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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent, brooding bookend to their 1970s output., January 15, 2006
Released in 1980, Tangram marked the beginning of the Johannes Schmoelling period and ushered Tangerine Dream forward into the new decade, while simultaneously glancing backwards at the 1970s. Although the synth tone colors used on Tangram are "newer sounding" than the brooding mellotron and synthesizers used on their 1970s works, they are still very somber and organic sounding and impart a gloominess to the album that I find very appealing. The album consists of two lengthy pieces including Tangram Set 1 (19'51") and Tangram Set 2 (20'22"), which are fairly interesting and feature the spacey sections and trademark pulsating sequenced synth bass lines that were characteristic of their late 1970s output. Instrumentation consists predominantly of Moog and Oberheim synthesizers, some string synthesizer, with acoustic and electric guitar parts here and there. Percussion is absent. All in all, this is an excellent Tangerine Dream album and forms a nice bookend to their 1970s recordings. I guess that my only complaint is with the shoddy CD reissue packaging, which features a thin paper insert without a single liner note apart from the track listing. Otherwise, this is highly recommended along with all of their albums from 1970-1979 (yes, Cyclone too!).
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dreamland, October 3, 2002
This album may have been the first thing by TD I ever bought. I can't remember for sure but I really didn't discover TD until the late 80's. I got this album in '88 when I saw it in a used record store. I would listen to it in the mornings while getting ready for work. Some of the music from this album (mainly at the beginning) is used in the movie "Risky Business". Although I have always liked side one more than side two, side two is also good. The best thing I can think to say to keep this review short is that this is some of the best synthesizer work you're going to hear on any album, not just TD albums. I would rate Tangram close to Stratosfear although they are different they both have a distinctive sound that I haven't heard on their other albums.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The heavenly music corporation, March 10, 2000
"Tangram" is something of a link between TD's late-'70s prog-rock days ("Cyclone", "Force majeure") and the streamlined approach of "Exit" and "White eagle". Unlike some of the other reviewers, I don't think that this album is overrated. In fact, "Tangram" is far more listenable and melodic than the droning, relatively one-dimensional soundscapes of early TD efforts like "Zeit" and "Rubycon". Musically, the two pieces are similar to one another, alternating between calm, minimalistic passages and very complex sonic landscapes made of sequencers, drum machines, guitars, and layers of convoluted synth sounds. Quite a step from many of TD's other albums, "Tangram" is not sheer beauty. There are some dissonant spots and distorted guitar solos, though the sound always stays very enganging and manages to hold the listener's interest during the whole CD. That's not a common thing for a disc containing two 20-minute megaworks, and it separates "Tangram" from many other new age records. Particularly impressive: The passage of "Tangram set 2" when TD consequently strip away one instrument after the other, leaving behind an over-the-top melody and finally spreading it between the stereo channels. My rating: "Tangram" is the embodiment of excellent trance music, just as Klaus Schulze's "Timewind" and Steve Hillage's "Rainbow dome musick".
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