Eagle.cool

This is the definitive Cool. Grab it and run. You won't find a better compilation. Remixed and including notes by Mr Cool himself, Ross 'The Boss' Wilson, it sounds better than you'll ever remember. The 'hits' are on side 1 and include the extended version of 'Come Back Again'. Side 2 has live performances and some rare studio stuff. This, together with the impressive 2004 release ''The New Cool'', might be all you'll ever need to realign your swagger and cool, unless they release another.

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.

Steve Miller had started to essay his classic sound with The Joker, but 1976's Fly Like an Eagle is where he took flight, creating his definitive slice of space blues.

Steve Miller had started to essay his classic sound with The Joker, but 1976's Fly Like an Eagle is where he took flight, creating his definitive slice of space blues. The key is focus, even on an album as stylishly, self-consciously trippy as this, since the focus brings about his strongest set of songs (both originals and covers), plus a detailed atmospheric production where everything fits…

Steve Miller had started to essay his classic sound with The Joker, but 1976's Fly Like an Eagle is where he took flight, creating his definitive slice of space blues. The key is focus, even on an album as stylishly, self-consciously trippy as this, since the focus brings about his strongest set of songs (both originals and covers), plus a detailed atmospheric production where everything fits. It still can sound fairly dated – those whooshing keyboards and cavernous echoes are certainly of their time – but its essence hasn't aged, as "Fly Like an Eagle" drifts like a cool breeze, while "Take the Money and Run" and "Rock 'n Me" are fiendishly hooky, friendly rockers.