This is one weird compilation, as it contains the whole of PHAEDRA, plus entire tracks from RUBYCON and STRATOSFEAR. Of course, you don't get the original packaging, and it's not clear whether the version that Virgin has licensed to Disky (the Dutch label pulishing this CD) is the definitive remastered edition.

But frankly neither of these issues matters very much.

I have to say that for me, RICOCHET is Tangerine Dream's masterpiece, and would be one of those 40 albums I'd choose to take to a desert island. I bought PHAEDRA on LP when it came out, but was a little disappointed: it just didn't contain enough rhythmic pieces. RICOCHET was a revelation, as it announced the Tang's rediscovery of electronic percussion, and there was so much going on. After RICOCHET, I never revisited Phaedra. Until yesterday, when I bought this album.

Between them, PHAEDRA and RUBYCON contain most of the ingredients of RICOCHET. (I had completely forgotten that.) Because PHAEDRA has become new again to me, I listened to it more carefully, noticing things that I never think about when I hypnotically play RICOCHET. On PHAEDRA, you can hear that one sound is a plucked piano string, for instance. But by the time it reappears on RICOCHET, it's been too distorted for my addled senses to recognise its origins. The link between PHAEDRA and RICOCHET is somewhat akin to the connection between SOURCES and Peter Gabriel's PASSION, if you're familiar with that excellent pair of albums.

New listeners may find the Tang's debut for the Virgin label a bit slow at times, but all in all, it is an utter bargain.

the best thing this disc has to offer is that the versions are the originals from the albums; the versions of these songs on the box sets have been revisited, revised, remixed etc. so while not complete, its an inexpensive trip back to my favorite period of the dream - all synths, sequencers and spacey chugga-chugga-chuggas!

This is a good recording of the whole of TD's album "Phaedra" with half of "Rubycon" and a quarter of "Stratosfear" thrown in for good measure!

(For a full review of this and other TD discs, check out the relevant pages on the amazon.co.uk site!)

This is an amazing collection, as the entire 1974 landmark release, Phaedra, is included, along with selections from Rubycon (1975) and Stratosfear (1976).

Edgar Froese, Christopher Franke and Peter Baumann were recording for Virgin Records and earning rave reviews worldwide, which was setting a foundation for the "Berlin School" to influence many artists and genres - which continues today - like electronica, new age and ambient music.

Not just a compilation, this is a fantastic means for new fans to appreciate the cutting-edge soundscapes in "The Virgin Years" and for more established collectors to have an intriguing sampler from a period of incredible output by the band.

this compilation cd is okay but not compelling. until they add the drum machine. then it becomes insufferable. did they ever add a real drummer? who cares.