If I could pick one of the over 60 Tangerine Dream albums, "Phaedra" would be it. Recorded in 1974, it was released during a time that was gloriously free of heavy drum beats or anything that detracted from the harmonious flow of the music. Track one starts out as a crescendo of electronic arpeggios that climax into a glorious, colorful burst, producing waves of major chords and sonic waveforms that seem to be in tune with the surreal portions of the mind. Although less than 40 minutes long, this wonderful composition marks the gem of the three best TD albums, the others being "Ricochet," (1975) and "Stratosfear" (1979). Unique, timeless and inimitable, music like Tangerine Dream is what the people of the future will be calling classical.

Aw, how the uneducated and those with no musical talent mark this album as something like "knob twiddling". If only there was a requirement to keep the uneducated from diluting the quality reviews that "Phaedra" deserves. No supporting premises, no argument, no respect. No matter though, we'll see right through it.

Most electronic artists like Edgar Froese and Chris Franke (the two geniuses of TD at the time) have a love for their work that is evident in their recordings and disdain mislabeling. Call "Phaedra" electronic or ambient, but don't call it "new age." I listen to it to escape the petty cares of this world and take off into space. Must have a good pair of headphones for "Phaedra," my transport into a blissful, meditative state. Not to be misunderstood for the tragic drama of Greek Mythology, Phaedra, daughter of Minos, 'Phaedra' from Tangerine dream will never get old. If I ever need to get to the year 3000 right now and forget about everything else, the headphones go on with bass boost and repeat all--then I'm gone, floating out there somewhere in space. Up here in my mind, I'm already gone. Not even Steve Roach, although quite masterful with his sequencers and home-made instruments and binural, innovative synthesizations, took me beyond the limits of my imagination for such a small, infinitesimal fare.

I've first came across Tangerine Dream in a second-hand record shop, where "Phaedra" was brought to my attention owing to its artistic cover with that blue blured, nebulous figure - I bought that record and played it at home. This was something I had never heard before - the mysterious "Phaedra" (the name derives from Greek mythology) starts with weird synth sounds, fading and rising into the heart of the track, where Moog sequencer is heavily used as a base, then layered by various assemblence of other voices like screaming birds, barking, all kinds of ethereal sounds and organ. TD's music is difficult to describe, it has to be experienced. Another master-piece, "The mysterious semblance..." is built on a short synth repeatitive theme, combined with strange copter, wind and snow sounds, which sometimes take over... this album is strongly ambiental, it's easy to picture all kinds of landscapes and different part of Earth or even a space for that matter. After "Phaedra", I've purchased several other TD albums like its successor, "Rubycon", but they've left me somehow dissapointed when I've compared them to "Phaedra". If you like Jean-Michel Jarre's earlier works or you're into ambient and techno, then this is a good CD to complete your discography.

I was introduced to Tangerine Dream by my Father back in the early eighties. He had this vinyl album, along with Rubycon and Zeit. This is definitely the best of those three, and stands as one of the best of all of the releases during their years on the Virgin label.

The title track is a brilliant in the way that it uses musical progressions and soundscapes to create an effect of movement, as if we were descending into a storm on a planet in another galaxy. Like the best pieces of classical music, Phaedra makes you think about what you are listening to at the moment you hear it. On one level, you admire the technical brilliance of the performers, and the literate nature of the music, while on another level you find yourself being moved in a way that you cannot describe.

Mysterious Semblance and Movements of a Visionary are also very well done. Since they follow Phaedra, however, its difficult not to think of them as the minor pieces of the composition.

The last track, Sequent C' initially seems out of place here. No synthesizers are used, and the only instrument used is a flute. However, it follows the same template TD used for the other songs, in that moods and feelings are evoked through the use of repetitions and slight variations on those repetitions. With this track, TD seems to be saying, "We don't need to use high-end synthesizers to accomplish everything. We only need to use one organic instrument to evoke the feelings we want to evoke."

Overall, this album sounds just as modern today as when I first heard it some fifteen years ago. (Comparatively, the work from a majority of artists based in synthesizers sounds dated within years after it was released.) Tangerine Dream's music may be uncategorizable, but that's why it always sounds fresh, interesting and moving years after it was released. The same cannot be said for anything in the Jungle, Drum & Bass, Techno, Rave, House Acid categories, which go out of favor as quickly as last year's fashions.

For more info on Tangerine Dream, be sure to check out their official web site.

Although Tangerine Dream had already carved out a nitche for themselves releasing four albums on the German Ohr label, it was "Phaedra", the band's fifth album and debut on Virgin Records, that catipulted the band to 'superstar' status so-to-speak. When the album was released in early 1974, "Phaedra" showed an amazing feat of making the UK top 10 with virtually no airplay or heavy promotion. Its success was purely due to word-of-mouth. 30 years later, "Phaedra" is regarded as a blueprint for techno, trance and ambient music and still sounds fresh and vibrant today.
Upon signing with Virgin, the Tangerine Dream band members (Edgar Froese, Christopher Franke and Peter Baumann) were given a large financial advance which allowed them to purchase the very latest technology on the market. Franke purchased a Moog synthesizer which became the primary vehicle for this album alongside Froese's Mellotron. The new equipment as well as a fresh new musical perpective made for what is undoubtely a landmark album.
The album opens with its 17-minute title track which begins with a long choir-like drone from the Mellotron accompanied by strange space sounds. From this, a Moog sequencer pulse emerges which sets the pace for the first half of the piece with its hypnotic shifting rhythms. As the rhythmic section reaches its climax, the piece shifts into an otherworldly collage with a droning organ and haunting Mellotron strings and choirs. After the main piece fades out, there is a brief coda of a recording of children playing in a playground.
The second half the album is taken up by three shorter pieces. The first is the nearly 10-minute "Mysterious Semblance At The Strand Of Nightmares". Despite its rather spooky title, this piece is actually a calm atmospheric piece by Edgar Froese performed on the Mellotron along with some embellishments from the VCS3 synthesizer. The mood of this piece definitely creates images of watching an ocean on a clear quiet night.
The next track, "Movements Of A Visionary" begins with what sounds like whispering voices in an echo chamber before giving way to Franke's frentic Moog pulse rhythm. Both Froese and Baumann embellish Franke's sequencer with long held organ phrases and subtle electric piano textures.
The album's closer "Sequent C" is a brief 2-minute coda by Peter Baumann which was either performed by a heavily echoed flute or a keyboard that sounds like one. The echoed and arpeggiated phrases aren't too different from that which is heard on the very early Kraftwerk albums (pre-Autobahn).
This album was only the beginning of Tangerine Dream's very successful run in the 1970's. The next several releases would also become groundbreaking classics which would lead to the band's first U.S. tour and first foray into film scoring. "Phaedra" was the beginning of TD's spot in the limelight and displays just how ahead of their time they were at this early phase.
This album is highly recommended not only for electronic music fans but also for those studying the genre's history. This is album that can be listened to and studied time and again and still have new elements be heard in it.
A Definitive Pioneering Opus!!

This album was my introduction to the real art of the synthesizer, at least in a less formal context (I had been a fan of Stockhausen, Xenakis, and other contemporary composers for years.) What strikes me most about this album after all these years is how fresh it still sounds, and how warm.

Along with several other synthesists (Brian Eno, Jean-Michel Jarre, Michael Hoenig, Wendy Carlos) Tangerine Dream pioneered the use of synthesizers in an ambient context. This style of music may not be your cup ot tea. But few albums do the style better than Phaedra. Each track is animated by well constructed looped sequences, and then surrounded by a vast assembly of sounds. This is not rhythmic music, as later Dream albums would be...rather this is inhabits a world where rock, Terry Riley and Gyorg Ligeti would meet. In fact, the dissonance of much of the opening track reminds me of some of Ligeti's famous cloud pieces of the 60s. (For those of you not familiar, think about the music for the trippy scenes of Kubrick's 2001. That's all Ligeti.)

Synthesis has made tremendous technical strides in the last 30 years. The advent of digital synthesis revolutionized electronic music in many ways. Unfortunately, it also changed the direction the music then took. Rather than searching for new and hitherto unimagined sounds, synthesis has devolved into the search for less expensive ways to replace studio musicians. Listening to TD albums from the 70s reminds you of the revolutionary nature of this style of music, a nature that has been lost in New Age tripe or over literal "MIDI orchestrations." TD's analog synthesis is still lightyears ahead of other groups. It's warmer, less imitational, and more original than most of what passes for synthesized music now. Yes the music is trippy...I certainly loved it back in my old ...days.... and it's still mind-expanding. Highly recommended!