1.5

Release data:

Tangerine Dream – Phaedra 2005
CD, Eastgate, 2005

For this project, father and son Froese took the music of the classic “Phaedra” album and reworked and remixed (read: tangenitized) it to make it fit in a more modern jacket.

This, by TD-fans, much feared treatment meant it would wash away the strong sense of mystery and magic from the old days. So there now are smooth rolling and poignant sequencers and flat sounding rhythms featured on the title track, of which the overall outcome misses the raw feel from back then.

The other three original tracks received the same treatment: modern, contemporary elements and voice-samples were layered upon the original textures, but actually not adding anything of value.
At the end of the album there’s the bonus track “Delfi”, which actually doesn’t add anything to the music, although it isn’t bad at all.

Transferring classic electronic music from 1973 into a fresher, more sparkling form of sound is a hazardous adventure. Certainly when you decide to take it up to today’s standards, as there’s the huge risk of losing all of it’s characteristic value and meaning. And that’s exactly what has happened here.
To me, the music on “Phaedra 2005” just doesn’t breath the same atmosphere nor impact from those days far gone by.

So make sure to check out sound bites of this revision album to make sure you don’t “burn your ears” on this restyled, contemporary release.

Website: www.tangerinedream-music.com

You can see what reviews I have done of this artist on the Tangerine Dream artist page