Tangerine Dream - Stratosfear

Consisting of four parts, Stratosphere reworked the Tangerine Dream trademark sound--a heady mix of electric guitar, drum, and assorted other electronic instruments--into a form more readily available to those new to the genre than their previous works. A rich blend of racing sequences, dramatic chord structures, and a stranger-than-strange bluesy treatment of a track called "3 am at the Border of the Marsh from...." A surreal experience indeed. This was the last Tangerine Dream release to feature long time associate Peter Baumann, who left the band a year later. --Paul Clark Amazon.com

Classic

Just some classic Tangerine Dream electronic music. Not their best, but nonetheless, still nice to listen to. February 15, 2008

strange new worlds

I've always loved the early Tangerine Dream material, especially when Peter Baumann was with the group. Stratosfear was the first album I heard from TD when I was 16. Just lying down in front of the speakers with my eyes closed transported me to srange new worlds and I eagerly looked forward to the next album. The repetitious but complex melodies and strong guitar effects so distinctive of TD at the time issued in the great era of electronic music we see today. This is no small feat considering that they worked with analog instruments and tape loops. You can't help but move to and fro to Statosfear and I was always amazed it never became mainstream. Pioneers in the field, this is one of their best during their most creative era. Alas the material they produce today is boring and lacks the experimental energy they possessed back in the late 70's and early 80's. Although dated by the sounds, the material is timeless and it is nice that you can still be transported to other visions so easily. February 13, 2008

Tang's hay-day

In my opinion, this album the pinnacle of this genre of music, not only for Tanagerine Dream but inclusive of all compositions of this type I've heard to date. This composition is not as slow moving and nondescript as some of their early work or for that mater many other artists and yet it can still be considered "ambient". I believe Tang's only other piece that reaches near this level competience is Ricochet. I highly recommend that as well. June 27, 2007

It was just aiight for me

Stratosfear was a landmark album for Tangerine Dream. The album was doing the rounds at all of the colleges in Europe and the U.S. and gave the band the largest bit of noteriety they had ever had at that time.

The music, though, is a major departure from what they had done with the likes of Rubycon and Ricochet. The seemingly endless forays into sequencers and synthesizers took a back seat to shorter and more structured compositions that contained heavy doses of guitar and even harmonica.

The title track is interesting, but the plinky sequencer rhythms seem to overwhelm what's being done on the surface and makes the song seem almost cartoonish. The ending, however, laced with Edgar's guitar and mellotron voices, seems to be the more traditoinal TD that people had grown to love.

The Big Sleep In Seach of Hades has an interesting harpsichord sound that dominates what is probably the best track on the album. The other two tracks are somewhat lackluster although Invisible Limits does have an excellent piano part that could be heard live at many of the TD concerts performed in the '70s (can also be heard on the 1977 live album Encore).

This one was OK and I listen to it occasionally, but TD has done much better things before and after this release.

June 20, 2007

A Paramount listening experience

I only had listened to Phaedra until buying this album. In a nutshell, Tangerine Dream is the only act to say absolutely everything they intend to without word one. This album is my next step into a world away from diva front men and women, and everyone else who has something to say.

Take with you a grain of salt with the the words I say as I am a person who yearns to be entertained and transported into another world, if this describes you, you will thoroughly enjoy this production. August 10, 2006

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