Customer Reviews

Destination Berlin

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1 star:		(3)

 

 

Let me qualify: Not 100% of my music collection is stuff I'm happy with. However, I make comedy video shorts, and this music is perfect for corporate/industrial video stuff (which I parody with this music). As a T.D. work, it's the pits. This sounds like they either needed some quick cash, or did it for a friend on spec. For good T.D: Underwater Sunlight, Rubycon, Risky Business Soundtrack, and the LEGEND Soundtrack.

Considering the number of reasonably strong albums produced in the late '80s and early '90s by the Tangerine Dream duo of Edgar Froese and Paul Haslinger, this 1989 film score release is a very great disappointment indeed. Composed for a special "Imagine 360" panorama-sound production that seems to have subsequently sunk without trace, it isn't actually the band's worst effort by any means - the music following Haslinger's departure is even less imaginative and unvaried - but it does sink pretty low.

The 38 minutes of its 10 tracks present a fairly uniform (some might say monotonous) tone world of synthesised harpsichord, twelve string guitar and `boom-tish' percussion with the occasional application of thin choral vocal wash and tinny synthetic horn/recorder. Trite tunes, harmonies and chord progressions abound, as indeed do boppy rhythms and jangly guitar ballads. If those sorts of things turn you on, you might take great delight in this album. Serious Tangerine Dream fans will most likely be disappointed with most of the music here, though. There are a couple of enjoyable tracks (`Brandenburg Gate' is a sweet little gem; `Peacock Island' and `Midnight in Bear City' are quite fun; `Berlin Summer Nights' neatly encapsulates the entire album) but the album's main material appears rather too many times for this disc to be able to cut much mustard. No, hunt out "Miracle Mile" instead if you want some really stunning sounds from these two guys!

Among old-school TD fans, this soundtrack is sure to polarize given that is dominated by tight, melodic songs that do not venture into improvisation or long repeating sequences. That being said, there are several strong tunes on this album including the very memorable "Berlin Summer Nights" that melds a down-tempo beat with an excellent melody.

Collectors should look for a CD-Maxi version of "Alexander Square" that features an more varied extended version of that song.

This was a very unique 1989 project for Edgar Froese, as the soundtrack is for a 360-degree movie that was shown at the premier of the Imagine 360 theater in West Berlin.

With Paul Haslinger, Froese delivers a much more metallic edge to the soundscape, though it is a vision from the sadness/bitterness of separation. Alexander Square is the foundation piece to the work, while a trio of tracks - Hitchhiker's Point, Brandenburg Gate, Wall-Street - flow into each other with majestic colors.

The music obviously comes from the heart and Froese takes a journey past the man-made wall and barbed-wire to musically gaze into the soul of the people.

Possibly their worst album ever (with the exception of Heartbreakers - 0 stars). Little more than elevator music: thin, redundant and utterly flavorless. A "contractual obligation" album if there ever was one; turn the synths on auto, dinkity-dinkety-dinkety-casiodrumset-dinkity-doink for a mere 38 minutes, while the musicians go out for a latte or diet soda or something equally bland to wash down the prozac. Sounds like a soundtrack for one of those real estate programs on tv. There are plenty of superior TD's to choose from instead, such as Phaedra, Stratosfear, Force Majeure, Tangram, Logos, Poland - anything but this!

Ta-da! You are invited to a culinary party thrown in by Paul Haslinger and Edgar Froese. As advertised, ten dishes will be served to the accompaniment of their newest 'soundtrack' release, so let's get started - Destination: Berlin!

Approaching the luxurious hacienda (bought from royalties for their last 5 albums, which were bought by old fans who undoubtedly have a compulsive disorder of buying everything for collection purposes) - coming ever so closer - we hear the disco hip-hop polka tunes of 'Alexander Square'. That must be it! That must be the party! So let us enter, dear guests.

The introductory entree, 'Emperor's Castle', served cold, is the sushi à la Edgar, made of dead, one-week-old fish - enjoy! With your appetite sharpened already, please sit down at the table. Waiters swirl around with large plates of the next entree, 'Hitchhikers Point'. Wow, it's the goose! Baked and delicious, indeed. One thing the host might have forgotten to tell you is that the poor goose wasn't cleaned! Do not worry, you are adventurous, and thus you won't be scared by exotic dishes - after all, you heard the the Teutons pack their sausages into intestines...

Time for drinks, ladies and gentlemen. After rich goose, we shall drink the toast, 'Brandenburg Gate'. Standing up to drink with the host, who is muttering something about The Wall, your sensitive tongue senses the temperature of the drink - warm, heated vodka of 'Brandenburg Gate' will no doubt serve your stomach already burdened with the goose. Trying to be nice for the guests, Paul must have confused Fahrenheit with Celsius.

Keeping straight face, with a mouthful of warm vodka, you sit down, awaiting the next entree, but no, you are asked to dance by Monica, the Hostess of the Froese homestead, and for the next three minutes you swirl around and around to the catchy disco tune of 'Wall-Street'. Exhausted, you ricochet among the walls, and end up at the buffet.

Snacking away with heated cheddar of 'Peacock Island' you do not let the waiter stop you in quest of olives. Too bad - they were not in the menu! Contented with rat ribs of 'Down the Avus' you get inspired with the track's title, and proceed to visit the smallest room in the hacienda, where of course, however else, your strained efforts are accompanied by the catchy 'Midnight in Bear City'.

Reentering the main hall of the feast, you notice that the lights are off, and everyone slowly moves around to the cheesy tune of 'Berlin Summer Nights'. It's dead dark, and you obviously were too late to find a pair. So what! Let's find some food, since we made room for new entrees already. Everything is eaten! Only heaps of cheddar remain, so chewing on the boiled cheddar, washing it down with warm cola with soap added, you get your coat, and hop on the electronic sleigh of 'Alexander Square Reprise'. Closing your eyes, you hum and stomp along with that enervating disco song.

What a grand party!

Possibly their worst album ever (with the exception of Heartbreakers - 0 stars). Little more than elevator music: thin, redundant and utterly flavorless. A "contractual obligation" album if there ever was one; turn the synths on auto... for a mere 38 minutes, while the musicians go out for a latte or diet soda or something equally bland to wash down the prozac. Sounds like a soundtrack for one of those real estate programs on tv. There are plenty of superior TD's to choose from instead...