Hyperborea (Tangerine Dream, 1983)

The last album by Tangerine Dream for Virgin records can be considered as a musical landmark between the fully experimental phase of the '70s and the new, ambient-like atmospheres. The title track, in particular, is one of the most arcane and well structured tracks from this "bridge" era. Inspired by the mythical northern realm of Hyperborea, this is a two part instrumental based on keyboards and soft drum machine, and also including a liquid, heartbreaking electric guitar (most likely a synth guitar effect). 

 

A remixed version of this album was released in 2008.

What I really like in this double sided song is the mix of sweetness and coldness the band set up, the excellent melodies and the calm, majestic crescendo in the second section. Tangerine Dream magically resumed the symphonic era and aticipated the New Age... and what's more, they added a pinch of emotion to their recipe. And very well they did!

Ricochet Part One (Tangerine Dream, 1975)

Following the example of other prog giants of the '70s, Tangerine Dream performed and recorded live an entire LP of unreleased music. That was a two part composition called "Ricochet" and continuing the band's complex, atmospheric and electronic exploration, but with a more intense rythmic work. The first part of the album evolves from a beautiful and somehow arabic theme that provides the returning element of the track and a basic sequence undergoing a stunning series of variations, edits, dismantlements and re-creations.

Ricochet was recorded during August-October 1975 European tour.

Froese, Baumann and Franke offer an exciting and arcane piece of music, criss-crossing irregular rythms, space effects, inner visions and acid touches in such a fascinating song that Ricochet still stands today as a real monument of what someone calls krautrock or quite simply of electronic music. And for once in this blog, I don't need to add IMHO.

Bois de Boulogne (Tangerine Dream, 1985)

I know the real TD's hardcore fans won't agree with me, but this is a track I simply adore... and I even like the whole "Le Parc" album. Sure, the band's best releases belong to the '70s, but this concept about City Parks around the World is an enjoyable one, melting good electronic music and commercial requirements. In particular, this opening track, describing the Boulogne Forest in Paris, is a perfect example of '80s electronic sound, but with a special twist only a great band from the Golden Prog Era can add to the melting pot.

 The band's lineup in this album is: Froese / Franke / Schmoelling.

The track grows up little by little and the final section is an enthralling and clever piece of prog, just like it used to be with Tangerine Dream. I added "Bois de Boulogne" to my blog because one sometimes needs some pleasant and not too tricky music, a track that just sweeps away the daily troubles or the Monday blues... well, this is exactly what one's searching for!

Melrose (Tangerine Dream, 1990)

Tangerine Dream's discography is simply exceeding, more than a hundred titles, including studio albums, live recordings and original soundtracks, not to mention reissues and compilations. I beg that's why some of their albums are seldom neglected. Unfortunately, this is the case with "Melrose", whose title track I'm introducing here. As this song demomstrates, this early '90s version of TD isn't mere ambient music at all: you'll find here two fully developed themes, a keen work on programming and a clever choice of warm electronic sounds.

 

Paul Haslinger left the band after this album in 1990.

 

The human factor is also important, as the second theme is played on sax by guest musician Hubert Waldner and, believe me, this is a real emotional peak. As usual, Tangerine Dream mix electronic paraphernalia and melodic skills in a special trademark blend going over the decades and the unavoidable ups and downs of such an overwhelming activity. Each time I listen to Melrose, I feel something good going up my spine and I remember how grateful we should be to this bunch of old boys over there...

Zeit (Tangerine Dream, 1972)

This long track - some 18 minutes - is one of the most arcane and fascinating ones in Tangerine Dream's discography. It's the last of the four movements forming the double album "Zeit", maybe the most intriguing one. Its spacey atmosphere, based on innovative keyboards, electronics and a slow, rarefied avant la lettre ambient music is both dreaming and scary, cold and moving. We're dragged in a dark, interstellar place, hold up by a cosmic wind and lured by a mysterious, alien energy, just to find that the outer space looks like our inner ego.

 

The alarming black sun of "Zeit".

 

Sure, "Zeit" belongs more likely to electronic experimental music or to the so called "kosmische musik",  than to progressive rock as we usually imagine it, but the high rate of creativity and the surprising landscapes in this track exceed all boudaries and perfectly incarnate the spirit of an era. Who could deny that the sense of wonder and the desire for unexplored soundscapes this song inspires is the same we find in all the biggest achievements of prog rock? That's why I add this track here, that's why I still listen to it today.

Stratosfear (Tangerine Dream, 1976)

When Tangerine Dream recorded this track and the same named album in 1976, they were famous for their uncompromising and experimental music, just for the happy few. With "Stratosfear" they proved their songs could be original but also enjoyable for a larger public. "Stratosfear" is pure electronic pulse plus a well written melody and a number of variations. It's a wavering instrumental track, whose crescendos and calandos create a series of landscapes including space rock, symphonic rock, psychedelia and electronic krautrock.

"Stratosfear" really was a seminal record.

...and not just for Tangerine Dream.

If keyboards provide the main musical material, with its out of time atmosphere, an acid electric guitar also comes out now and then reminding us we're in the '70s, after all. One of the best electronic rock tracks, IMHO, 10 minutes of pleasure and discoveries, never boring, never too pretentious.