Tangerine Dream – Stratosfear

#TangerineDreamTuesday Week 8: STRATOSFEAR.

Introducing prog rock to their arsenal, Tangerine Dream chart a new direction in sound...

I must confess to being a little shocked with this album initially. With symphonic melodies and synth pyrotechnics, it's clear from the first minute of Stratosfear that TD has undergone significant stylistic change within the space of a year - and for someone already very keen on their earlier Berlin School work, it wasn't the easiest to adjust to! But Stratosfear is brilliant, not least for the ambition that radiates from every note. For all the new ground broken by Froese and Baumann on their solo albums in 1976 (as previously mentioned in this review series), their work here with Franke sounds the most revolutionary of all.

Take, for instance, Stratosfear's title track - trading TD's well-worn cosmic atmosphere for prog rock bravado, it's a completely different approach to anything the band have done previously. The track of course remains a live favourite, with later versions compounding the bracing vigour of the original. Meanwhile, TD's ambition stretches through the rest of the album, not least via instrumentation; the novel use of harpsicord on to The Big Sleep adds a baroque touch to proceedings despite the Gothic choir hinting at darker depths, while the harmonica that bookends 3AM brings a desolate frontier America to mind (no doubt aided by the descriptive title).

The other interesting trick in Stratosfear is one they haven't applied since the Pink Years: the use of sonic space. Where Phaedra, Rubycon and Ricochet were comprised of compositions that constantly drew the ear, Stratosfear includes calmer sections that provide room to breathe between or within tracks. It's an effective means to contrast and emphasise the album's louder sections - not just the proggiest moments but also the most sinister, like the Mellotron intrusion on 3AM and the clanging bells on Invisible Limits. Perhaps its most effective use is the album's ending: a quiet piano/flute duet that, in contrast to earlier synth solos, sounds more distant and bittersweet than it has any right to be. A fascinating end to a fascinating album.

My favorite Tangerine Dream record. I don’t find it to be dark as some people have described. It feels more light and mysterious. Very calming to my ears.