 |
 |
|
| Tangerine Dream - Oasis |
 Released: 1997 Label: Miramar Cat. No.: Total Time: 50:53 | |
Reviewed by: Stephanie Sollow, April 1999 The opening piece on Tangerine Dream's Oasis, "Flashflood," builds the tension slowly, leaving you with the sense that something is going to happen - that in the next moment symbols will crash, drums will thunder, and this tune will spin out of control. Well, this is Tangerine Dream, so nothing that drastic happens, but the momentum does build, quickening the pace, as keyboards appear above the synth washes. The momentum is tweaked again as brushed symbols are added to the mix, giving this an almost techno feel. Not having seen the video the music accompanies, I can't tell you what visuals go along with it, but there is the sense of watching a flashflood in time-lapse photography, and up close, as the mud and water spreads over an ever wider area. The subtitle of this disc is "Natural Wonders of the American Southwest". I think the music captures the feel almost perfectly, with titles like "Zion," "Cliff Dwellers" "Hopi Mesa Heart" that alone evoke the Southwest. Picture wind- and water-sculpted formations rising up out of a desert floor, their rust and yellow stratas marking the passage of time, the bright, clear sky stretching to infinity. Tangerine Dream have captured this, allowing each of the compositions to clearly illustrate the wide-openness of the Southwest. Whether this can be considered progressive is up for debate - this probably falls more into the maligned category of New Age, but electronic/ambient is a much better term, as pigeonholes go. And yet, while certain passages may allow you relax and take it all in, the overall sense here is edgy, each track walking on the edge of possibility. The keys often take on a more percussive style, leaving one with the sense of motion. Anyone who has ever watched a PBS Nature Special, for example, will be familiar with the filmic device of flying low over the landscape, taking leisurely swoops and dives as the terrain warrants. Eyes closed, you too can skim over the Mojave Desert, skirt along the edges of the Grand Canyon, or frolick among the cacti. "Cliff Dwellers" has an catchy drum beat, which unfortunately, reveals itself too obviously as a programmed bit of drumming. An odd thing to say, given the genre, I know. And yet, it is catchy enough that I found more than once I was tapping along. Is this the best Tangerine Dream album to date? I'm not intimately familiar with the vast - and I mean vast - catalogue of Tangerine Dream. And I suspect fans of earlier Tangerine Dream find modern Tangerine Dream a bit more like Tangerine Merengue. Whatever its place in the entire TD ouvre, it is a pleasant and enjoyable listen. It's hard, though, to look at all that they've produced in thirty odd years and not view this somehow as more product. I'm sure that's not the idea behind it. Edgar Froese is no slouch in the music crafting department and Tangerine Dream are surely asked to be part of a project for more than the name factor. But because this doesn't seem like they are challenging themselves, it seems more like...like product. I don't want to slag Tangerine Dream, either. I happen to like this album, the music is engaging. If it weren't this would be a one sentence review. So, the bottom line is, should you buy it? It wouldn't be essential to your collection unless you are TD completist, but if you like contemporary instrumental music (or New Age, Ambient, Electronic...) it's worth considering. If you are just exploring TD, it isn't a bad place to start as it documents where Tangerine Dream are today. More about Oasis: Track Listing: Flashflood (7:00) / Zion (5:43) / Reflections (5:08) / Cliff Dwellers (5:06) / Waterborne (7:20) / Cedar Breaks (5:07) / Summer Storm (6:06) / Hopi Mesa Heart (5:53) / Chia Maroon (4:10) Musicians: Website: www.tangerinedream.org Discography
| |
[Review Index] [Home]  © Copyright 1999, 2000 Progressive World |