A fine album of progressive electronica
Jeffrey J.Park | Massachusetts, USA | 06/18/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I think that of the few solo albums by Tangerine Dream founder Edgar Froese that I have heard, this 1979 release is quite good, and shows Edgar firing on all cylinders. In general, I was pretty impressed with the arrangements, which (when gauged relative to other works of electronica) are fairly involved musically and thematically and show Edgar giving a vague nod in the direction of progressive electronica. Although speculative, he may have been influenced by the almost "prog rock" sound on the contemporaneous Tangerine Dream album Force Majeure.
While there are bits of Force Majeure and the excellent Tangerine Dream album Tangram (1980) scattered throughout, Stuntman does not really sound like either. The keyboard instruments used include some great sounding string synthesizers, in addition to newer synthesizers that (at the time) were considered cutting edge. Overall, Edgar favors warm synth tone colors. Edgar also throws some electric guitar playing into the mix here and there, and in contrast with Force Majeure, drums and percussion are not featured as prominently. The rhythmic element is largely provided by throbbing sequencers. Although the general mood of the music is contemplative and at times spacey, the interesting arrangements and nice melodies really held my attention - all of the tracks are generally of high quality.
Although this is not a remastered version and the liner notes are pretty skimpy, the sound quality is not bad at all.
All in all, this is a fine album of progressive electronica by Edgar Froese and should appeal to Tangerine Dream fans that enjoyed Force Majeure and Tangram."
Track Listings (6) - Disc #1