Tangerine Dream - Ambient Monkeys

Year of Release: 1998
Label: TDI Music
Catalog Number: CD001
Format: CD
Total Time: 45:32:00

According to the liner notes, "this production has originally been used as pre-concert ambient music during Tangerine Dream's European tour 1997." Like Marillion did with their pre-show music around 1994 (Michael Hunter's The River), the Froeses decided to release the music, based, they say, on public demand.

Ambient it is, with no less than 12 Tangerine Dream pieces, two of which are based on classical pieces- "Symphony In A-Minor" (J.S. Bach) and "Concerto In A-Major/Adagio" (W. A. Mozart). And yes, there are monkeys - screeching away. But, but more than monkeys, the sounds of the rainforest - rain of leaves, animals creeping about, birds chirping ? it's a soundtrack to a documentary that hasn't been made yet (though there are plenty on the subject of rainforests, of course).

Some of the material is relaxing - "Pantha Rhei" for example - some of it is a bit more energetic. But for the fact that my biology book is tucked away where I can't reach it, I could tell you not only how many of the song titles actually refer to species of monkey, but also a bit about each species. My guess is that all of them refer to some variety of monkey, though there are some that are clearly not. Aside from the two classical pieces above, of course. It wouldn't make much sense to call it Ambient Monkey otherwise, would it?

You might even suppose that the non-Latin song titles refer to monkey themes, but "The Seventh Propeller Of Silence" clearly does not. Although, as I write this, a very nasty image is coming to my mind involving one very unlucky monkey ? they say seven is an unlucky number.

At any rate, this is an interesting release by Tangerine Dream; I don't mean to sound glib about it. Although there are separate tracks, as mentioned, it all moves as once piece, evolving over time. Actually, it is quite stunning - excellently produced (when isn't Tangerine Dream material these days?). Outside of the concert-hall context, I can see this as a album to get lost in - so make sure you've got your fedora, leather jacket, and a thirst for adventure as Tangerine Dream take you on a colourful and fascinating journey.

Tracklisting:
Token From Birdland (5:59) / Symphony In A-Minor (3:26) / The Seventh Propeller Of Silence (3:51) / Calyx calamander (4:51) / Riddle Of The Monkey Tribe (3:42) / Moon Marble (3:32) / Concerto In A-Major/Adagio (1:46) / Lemon Vendor Khaly (3:37) / Campera de Mon Glyan (4:47) / Virtue Is Its Own Reward (3:10) / Pantha Rhei (3:15) / Myopia World (3:46)

Musicians:
Edgar and Jerome Froese

Discography:
Electronic Meditation (1970)
Alpha Centauri (1971)
Zeit (Largo In 4 Movements) (1972)
Atem (1973)
Phaedra (1974)
Rubycon (1975)
Ricochet (1975)
Sorcerer (1975/1993)
Stratosfear (1976)
Encore (1977)
Cyclone (1978)
Force Majeure (1979)
Tangram (1980)
Exit (1981)
Quichotte (1981) (Germany only; live LP, see Pergamon)
Tangerine Dream '70-'80 (1980) (4 LPs)
White Eagle (1982)
Thief (1982)
Logos - Live At The Dominion (1983)
Wavelength (1983)
Hyperborea (1983)
Risky Business (1983)
Poland - The Warsaw Concert (1984)
Firestarter (1984)
Flashpoint (1984/1995)
Heartbreakers (1985/1995)
Le Parc (1985)
Legend (1985/1995)
Pergamon - Live At The Palast Der Republik (1985) (same as Quichotte)
Shy People (1985)
Dream Sequence (1985) (3 LPs)
Green Desert (1986) (recorded in 1973)
Underwater Sunlight (1986)
The Collection (1987) In the Beginning (1986) (6 LPs)
Near Dark (1987)
Three O'clock High (1987)
Canyon Dreams (1988/1991)
Tyger (1988)
Live Miles (1988)
Dead Solid Perfect (1988)
Optical Race (1988)
Lily On The Beach (1989)
Miracle Mile (1989)
Melrose (1990)
Destination Berlin (1990)
The Man Inside (1990)
Rockoon (1992)
Deadly Care (1992)
220 Volt Live (1993)
Turn Of The Tides (1994)
Catch Me If You Can (1994)
Tyranny Of Beauty (1995)
Zoning (1995)
The Dream Mixes (1995/1998)
The Dream Mixes (1996) (Special UK release)
Goblin's Club (1996/2004)
TimeSquare - Dream Mixes II (1997)
Tournado Live (1997)
The Keep (1997)
Ambient Monkeys (1998)
Atlantic Walls (1998)
Atlantic Bridges (1998)
Dream Encores (1998)
The Hollywood Years Vol. I (1998) (unreleased material)
The Hollywood Years Vol. II (1998) (unreleased material)
Oasis Soundtrack (1998)
Quinoa Extended (1998) (ext. ver. of fanclub only CD)
Transsiberia (1998)
Valentine Wheels (Live In London 1997) (1999)
Sohoman (Live In Sydney 1982) (1999)
What A Blast (1999) (except USA)
Architecture In Motion (1999) (What A Blast USA)
Mars Polaris (1999)
Great Wall Of China (1999)
Tang-go (2000)
Soundmill Navigator (2000)
Antique Dreams (2000) (comp)
The Seven Letters From Tibet (2000)
I-Box (2000)
Dream Mixes 3 - The Past Hundred Moons (2001)
Inferno (1st Part of Dante Alighieri's 'La Divina Commedia' (2002)
The Melrose Years (2003) (Re-recordings of Optical Race, Lily On The Beach and Melrose)
Mota Atma (2003)
Dream Mixes 4 - DM4 (2004)
Rockface (Live In Berkeley 1988) (2004)
Purgatorio (2nd Part of Dante Alighieri's 'La Divina Commedia') (2004)
Aachen - January 21st 1981 (2004)
Montreal - April 9th 1977 (2004)
Paris - February 2nd 1981 (2004)
Sydney - February 22nd 1982 (2004)
Ottawa - June 20th 1986
East (Live In East Berlin 1990) (2004)
Arizona (Live In Scottsdale 1992) (2004)
Cleveland - June 24th 1986 (2005)
Brighton - March 25th 1986 (2005)
Kyoto (2005)
Rocking Mars (Live At Klangart Festval 1999) (2005)
Jeanne D'Arc (2005)
Paradiso (3rd Part of Dante Alighieri's 'La Divina Commedia') (2005)
Phaedra 05 (2005)
Blue Dawn (2006)
Paradiso (2006)
Detroit - March 31st 1977 (2006)
Preston - November 5th 1980 (2006)
TD Plays TD (2006)
Springtime In Nagasaki (2007)
Madcap's Flaming Duty (2007)
Summer In Nagasaki (2007)
One Times One (2007)
Booster (2007)
Cyberjam Collection (2007)
Ocean Waves Collection (2007)
Bells Of Accra (ep) (2007)
Purple Diluvial (2008)
Views From A Red Train (2008)
The Anthology Decades (2008)
Tangram 2008 (2008)
Hyperborea 2008 (2008)
The Epsilon Journey (2008)
Autumn In Hiroshima (2008)
Booster II (2008)
Vintage Vanguard (2009)
Chandra - The Phantom Ferry Part I (2009)
Live @ Dussmann Berlin (2009)
Winter in Hiroshima (2009)
Booster III (2009)
Izu (2010)
Dream Mixes V (2010)
Axiat. (2010)
Zeitgeist Concert (2010)
Under Cover - Chapter One (2010)
The Endless Season (2010)
Booster IV (2011)
The Island Of The Fay (2011)
The Gate Of Saturn (2011)
The Angel Of The West Window (2011)
The Gate Of Saturn Live At The Lowry Manchester 2011 (2011)
Mona Da Vinci (2011)
Finnegans Wake (2011)
Knights Of Asheville (2011)
Machu Picchu (2012)
Booster V (2012)
Live In Budapest at Bèla Bartòk National Concert Hall (2012)
Live at Admiralspalast Berlin (2012)
Cruise to Destiny (2013)
Starmus - Sonic Universe (2013)
One Night In Africa (2013)
Booster VI (2013)
Franz Kafka - The Castle (2013)
The Cinematographic Score: GTA5 (2014)
Chandra - The Phantom Ferry Part II (2014)
Sorcerer 2014 (2014)
Josephine The Mouse Singer (2014)
Phaedra Farewell Tour - The Concerts (2014)
Mala Kunia (2014)
Booster VII (2015)
Supernormal - The Australian Concerts 2014 (2015)
The Official Bootleg Series Volume One (2015)
Quantum Key (2015)
The Official Bootleg Series Volume Two (2016)
Live at The Philharmony Szczecin - Poland (2016)
Particles (2016)
Quantum Gate (2017)
The Sessions I (2017)
Light Flux (2017)
The Sessions II (2018)
The Sessions III (2018)
The Sessions IV (2018)
Live at Augusta Raurica Switzerland 2016 (2019)
The Official Bootleg Series Volume Three (2019)
In Search of Hades: The Virgin Recordings 1973 - 1979 (2019)

Canyon Dreams (VID/DVD) (1987)
Three Phase (VID) (1992)
The Video Dream Mixes (VID/DVD) (1996)
Oasis (VID/DVD) (1996)
Luminous Visions (VID+CD/DVD+CD) (1998)
Architecture In Motion/What A Blast! (VID/DVD) (1999)
Live In America 1992 (DVD, rerelease of Three Phase) (2003)
L'Inferno 1911 (DVD) (2004)
Dante's Inferno (DVD) (2006)
Tempodrome Live Concert 2006 (DVD)
Live At Coventry Cathedral 1975 (DVD)
35th Phaedra Anniversary Concert Live In London At The Shephard's Bush Empire 11th June 2005 (DVD) (2007)
Madcap's Flaming Duty (DVD+CD) (2007)
London Astoria Live Concert 2007 (DVD) (2007)
Orange Odyssey (DVD) (2007)
One Night In Space (DVD) (2007)
The Epsilon Journey (DVD) (2008)
Loreley (DVD) (2008)
The London Eye Concert (DVD. bonus DVD live in LA) (2009)
Rocking Out The Bats (DVD) (2009)
Izu (DVD) (2010)
Live Is Lisbon (DVD) (2010)
Live In Budapest at Bela Bartok National Concert Hall (DVD) (2012)

Genre: Electronic

Origin DE

Added: January 1st 2000
Reviewer: Stephanie Sollow
Score:
Artist website: www.tangerinedream-music.com
Hits: 3075
Language: english