Tangerine Dream - Miracle Mile (11 tracks) +Album Reviews

Dynamic percussive flamenco

01/05/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In 1988, Tangerine Dream substantially slowed down with album releases and soundtracks. That trend was to persist in later years as well - and for a few reasons. First of all, the band was now a duo instead of a trio, and the main force behind soundtrack work was missing from the band. Another reason might be that Edgar Froese finally realized that there is an upper limit of compositional burden anyone can take. Previous years showed clearly that even if Tangerine Dream was to become a machine for output creation, it might just as well break, and as any machine, it does have its friction coefficient, and other limitations of physical nature. Whether or not it was in the remaining members' power to continue, is debatable, and best left for the listener.The year 1988 brought us only two releases from Tangerine Dream (which is little only if compared to their output in previous years) - a studio album "Optical Race", and a soundtrack, "Miracle Mile". Released for public consumption a year later, the album provides us with some very good music, almost worth comparison with previous efforts from the band. Almost, but not quite. On the one hand the album contains watered-down themes resembling previous work on "Canyon Dreams", "Near Dark" and "Heartbreakers". A derivative work, but worth listening. Perfect examples might be 'One for the Books', 'Running Out of Time' and 'After the Call'. On the other hand, we have some unique and original tracks, which are consistently in the moody percussive rhythmic mode. A pleasure to listen, undoubtedly, but nothing that would set us on our knees. Good representative tracks that set the mood on this album are 'Teetering Scales' and 'All of a Dither'. Musically, these tracks do not contribute to the musical heritage of the band, but nevertheless represent solid, good soundtrack work. Proceeding further, we once again come back to slightly derivative work in 'Final Statement', 'In Julie's Eyes', and 'People in the News'. Good old times, one might say. However, time and again we scratch our heads with a powerful deja vu. Have we heard it somewhere already? This album would earn solid five stars if not for these mixed emotions. The cheesy ending, 'Museum Walk' leaves us a little too hungry as well.Despite all these mumblings and grumblings, this is a must-have for all those who like solid electronic soundtrack work."

One of Tangerine Dream's finest soundtracks

Steve Benner | Lancaster, UK | 08/21/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The 1988 movie "Miracle Mile" from independent film company Hemdale was a pretty dire production overall - apart from a stunning performance by a very young Anthony Edwards. The Tangerine Dream soundtrack for it, however, is an absolute masterpiece! Edgar Froese and Paul Haslinger certainly pulled out all the stops to produce what is arguably their greatest film score ever and this official TD release (on the Private Music label) delivers some 43 minutes of great music. Arranged in a sequence that makes for better through-listening than would following the order used in the film, the music on this release covers a much wider sonic spectrum than can be found on most of the band's other releases of the time-or, indeed since! It has moments of great calm and beauty, as well as brooding suspense, frantic action and high drama. (Such a shame that the film never managed to deliver any of these!) This album is very much the culmination of Tangerine Dream's own unique hallmark blend of minimalist sequencer pulse, multi-layered percussion runs and massed synthesiser choirs-at times almost more "classical" in its outlook than "pop". It also makes great use of some fabulous percussion sounds - I still get shivers down my spine every time I hear 'In Julie's Eyes'! Since this album, Tangerine Dream's music has been going fairly steadily downhill, but this album manages to recapture some of the magic of their earlier film-score successes, such as "Sorcerer", "Thief", "Risky Business" and "Flashpoint". Ultimately, I think, it delivers rather more than any of the others. Highly recommended."

Tangerine dreams best soundtrack!

Jeremy Boettcher | ca | 09/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"this has some of the most haunting and beautiful music ever. my favorites are if its all over and on the spur of the moment. if you have not seen the movie see the movie. but the music is excellant!"

This is the best soundtrack ever. Ever.

Jeremy Boettcher | 05/18/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Miracle Mile is, without a doubt, the best soundtrack I have ever heard. It is tense and it is tender, and it just keeps getting better every time I listen to it."

Four and a half stars...

R. Legendre | New Orleans, LA | 12/12/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After the critical and commerical success of Optical Race, TD once again lost another memeber of its lineup, session musician Ralf Wadephul. Wadephul lasted for one studio album (Optical Race), one soundtrack (Dead Solid Perfect), and one tour (Optical Race tour - 1988). In early 1989, Tangerine Dream had been reduced to a duo for the first time in 16 years (Peter Baumann left the band for a short while in 1973, but later returned that same year).

Would the band's music suffer after losing 1/3 of its creative input?

Absolutely not.

The music on this soundtrack fits the film so well that it oftentimes overshadows the performance of the actors and the dire situation faced by mankind, but it also stands on its own VERY well. The overall tone of the soundtrack (as well as the film) is very dark and despairing, but then again, how the heck do you put a nice face on the threat of imminent nuclear war and the destruciton of mankind? (On that note, if this movie had been released in the EARLY '80s as opposed to 1989, the theme would have had much more of an impact. By the time Miracle Mile saw a home video release, the Berlin Wall fell as well as communism in general in the U.S.S.R. which, more or less, heralded the end of the Cold War, but I digress).

There are 3 tracks however, that help lighten the mood a bit which keeps the entire soundtrack form depressing the hell out of you (God knows, the movie succeeded at doing THAT!). "On the Spur of the Momet" is an incredible "love theme" that comes pretty damn close to surpassing "Love On a Real Train" from Risky business. "...Train..." has more of a sexy mood to it, whereas, "...SPUR..." is more of a romantic tune. "All of a Dither" is an almost disco-like, upbeat tune that can scarcely be heard in the film itself (as the protagonist, played by E.R.'s Anthony Edwards, frantically runs through an all-nite gym in search of someone who can fly a helicopter, this song can be heard for a few seconds in a workout room where a bunch of people are aerobicising to it). "Museum Walk" is a noble-sounding composition that sounds as if it could be used during a coronation ceremony. This song actually serves as the opening theme to the film as the protagonists cross paths in the Museum of Natural History. "One for the Books" is also a lighter affair, but the sequencing in the song gives the listener a sense of underlying urgency.

"After the Call" and "People In the News" are actually the same song, but they both have slightly different arrangements. In my opinion, the arrangement for "People In the News" conveys a much more intense emotional impact. That song makes the hairs stand up on my arms and neck every time. If you can, play this song in your vehicle when you're driving by yourself and turn the volume up as high as you can stand it. Trust me, you'll understand what I mean by "emotional impact".

To sum up, even without 1/3 of its usual personnel, Tangerine Dream delivers a near-perfect masterpiece of soundtrack work. The price for this title is spot-on, so you don't have to be concerned, as with other TD soundtracks, that your going to spend a lot of money and come away disappointed. Miracle Mile is an EXCELLENT addition to any soundtrack or Tangerine Dream collection."

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	Tangerine Dream Miracle Mile Genres: Dance & Electronic, New Age, Pop, Rock Track Listings (11) - Disc #1 Teetering Scales One For The Books After The Call On The Spur Of The Moment All Of A Dither Final Statement In Julie's Eyes Running Out Of Time If It's All Over People In The News Museum Walk
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