weeks in tourbusses, planes, hotels and various locations gave the two guys here the opportunity to get musically into something different off stage. The plan was to release the stuff as an on and off the road album later in the year. The road feeling as well as the summertime in the states had been a strong influence for these compositions. The album was completed while hanging out after the tour at a friend's place in LA. Because of various reasons the album had a delay for over about seventeen years before it now will be presented to the public. Actually, this record is composed and performed by Edgar Froese and Ralf Wadephul (who also toured the US with the band) - Paul Haslinger was not involved in this production…