01	Stratosfear						10:37
	02	The Big Sleep in Search of Hades						04:28
	03	Sam at The Border of the Marsh from Okefenokee						08:49
	04	Invisible Limits						11:26
	05	No Man's Land						09:12
	06	Hyperborea						08:41
	07	Cinnamon Road						03:58
	08	Sphinx Lightning						19:51

Tangerine Dream: Stratosfear
Virgin (7243 8 40065 25)
Germany 1976

Edgar Froese, Mellotron, moog, guitars, grand piano, bass, mouth organ;
Chris Franke, moog, organ, percussion, loop Mellotron, harpsichord;
Peter Baumann, moog, project electronic rhythm computer, electric piano, Mellotron

Joe McGlinchey:
Behind the lines of classic analogue synths and extended pieces, in listening to Stratosfear one gets a glimpse, perhaps for the very first time, of the more commercialized direction towards which Tangerine Dream were headed and would eventually be swallowed whole. A more streamlined sound brought about by increased formal structuring and the absence of the previous psychedelic VCS3 swelling results in a somewhat 'sleeker' product. That being said, I think this is still a decent album. The title track in E minor with its glowering moog lines is probably the one that is most remembered today. "The Big Sleep in Search of Hades" and "3am at the Border" is more peaceful, reminiscent of contemporaneous work by Cluster. Though it is a step down from its immediate predecessors, it is still a safe distance from the cookie cutter albums that seem to have defined the band since the mid 80s.


AMG EXPERT REVIEW: Stratosfear, the last Tangerine Dream album by the great Baumann/Franke/Froese threesome, shows the group's desire to advance past their stellar recent material and stake out a new musical direction while others were still attempting to come to grips with Phaedra and Rubycon. The album accomplishes its mission with the addition of guitar (six- and 12-string), grand piano, harpsichord and mouth organ to the usual battery of moogs, mellotrons and e-pianos. The organic instruments take more of a textural role, embellishing the effects instead of working their own melodic conventions. Stratosfear is also the beginning of a more evocative approach for Tangerine Dream. Check the faraway harmonica sounds and assortment of synth-bubbles on "3 AM at the Border of the Marsh from Okefenokee" or the somber chords and choral presence of "The Big Sleep in Search of Hades." The title-track opener is the highlight though, beginning with a statuesque synthesizer progression before unveiling an increasingly hypnotic line of trance. - John Bush

======================================


Hyperborea

AMG EXPERT REVIEW: Tangerine Dream set the stage for the style of "artsy" soundtrack music that dominated the '80s. Although Hyperborea is not a soundtrack, it was clearly influential on some of the work the group was hired to do for Risky Business, Flashpoint, Dreamscape, Firestarter, Legend, and close to 20 others. There have been at least a dozen members in this trio over the years, but the assembly of Chris Franke, Edgar Froese, and Johannes Schmoelling proved to be one of the most prolific and influential. Hyperborea was a turning point for the band - a distinctive departure from the free-form psychedelica-and-moog prog rock improvisations, it was an album of crispness, structure, and a little bravery too - a showcase for artists with enough chops to adjust to the new technology without getting lost in it. Getting its hands on the popular new keyboards of the mid-'80s, the band found wonderful textures, richly overlapping sequences, and on some level a chance to reinvent themselves, and with great results. Recorded in Berlin in 1983, it was the shape of things to come for the remainder of the decade. - Glenn Swan



Johannes Schmoelling - Synthesizer, Composer, Keyboards, Producer, Engineer, Performer
Edgar Froese - Synthesizer, Bass, Guitar, Composer, Keyboards, Producer, Engineer, Performer
Christopher Franke - Producer, Engineer