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This 1974 release is a remarkable album that finds Tangerine Dream on a new label (Virgin Records) and beginning to forge the soundscapes-from-outer-space that would make them famous. Along with Rubycon (1975), this album also finds Tangerine Dream at a creative peak and features the exhilarating combination of gothic, brooding atmospheres and some of the creepy experimentation that was a carry-over from their earlier albums, particularly Atem (1973).
The lineup on Phaedra is classic Tangerine Dream and includes Edgar Froese (mellotron, guitar; bass guitar; VCS3 synthesizer; and Hammond organ); Christopher Franke (Moog synthesizer; keyboards, VCS3 synthesizer); and Peter Baumann (Hammond organ; E-Piano; VCS3 synthesizer; and flute).
The four pieces on the album range in length from 2:20 to the lengthy progressive electronica epic title track (17:35). As can be imagined, this album is loaded with pulsating, throbbing, and whooshing sounds on the VCS3, particularly on the lengthy title track. The mellotron (with string setting) also has a strong presence here, and is featured on the "mellotron saturated", cosmic, and minor key workout entitled Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares (9:43) (this is one of my favorite pieces on the album). Movements of a Visionary (7:57) is a comparatively more experimental piece and features otherworldly sounds generated on the VCS3 and driving passages generated on sequencers atop which long and drawn-out chords (with tiny modulations) are played on a "churchy" sounding Hammond organ. The closing track is an extremely sad and haunting piece, which features very spacey and heavily echoed flute and synthesizer parts. This is another favorite track and a great way to end the album.
Although this version has not been remastered, the sound quality is pretty good.
All in all, this is a superb album from Tangerine Dream and is very highly recommended along with Rubycon (1975); Ricochet (1975); and Stratosfear (1976). Other albums from the progressive electronica genre (Berlin School specifically) that are recommended include a few recordings by Klaus Schulze:(Timewind, 1975; and Mirage, 1977).
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one of the most important, artistic, and exciting works in the history of electronic music
Phaedra is one of the most important, artistic, and exciting works in the history of electronic music, a brilliant and compelling summation of Tangerine Dream's early avant-space direction balanced with the synthesizer/sequencer technology just beginning to gain a foothold in nonacademic circles. The result is best heard on the 15-minute title track, unparalleled before or since for its depth of sound and vision. Given focus by the arpeggiated trance that drifts in and out of the mix, the track progresses through several passages including a few surprisingly melodic keyboard lines and an assortment of eerie Moog and Mellotron effects, gaseous explosions, and windy sirens. Despite the impending chaos, the track sounds more like a carefully composed classical work than an unrestrained piece of noise. While the title track takes the cake, there are three other excellent tracks on Phaedra. "Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares" is a solo Edgar Froese song that uses some surprisingly emotive and affecting synthesizer washes, and "Movements of a Visionary" is a more experimental piece, using treated voices and whispers to drive its hypnotic arpeggios. Perhaps even more powerful as a musical landmark now than when it was first recorded, Phaedra has proven the test of time.
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- Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2007
- Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2013
- Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2010
Top reviews from other countries
- PeteReviewed in Canada on November 18, 2012
Classic album of the 1970s and of its genre.
