Search - Tangerine Dream :: Timesquare

A fabulous release!

Steve Benner | Lancaster, UK | 08/11/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After the relentless dance beat of the earlier "Dream Mixes Vol. 1", I was a little apprehensive about this release, given its subtitle of "Dream Mixes 2". I have to say, though, that the result here turns out to be a very pleasant surprise, being more varied and much more interesting musically than the earlier volume. It has to be said too, that the treatments given to the material here are both more introspective and retrospective than on "Dream Mixes I". Whilst the principal source for the themes on this disc would seem to be `Towards the evening star' from "Goblins Club", long-standing fans of the group will find themselves hearing many familiar tantalising snatches from much of the material built into the fabric of the tracks on this disc. And, no doubt, will have hours of fun (and frustration) trying to identify the original sources!In general, though, this music seems to be not so much reworking of existing tracks in a remix sense, but more a revisiting of material from a wide range of Dream's recording history, with a view to dusting some of it off and looking at it anew in a fresh light. In fact, I could believe that Jerome - for he seems to be the main force behind this disc - had gone into the studio with a bunch of his and his dad's old tapes and decided to knock them into something more distinctly his own. Everything is presented in a shiny, new and thoroughly up-to-date form, too, although there is easily more new than recycled material here. Also evident is a new maturity of musical style for the Froese father and son duo. Although the beat remains strong and fast (especially in the early tracks), the music of this album encompasses a wider range of rhythms and timbres than previously, and is sonically more adventurous and rewards closer listening much more than many of their earlier releases. And all, it would seem, without any help from any guest musicians at all (there are none credited, at any rate). `Pixel Pirates', in particular, is more daring than anything Tangerine Dream have released in many a long year and is hopefully indicative of a fascinating new direction for the group. The track's almost acousmatic opening is absolutely fabulous, and its continued development and varied treatments fully live up to the promise of that opening. `Culpa Levis' is another little stunner, with some gorgeous (uncredited) female vocals, singing an almost bluesy, Moorish-sounding line which blends perfectly into the whole. The same voice is used as samples in other of the tracks on the disc and lends a nice feel of unity to the music, without any hint of sameness, or loss of overall variety.Generally, though, there are altogether too many good ingredients making up this disc to list them all. It has great drumming aplenty, of course, but you'll also find strong tunes, as well as synthesiser and sampler voicings better than TD have been inclined to use since Paul Haslinger left the band in 1990. There is also excellent use made of outboard processing, as well as more adventurous computer sound-processing in evidence for the first time. The most important ingredient has to be that of variety, though, which here makes a long overdue return to Tangerine Dream's output. Definitely the best TD album for a long time, let's hope that there are more like this one to come!"

One of TD's most solid releases of the 90's

Travis Briggs | Boulder, CO USABoulder, CO USA Boulder, CO United | 12/24/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For TD's second Dream Mixes project, they clearly accessed all of their creative abilities and funneled them fully into this release. Timesquare has a very polished and intricate feel that was lacking from their previous Dream Mixes. My personal favorite tracks are 'Mobocaster', 'Jungle Jacula', and 'Timesquare'. What I love most about this album is the fact that TD clearly integrate trance and techno rhythms and beats into this album, but they never satisfy themselves with overlaying these beats with just one rif that repeats for several minutes. This denial of the absortion into the monotony of techno music really gives this album a transcendant quality. Please, by all means, get this album! If you are an old TD fan that has since forsaken them, give this release a chance to redeem them for you!"

Mix the mangler again!

Travis Briggs | 01/20/2002

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Recorded somewhere in the end of 1997 and finalized i early 1998, "Dream Mixes II: Timesquare" is an improvement over its predecessor in the series. Mercifully shorter, and somewhat more focused, this CD is proof that the ever growing force in the family, Jerome Froese, has no intention of coming back to electronic rock, but instead firmly confirms his techno inspirations. Should Edgar Froese ever retire, Jerome will certainly feel free to completely switch into the realm of modern club music, as might be expected from this and following releases where he had most to say. Perish the thought of Tangerine Dream, old guard.The album starts with 'Mobocaster', a rhythmic and dynamic remangling of one of their previous compositions from "Tyranny of Beauty". This is rhythm and rhythm alone. Want some more? Go to the nearest fluorescent club, inhale with the 16-year-olds and dance your head off. That's what it is. 'Jungle Jacula' is a slightly darker version of the endlessly mangled track. Fortunately, it's the best version ever, with an exceptionally good intro. Skipping the utterly forgettable 'Towards the Evening Star', we arrive at 'Digital Sister', which hints at their next studio album, 'Mars Polaris'. Very interesting ideas which are wasted with repetition over the enormously stretched track time. We are then treated to the most ambitious composition, 'Pixel Pirates', which rescues this album from being forgettable. In fact, "Timesquare" is the only item in the "Dream Mixes" series, which we might feel compelled to come back to, now and then. On the first disc in the series, released in 1995, there was only one good track, 'Sojus', and on the second disc, there are at least two, but 'Pixel Pirates' has something to it that the previous numbers didn't have - it has the chilling atmosphere and climate. If only the album which extends these ideas, "Mars Polaris", wasn't so overworked, it might constitute the first real worthy recording of the Froeses in the whole decade. As much as it is against my overall judgment of the album and its predecesors and sucessors in the decade, I admit I am very fond of the beat in 'Pixel Pirates'. The following two compositions do not deliver anything memorable, and constitute a comeback to the featureless first disc in the series. All in all, this album is slightly better than most of their studio work in the decade, and gave us a minimal hope that in future something might change after 6 years of the same."