In 1975, I was still in college with my most recent subscription Rolling Stone in my lap, when I noticed a curious advertisement.

It pictured a black box on a floor. On the side of the cube that could not be seen from "camera" angle, the box was opening, throwing a ghastly light on a woman, cringing wide-eyed and screaming, perched atop a chair in her throws of agony.
The caption read: "There Is No Escape From A Tangerine Dream."

Of course, this was "the" announcement for Stratosfear and the introduction proper to the USA of the German band. Curiosity got the best of me, and with no inclination what-so-ever, I took a slash! I plunked my hard-earned money down and took home The Dream, and I've been with her ever since. Up to that point, the earlier albums (phaedra and the progenitors) were only available as "import" albums, at least in my cow-college town in eastern Washington state.

I have to say, I've been entranced reading almost every review for all these "old" and "new" TD albums here. It has been quite entertaining, especially the divisions between the old fans and the newer, in what they like. Franke-ly (pun-intended, I missed his leaving), I like them all! Each incarnation of TD has something new and creative to offer, and at my age, if I don't keep an open mind, and enjoy new flavors of the month, then I might as well just lock myself in my room with my Beatles, James Taylor, and Pink Floyd records and never come out.

For those of you actually reading this review, here's what I really have to say. Start your Dream collection with this CD. Then work your way slowly in both directions (before and after).
Ideal stops are at Phaedra and Rubycon, at Force Majeure and Cyclone (Cyclone if you REALLY want to experiment with your Dream, it's "different"), and then on to Hyperborea (for the late 80's) and Mota Atma (most recently and absolutely SONIC wonderful). If you were a "film" fan at all (say William Friedkin's "Sorceror", instead of picking up the "soundtrack albums" shoot for the moon and grab up Encore! Live in America, The Dream really were very good live and they captured the engendered Dream SOUND on all four sides of that double set, including the classic Sorceror theme).

Pay no attention to all these detractors and arm-chair quarterbacks here, there really is no "bad" TD album!

But Stratosfear is the bestest place to start. It will move you, it will haunt you, it might even frighten you! You will experience sunlight in green meadows, grazing animals, flocks of bird-like creatures, bubbles rising mysteriously from swamps and threatening to envelope you, faster-than-light travel through bends in space, and will land oh-so-comfortably-and-relaxed back in your chair, at peace with your surroundings, your friends, your family, and the monster in the closet.

Give it a try...go ahead...it can't hurt you. I promise.

In the 1970s, each new Tangerine Dream album seemed destined to redefine the band anew. Their fourth album for Virgin, "Stratosfear", was no exception. Released in 1976, this album saw the band departing from their previous explorative and improvisatory style, moving instead towards a style more readily associated with the world of pop music. In short, the album proved once and for all to those doubting souls that the band members were perfectly capable of writing a catchy tune if they wanted to! For there is absolutely no shortage of tunes on this disc, all of them highly memorable, from the brash and aggressive synthesiser lead of the title track, right through to the closing lilting mellotron line of 'Invisible Limits'.

The general sound world is rather different from earlier Tangerine Dream albums too: something that is obvious from the very opening, with its gentle guitar introduction. For although the earlier hallmark swept filter treatments are still very much in evidence throughout the disc, this album uses many more synthesiser voices that are imitative of traditional instruments (albeit usually with a new twist) than can be found on earlier TD albums. Whereas previously the extension of the sound world into new and previously unexplored realms was the main aim, here the band is clearly more concerned with the traditional musical elements of harmony and counterpoint - as well as with a somewhat punchier presentation.

Not that there is anything the slightest bit traditional about the music on this disc, mind. All four tracks here are routed firmly in the world of 1970's synthesiser music. They are all good strong compositions with a nice amount of variety of pace, mood and style. Some are pure pop or rock, while others have a more classical feel - like 'Big Sleep in Search of Hades', with its minuet-and-trio-type construction and a lilting mellotron tune played over a harpsichord ground.

'3am at the Border of the Marsh from Okefenokee', with its gentle opening, rising to a searing peak before a soft tune and a gentle sequencer pulse are allowed to take over, is one of the most beautiful ballads the band has ever written. This track also has a prominent mellotron presence, as well as some lovely, synthesised harmonica and a goodly spread of gorgeous electronic textures.

'Invisible Limits' is the disc's longest track, clocking in at nearly 11 and a half minutes. This is another gentle, tuneful song, featuring massed synthesised strings, gently tapping and babbling sequencer pulses and some lilting guitar and synthesiser lines, as well as lots of changes of pace and mood. Whilst the overall feel is very New Age ambient, the final three minutes are pure contemporary experimental, revelling in lots of prominent echo and reverb effects. A very neo-Classical piano line emerges from this section, to be joined by a mellotron line for a very sweet duet, which sings the disc to a close.

For many, though, the most memorably track on this disc is its first: 'Stratosfear' itself. With a tune and a beat that both drill their way deep into your brain, from which there is no extricating them, this track will be with you long after the CD has finished playing! As, indeed, will much of the rest of the album.

In common with all of the other TD releases for Virgin, this disc was recently subjected to a new digital remastering. Unlike most of the other releases, this has not actually done very much, here, to improve on the original. The sound remains a little muddy and also very quiet in places. No real increase in dynamic range is noticed until halfway through the final track-where it then comes as something of a shock! Another criticism I would level at the disc is that the inter-track gaps, at just 2 seconds each, are way too short. It's not as if space on the disc is tight, even, with the whole thing being barely 34 minutes long in total. Which brings me to my final grumble: OK, so the original disc was only this long too, but surely, Virgin, the time has come to start doubling up some of these older releases onto one CD? As they stand, these early TD releases are not exactly the best value in the world!

In conclusion, then, while the music here is all consistently excellent, I feel it is necessary to dock one star from the overall rating, because the disc's short duration and the rather less-than-perfect production standard. Pity.

This was the very first Tangerine Dream album I have ever bought and I was glad I did. I used to think this group was rather mediocre. But of course that was because I was hearing them on NPR (like on Music From the Hearts of Space) and they tended to play their newer stuff. But they were a lot better in the 1970s, and you really can't go wrong with any album they did that decade (I even like Cyclone, which only receives mixed reactions). Stratosfear was the album where they attempted to be more accessible. It might give one the wrong impression that they sold out, luckily they didn't. They added some stronger melodies, probably to compete with such up and coming electronic artists like Jean Michel Jarre, who took a much more accessible approach to what the likes of TD and Klaus Schulze were prior to Oxygene (Jarre) or Stratosfear (the album being reviewed here). Plus the songs are shorter, this was their very first album since Electronic Meditation (1970) not to feature any side-length cuts, but there are only four cuts, two on each side (that is, if you own the LP). While the album is still loaded with tons of Mellotron, that tron brass sound as heard on Richochet, Sorcerer, Encore: Live, Cyclone, and even Force Majeure, was absent here. The album opens up with with the title track showing the new approach. There is still that pulsing rhythm, but this time you can almost hum the song. The ARP Pro-Soloist (a small keyboard that can only play pre-programmed sounds, most commonly heard on Genesis albums) plays the lead here. "The Big Sleep In Search of Hades" is a wonderful piece complete with harpsichord (an instrument that doesn't get much use by these guys) and nice Mellotron flute. The second half demonstrates the more bizarre side of the band, showing that they hadn't totally left the years they were recording for Ohr behind. "3 AM at the Border of the Marsh From Okefenokee" features some really sinister sounding Mellotron, before the pulsing rhythm and Mellotron flute starts in. What's also intersting is Peter Baumann is playing harmonica on this piece, which having harmonica on a TD might seem like a bad idea, but it works quite well. "Invisible Limits" also continues more on the experimental nature of the band, showing everyone that these guys still hadn't sold out. Truly another great electronic classic and a must have for those in to this kind of music.

This is a great album released in 1976 that shows the band weaving aspects of psychedelic rock into their electronic compositions.

The musicians on Stratosfear comprise the classic TD lineup and include Chris Franke (mini-moog, Hammond organ, percussion, loop mellotron, and harpsichord); Edgar Froese (mellotron, mini-moog, 6 & 12 string guitars, grand piano, bass guitar, harmonica); and Peter Baumann (mini-moog, Project electronic rhythm computer, Fender electric piano, and mellotron). Just a quick scan of the instrumentation indicates that this is a mellotron-heavy album with instruments typically associated with a rock band, e.g. guitars, bass guitar, and (believe it or not) a harmonica. Trust me, they do a great job of making the harmonica sound "otherworldy" and eerie and it fits right in with the generally creepy mood of the album.

The individual tracks are somewhat short by TD standards and range in length from 4'32" to 11'35". My general impression of the overall sound is that along with the brooding electronica, there is a bit more of a psychedelic feel to the tracks (especially The Big Sleep in Search of Hades). Specifically, there are times when the music sounds like the dreamier moments of late 1960s Pink Floyd...the track Julia Dream comes to mind in fact. This has a lot to with the instrumentation, which includes passages of bass guitar, acoustic piano/Hammond organ (with minute modulations in minor keys a la Rick Wright) harpsichord, heavily echoed mellotron (with flute setting), and soft electric guitar. Of course this is a Tangerine Dream album however, and the psych passages pretty much take a back seat to the pulsating and brooding electronic soundscapes that made them famous. I just love the combination though.

All in all this is yet another wonderful album by Tangerine Dream and is highly recommended along with all of their albums released from 1970-1980.

I bought the album in 1977 and was astounded by the group. Nearly a quarter of a century later I still love this collection. Stratosfear takes one right to the roots of Tangerine Dream. If you are just beginning to collect their music, then be sure to get this CD so that you can understand how their music evolved over the decades. 1977 was probably a turning point for the group as they became more and more noticed. You won't want to miss this important release.