I don't have any details but I have sometimes wondered if Edgar's "losing his way" was perhaps in part due to whatever illness ultimately caused his wife's passing. There aren't a ton of details but there's mention of her passing being due to "a long illness" in 2000. If indeed his wife was sick for an extended period it may well have been difficult to put a ton of focus on TD.
If you're actually reading this then chances are you already have my last album but if NOT and you're curious:
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Interesting idea. Something like that can surely knock you off your pins for a while.Originally Posted by battema
Especially since she wasn't just a passive spouse but appears to have been pretty actively engaged with her husband's art along the way. Again...no proof of that but the rough timeframe lines up.
The Miramar years aligned with my becoming a full on TD fan (Rockoon was the first new TD album to arrive after I became a fan), so I've always had a soft spot for those albums although in truth, my appreciation has more diminished than grown or remained stable. Some pretty great songs in there but none of the albums are terribly high on my own rankings.
If you're actually reading this then chances are you already have my last album but if NOT and you're curious:
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Also, Ephemeral Sun: it's a thing and we like making things that might be your thing: https://ephemeralsun.bandcamp.com
I think the early '90s was more about letting Jerome steer the ship. Hearsay in the late '80s was that Edgar had intended to "end" TD (which is interesting, considering what is happening now) and that he even told one person at a concert exactly that after the show, but but he never made a formal statement. I think he invited his son and changed his mind. Whatever it was, at the time Edgar was not interested in retreads, which also played a part in the green light for the Dream Mixes series.
Over 6.5 years later! How time flies. Well, I still feel the same about TotT, but you know what, I've kind of come around on Goblins' Club. The last three tracks are the best, with my favorite being the 11-minute "Sad Merlin's Sunday," the most Edgar-sounding offering on the entire album.
Yeah, that definitely seems to be the case in the early 90's when JF first came on board. I was thinking more about the latter half of the decade leading up to her death.
Either way...not exactly the finest hour for the band.
If you're actually reading this then chances are you already have my last album but if NOT and you're curious:
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"Big City Dwarves" is a cool track. It's far and away a better album than Melrose/Tides.
I prefer the time when they improvised live each show so I would recommend checking out the Tangerine Tree and Tangerine Leaves concerts especially before 1979. You should be able to find these on Youtube.
My ratings change depending on my mood but here is what I would rate them today.
1970 -1973
1. Ziet
2. Atem
3. Green Desert
4. Alpha Centauri
5. Electronic Mediation
1974-1979
1. Pheadra
2. Stratosfear
3. Oedipus Tyrannus
4. Rubycon
5. Ricochet
6. Sorcerer
7. Encore
8. Force Majeure
9. Cyclone
1980-1986
1. Thief
2. Poland
3. Quichotte
4. Logos Live
5. Tangram
6. The Keep
7. Exit
8. Le Parc
9. Hyperborea
10. White Eagle
11. Risky Business
12. Fire Starter
13. Heartbreakers
14. Flashpoint
15. Wavelength
16. Legend
17. Underwater Sunlight
I would recommend all the releases up to this point but I have to say that from 1987 to 1998 I listen to these (Live Miles, Canyon Dreams, This Park Is Mine, Miracle Mile, and Near Dark.)
From 1998 to 2015 I like these in no order:
Mota Atma
Mars Polaris
Great Wall Of China
The Seven Letters From Tibet
Transsiberia
Springtime in Nagasaki
Sumer In Nagasaki
Booster
Views From A Red Train
Autumn In Hiroshima
Booster II
The Endless Season
Machu Picchu
Mala Kunia
Since 2015 I have purchased all the newer releases and enjoy them.
Also, I would recommend checking out early Klaus Schulze and Peter Baumann (his recent release as Neuland with Paul Haslinger is great!)
Favorites from I've heard - Phaedra, Stratosfear. In the mid-80s I lost interest.
My interest in TD is these two periods and that's all, though, based on what Green Desert sounds like today, I'd probably place it more in the Phaedra Rubycon era than in the pink years. Hopefully someday, I will hear the Oedipus Tyrannus and buy it as a stand-alone thingie, if available. Though I must say that I can do without the Sorcerer OST.
And yes, early Schulze until the Body Love thingies are definiely worthy (Timewind being my fave), and one day I hope to re-explore the early Froese solo albums (I think I flew by it a bit too quickly back then.
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
You gotta get your groove back!
I have to give Goblin's Club another spin. I know I got it as soon as it was released, gave it a couple of listens and haven't heard from it again. That's a problem for me with TD. There are so many releases that I don't always give it enough time to sink in. Actually, after Rockoon, which caused me to stop following TD for a bit, that's when I got off of 'autobuy' for TD. I've gone back and filled in most of the releases up to Phaedra 2005, which I didn't care for. After that it's been the odd cd I pick up from them. I did listen to Sessions 2 the other day, so maybe it's time to visit the Atomic series , Boosters etc. Or save my pennies for the box sets!
Get the 2008 album Views from a Red Train. As with a few others around that time, it's really an Edgar solo with contributions from Thorsten, Linda and Bernard (Biebl, guitarist).
I kind of lost interest after Lily on the Beach, though I caught them whenever they toured in the area. I kept up with the boxes like Tangents, Dream Roots and Beyond the Storm, and then years later picked up all the Ambient Highway and Booster sets, and got some pretty good overviews from Ballads and Electronic Journey.
My TOP Favourite: TANGRAM
And the rest but selective:
Thief score
Sorcerer score
Ricochet
Stratosphere* (#2 Favorite)
Optical Race (only time I saw them Live, my #3)
Encore Live
Poland
Logos
Exit
Worst: Cyclone - Marked the departure of Peter Baumann and added dreadful vocals by Steve Jolliffe. Only for the diehard IMHO.
I'm one of those weirdos who has come around on Cyclone after disliking it for years.
"Rising Runner" is still not my cuppa but the other two tracks are actually really terrific to my ears. Outside the vocal sections on "Bent Cold Sidewalk" it's a really excellent instrumental groove, and Jolliffe's flute work sits nicely in the ensemble. And "Madrigal Meridian?" WOW...sidelong instrumental monster.
If you're actually reading this then chances are you already have my last album but if NOT and you're curious:
https://battema.bandcamp.com/
Also, Ephemeral Sun: it's a thing and we like making things that might be your thing: https://ephemeralsun.bandcamp.com
I like "Bent Cold Sidewalk" a lot. For them, it's really different, and I'm glad Krieger stuck around for Force Majeure (their "prog rock duology"). "Rising Runner" is okay, but it feels like a jam that got salvaged.
This is a good track with some tasty guitar. But its one with the sequencer driving the track has been used over and over. Even though I never heard this track before, I feel I know it. I guess after all the great music he's produced, he's entitled but its the reason I got off of 'autobuy' for TD.
A fan of Cyclone. Bent Cold Sidewalk is a killer track, Rising Runner is a swing and a miss and Madrigal Meridian is great. I especially love the beginning of the track. I should have just said I totally I agree with you.
Yeah, it was a bit of a WTF album for my first ten years of owning it, but slowly, it permeated me... I kind of like that it's rather different. Did we really need another Stratos-Core album?I'm one of those weirdos who has come around on Cyclone after disliking it for years.
"Rising Runner" is still not my cuppa but the other two tracks are actually really terrific to my ears. Outside the vocal sections on "Bent Cold Sidewalk" it's a really excellent instrumental groove, and Jolliffe's flute work sits nicely in the ensemble. And "Madrigal Meridian?" WOW...sidelong instrumental monster.
Yup, BCS is the major track on Cyclone, IMHO
and Force Majeure is really their last great album.
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
Disagree. Johannes Schmoelling shows up in 1980.
Force Majeure is absolutely the last great TD album released in the 70's.
If you're actually reading this then chances are you already have my last album but if NOT and you're curious:
https://battema.bandcamp.com/
Also, Ephemeral Sun: it's a thing and we like making things that might be your thing: https://ephemeralsun.bandcamp.com
Which is why I dig it. But it's not representative of the whole thing. I think you'll like it.
Co-signed!
I'll give it a go. I'm looking at other newer TD, I have Quantum Key which is very good and Mila Kuna which is just ok. I initially thought they should retire the TD name after Edgar passed, but after listening to some of the newer stuff, I am optimistic that they can produce some very good music.
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