Tangerine Dream [White Eagle] 

The only TD album i own, though i have bought a few others, but i never liked them, in fact i seem to have spent a small fortune on trying to find another TD album i like, and then coming away disappointed, now i'm extremely wary that there even exists another album that i would like, i've sort of given up, i don't want to waste my money or my time, i feel exactly the same way about Yes /Going For The One, when i first listened to this, i thought it was going to be exactly similar to Jarre / Oxygene, but this is more percussive, tracks seem to be more 'poppy', instead of sci-fi and mysterious, plus Jarre would slowly morph one idea into the next over an extended span, TD seem to change things much more rapidly, but i'm learning to love this album, this actually got in my Blog earlier in the year [6th January 2012], now in search of that elusive TD album... 

Tangerine Dream are a German Electronic Trio, though of course since this record came out [1982], they are no longer the Trio of Froese / Franke / Schmoelling, and every group eventually has to break up its core constituents, i think of this as 'classic' TD, the booklet front cover is what attracted me to this very first TD album, a blue planet earth with a triangle underneath, it's a nice visual, the small lettering at the top is great.

The very opening of the album is terrific, for nearly three minutes there's weird and wonderful sounds, a very original beginning indeed, 'Mojave Plan' is the best thing on the album, however the other tracks are great too, and on this listen it's track 3 'Convention Of The 24' that really impressed me the most, straight away it starts as a very bubbly electronic rhythm, with a nice organ sounding melody, it's this initial quite mechanical rhythm that drives everything, quite monotonous i feel, but this is its strength, after three minutes things change somewhat [3:08+], the rhythm stops, and there's nice treble flute type sounds, quite bubbly at times, it's a great change, the mechanical rhythm seems to creep back in, later a more percussive effect comes in [5:37+], and i can feel the music getting ready to wind down, the background rhythm slows down, and a somewhat ghostly chorus comes in at the end, it's a great track, very compelling and infectious. 

Here's the 'Convention Of The 24' on YouTube.

Felix Da Housecat [He Was King] 

Here's another disc from my recent surge to delve into more Electronic Music, i bought his other mix disc called Excursions a while back, nice, but i need to listen to it more, this was nicer, more vocal than i thought it was going to be, sounds very Eighties in a way, but some great musical ideas going on, i'm certainly enjoying uncovering strange musical rocks to see what's underneath, i like delving into a new genre, and Felix Da Housecat is off the beaten track for me.

Felix Da Housecat [real name Felix Stallings Jr], is an American DJ and recording artist, he's now 40 years old, he made this recording quite recently in 2009, the front cover is actually really clever and inventive, it seems to mimic some sort of screen, either computer or TV, probably computer when you look at the lettering in the bottom corner, but i like it, somewhat blurred, and a hand held light source, nice reflections on the glasses, i really like the close up mug shot, caught in mid something, a startled look as if shot on the wing, nice idea.

Well this was only the first time i listened to this disc, so it's not a definitive judgement, each track seems to have a really creative intro, and the whole lot is well recorded, lovely deep bass, the best track was track 9 'Elvi$', yes Elvis with a dollar sign at the end, the opening roulades sound like coming from an accordion, but are no doubt electronic, they're monotonous, but they do the job in driving the music, a fatter nastier beat comes in [0:59+], and the thing nicely builds up, and an even stronger bass comes in [1:13+], all these layers add up to great satisfaction, in some ways it's a stop / start thing, some of the instrumentation just comes to end [2:42+], which is musically satisfying, only to then start up again a minute later, like waves and cycles, but it's all well done, and on this track very addictive, one of the more instrumental tracks, i need to give the disc another listen to really get into it.

Here's Felix Da Housecat performing Elvi$ on YouTube.

Jean Michel Jarre [Oxygene] 

I don't get to play this disc all that often, but when i do i just think it's simply stunning, i really get into it, i always get an idea what it's going to sound like, but when i put it on the realness of the sounds always outdo my expectations, like a firework that explodes louder than you can ever imagine it, and on this record Jarre creates the perfect blend of eerie sounds, with the hummable melodies of Pop, without falling into sillyness, after all this time it still sounds very 'adult', and yet is a length which can easily be digested in one listen.

Jean Michel Jarre is of course French, he's now 63 years old, doesn't seem possible, he was only 28 when he composed this masterpiece, this is a digitally re-mastered copy i have, and certainly the sound is absolutely fantastic, also the album art is re-done to a high standard, the album even came free with a newspaper recently, the front cover is a painting by Michel Granger, of the planet earth, seemingly a living tissue, and underneath a skull [what does it mean?], but it's an iconic picture that conjures up a hidden world beneath the one we're living on.

The opening is just tremendous, like rotating worlds, over ghostly mystery, really affecting, but on this listen i found Part 5 to be very special, and part 5 can be split into two halves, the first sounds like something out of Bach's Organ Music, or Albinoni / Tomasi's Adagio, but it's the second half which i found stunning, it fades / blends in with the first half [5:17+], a very bubbly dance track, starts of with a catchy rhythm, sounding like woodblocks, but it's the swirling synthesizer that comes in a minute later that makes the track [6:38+], like an organ played high in the treble, especially those high swirls, it's quite mesmerizing, until the wave breaks and the seagulls come in for Part 6, the whole album is groundbreaking, i don't believe Jarre ever bettered this masterpiece. 

Here's Jean Michel Jarre playing Oxygene 5 on YouTube.

Blu Peter [Widescreen & Digital] 

Now here's something different, i don't usually listen to this stuff, but at the beginning of last year i've wanted to broaden my musical love, and delve into a wider array of musical genres, therefore Electronic / Trance music is very much on the top of the list, and i've especially searched on Ebay for possible purchases, this was one of them, i was initially attracted by the visual idea on the front and back, but of course the music has to work also, and these days there's always samples you can listen to, or whole tracks on YouTube, just to make sure before you commit your money, this was an enlightening experience today, i can feel my musical mind opening up, this is what music is about for me.

Blu Peter is the artistic name for Peter Harris, who was born in 1961, and is Welsh, he's mainly a DJ, but has also brought out mix albums, and his own stuff as here, he recorded this disc in 1992, and yes it's the visuals that are so fantastic with this album, featuring a whole load of those calculator like data banks, or whatever they were called, all lined up in neat rows and switched on, the lettering is small in a white box in the middle, it's all very symmetrical, a stunning piece of visuals which enhances the album no end.

Well this is only the first listen to this album, so my perspective could well change dramatically over the next few listens, it's nice and electronic, 10 tracks and 78 minutes of music, so the average track lasts for nearly 8 minutes, nice and long, enough time to really develop something, there's a degree of monotony, and of course some tracks are more inspired than others, on this listen i liked tracks 1-2, 5 & 8-9, with the ninth track 'substance' the creative gem of the set, it lasts nearly 9 minutes, it certainly has layers to it, a gentle vibraphone melody to begin with, with electronic deep bleats in the background, and then a gorgeous drumstick roll on the cymbal starts up, it's hypnotic [0:14+], bringing in a nice drum bass, and before the minute's up there's a digital foot stomping / hand clapping type of chug that drives things forward [0:42+], it's great that Blu Peter develops these layers to the piece, and slowly brings in each element, it gets nice and funky, the sound of a glockenspiel like instrument helps bring a sense of exuberance to the music [2:07+], and this develops into a more intense ringing, like a mobile phone [2:36+], it's great when the whole thing collapses quiet, and the opening vibraphone monotony is left to itself [3:05+], there's an extended rhythm in the middle which is dedicated to drumbeats, but elements of the opening come back, and the music shifts here and there for variety, and the close of the track is like the opening, it's good to hear those cymbal rolls again, i'm a better person for listening to this music today.

Here's 'Substance' being played on YouTube.

Various Artists [Elec-Trax '16 Synth Pop Classix']

This is a wonderful collection of Electronic Pop Hits, i have several of these types of albums, some of them are double discs, but this is one of the best single disc releases i have, i played this right at the end of my first year of blogging [31st December 2010], most of these tracks are from the early Eighties, these were the years i was finishing with vinyl single 45's, and delving into albums instead, but i still remember 'Are Friends Electric?' by Tubeway Army, it was only later that i renewed my love of this music, and discovered new songs / Artists too, it was a wonderful time to discover music. 

The front cover is excellent, a picture of a bald girl, with white vertical lines, and blue electric voltage / lightning coming out of her ears, or through her head, even 'Elec-Trax' is written in a electronic style, a great well thought out cover. 

The tracks that really got to me this time were 2 & 16, and here's a synopsis of each,
2 Gary Numan - We Are Glass, a tremendous mechanical chugging rhythm throughout, with an overarching synth theme, the verses lean towards the mechanical chugging, then the chorus's explode in a high synth anthem, a track with a really contagious enthusiasm.
16 A Flock Of Seagulls - Wishing [If I Had A Photograph Of You], another song that after a hesitant intro, just explodes into life, notice the individual drum hits that introduce the explosion [0:06], the song oscillates between words and this instrumental anthemic synth, the ending is like the beginning, hesitant, then a nice smash on the drums [5:27].

Tangerine Dream [White Eagle]

Tangerine Dream are like the Rock group Yes in a way, i love their album Going For The One, but no matter how many other albums i've tried, i've come away disappointed, the exact same thing happens with Tangerine Dream, i've tried many other albums, but i'm truly underwhelmed by their output, is this their only masterpiece?, i bought this in a second hand shop, hearing extensively of the group, but knowing nothing of their music, other than they were Jean Michel Jarre sound-alikes, at first i was a little disappointed, but i've grown to love this album, i just wish that Electronic Music was so easy to explore as other mediums / genres.

Tangerine Dream started up in 1967, and has been through many different changes, this album has the classic line-up of,

Edgar Froese

Chris Franke

Johannes Schmoelling

i guess it's a fairly short album, 38:24 long, but of course it's the quality that counts, it only contains 4 tracks, and it's the 20 minute opener i enjoy the most, it's in essence split up into 4 parts,

Part One = 0:00 - 2:41

Part Two = 2:41 - 10:29

Part Three = 10:29 - 15:06

Part Four = 15:06 - 20:10

Here's Tangerine Dream playing Mojave Plan on YouTube.