Also in the recent Ebay package was the Tangerine Dream album which followed Force Majeure, about which I was quite lukewarm. So, I'm unsure whether to nervously expect the relentless march toward ambient and increasing use of non-electronic instruments, or to take comfort from the fact that I had heard of this album previously.
It starts electronic, and Tangs-like but soon develops more of a melody than earlier works, even at times developing a feel of Jean-Michel Jarre and Mike Oldfield. I make these comparisons in a neutral sense, but the second half of Tangram Set 1 settles into much more familiar territory, and delivers the Tangerine Dream we all came for - that repetitive electronic phrasing which plays over any guitar work, not below it.
Tangram Set 2 kicks off with a few minutes of ambient noodling, before it settles into the formula, with a strange interlude of almost distorted church organ feeling sound, before a few minutes of effects taking us to the penultimate theme. This slips between electronica and some guitar before some meandering off in the final couple of minutes.
Tangram feels a more complete listen than Force Majeure, even if it's not as memorable as classics such as Phaedra or Rubicon. It's a pleasant way to accompany 40 minutes of idle contemplation.
3* - it's still not up there with the glory days of the mid 1970s, but this feels much more Tangerine Dream than its predecessor
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