Tangerine Dream disappoints with re-recorded classic
1
By PT Bertilsson
After listening to the original 1983 release many times over the decades, I simply cannot understand what the point is of releasing this sad version of such a beautiful composition of music.
From the very first note I just knew that it had been tampered with too much; the original content of the music just doesn't come through. Instead we have this new version that almost seems like a kind of parody of the original, where the mood, the deep, organic, and extremely powerful sounds of their synthesizer mastery have been replaced with what sounds like bad imitations made using very cheap instruments that produce sounds completely lacking of depth, power, and raw zest.
All the three dimensional qualities of the original have been replaced with a flat presentation that is, to date, the most disappointing purchase of a document of music I have made to date, after collecting music for over 20 years. What happened to the deeply experimental group Tangerine Dream? What happened to the music that seemed to help me float away in an almost meditative state, imaginging great things while traveling imagined versions of my life's experiences by just playing one of their albums?
It is disappointing to see your heroes of electronic music, true pioneers of the craft, sink to a level like this. I wish I had something good to write about this re-recording, I really do, but I just can not muster it. Prospective customers of this album, do yourselves a favor and purchase the original recording from 1983. It is unique, inventive, and interesting; a real exploration in sound design, a powerful sound, and a fantastic album to relax to, letting your imagination run wild and dream up amazing places in your mind.
So much less than the original version :-/
2
By Sabra963
I am admitting the obvious bias up front here, that the first version you hear of a music tends to be the one you favor. There's a kind of emotional connection you have with a first-heard version, it becomes the "sacred' version and any attempt to alter it downstream becomes the fake, the usurper. And I am remembering listening to the original version of Hyperborea on my father's stereo system, on the good headphones, and getting lost in various places, especially Hyperborea II, it sounded like an electronic symphony.
That said, I tried to have an open mind when listening to this remastered and remixed version of Hyperborea; but I have to say, it pales in comparison. In all the places the original recording shined, this version just seems to add some new, less appealing sounds, without adding anything. In fact, in my favorite piece Hyperborea II, the original feeling is almost completely buried under those new, shallow, cheap-sounding synth voicings. It just doesn't work.
So if you hear this newer version and like the idea of what you hear, consider seeking out the original version and giving THAT a spin. It's older, but also much richer. And I have to add, why fool around with perfection?
