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It was sometime in the early 1980's when I picked this 1979 album up (after watching Risky Business as I recall) and the band subsequently became part of my regular listening along with Yes, Pink Floyd, ELP, Alan Parsons, Rick Wakeman etc. As a teen-aged progressive rock fan in the early 1980's, I was really impressed with the brooding and symphonic sound of the album. In fact as an adult, it stands as my favorite TD album along with Tangram (1980) and Rubycon (1975).
Following the departure of Peter Baumann sometime in 1978(?), the TD lineup was in a state of flux and the previous album (Cyclone) had actually featured a singer and a rock drummer. Although a singer was not used on Force Majeure, the rock drummer position was maintained and filled by Klaus Krieger. In terms of instrumentation, like all of TD's albums, pulsating, throbbing and spacey synthesizer textures dominate. However, in combination with the drums, acoustic guitars, and the vigorous electric guitar solos, this album has more of a prog rock feel; especially in contrast with albums like Rubycon.
In terms of the pieces themselves, the opening 18' 17" epic title track is a personal favorite and is symphonic in structure. Specifically, there is an opening movement with distinct themes, a spacey interlude, and then a closing movement. Come to think of it, there is really nice development over the course of this piece. Cloudburst Flight (7'27") is another excellent track and the combination of acoustic guitars and brooding synth textures at the introduction of the piece is very effective, even if I feel that the bass-like ostinato on the synth in the middle of the piece goes on for just a bit too long. The 14'30" closing track is also very good and features a nice mixture of spacey synths, drumming, and Edgar's electric guitar parts. Unfortunately, this piece also features a repeated theme that goes on for a bit too long but is not really that distracting and certainly does not affect the overall quality of the album.
I guess it's worth noting that the cover art featured on this webpage is not the trippy original art (by Monique Froese) that appeared on the LP and was reproduced for the 1995 Dutch "definitive edition" of the CD. However, it does appear that somebody was kind enough to post it.
Overall, this is a fantastic TD album and is very highly recommended along with Rubycon and Tangram.
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Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2006
- Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2012
- Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2008
- Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2010
- Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2022
- Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2012
Top reviews from other countries
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danbinthReviewed in France on July 25, 2015
Remarquabe et unique l'oeuvre de Tangerine Dream !
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matteoReviewed in Italy on December 3, 2015
Non è un capolavoro ma un buon album sicuramente
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