Customer Reviews

Logos: Live at the Dominion 82

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

At the time of its release in 1983, "Logos" was the first available live recording featuring the relatively new Tangerine Dream line-up of Edgar Froese, Christoph Franke and Johannes Schmoelling. (Schmoelling's first concert with the band, on the disc "Pergamon", was not at that time widely available.) All of the music for this album was laid down at a single concert, held at the Dominion Theatre, London, on 6 November 1982 and is almost entirely free of any studio overdubs - facts that will of their own speak volumes to long-standing aficionados of Tangerine Dream's live albums.

The main track of this disc consists essentially of a 10-part suite constructed from musical ideas drawn from the band's soundtrack for Michael Mann's film, "The Keep", which went on general release the following year. At the heart of the `Logos' suite, parts V and VI are lifted straight from the film (from the scenes `Nickel? Silver!' and `The last of the soldiers in black', should you be interested in such things). The rest of the suite is mostly new synthesiser numbers, sewn together with moody musical threads drawn from elements of the film's soundtrack. For once, the whole set sounds keyboard derived, with MIDI-driven synthesisers and samplers - allegedly the first time the band had used samplers live - carrying the weight of the music, and with no guitar work anywhere in evidence.

In addition to the 45-minute suite, which constituted just half of the concert proper, there is also a 5-minute encore item, `Dominion'. All in all, the release is redolent of the slick and highly professional live performances that epitomised this group at their height. Ideas segue seamlessly, with constant changes of mood and tempo, all building beautifully to climax and coda, just as expected. The only complaint might be that it is all just a tad too slick and effortless, without any hint of the frisson that one might expect from a live performance. But then that's the beauty (and curse) of programmable MIDI, for you!

This remastered CD has not only had the old vinyl release's irritating side-break in the middle of the Logos set removed but also features index markers for the various parts - a very nice touch, indeed. There is no noticeable difference in the sound quality, to my ears, from earlier editions but then it was always very good and would have been difficult to improve upon. At 50 minutes in total, the running time is a rather less than generous by modern CD standards but with music making of this quality, who cares?

It's great to see so many nice comments about this awesome album. A very profound work and an incredible sonic experience! In my view, this is the best live TD album, with Pergamon following closely, and certainly one of TD's best. The whole album is great, but the finalle of Part I (which was also used as the main theme in the film 'The Keep') is simply unbelievable.

When I first heard Dream in the the early 70's (Phaedre) I had to laugh at the mere suggestion that this band was the inheritor of Floyd's more experimental side. But a few years later I listened to Exit and got interested again. Then I heard Logos on a local college radio station with a friend ( who by the way had no inkling at all for electronic music), and both of us were floored. He went on to listen to the station all the time, and I went out and really started collecting TD works, starting with Logos. The maturity of thier work had become apparent in Logos, perhaps more than any other single piece of TD's, and remains for me a personal favorite to this day. Froese and Schmoeling finally put together a long electronic piece comparable and even transcending what Floyd did with Echoes (Meddle). It starts slow and builds and builds and builds and shifts tempos in its building until it finally climaxes and then just keeps on going and exploring the climax until the end of the piece. A truly remarkable classical feat reminiscent of some of the best classical pieces. I recommend this cd as a starting point to TD only if the listener is willing to accept shorter pieces with the same kind of awesome and subtle power as the longer tracks on this cd illicits. If anything, Logos will hook you into the Dream like no other TD work.

"Logos", recorded during the 1982 tour of Tangerine Dream, tour promoting the newest album, "White Eagle", is in fact a very good collection of interconnected tunes. Although the remixed CD version features only two tracks, including one that lasts over 40 minutes, it is true that the latter is not a composition in itself, whether experimented over or not, but a preprogrammed set of tunes, which are connected by musical material nicely fitting the gaps. In this respect, this is the first concert album of Tangerine Dream (at least until 1982's "Sohoman" was released in 1999), which does not feature improvisations. Instead, the band replays tunes preprogrammed earlier.

However, despite this new approach to live performances, "Logos" remains a very good album for strictly musical reasons. Featured tunes are interesting, performed brilliantly, and somehow the fill-in material keeps the suspense till the very end. Purely electronic, "Logos" does not feature any analog instruments; in particular, Edgar Froese does not play his famous modified guitar glissandi. Different strokes for different people; personally I prefer the classic albums of the 70s, but I can perfectly understand why "Logos" has always enjoyed immense popularity. Within the electronic genre of the 80s, it's a stellar album.

It's perhaps useful to note that "Logos" was the last album of the sterile, purely electronic wave of interest by Tangerine Dream. The year 1983 brought significant changes to the sound of the band, and in my humble opinion, that change was very welcome.

Johannes Schmoelling, who was a member of TD when this live album was recorded, has said that this was his favourite lp with Tangerine Dream. The music has real verve and energy and represents electonic music at its best. Along with Tyger, Rubycon, Poland, and Hyperborea this is one of their greatest albums.

Very few electronic artists are able to recreate the passion and intensity of their studio work on the stage like Tangerine Dream. This live recording is so well done that it may actually be better. The recording is flawless and the performance of this legendary German trio has never been better or more inspired. Innovative transitions and brilliant, gripping melodies make this disc a standard for electronic fans and artists alike.

Most of the other reviewers have said it already. This may be Tangerine Dream's offical "must-have" CD. Not that it's nessessarily their "best",(although it's in my top five without a doubt) it's just that this is definately the ONE album by them I can't imagine anyone not being entertained and swept away by.

And therein lies the key, I think. This is an "entertaining" Tangerine Dream, as opposed to the meditative, cerebral Dream of yore. (Does anyone use that word anymore?) Yet it has a muscle and vision later Tadream "fun" albums gradually lacked. (particualy the post 1988 albums. sigh...)

"Logos" is bursting with life, bredth and scope. It's sounds are rich and captivating. It sounds surprisingly fresh and non-dated considering it's almost two decades old already.

This was as good as they got, and those days are gone. gone, gone...

Tangerine Dream (TD) has been making music so impressive and timeless that has allowed them to be out there for 40 years in a row.

Without a question, TD really are the pioneers of electronic-rock music.

Their music is so diverse that has been also labeled as ambient, electronic, new-age, progressive, techno, trance-dance, etc, etc.

I consider myself as an early follower and collector of TD music (from "Electronic Meditation" to "Madcap's Flaming Duty"). For me, their most impressive era goes from mid 70's to mid 80's (from "Phaedra" to "Live Miles"). And from this specific era their best music is (in that particular order):

1. Logos: Live at the Dominion,
2. Underwater Sunlight,
3. Poland: The Warsaw Concert,
4. Pergamon,
5. Paris Dreams Live 1986,
6. Quichotte full concert,
7. Ratikon,
8. Logotypes,
9. Wavelenght: original soundtrack.

"Logos: Live at the Dominion" is pure magic, is their best live performance, and the sound quality is superb. Even today, "Logos: Live at the Dominion" still sounds fresh and unique. I always play this one very loud with my eyes closed and when nobody is at home. Every time that I listen to this album I discover new sounds and secrets. It takes me into a wide-open-relaxing mode... ahh...

...wake up!.

I give "Logos: Live at the Dominion" 10 stars. It is the best of the best of all times.

Greetings from Mexico City.

Having been a TD fan for some time now, I must highly recommend this CD. My TD collection has grown to almost 70 titles and this one is STILL one of my favorites. Having been at the concert in person had a long lasting effect. Just buy it...listen to it 3 times and you'll be hooked. Trust me

I've enjoyed a lot of Tangerine Dream's music over the years but I don't claim to be that knowledgeable of a fan. As the title says this is a live performance from 1982 in London. Overall the audience is quiet and respectful so there is little to distract from the music.

The main track is a huge (~45 min) 10-part suite of music. A few parts of this are from/were used in the film "The Keep" and if you cannot get a good copy of that film's soundtrack and/or liked what you heard in the film, I recommend this CD to you (especially "Logos (Blue)" which I consider worth the price of the CD all by itself (I'm listening to it as I write this review!)).

The styles of the various parts vary (sometimes greatly) and it's not all gold IMO, but it's all worth listening to and enjoying (especially if you're in a "trippy" mood). Each piece flows into the next but there is generally some fairly neutral overlap in case you are looking to pick apart/isolate the "tracks".

Definitely recommended for the Tangerine Dream fan. Those new to the group's music may find this long suite a bit much to listen to in one go but in total or piecemeal, I think you'll enjoy it if you like trippy, ambient electronic music.