Stuntman

Edgar Froese, Edgar Froese | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 9, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blue Plate Caroline
• ASIN: B000000HTD
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #393,278 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wears well with time, June 4, 2002

By 

Chromefreak - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Stuntman (Audio CD)

When I first bought Stuntman way back in 1980 (on LP, of course), it struck me as somewhat mediocre and uninteresting--certainly not one of Froese's better efforts. However, twenty years later, I've changed my opinion somewhat. It certainly isn't Froese's best album, but in some ways it is his most representative. Surprisingly, it's worn rather well with time. The song titles are quite in keeping with the Tangerine Dream legacy, and there are two true masterworks here: the stunningly impressionistic "Drunken Mozart in the Desert" and the edgy analog-groove of "A Dali-esque Sleep Fuse." The other tracks are good in their own right, and the whole album has a completely different feel than anything Froese had done before--though Ages does resemble Stuntman in some respects.And, as is usual for a Froese album, great cover art.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nothing spectacular, but definitely worth a listen, January 21, 2000

By 

Steve Benner "Stonegnome" (Lancaster, UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stuntman (Audio CD)

The original "Stuntman" album by Edgar Froese dated from 1979. The 2003 re-release can be told from the older, original version by means of being credited to Edgar W. Froese (note the middle initial) and its computer generated jewel-case artwork. (The original carried a photograph of a crash helmet.) The track-listing (and running times) of the two versions are identical but the music most certainly is not.

"Stuntman" has always been an altogether more polished affair than many of Edgar Froese's other solo albums. Happily, too, this album is free from all traces of the ponderous self-indulgence to which solo Froese efforts can be more than a little prone. The tunes here do tend to be a little on the cute side, even for Froese, but at least he seems to have recognised this and, for once, nothing ever outstays its welcome. The lead synthesiser voices tend to be very sweet, too, and so, generally, it all works well and there are no tracks that could be called at all bad on this album.

The reworked version has had some more spit and polish applied, with not only substantial remastering of the original recordings to make them carry more punch, but also, in places, additional harmonic layers to thicken up the textures and to add more interest. The treatments have not always worked in the music's best interest, especially where the origins carried a particular lightness of touch that was quite endearing. By and large, however, I would say that there was never a great deal here to damage in the first place, and most newcomers to this album who are more attuned to modern synthesiser works than to the classic sounds of the late 70s will probably find the heavier-weight later version more to their taste than the original. I don't doubt that some established Froese fans will feel otherwise.

By modern standards the disc is short -- rather less than 45 minutes in total. Its six tracks are all fairly low-key and introspective in nature, something which the remixing has not altered to any extent. Their titles suggest that they were mostly inspired by moments or events of particular personal significance for Froese and as such these tracks would seem to be intended more as musical cameos, rather than major masterpieces. Even in their re-worked form, there are certainly no great lasting artworks here. That said, the greater variety--in musical style, in overall sound world and in musical pace--than can be found on others of his solo albums of this period, "Stuntman" is one of Froese's better releases since his early major achievements of "Aqua" and "Epsilon in Malaysian Pale" (both of which have been butchered in their 2003 make-overs) and until the much more mature and accomplished effort of "Dalinetopia".

So, while this disc offers nothing that could be called spectacular, lovers of early synthesiser music--especially of the gentler kind--could do worse than to turn their lava lamps down low, get into the groove and give this a spin.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fine album of progressive electronica, June 18, 2008

By 

Jeffrey J.Park (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stuntman (Audio CD)

I think that of the few solo albums by Tangerine Dream founder Edgar Froese that I have heard, this 1979 release is quite good, and shows Edgar firing on all cylinders. In general, I was pretty impressed with the arrangements, which (when gauged relative to other works of electronica) are fairly involved musically and thematically and show Edgar giving a vague nod in the direction of progressive electronica. Although speculative, he may have been influenced by the almost "prog rock" sound on the contemporaneous Tangerine Dream album Force Majeure.

While there are bits of Force Majeure and the excellent Tangerine Dream album Tangram (1980) scattered throughout, Stuntman does not really sound like either. The keyboard instruments used include some great sounding string synthesizers, in addition to newer synthesizers that (at the time) were considered cutting edge. Overall, Edgar favors warm synth tone colors. Edgar also throws some electric guitar playing into the mix here and there, and in contrast with Force Majeure, drums and percussion are not featured as prominently. The rhythmic element is largely provided by throbbing sequencers. Although the general mood of the music is contemplative and at times spacey, the interesting arrangements and nice melodies really held my attention - all of the tracks are generally of high quality.

Although this is not a remastered version and the liner notes are pretty skimpy, the sound quality is not bad at all.

All in all, this is a fine album of progressive electronica by Edgar Froese and should appeal to Tangerine Dream fans that enjoyed Force Majeure and Tangram.