I hope I have not posted this on the wrong board. The only TD I have ever heard was on the Legend soundtrack. I cannot even remember it, although I do recall that I liked the Jon Anderson song. I know they are New Age which is something I like when I am in the mood to relax. Where should I start with Tangerine Dream?
For me the best TD albums are from the Virgin period: Phaedra, Rubycon (my favourite) and Ricochet.
There are several threads on TD here that will help you. TD has had so many stylistic changes that what some love others will hate. Basically, the Pink Years, or the first handful of albums fall into this category. Next is the Virgin Years (mostly Edgar Froese, Chris Franke and Peter Baumann) which is considered by most to be their heyday. Next up is when Schmoelling joins after Baumann leaves. Also highly valued. After 5 years Schmoelling departs followed shortly by Franke, then Haslinger and soon after Jerome Froese join. The tracks get shorter, which really started towards the end of Schmoelling's time.
The Edgar and Jerome pairing was when I first jumped off the bandwagon , but years later I went back and started to enjoy their more rock oriented sound. Personally I made it to the early 2000's before I took them off of autobuy. Now I will occasionally pick up a CD of theirs but their are fans of the post Edgar Froese lineup headed by Thorsten Quaeschning, that seems to been a sort of revival of their Virgin sound with modern equipment. As always YMMV.
Below is a good thread to start your search. Enjoy.
https://www.progressiveears.org/foru...-Dream-Oh-my!/
Last edited by Tangram; 10-25-2023 at 05:13 AM.
There are a couple fairly cheap cd boxes of the Virgin years - which I found an excellent way to dive in - if you like those there is also an Edgar Froese solo Virgin box too
'I would advise stilts for the quagmires"
Whole lotta subjectivity incoming!!
IMHO despite their prevalence in the 80's, very little of Tangerine Dream's output is really new age in the "typical" new age sense. The classic 70's albums noted above are great but also mostly minor key with a fair bit of ominous atmosphere. Zeit gets close in terms of early ambient/drone music (I used to use Zeit to help me fall asleep at night in college). At the peak of new age in the 80's/90's, TD was mostly moving between instrumental electronic rock/pop and adding some very tentative bits of house/trip-hop to their rhythms.
If you're just looking for an entry point for TD, the Virgin stuff noted already is perfectly grand. For me, the closest they got to "proper" new age was The Seven Letters from Tibet which came out in 2000 (and isn't exactly my favorite album by any stretch). For more typically new age type stuff, you might look just outside the band at some of the side projects that came along the way:
Chris Franke - Pacific Coast Highway and The Celestine Prophecy (the latter is the most overtly new age TD-associated release in my opinion)
Paul Haslinger - Exit Ghost I + II
Steve Schroyder - Sun, Spirit of Cheops
Also...Klaus Schulze did have a crumpled old TD membership card stuck in the back of his wallet...he didn't stray much from minor key but his stuff definitely gets the trance/meditation vibe happening for me. Not even going to try and note 'em all here but Mirage is a slam dunk classic, and I personally think the later albums like Farscape (with Lisa Gerrard), Kontinuum and Deus Arrakis are mostly drumless space adventures.
PS: there's a ton of amazing stuff on Bandcamp that gets far closer to that new age vibe than TD ever did, if you ever want to pull THAT thread
PPS: FWIW, one of my personal holy grails would be an official release of the full TD score from Legend!
If you're actually reading this then chances are you already have my last album but if NOT and you're curious:
https://battema.bandcamp.com/
Also, Ephemeral Sun: it's a thing and we like making things that might be your thing: https://ephemeralsun.bandcamp.com
I think I will be brief. Given their gigantic and changing catalogue, the place to start is clearly with Phaedra. Make life easy; go there.
I'll make it even easier:
I'm not lazy. I just work so fast I'm always done.
I also jumped off the bandwagon then; I skipped Rockoon despite seeing the tour around that time. Since then I filled in some gaps by picking up the Booster releases, as well as the (at the time) inexpensive compilations Ballads and The Electronic Journey (a compilation of one album, one soundtrack album, and 8 compilations). I don't see the need to delve deeper into that period, and I've started buying most of the Thorsten-led material including every Sessions release and the major albums.Originally Posted by Tangram
One of the staples in the history of progressive music imo.
For the longest time I only had heard Exit, Phaedra and Stratosfear. I recently picked up the others from the 75-80 time period and they are all good imo. Out of those I would say definitely get Rubycon, Ricochet and Force Majeure as well as the aforementioned Phaedra and Stratosfear.
"where to start" is important, but with TD "where to stop" even more.
As mentioned above, they went through so much stylistical changes that any recommendations would be pointless if we don't know more about your musical tastes.
The only thing I can say is that their two records most likely to please prog-fans are FORCE MAJEURE (considered as a classic in their massive repertoire) and the much maligned (but nevertheless excellent ,IMO) CYCLONE.
A cheap compilation like the "Virgin Years 1974-78" (3 CD's box) would be a good start to explore what is considered by many as their best period.
Personally I would avoid their "Blue" (Jive) and (mostly) Private Music/Melrose era records, but many (younger) TD fans will have an opposite opinion about this.
Last edited by Mr.Krautman; 10-25-2023 at 12:51 PM.
I guess not everyone would agree where to stop although consensus seems to be in the mid 80s with Underwater Sunlight. After that they seemed to go too much in the new age direction for most people although some of their recent albums seem highly rated.
There is no real "consensus" beyond people jumping ship after Paul Haslinger left and TD became "that family band" in '92 with Rockoon. Some of us stuck around a little longer. After Goblins Club (which I do like), I didn't buy a new TD album for a while.
TD's fans and quasi-fans come in all stripes and colors. Some bailed when Baumann bolted, others sailed when Schmoelling shipped out, and more fled when Franke flew the coop.
Last edited by dropforge; 10-25-2023 at 02:51 PM.
Yeah, best starting point afaic. Though I really enjoy Zeit, though not the best place to start.
I don't think we could ever find any definitve "consensus" about this. I find "Underwater..." one of their best of that period, with fantastic guitar parts (some of Froese's best) but spoiled by terrible (then trendy) harsh DX/FM synth sounds.
Le Parc and Optical Race are much worse (IMO), made of a collection of short symplistic tracks, neither Berlin School nor Spacey/Ambient, not even "New Age". This is where is stepped down the wagon... Up to "Optical...." I blindly bought everything they produced... yes I was a true fan.(up to that point).
Short answer: If you like Legend, you'll probably like most if not all of the music made by that line-up (Edgar Froese, Christoph Franke, Johannes Schmoelling). After YouTube, the most cost-effective way to dive in is with this set.
https://www.amazon.com/Virgin-Years-...r%2C183&sr=1-2
But you know what...check out the very first album with Paul Haslinger.
Not as much as you think. A lot of what you hear comes from Franke's Emulator II, especially those guitar samples (not Edgar's guitar on "Song of the Whale," that's the real deal). They used the PPG 2.3, Synclavier II, Oberheim Xpander and OB-Xa (the "Jump" synth!) and other high-end noiseboxes.
Yeah, those albums aren't Berlin School, and re: Le Parc, that's a feature, not a bug! Gorgeous electronic rock. Le Parc is loaded with dope sounds, especially those of the JX-8P and PPG Wave 2.3.
Yeah, Optical Race, though...that's a preset orgy.Talk about FM/LA overkill!
Ah ! another Underwater supporter !
It sounds very nice indeed and I like it, BUT: Art Of Noise's "Moment's In Love" came out one year earlier.
Same (preset) sounds, similar song architecture, etc...
Very disappointing to see that T.D who were (up that point) at the forefront of sound research/creation started to use ready made synh presets.
The Fairlight "Bottle breath" and inverted drum sounds, DX7 patches... were sound gimmicks everybody used back then. You can find these same sounds in any 80ies commercial pop songs.
Since 1986!
I didn't follow Art of Noise at the time, so it didn't impede my enjoyment of US. I know what you mean about trendy sounds, like that blasted shakuhachi sample that showed up literally everywhere.
Another reason why I think Heartbreakers (nearly the same sonic palette as Poland) and Le Parc sound so good.
Hard to believe that the guitar solos (especially on the 1st track) came from an Emu II sampler played by Franke. If so, it's pretty well done for 1986.Not as much as you think. A lot of what you hear comes from Franke's Emulator II, especially those guitar samples (not Edgar's guitar on "Song of the Whale," that's the real deal). They used the PPG 2.3, Synclavier II, Oberheim Xpander and OB-Xa (the "Jump" synth!) and other high-end noiseboxes.
Yeah, those albums aren't Berlin School, and re: Le Parc, that's a feature, not a bug! Gorgeous electronic rock. Le Parc is loaded with dope sounds, especially those of the JX-8P and PPG Wave 2.3.
Yeah, Optical Race, though...that's a preset orgy.
However, I had a PPG 2.3 synth at the same time and can confirm that all the (PPG) sounds used by T.D were (unedited) factory presets.
Still, "Underwater" is on of my favorite T.D record of that era.
I should also mention White Eagle (Virgin period) which contains "Mojave Plan" which I consider (composition-wise) their best work since Tangram, and includes killer sequencing. Somewhere this track has some kind of prog-structure. And the tittle track is beaautiful too. Another TD record I would highly recommend.
Last edited by Mr.Krautman; 10-25-2023 at 08:43 PM.
Just the "bristly" string textures, not Edgar's rock-god solo on "Part 2"! That's the Real McCoy.
Do you still have it?
For me, it's not the fact that they used presets, but rather the presets themselves! Man, those Emulator II patches reek of age and by-gone obsolete digital technology! The definitive opposite of timeless.Very disappointing to see that T.D who were (up that point) at the forefront of sound research/creation started to use ready made synh presets.
Meh, I'd take an Emulator II over a mellotron anyday when it comes to timeless
And Underwater Sunlight is the bomb.
If you're actually reading this then chances are you already have my last album but if NOT and you're curious:
https://battema.bandcamp.com/
Also, Ephemeral Sun: it's a thing and we like making things that might be your thing: https://ephemeralsun.bandcamp.com
Really? The Mellotron is 100% analog, that alone makes it more timeless. B)Meh, I'd take an Emulator II over a mellotron anyday when it comes to timeless
Besides, the Mellotron, being analog, simply sounds better. And in the 70s, when it was still quite new, it found its use on way more monumental groundbreaking records than the Emulator II or the Ensoniq ASR-10 and other low-bit, cheesy early digital sample based gear.
But anyway, I don't blame you. Just keep listening to more music, be open, delve deeper into sound design and you'll understand why the Mellotron is so much more cherished than the Emulator II.
Maybe more people jumped the ship in 1992. I don't really know but I've just seemed to have read that other than the live albums from that period there aren't many 80s TD albums that seem to excite a lot of people (or maybe it's just mostly prog fans) and the 90s seems even worse. I actually like Exit quite a bit but haven't heard much beyond that except Poland and some stuff I've heard on youtube (mostly bits and pieces of Underwater Sunlight).
Gimme the 2.3 and nobody gets hurt!Meh, I'd take an Emulator II over a mellotron anyday when it comes to timeless
F'yeah!
I totally agree with this. But my favorite is Zeit.
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