Nov 6, 2011

Sundaze 1145

Hello, my connection has been down for hours, reverting to my local IP, my trackball has hick ups too, strange night. Anyway as announced last week a second batch from the extensive Tangerine Dream discography, after last week's early seventies work today eighties work as in one regular with which they left the seventies behind, Exit and 2 movie scores, Firestarter and Legend. I had another lined up, Wavelength, but i have a better alternative available for you, the music and the movie for on line viewing or download just follow the link.

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continued from last week

Baumann left for a solo career in 1978 (later founding the Private Music label), and was replaced by Johannes Schmoelling, another important member of Tangerine Dream who would stay until the mid-'80s. In 1980, the Froese/Franke/Schmoelling lineup was unveiled at the Palast der Republik in East Berlin, the first live performance by a Western group behind the Iron Curtain.

By the time the new lineup stabilized in 1981, Hollywood was knocking on the band's door; Tangerine Dream worked on more than 30 film soundtracks during the 1980s, among them Risky Business, The Keep, Flashpoint, Firestarter, Vision Quest, and Legend. If the idea of stand-alone electronic music hadn't entered the minds of mainstream America before this time, the large success of these soundtracks entrenched the idea and proved enormously influential to soundtrack composers from all fields.

Despite all the jetting between Hollywood and Berlin, the group continued to record proper LPs and tour the world as well. Hyperborea, released in 1983, was their last album for Virgin, and a move to Zomba/Jive Records signaled several serious changes for the band during the late '80s. After the first Zomba release (a live concert recorded in Warsaw), 1985's Le Parc, marked the first time Tangerine Dream had flirted with sampling technology. The use of sampled material was an important decision to make for a group that had always investigated the philosophy of sound and music with much care, though Le Parc was a considerable success -- both fans and critics calling it their best LP in a decade. Tyger, released in 1987, featured more vocals than any previous Tangerine Dream LP, and many of the group's fans were quite dispirited in their disfavor.

Schmoelling left in 1988, to be replaced by the classically trained Paul Haslinger. Optical Race, released in 1988, was the first Tangerine Dream album to appear on old bandmate Peter Baumann's Private Music label. Several more albums followed for the label, after which Haslinger left to work on composing film scores in Los Angeles. His replacement, and the only other permanent member of Tangerine Dream since, was Edgar's son Jerome Froese. Another record label change, to Miramar, preceded the release of 1992's Rockoon, which earned Tangerine Dream one of their seven total Grammy nominations.

The duo continued to record and release live albums, remix albums, studio albums, and soundtracks at the rate of about two releases per year into the late '90s. Meanwhile, the influence of Tangerine Dream's '70s releases upon a generation of electronica and dance artists became increasingly evident, from the Orb's indebted ambient techno to DJ Shadow's sampling of Stratosfear's "Invisible Limits," heard on "Changeling," from 1996's Endtroducing....

During the early 2000s, new material surfaced at a slightly slower rate. In addition to a handful of studio albums - a couple soundtracks (Great Wall of China, Mota Atma), there was "the Dante trilogy" (Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso, released from 2002 through 2006) and the five-part "atomic seasons" (with titles like Springtime in Nagasaki and Winter in Hiroshima, created for a Japanese man who survived the bombings of both cities).

During these years, keeping tabs on archival releases, both live and studio, was more challenging than ever; most prominently, there was The Bootmoon Series, entailing audience and soundboard recordings of performances dating back to 1977, as well as reissues of the first four albums and several anthologies. Despite so much focus on the past, epitomized by 40th anniversary concerts that took place in 2007, Tangerine Dream remained equally connected to the present.

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I saw Wavelength some years ago, intrigued by the fact the story was written by an US government 'insider' . It's based on an incident that took place at Hunter Liggett. (source Livermore physicist 'Henry Deacon' ) "The beginning of the film just completely clearly and accurately describes the incident, and the film is very close to the rest of the story, including the use of an abandoned Nike base in Southern California to store them."

As an independent movie it got very little exposure a real pity as this one is a real sleeper. The acting is great, the characterization is well played , you really feel that you are in the middle of this one. Special effects are at a minimum, this movie relies on the power of your imagination and the use of your brain. The screen presence of Robert Carradine and Cherie Currie...the steady flow of understated and beautifully filmed scenes...the mesmerizing music of Tangerine Dream at their best. This film is a synergy of several elements that came together to create a rare kind of sci-fi film magic. It has a meditative feel that is sadly absent from most films today, and while it may not have mega-buck mass appeal, it is well worth tuning into Wavelength. View on line or download there

Wavelength the movie

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Exit marks the beginning of a new phase in Tangerine Dream's music: Gone were the side-long, sequencer-led journeys, replaced by topical pieces that were more self-contained in scope, more contemporary in sound. Johannes Schmoelling's influence is really felt for the first time here. On Exit, listeners are introduced to electronic music's next generation, notably on "Choronzon" and "Network 23," which brought the sound of the dancefloor into the mix (it hasn't left since). That's not to suggest that Tangerine Dream has stopped creating eerie, evocative music. Exit ends on a surprisingly dark note, the alien and foreboding "Remote Viewing." It's on this track more than any other that Tangerine Dream returns to its past, invoking Phaedra and the sequencer-driven works that followed, as if to tell fans that Exit's changes weren't the result of a new band, just a new direction. With one foot in the excesses of the past and one clearly on the road to a more concise sound, Exit is a transitional work. As Schmoelling and, later, Paul Haslinger exerted their influence on Tangerine Dream's music, the emphasis shifted from dark and moody commentary to more positive subjects. It's worth noting that Edgar Froese's social conscience fuels much of Exit.


Tangerine Dream – Exit (flac 208mb)

01 Kiew Mission 9:21
02 Pilots Of Purple Twilight 4:21
03 Choronzon 4:09
04 Exit 5:35
05 Network 23 4:57
06 Remote Viewing 8:19

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Background: Firestarter is the band's fifth soundtrack album. The film was based on the Stephen King novel of the same name and it tells the story of Charly, a young girl on the run from a shady government agency because she can manipulate fire with her mind. Firestarter is an action-packed thriller with dark and sinister references. That description applies to the film and to Tangerine Dream's soundtrack.

The opening track, Crystal Voice hinges around a very memorable, almost conventional melody, and yet there's just enough menace and foreboding bubbling under the surface to keep it interesting and slightly off-kilter. There are some wonderful chord changes that give the track a dreamy quality and the trademark sequencer pattern has never been put to better use. In fact, this theme is so good they'll use it again in two tracks time, only this time they'll call it Charly the Kid! When played back-to-back it's difficult to tell the two pieces apart, but who cares about that when the tune is as hummable as this? You'll even be thankful when they run it past you the third time and fourth time via Burning Force and Shop Territory, only this time the catchy motif will be accompanied by some deft guitar work from Froese, a prickly sythn solo from Schmoelling and an increasingly urgent sequencer pattern by Franke that gives the melody an even more intimidating edge. However, the most interesting track of all is probably Between Realities. It's almost avant garde in its approach and for a moment you'll actually believe that the band have been transported back to 1972.


Tangerine Dream – Firestarter (flac 220mb)

01 Crystal Voice 3:07
02 The Run 4:50
03 Testlab 4:00
04 Charly The Kid 3:51
05 Escaping Point 5:10
06 Rainbirds Move 2:31
07 Burning Force 4:17
08 Between Realities 2:26
09 Shop Territory 3:15
10 Flash Final 5:15
11 Out Of The Heat 2:30

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After a disappointing test screening with Jerry Goldsmith's original orchestral score, Scott decided to make changes to the film. Sidney Sheinberg, president of MCA felt that the Goldsmith score would not appeal to the youth and pressed Ridley Scott for a new score. Tangerine Dream was contracted to complete a new, more contemporary score—a job they completed in three weeks. Until 2002, only European audiences could see Legend with Goldsmith's score.

"Loved By The Sun" is a vocal version of "Unicorn Theme" with lyrics written and sung by Jon Anderson of Yes. The vocals were added after Tangerine Dream had composed the instrumental music. "Unicorn Theme" has been played live at several concerts in various versions. "Is Your Love Strong Enough?", played over the end credits, has lyrics written and sung by Bryan Ferry with guitar by David Gilmour. It is a former out-take of the recording sessions for Avalon, the eighth and last Roxy Music album. All of the other tracks are Tangerine Dream instrumentals.


Tangerine Dream – Legend (flac 226mb)

01 Is Your Love Strong Enough (Feat Brian Ferry) 5:10
02 Opening 2:53
03 Cottage 3:19
04 Unicorn Theme 3:22
05 Goblins 3:00
06 Fairies 2:55
07 Loved By The Sun (feat.Jon Anderson) 5:56
08 Blue Room 3:22
09 The Dance 2:22
10 Darkness 3:03
11 The Kitchen / Unicorn Theme Reprise 4:53

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Legend - Thanks

Jacquard Causeway said...

Rho, would it be possible for you to re-upload the Tangerine Dream albums?
Thank you kindly for all of your lovely, admirable work!

Jacquard Causeway said...

Thanks for the reup!