Search - Tangerine Dream :: Sohoman

A disappointing release of the early '80s gigs

08/09/1999

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This could have been a lot better. It misses one the most typical things of a td gig - Edgar's guitar solo. Bondy Parade featured in their '81 tour of the UK and Edgar's guitar line, and the accompanying bass line, made it outstanding. On Sohoman, the track is twinkly and lightweight, as with the other tracks. Sohoman is also only 45 mins long - the remaining 20 mins or so could have been used for previously unreleased stuff only available on poor quality bootlegs."

Carelessly edited CD

J.M. Leonard | 11/07/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"In the winter and spring of 1982 Tangerine Dream toured the world to promote their newest studio album, "White Eagle". In December of that year, a very good concert album was released, "Logos Live". Seventeen years later, Edgar and Jerome Froese, the current members of what is left of this once pioneering band - decided to publish a series of previously unreleased "classic" music they had in their inventory. Whereas this is a noble deed in itself, one might wonder as to the actual choices.First of all, "Sohoman" represents a relatively new trend in Tangerine musical history, certainly not being classic. Second, the aforementioned album, "Logos" is very similar to material included on "Sohoman", and the latter does not really contribute to their discography beyond sheer quantity. Most of the material on this album is repetitive, as it contains only slightly different versions of compositions found on the studio or concert albums already released. Since there are hundreds of other concerts, which deserve publication, one might wonder why "Sohoman" saw the light of day, being in fact a simple unimaginative rehash of already published material. Think twice before purchase. Unless you have a habit like mine, that is a habit of having everything for collection purposes, you better stay with other, much superior releases, "Logos" being among them.The technical details of this edition are hair-raising. The album is advertised to have been mastered on DQC system. Why don't we hear it? Why do old albums, mastered back in 1982 sound much better, are more properly mixed? This I do not know. The album begins as if it were randomly cut off a larger piece of live music. Carelessly edited, the first track actually bumps into your ear, as if recorded on old cassette recorder. Where is editing? Where is mastering? Edgar Froese has a quarter of the century of technical experience, and yet this album sounds as if edited by someone who has never heard of mastering, not to mention DQC. Other compositions are equally poorly edited, and it's a headache to listen when you know what they really are able to do with sound.In summary, this is a rather forgettable item in their discography, an item that is technically and musically inferior. You can do better with your money if you would like to experience the live sound of Tangerine Dream Anno Domini 1982. Look for "Logos"."

Stay away!

J.M. Leonard | 03/07/2000

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This is only a very mediocre concert by Tangerine Dream. There are no classic tracks, and the sound quality isn't the best. As the other reviewer said, there's a lot of space on this disc for CD-ROM material, studio outtakes, and other objects of desire. I think "Logos"(1982) is a far better live concert. "Sohoman" is the best example that pompous packaging can't make up a real lack in good music."