Title - 'Live in America 1992' (Eagle Records)
Artist - Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream’s Live In America 1992 will always be remembered fondly by lovers of the band and its (human) musical components.
Recorded when they were in the US in 1992 promoting their Rockoon album, Tangerine Dream’s set that year was atmospheric and dramatic. Indeed, those whose favorite memories of Tangerine Dream were from the band's prime in the '70s, or from their moody scores for movies like 'Sorcerer' and 'The Keep,' Live in America 1992 may come as a bit of a shock!
Gone were the days (1971-77) when group founder Edgar Froese, drummer Christopher Franke, and keyboard wizard Peter Baumann created pulsing synthesizer soundscapes that listeners associated with exotic mind-trips and sci-fi scenarios.
By 1992, this acclaimed German band was in its 25th year of existence. Indeed, after numerous incarnations led by Froese, TD's 1992 line-up (also including Froese's son Jerome on keys and guitar, guitarist Zlatko Perica, and keyboard/sax player Linda Spa) they had evolved into a New Age/Ambient trio, performing more melodically integrated tracks.
Indeed, they had accumulated seven (7) Grammy nominations (one of which was Rockoon for Best New Age Album), and a mountain of media respect.
This live recording begins with 'Two Bunch Palms,' with the keyboard-infused 'Dolls In The Shadow' and 'Treasure of Innocence' following closely behind. With the show recorded on both audio CD and for DVD at the time, live material (from Seattle's Paramount Theater, October 1992) holds up in both ways - as I've seen/heard both now.
'Oriental Haze,' the seemingly-Miami Vice inspired 'Graffiti Street' and 'Backstreet Hero' are all high class forms of musical psychedelic wonderments, but vintage material, such as 1975's 'Phaedra' had (at that time) morphed into a barely recognizable truncation of the original recording.
'Love On A Real Train,' 'Hamlet,' 'Purple Haze' and 'Logos' are all German new age electronics at their finest, I don't disagree. But, in truth though, this album is truly only of interest to die-hard Tangerine Dream fans who enjoy this particular stylistic phase of the band.
www.eagle-rock.com