Search - Tangerine Dream :: Dream Sequence: Best Of Tangerine Dream

A weird dream

perryink2 | castle rock | 09/02/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"They were spacy, new agey and electronically ambient long before 808:State, Devo, Hawkwind, Kraftwerk or William Orbit but this 2 CD career retrospective of Berlin's prolific Tangerine Dream is perfectly timed. In that 30 years, the Dream have had the greatest impact on the widest variety of music, most notably in the sample-happy ambient and new age electronica scene of the `90s. Though the band went through three dozen different lineups and four distinct stages of development, the experimental and minimalist period of the late `60s and early `70s is given short thrift here chiefly because they didn't sign with Virgin until mid' 70s. Fortunately, most of these instrumentals are also from the band's most influential period - the Moogy moods and stark sequencer trance styles of the mid-1970s and the more organic sound journeys of their final years with Virgin in the early `80s. Obviously, assembling a greatest hits collection of Tangerine Dream's relentless, trance-inducing barrage of multi-minute rhythm and sound nuggets tunes is no easy task; their albums often contained only one extended song per side of vinyl and that dilemma is prominent on the first disc. With fully hour and a bit of the band's mystic, swirling and elongated soundscapes, it contains much from their early work with the label, including the title track from 1974's milestone release Phaedra and a three minute excerpt from the 17 minute Rubycon Part One from 1975's Rubycon, though the inclusion of the complete 20 minute sound journey Ricochet Part Two a cut from the live Ricochet is laudable. The second disc sacrifices the truncated for the overstated, offering up complete atmospheric orchestral slabs from 1980's Tangram, 1982's Logos, the hard-to-find Cloudburst Flight from 1979 and a taste of their soundtrack work (Beach Scene from 1981's Thief ). What you won't find is anything from 1978's Cyclone, their much-hated vocal debut or the multitude of snore-inducing soundtracks from stinker flicks like The Keep, Firestarter, Flashpoint or Vision Quest. That's a good thing, leaving untarnished the notion that their best works remain masterpieces of aural sculpture often imitated but never duplicated and more popular now - whether rave-goers know it or not - than ever before."

OUTSTANDING!

olhipe | ROANOKE, VA USA | 04/05/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I purchased this great double cd in 1986 as a French import and have never tired of listning to it! Disc one containes my favorite - "The Dream Is Always the Same" and "Ricochet Part Two". Disc two gets even better with "Force Majeure", "Love on a Real Train" (from the movie RISKY BUSINESS)and the incredable "Logos Part One (A&B)" and "Logos Part Two" ( from the movie THE KEEP)! This double CD will make your system sound GREAT, or perhaps indicate what new equipment you might need! Buy and enjoy!"

Great Introduction to Older TD works

olhipe | 08/27/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This Double CD set has been difficult to obtain a most music stores. It's a great intro to those unfamiliar with the powerful music of TD. Also great for longtime listeners (has most of my favorites). The CDs also come with a well-written booklet with a brief history of the band and the chronology of albums released. It's informative yet concise."