Book of Dreams

Artist: Tangerine Dream Label: Castle - Old Numbers Category: Music Average customer rating: Media: Audio CD Number Of Discs: 2 UPC: 602923658827 EAN: 0602923658827 ASIN: B00004S97K Release Date: 2000-05-02

Listmania:

1. TD pt 2, etc.: Electronic/Techno/Ambient 4

Tracks:

1. Journey Through A Burning Brain
2. Alpha Centauri
3. Birth Of Liquid Plejades
4. Zelt
5. Fauni Gena
6. Wahn
7. Green Desert
8. Poland
9. Barbakane Part One (The Smuggler)
10. Barbakane Part Two (Downtown Yam)
11. Songs Of The Whale - From Dawn
12. Songs Of The Whale - To Dusk

Tracks:

1. Alchemy Of the Heart
2. London Part One (The Dungeon Cry)
3. London Part Two (Rotten Row Patriot)
4. Tyger (Jungle Myster Song)
5. Livemiles (The Albuquerque Concert)
6. Gaudi Park
7. Bois De Boulogne
8. Le Parc
9. Yellowstone Park

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful and airy.......2006-05-23

Another TD repackaging exercise.......2001-12-03

All of the works showcased here, mostly in bleeding-chunk form, come from two periods of Tangerine Dreams' recording history. The so-called Pink Years (1970-73) prior to the band's signing with Virgin Records and the Blue Years - the time during which they were signed to New Age label, Jive-Electro (1983-87). The band's five earliest albums are covered here by a total of just seven tracks, taking up about half the first CD of the set. These tracks are not simply extracts from the original discs, however, but are mostly "recomposed" versions based only loosely on the originals. Some snippets of the original material are detectable underneath the drifts of thick new synthesiser textures that have been laid over them but sometimes only just. 'Green Desert' is the only work to benefit from this treatment, in my opinion, although fans of the original will no doubt disagree with me.

In fact, I suspect that most fans of TD's early music will absolutely hate what has been done on these first seven tracks. Certainly, much of the new material seems to have been added with little sensitivity to the original and gives the impression that it has been produced in order to appeal to those who only know Tangerine Dream's later music. I suppose that one almost acceptable way to approach these treatments is to view them as new retrospective mixes, merely based upon ideas from the older works. Even then, though, the whole exercise feels to make about as much sense (and is as sacrilegious) as taking coloured felt-tip pens to beautiful old pencil sketches: it may "update" the medium, but the original message is mostly lost in the process! I do hope Edgar Froese managed to achieve some sort of karmic closure from this revisiting of his roots and that he can now get on with new things!

The remaining disc and a half are given over to a period that is regarded by many as marking the very peak of Tangerine Dream's creativity. The albums included in this period are the studio albums "Tyger", "Underwater Sunlight" and "Le Parc", plus the live sets "Poland" and "Livemiles". All five of these are represented to some degree. The booklet notes suggest that the tracks included here are also studio reworkings of the originals but most sound (to me at least) like live concert versions of the originals. Sometimes, they are more or less identical to their earlier releases but mostly, either the instrumentation is subtly different, or the tempo altered a little, or else some other slight re-arrangement features. All of this music remains faithful to the original, though, and I don't believe anyone who knows any of the previous releases will be at all dissatisfied with the treatment they receive here. They are all identical to the selections presented in the Dream Roots collection, which manages to include roughly twice as much material from these albums as appears here. Interestingly, track ordering here matches the chronological sequence of the original releases, so that the discs do provide something of an encapsulated journey through the band's musical history - or would if the early material hadn't been so drastically altered.

In summary then, this collection will present a good buy to anyone who is just looking for a sampling of the works of Tangerine Dream but doesn't want to fork out for the full 5-disc collection of which this is merely part. Established fans should avoid this release altogether, as it has nothing new to offer them whatsoever. Any such interested in hearing the new treatments should go instead for "The Dream Roots Collection" and so at least gain some new material as well.

here we go again!!.......2000-09-16

A good starter album.......2000-06-05

Music CD:

1. The Bells of Sh'ang Sh'ung ~ Henry Wolff & Nancy Hennings
2. Peace In The Heart Of The City ~ Morgan Fisher
3. Sentimental Journey - Solo Harp Music
4. Restful Moments ~ Vivian Khor
5. Seeking Serenity ~ Various Artists
6. Where Rivers Run ~ John Nilsen
7. Satanic Versus ~ Milemarker
8. Above Me ~ John Nilsen
9. God & Beast ~ Non
10. Mask ~ Vangelis

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

Con la Sangre Caliente ~ Grupo Perla Colombiana

Andan Sangrando Mis Venas ~ Banda Canelo

Pa' Gozar: Mejor de La Musica Colombiana ~ Various Artists

Book of Dreams ~ Tangerine Dream

Book of Dreams ~ Peter Phippen

Vienna's Heardt ~ Thomas Reimer

Secrets of Three

Llorando en New York ~ Chicos Aventura

At the University of Puerto Rico ~ Eddie Palmieri & Friends

Recuerdos de Oro ~ Marineros del Norte