While this is probably an improvement over the mediocrity that seemed to settle in on Tyranny of Beauty and Turn of the Tides, this is hardly a top notch album from the band that once sat at the forefront of electronic music. While there is less of an emphasis on drum machine and the pop sound of previous albums of the 90's, it still none the less contains a similar, layered up-tempo feel that marks where TD has settled over the last several years. Listen to the clips for yourself, they'll give you a good idea as to just how "new" or "mature" this CD compares to recent works.

If you loved Tyranny of Beauty, Turn of the Tides, and Rockoon, you'll love this. If you loved the TD of Tangram, Exit, or Underwater Sunlight it might be best to stay away.

I find it difficult to describe exactly what makes one Tangerine Dream CD better than another. I can say that out of my TD collection, this is the one that is worn out from being played so much. Towards The Evening Star" really sets the mood of the CD. The piece "At Darwin's Motel" is my favorite track on the album, one of those that seems to grab something inside of me. This incarnation of the band is my favorite by far (and I have been a fan since the Rubycon days). Buy it!

Tangerine Dream's album "Goblins' Club" dates from 1996 (the latest re-release by TDI is just a change of cover, by the way). Two things are immediately obvious on listening to it: the first is how Jerome's contribution has begun to mature; the second is how little of the material now relies on the guest musicians to carry it off. While quite a number are credited, their contributions to the final result seem to be quite minor. A glance at the credits shows that Jerome is listed as the main composer of most of the music here, suggesting that his father, Edgar, is maybe taking more of a back-seat role in the artistic direction department.

Sadly, none of the tracks on this disc really stand out as anything unusual. That said, this remains an example of fairly solid studio workmanship that is just not quite up to Tangerine Dream's live achievements. Sadly, too, I think the standard of the material drops gradually the further into the disc one goes, so that by the end, one's ears are a little tired from the overall lack of sonic variety. The pace drops steadily, as well, and the CD ends with a long, drawn-out ballad ('Sad Merlin's Sunday') which has some nice moments -- if you're still awake to hear them -- but which isn't really strong enough to close the album out. Maybe one needs to play the disc in smaller chunks, or experiment a little with the CD player's programming features?

Highlights? Well, 'At Darwin's Motel' has some lovely vocals (soloist not credited! Shame! ) demonstrating once and for all and beyond all doubt should anyone still have any, that Tangerine Dream have now fully integrated the (wordless) singing voice into their sound world. And very nicely too. 'On Crane's Passage' features a nice mix of percussion voices, while 'Rising Haul in Silence' -- an inappropriate title, if every there was one -- could be nominated for the best drumming on the album. It also has some good sampler sounds in it and features a jolly little tune in the best Tangerine Dream tradition. 'Lamb with Radar Eyes' is probably the track which stands up best to repeated listening, though, with its constantly changing minimalist rhythmic patterns, classic Dream chord progressions and its mix of novel synthesiser voicing and guitar work. At over 8 and a half minutes, it's also longer than most of the other tracks, too.

Overall, I'd say that this disc is more interesting for what it suggests about the future directions of this band, than for what it actually delivers. What it does deliver is worth hearing, though, so rather than wait around for whatever the future does hold, you might want to give this a listen now!

While there are a few remnants of quintessential Tangerine Dream to be found on Goblin's club, do not expect such classic musical palettes that comprise albums like "Optical Race" "Rockoon" or "Lily on the Beach".
Each track begins with so much promise and originality, but ends with repetitions synthesizer and percussion patterns.
What truly saves this album from being marked down to 4stars is TD's interesting incorporating of ethereal vocal tones on a few tracks on the first half of the album. Though there are no actual spoken words, this vocalist is convincing and enjoyable enough to hold our attention along the half-hearted music that can be found accompanying her on these select tracks.
It's fair to say that this does not rank among the best in the very impressive catalog that Tangerine Dream posses, but knowing that almost makes this album even easier to appreciate; for it is still one unique album among its peers. Thus, even with its clear flaws, this album earns 5stars. If your accustom to the realm of TD, this may not take your breath away, but it will amuse your interests.

Tangerine Dream's musical direction seemed to be somewhat scattered after Paul Haslinger left the band in 1991. By 1996, TD had been comprised of Edgar Froese, his son Jerome Froese and on-again off-again member Linda Spa.

The music, although well structured and performed, seems to be a bit passionless and contains less of a "techno" element than their previous year's release, Tyranny of Beauty.

The album does have some memorable songs (Sad Merlin's Sunday is excellent), but overall it seems to leave the average TD fan a little flat.

It's worth a listen every now and then, but TD has done much better things before and after this release.