Search - Tangerine Dream :: Nebulous Dawn: The Early Years

The Early Blips And Bloops Of Tangerine Dream

Matthew Comegys | Ueda, Nagano, Japan | 12/13/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This set is a repackaging of Tangerine Dreams first four albums along with a few bonus tracks. It's quite a bargin for those interested in the band's early years. The remastering is a few years old, but it still sonds great. Be forewarned, however, that this is a different band than what you've heard for the past 25 years. There are plenty of non-synthesized instruments and much of the collection is extremely minimalist. I personally prefer this stage of their career and it's transportative power. Included in the set is:



Electronic Meditation (**)- This first album was basically a rehersal tape from 1969 augmented by a few overdubs. It's historically important as it is the only TD album with Klaus Schultz. Unfortunately, it isn't very good and does sounds like a few guys messing around in a practice space. It's loud, but this band tends to do quiet better.



Alpha Centauri (*****)- A true space rock album. I believe that this is supposed to be a concept album about traveling through space to Alpha Centauri. This ceraintly fits the bill as the first side of the LP resembles an interstellar journey and I'm happy to see the 20 minute title track as an exploration of the new planet. Great stuff!



Zeit (*****)- This really is a love it or hate it album. The four long tracks present minimalism at it's most extreme with long Moog synth sweeps and occasional strings. At the same time, it's a very dark sounding album and not necessarily relaxing. I think the ominous atmosphere is genius and this is probably the TD album I put on the most. The title is German for "time."



Atem (****)- On this album the Dream begins to experiment with their trademark sequencers. This is still an earlier album and retains the dense atmospherics of the previous two albums. The overall tone is a little brighter however. Atem is German for "breath."



Bonus Tracks (**)- These bonus songs all appear on disc three and in my view sort of ruin the ambience of Atem (unless, of course, you program your player to skip them). Ultima Thule Parts One And Two is a rare single that I was excited to hear, but disappointed by. Part One is loud (which they still don't do well) and monotonous. Part Two simply didn't leave an impression. Lady Greengrass and Love Of Mine are third rate psychedelic pop from Edgar Froese's pre-TD band, The Ones. These tracks along with Electronic Meditation just add evidence to my theory that Froese was never meant to rock out.



Regardless of a few bum tracks, this collection is much cheaper than buying the three superior albums separately. If you are at all interested in these guys and don't already have the reissues from a few years back, this is a must buy."

A Solid Overview But....

Louie Bourland | Garden Grove CA | 07/26/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Once again, Tangerine Dream's early years are given the compilation treatment for the upteenth time. This time around, they are compiled into a three disc collection entitled "Nebulous Dawn" (after a track from the band's third album "Zeit").

Tangerine Dream's first four albums are included in their entirety on this set and showcase the band's relentless strife for experimentation. "Electronic Meditation" is TD's 1970 debut album and features the line-up of founder Edgar Froese, Klaus Schulze and Conrad Schnitzler in a freaked-out psychedelic free-for-all complete with feedback and acid-soaked jamming.

The second album "Alpha Centauri" finds Christopher Franke and Steve Schroyder replacing Schulze and Schnitzler and also marks the beginning of the band's use of synthesizers.

"Zeit" marks the beginning of the first classic TD line-up of Froese, Franke and Peter Baumann. The album was also the first to be considered a major classic amongst fans and was a pioneering effort for ambient and space music.

This early period of Tangerine Dream ended with 1973's "Atem", an album that experimented with tribal rhythms, gothic-style organs, nature sounds and otherworldly weirdness.

While all four of the early TD albums are excellent in their entirety, this CD set as a whole has wound up being a bit disappointing. For starters, although both parts of the ultra-rare "Ultima Thule" single are included here as bonus tracks, the version of Part 1 is the same remix that originally appeared in the "Antique Dreams" compilation as well as the recent "Alpha Centauri" reissue. The original version still has yet to make it to CD and once again, proves to be another missed opportunity. Also, while the rare live track "Oscilator Planet Konzert" was originally listed as being a part of this collection, it is absolutely nowhere to be found anywhere here. Because this track is a sought-after item amongst TD collectors, its inclusion here would have been a vital ingredient. One can't help but wonder why such a rarity was left off after being planned as part of the original release of this collection. Anticipation followed by disappointment.

However, the missing track is somewhat made up for by the inclusion of the original single by Edgar Froese's pre-TD band The Ones. Like "Ultima Thule" and "Oscilator Planet Konzert", The Ones' single is a sought-after collectors item amongst TD fans. This collection marks the first ever CD release of these two tracks. "Lady Greengrass" is a psychedelic flower-power piece with fantasy-like lyrics and a reference to Froese's future as represented by the lyric "the grass is Tangerine, the sky is suddenly green" (although TD actually got their name from the lyric "Tangerine Trees" in The Beatles "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds"). The B-side "Love of Mine" is a funky soul number with a slight James Brown influence complete with a gritty sax riff.

The CD booklet includes a well-written essay on Tangerine Dream's early years by David Wells as well as some rare photos of the band from the same period (mostly 1972-73).

All of the music included here is excellent and is some of the most innovative and pioneering music to come out of the experimental German music scene in the early '70s. The only drawback with the recent "Nebulous Dawn" collection is the above-mentioned missing rarities and an overall incomplete feel of the entire package. Apart from this, this is a very affordable introduction to Tangerine Dream's early years and is an ideal place to start especially for the complete early albums.

"