The Private Music of Tangerine Dream

...that the supposed Tangerine Dream "purists" seem to disdain the music centered around the "Melrose Period". Even Edgar seems to look down his nose at this period. I believe Optical Race is the best complete work that TD ever did, it is in my top 10 albums of all time, and forget about even finding it on iTunes. I was not an infant in the 70s. I sought out electronic and synth music from Wendy Carlos to Jarre to Laurie Anderson, Steve Hillage, Kraftwerk, etc... The decade containing Exit, Tyger, Lily on the Beach, Optical Race, Melrose, Underwater Sunlight is TD making songs instead of ponderous explorations. This music, along with a few others - most notably Jan Hammer - inspired me to pursue and to love both creating and listening to electronic music. If you like this collection and are too young to have heard all of music from this period then by all means go seek it out.

This was my first TD album. i was in college when i bought this and at the time i was myself a musician playing keys. I've alwyas been a fan of the use of synths and to me no one does it better than TD, although major respect goes out to ELP. Mind you, an album like this is likely to draw a lot of criticism from old school fans from the 70s. being as i wasn't around yet during part of the 70s or was an infant, i can only look at it from the point of view of music, and especially technology always evolving. and since the two are intertwined when speaking of synths, an album like this one is almost inevitable. the album uses a LOT of synths popular during the early 90s, just as they used the synths around in the 70s...i mean, you kinda have to. as a musician, especially a synth/keyboard player, you love making music with the newest thing out there and experimenting with it. and that's why i love this album. during the late 80s and early 90s you couldn't get away from hearing the korg m1 synth, and there's plenty of it here along with lots of other cool synth. so to me, it's great. just like Exit was a big deal to folks listennign to it in the early 80s, this one was great for me in the 90s and openned up my eyes to a whole new way of thinking about synths and music.

This is a gotta add.... Will become a high play count item. Very restful yet vibrant enough so you don't snooze.