ARCHIVE
40 • UNCUT • jULY 2019
hearinghere:“PhaedraOut-TakeVersion
2A”featuresdistortedgroaningoverwalls
ofMellotron,andrecalls1973’sAtem(John
Peel’salbumoftheyear),while“Phaedra
Out-Take1”channelsmid-centurymodern
classicalwithitscoranglaistexturesand
subtleharmonicshifts.Mostpromisingis
“2ndPieceSide1”,which,withitspiano
andchimes,recallstheworkofPopolVuh.
Anotherhighlightoftheboxsetis
OedipusTyrannus, a legendarylostalbum
that’sonlybeenavailableincompleteand
usuallyshroudedinbootleghiss.Froese,
FrickeandBaumann’ssoundtracktoa
stageproductionoftheclassicaltragedy,
it wasrecordedinFroese’shomestudio
in’74butis easilytheequaltoPhaedra.
Insteadofbubblingsynths,though,
there’sbackwardspiano,electronictones
echoingendlesslyandchimesthatevoke
a hauntednursery.NowmixedbySteven
Wilson,thelikesof“Overture”and“Act
1”demonstratethedarkermoodsthat
’70sTangerineDreamwerecapableof–
foralltheirrelianceonthelatestaudio
technologies,therewasoftensomething
ancientandearthyabouttheirsound,a
neopaganfeelthattheysharedwithfellow
improviserstheThirdEarBand.“Act2:
Battle”is 10minutesofforwardmovement
drivenbya pummellingwhite-noisebeat,
itsmartialtechnolookingforwardtoWarp
andOrbitalinalltheircrunchy,chromatic
menace.“Act2: Baroque”is something
elseentirely,itscourtlyharpsichord-
likekeysandprocessedfluterecalling
earlymusic,whilethe22-minute“Act3”
waits 13 minutesuntila synthsequence
pattersinfromthefree-formcacophony.
Throughoutthe 74 minutesofOedipus
Tyrannus, naturefindsa wayin,too:
synthschatterliketropicalbirds,cackle
likeseagullsandvibratelikecicadas.
Theothermainattractionsarethethree
complete live sets from 1974 and ’75, two of
themwithsurprisinglytender
introductionsfromJohnPeel(“When
PhaedrawentintotheLPchartsit was
oneofthegreatmomentsofmylife...”).
ThefirstpartoftheirVictoriaPalace
gigfromJune 1974 is perhapsthebest,
buildinginexorablyuntilit blossoms
intoa “Phaedra”-esquecanterafter
30 minutes;the28-minute“PartTwo”
reversesthetrick,graduallymovingfrom
phasedpercussionintoanambientcoda,
whilethe13-minute“Encore”is frenetic
andthrillinglyburnt-out.October1974’s
Rainbowshowis anothergreatexample
oftheircollectiveimprovisational
skill,itsdronesandripplingsequences
occasionallyoffsetbypannedrustling
orindustrialclanks;KC& TheSunshine
Bandplayedthenightbefore,seemingly
justtoemphasisehowstrangeTangerine
Dream’smainstreamsuccesswas.
TheirAlbertHallperformancefrom
April’75showstheunevennatureof
improvisation,however,dominated
bydiscordantstringsynthsandlittle
dynamicvariation.
Phaedra’simmediatefollow-upsare
strong,with1975’shumidRubycon
condensedandkaleidoscopic,and
Ricochet(also’75)a moremusical
departure:thepianosectionthat
opens“PartTwo”features
morenotesthan,say,allfour
sidesofZeithadcontained
fouryearsbefore.From 1976
onwards,though– comprising
thefinalfourCDsofthisbox–
TangerineDream’sefforts
lose a certain spark.
Perhapsit wasdowntoimprovements
intechnologyorjusttheband’sdrive
tocontinuallyevolve,buttheirmusic
becamefussieranda littlecheesieron
Stratosfear, anda lotmore“rock”on1977’s
USlivesetEncore. Therearedistortedlead
guitarsandfartoomanymelodiclead
linesshiveringwithoverusedvibrato.If
it soundedlikethefuturethen,it seems
resolutelyofthepastwhenheardin2019.
Perhapssensingsomethingimportant
hadchanged,PeterBaumannleftafter
Encore, leavingFroeseandFranketo
recruitKlausKrügerandearlycollaborator
SteveJolliffefor1978’sCyclone. With
acousticdrumkitandvocals– yes,actual
singing– it’sfarfromtypicalTDandmore
likeelectronicprog:themotorikforceof
the20-minute“MadrigalMeridian”is
power-drivingandraucous,however,with
Froese’sguitarsolocoollywayward.
Jolliffehaddepartedbythetimeof
1979’sForceMajeure, buttheelectro-disco
groovesofthetitletracksetthegroupupfor
thenextdecade,whenthey’dsoundtrack
big-budgetfilmssuchasRiskyBusiness
andLegend. Thatperiodseemsa world
awayfromtheuniversethatInSearchOf
Hadesconjuresupacrossitsfirst 12 CDs,
covering1973,’74and’75.AstheAlbert
Halleruptsintowildcheersat theendofa
claustrophobic68-minuteimprovisationor
whenAmericanjockswhoopat thestartof
a complexMoogsequence,it’sa pleasingly
confusingexperience,asif yourstereo
is playinga recordingfromsomedistant
aliengalaxy,a bootlegemanatingfrom
thedepthsofanenticingrabbit hole.
Stranger things, indeed.
SLEEVENOTES
U LT R AD E L U X E
BOXSET
CD1:Phaedra
CD2 & 3:
November 1973 –
Phaedraouttakes
volumeone
CD4 & 5:
LiveAtThe
VictoriaPalace
Theatre,London
- June16, 1974
CD6:Oedipus
Tyrannus
CD7 & 8:Live
attheRainbow,
London– October
27, 1974
CD9:Rubycon
CD 10 & 11:
TheRoyalAlbert
Hall,London
- April2, 1975
CD12:Ricochet
CD13:
Stratosfear
CD14:Encore
CD15:Cyclone
CD16:Force
Majeure
Blu-ray1:
Phaedra
andOedipus
Tyrannus
Blu-ray2:
Ricochet
remastered;
TangerineDream
AtCoventry
Cathedral–
concertfilm;
Signaleausder
Schwäbischen
Strasse– German
TV documentary
EDGAR
FROESE
EpsilonIn
MalaysianPale
VIRGIN, 1975
Inspiredbyvisits
toMalaysiaandAustralia,Froese’s
secondsoloalbum– verymuch
outofprint– is suitablysteamy
andbucolic.Mellotronsaboundon
theverdanttitletrack,whichtakes
up the whole of Side One.8/10
TA N G E R I N E
DREAM
AlphaCentauri
O H R , 1971
Thegroup’s
secondalbum
was,asthetitlesuggests,an
interstellaropus.Synthswereout
oftheirreachin ’71,soorgans,
guitarsandfluteswerefed
throughtapedelayunitsforsome
sublime cosmic textures.8/10
PETER
BAUMANN
Ro m a nce 76
VIRGIN, 1976
Stillonly23,
Baumannlooked
outsidetheconfinesofTDforhis
firstsoloalbum,evenenlisting
musiciansfromtheMunich
Philharmonicforthe “Meadow
OfInfinity” suite.
6/10
TA N G E R I N E
DREAM
QuantumGate
E A S TGAT E ,2 017
AfterFroese’s
deathin 2015,
thegrouphascontinuedwitha
lineupofThorstenQuaeschning,
HoshikoYamaneandUlrich
Schnauss,andevenlookedback
towardsthegroup’skosmische
heyday on this epicLP.7/10
HOwTOBUy...
MOMENTS OF THE VISIONARIES
Four more Dream-related albums to explore
VIRGIN ARCHIVE
Moog
swingers:
Franke,
Baumann,
Froese
