Released in 1980, Tangram marked the beginning of the Johannes Schmoelling period and ushered Tangerine Dream forward into the new decade, while simultaneously glancing backwards at the 1970s. Although the synth tone colors used on Tangram are "newer sounding" than the brooding mellotron and synthesizers used on their 1970s works, they are still very somber and organic sounding and impart a gloominess to the album that I find very appealing. The album consists of two lengthy pieces including Tangram Set 1 (19'51") and Tangram Set 2 (20'22"), which are fairly interesting and feature the spacey sections and trademark pulsating sequenced synth bass lines that were characteristic of their late 1970s output. Instrumentation consists predominantly of Moog and Oberheim synthesizers, some string synthesizer, with acoustic and electric guitar parts here and there. Percussion is absent. All in all, this is an excellent Tangerine Dream album and forms a nice bookend to their 1970s recordings. I guess that my only complaint is with the shoddy CD reissue packaging, which features a thin paper insert without a single liner note apart from the track listing. Otherwise, this is highly recommended along with all of their albums from 1970-1979 (yes, Cyclone too!).

This album may have been the first thing by TD I ever bought. I can't remember for sure but I really didn't discover TD until the late 80's. I got this album in '88 when I saw it in a used record store. I would listen to it in the mornings while getting ready for work. Some of the music from this album (mainly at the beginning) is used in the movie "Risky Business". Although I have always liked side one more than side two, side two is also good. The best thing I can think to say to keep this review short is that this is some of the best synthesizer work you're going to hear on any album, not just TD albums. I would rate Tangram close to Stratosfear although they are different they both have a distinctive sound that I haven't heard on their other albums.

"Tangram" is something of a link between TD's late-'70s prog-rock days ("Cyclone", "Force majeure") and the streamlined approach of "Exit" and "White eagle". Unlike some of the other reviewers, I don't think that this album is overrated. In fact, "Tangram" is far more listenable and melodic than the droning, relatively one-dimensional soundscapes of early TD efforts like "Zeit" and "Rubycon". Musically, the two pieces are similar to one another, alternating between calm, minimalistic passages and very complex sonic landscapes made of sequencers, drum machines, guitars, and layers of convoluted synth sounds. Quite a step from many of TD's other albums, "Tangram" is not sheer beauty. There are some dissonant spots and distorted guitar solos, though the sound always stays very enganging and manages to hold the listener's interest during the whole CD. That's not a common thing for a disc containing two 20-minute megaworks, and it separates "Tangram" from many other new age records. Particularly impressive: The passage of "Tangram set 2" when TD consequently strip away one instrument after the other, leaving behind an over-the-top melody and finally spreading it between the stereo channels. My rating: "Tangram" is the embodiment of excellent trance music, just as Klaus Schulze's "Timewind" and Steve Hillage's "Rainbow dome musick".

Yes, this is one of the landmark TD albums. It was done shortly after Johanes Schmoelling joined TD, and it is the first of a series of exceptional albums that define the 'Schmoelling period' in TD's long and astonishing career (see also my review of Atem). Tangram is a transitional album that contains the 'best of both worlds', with TD still making concept music and with Schmoelling contributing his own creative ideas. True, this album is too polished, too precise, compared with Cyclone and Force Majeure, but it marks, after all, the beginning of the 80's. I guess the beauty of Tangram lies in its consistency and continuity; and, yes, in its perfection! It is a beautiful work without weak points, meant to be listened to and enjoyed from beginning to end. I like both parts the same, although I give a slight preference to the introduction of part II, and to the 'creation' sequences halfway through part I. Not really much else to say about this CD, comparable to White Eagle, Exit, Pergamon and Logos Live, except that, I would love to see TD, currently in decline, make this kind of electronic symphony music again. But, all the same, I am glad that Tangram is there and I can enjoy it any time I want to! It is, indeed, today's classical music!

This is one of the landmark TD albums. It was done shortly after Johanes Schmoelling joined TD, and it is the first of a series of exceptional albums that define the 'Schmoelling period' in TD's long and astonishing career (see also my review of Stratosfear). Tangram is a transitional album that contains the 'best of both worlds', with TD still making concept music and with Schmoelling contributing his own creative ideas. True, this album is too polished, too precise, compared to Cyclone and Force Majeure, but it marks, after all, the beginning of the 80's. I guess the beauty of Tangram lies in its consistency and continuity; and, yes, in its perfection! It is a beautiful work without weak points, meant to be listened to and enjoyed from beginning to end. I like both parts the same, although I give a slight preference to the introduction of part II, and to the 'creation' sequences halfway through part I. Not really much else to say about this CD, comparable to White Eagle, Exit, Pergamon and Logos Live, except that, I would love to see TD, currently in decline, make this kind of electronic symphony music again. But, all the same, I am glad that Tangram is there and I can enjoy it any time I want to! It is, indeed, today's classical music