Tangerine Dream Album: “Great Wall of China”

I ordered this disc for the simple reason that I didn't own it. My first listening was through an old-fashioned stereo with massive speakers (3 way system with hefty 12 inch woofers.) The first cut on this disc is something else...bass that rattled my teeth, a galloping rhythm which progressed through the song, and washes of multilayered electronic sound effects. I kept thinking, 'how do they do this?' Cuts 3,5 and 6 bear up just as well. Back at my home, through my elegant but smaller Bose speakers, the effect is diminshed as I can't feel the air moving in the room. No, this is not the best thing TD had done, but it is certainly not the worst. I remind myself that this is a soundtrack to a movie. In all due respect to the earlier review, this disc seems to have more in common with TD's earlier work than most of their recent releases, being more abstract and less tuneful. Considering the title, the music is remarkably free of the usual rubber-band and wooden bamboo flute effects most of us westerners associate with Chinese music. This is good TD more worthy of investigation.

Gee. I just don't know what to think or how to feel when I see that TD has released another soundtrack. It seems that all of their soundtrack work since 1990 have been very, very flat.

The only word I can come up with to describe this release is 'uninspired'. It seems as though the band was writing run of the mill songs just to crank out yet another 'soundtrack' (has anyone even HEARD of this film?). With the exception of the first track (which is very good), the rest of the album is quite boring. When compared to other TD soundtracks (check out the track "People In the News" from Miracle Mile; now THAT'S and INSPIRED song!), "Great Wall" is barely a blip on the radar.

Tangerine Dream have been around for 40 years now. Although MANY musicians have been a part of the band's lineup, you would think that TD would have PERFECTED their craft and have the ability to compose and perform amazing songs that just keep getting better with each new release. Perhaps the musical well has run dry? Forty years is a long time. Maybe they're just fresh out of ideas.

Despite these doubts, I will remain a dedicated fan and keep shelling out my money until I die. I know there's still greatness left in this band. I refuse to give up on them.

Dear TD fans, obviously you weren't satisfied with my review below. Let me tell you, I just didn't find it appropriate to do a longer review. In general, TD's later-era work is not more than standard adult aternative and new age music. For me, it sounds all the same from 1989's "Lily on the beach" on. All the melodies, rhythms, and sounds are just minimally varied throughout an incredible amount of albums. It's not bad music, but compared with TD's earlier output I just think it's superfluous. There's nothing innovative and pioneering in this band any longer. And I guess you've noticed that many of TD's '90s-albums are designed as "soundtracks". What does this mean to you? It's only background music without wanting to engage the listener. On the other hand, I found out that TD's late-'70s prog-rock albums "Cyclone" and "Force majeure" aren't very popular in the USA, although these two records are very interesting, with a focus on rock guitar and a more aggressive sound. And I thought I should tell you that TD are going to re-release a bunch of mid-'80s and early-'90s albums (Tyger, Livemiles, Goblin's club, Rockoon) soon, with digital remastering and pompous packaging. It doesn't make the music better, and I can't recommend all these items - with one exception: There's a very rewarding, if also expensive, box set called "Tangents". It contains four or five discs, and one disc features unreleased material previously only available on bootleg compilations. All the other tracks are taken from TD's "Virgin albums (1973-1983)", including such classics as "Phaedra", "Rubycon", and "Tangram". It's a superior compilation to "Dream Sequence" and probably the best way for new fans to get acquainted with the most experimental and interesting phase in TD's career.