Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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47 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Centerpiece of Pure Ambience, April 6, 2001
If I could pick one of the over 60 Tangerine Dream albums, "Phaedra" would be it. Recorded in 1974, it was released during a time that was gloriously free of heavy drum beats or anything that detracted from the harmonious flow of the music. Track one starts out as a crescendo of electronic arpeggios that climax into a glorious, colorful burst, producing waves of major chords and sonic waveforms that seem to be in tune with the surreal portions of the mind. Although less than 40 minutes long, this wonderful composition marks the gem of the three best TD albums, the others being "Ricochet," (1975) and "Stratosfear" (1979). Unique, timeless and inimitable, music like Tangerine Dream is what the people of the future will be calling classical.
Aw, how the uneducated and those with no musical talent mark this album as something like "knob twiddling". If only there was a requirement to keep the uneducated from diluting the quality reviews that "Phaedra" deserves. No supporting premises, no argument, no respect. No matter though, we'll see right through it.
Most electronic artists like Edgar Froese and Chris Franke (the two geniuses of TD at the time) have a love for their work that is evident in their recordings and disdain mislabeling. Call "Phaedra" electronic or ambient, but don't call it "new age." I listen to it to escape the petty cares of this world and take off into space. Must have a good pair of headphones for "Phaedra," my transport into a blissful, meditative state. Not to be misunderstood for the tragic drama of Greek Mythology, Phaedra, daughter of Minos, 'Phaedra' from Tangerine dream will never get old. If I ever need to get to the year 3000 right now and forget about everything else, the headphones go on with bass boost and repeat all--then I'm gone, floating out there somewhere in space. Up here in my mind, I'm already gone. Not even Steve Roach, although quite masterful with his sequencers and home-made instruments and binural, innovative synthesizations, took me beyond the limits of my imagination for such a small, infinitesimal fare.
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mysterious, ethereal, yet excellent album, June 2, 2000
I've first came across Tangerine Dream in a second-hand record shop, where "Phaedra" was brought to my attention owing to its artistic cover with that blue blured, nebulous figure - I bought that record and played it at home. This was something I had never heard before - the mysterious "Phaedra" (the name derives from Greek mythology) starts with weird synth sounds, fading and rising into the heart of the track, where Moog sequencer is heavily used as a base, then layered by various assemblence of other voices like screaming birds, barking, all kinds of ethereal sounds and organ. TD's music is difficult to describe, it has to be experienced. Another master-piece, "The mysterious semblance..." is built on a short synth repeatitive theme, combined with strange copter, wind and snow sounds, which sometimes take over... this album is strongly ambiental, it's easy to picture all kinds of landscapes and different part of Earth or even a space for that matter. After "Phaedra", I've purchased several other TD albums like its successor, "Rubycon", but they've left me somehow dissapointed when I've compared them to "Phaedra". If you like Jean-Michel Jarre's earlier works or you're into ambient and techno, then this is a good CD to complete your discography.
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27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A transcendental masterpiece., December 4, 2000
I was introduced to Tangerine Dream by my Father back in the early eighties. He had this vinyl album, along with Rubycon and Zeit. This is definitely the best of those three, and stands as one of the best of all of the releases during their years on the Virgin label. The title track is a brilliant in the way that it uses musical progressions and soundscapes to create an effect of movement, as if we were descending into a storm on a planet in another galaxy. Like the best pieces of classical music, Phaedra makes you think about what you are listening to at the moment you hear it. On one level, you admire the technical brilliance of the performers, and the literate nature of the music, while on another level you find yourself being moved in a way that you cannot describe. Mysterious Semblance and Movements of a Visionary are also very well done. Since they follow Phaedra, however, its difficult not to think of them as the minor pieces of the composition. The last track, Sequent C' initially seems out of place here. No synthesizers are used, and the only instrument used is a flute. However, it follows the same template TD used for the other songs, in that moods and feelings are evoked through the use of repetitions and slight variations on those repetitions. With this track, TD seems to be saying, "We don't need to use high-end synthesizers to accomplish everything. We only need to use one organic instrument to evoke the feelings we want to evoke." Overall, this album sounds just as modern today as when I first heard it some fifteen years ago. (Comparatively, the work from a majority of artists based in synthesizers sounds dated within years after it was released.) Tangerine Dream's music may be uncategorizable, but that's why it always sounds fresh, interesting and moving years after it was released. The same cannot be said for anything in the Jungle, Drum & Bass, Techno, Rave, House Acid categories, which go out of favor as quickly as last year's fashions. For more info on Tangerine Dream, be sure to check out their official web site.
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