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Tangerine Dream founder Edgar Froese is one of the key figures in the history of ambient and the only member of the iconic Krautrock band who's been on board the whole distance. He was also their most prolific solo artist in the early days, releasing on Virgin Records seven solo albums and one compilation. That these works navigate more or less a parallel course to the changes and developments in Tangerine Dream's music of the time is no surprise. The good news is that it was Tangerine Dream's golden period (1973-83) and many of Froese's solo efforts are comparable to that band's best releases. Aqua and Epsilon in Malaysian Pale are lush, surreal and intoxicating. Both are classic slices analogue electronica and old-school Berlin ambient. The also prove beyond doubt that Froese was one of the great mellotron technicians of his time, using its slightly otherworldly sampled string and choral sounds to brilliant effect. Aqua is the more abstract of the two. It features an abundance of weird and wonderful watery effects as per the title and the combination of said effects and gothic organ on "Upland" is particularly eerie and effective. Epsilon In Malaysian Pale is more melodic and Froese again makes superb use of mellotron and synthesisers, this time to create a rich tropical tapestry. Both albums feature those familiar bubbly pulses and rhythmic throbs of the mid-70's synth music, a reminder of what primitive sequencers sounded like before Kraftwerk introduced the world to more defined electro beats. After Epsilon Froese quickly recorded Macula Transfer. It's a marvelous record and some of it stands quite apart from the TD music of the time. Although there's now a crisper pulse and the mellotron sounds still swirl about with the expected trippiness, on two guitar-dominated tracks the riffing and keyboard stabs are cheerfully rough and raw and the end result is surprisingly powerful. As with colleague Peter Baumann's solo album released the same year, Froese seems unafraid of the bum notes. A number of other tracks have haunting, deeply beautiful suspended strings as a backdrop with a cosmic sound that unmistakably echoes Klaus Schulze. Less impressive is the double album Ages (1977). This one features a live drummer - a move Tangerine Dream tried for a few years - and an increasingly polished sound but despite a handful of fine tracks a classic it ain't. "Children's Deep Study" sounds like just that - music for 2-year olds. The trite melodies of "Metropolis" and "Ode To Granny A" sound like dodgy national anthems. The 20-minute "Tropic Of Capricorn" stretches a good five minute idea into what feels like an eternity. Still, fans will still find gems like "Icarus", an inspired piece of building, layered ambient trance with an unusual 3/4 time signature. Today Ages sounds even worse next to the beautifully crafted Stuntman, a full realisation of what Froese could do with great melodic writing, developed arrangements and pop-friendly synth technology. The mellotron is now gone and Froese is working with digital equipment as well as analogue - the resulting sound is generally cleaner and the structures more clearly defined. "It Would Be Like Samoa" is only 10 minutes long but the skillful way its mini-episodes are fused together hints at longer TD epics to come. The title track is a concise, immaculately crafted piece of ambient electro-pop with a rousing, piercing melody. The album is full of those crying synthetic melody lines so strongly associated with the Berlin-school which variously sound like a flute, a violin, or high-pitched orchestral strings. While Stuntman is hardly a mirror of the rockier detour Froese's band was taking in the late 70's, his early 80's album Pinnacles lines up squarely with the sound of TD classics like Exit (1981) and Firestarter (1984). Witness the shiny textures and tumbling clusters of melody on "Specific Gravity Of Smile". The 20-minute title track is another highlight and suggests the influence on Froese of new TD bandmate Johannes Schomelling in its sleek sounds and the very musical way it segues smoothly between quite distinct movements. Rounding up the remaining releases of this period we have a patchy film soundtrack Kamikaze (1982) - hard to find on CD but of interest to fans - and the never-released-on-CD compilation Solo 1974-79 (1982). After the early 80's Froese turned his attention full-time back to Tangerine Dream. Sadly after several significant personnel losses the band succumbed to trite electro pop, pompous rock and new age earwash and never really recovered. A word of caution: if you are new to Froese's solo work go for the Virgin/Caroline releases listed above and beware the 2005 re-issues on the TDI label. Just as he did with Tangerine Dream's controversial 5-CD compilation Tangents 1973-83 (1994) Froese can't keep his meddling fingers off his solo legacy either. Not content to simply remaster he once again has tinkered with past classics by needlessly overdubbing and/or re-recording. Not one of the orginal albums is improved by the exercise and several have been ruined in parts. All Froese compilations which have appeared since the 80's contain music that's also been subject to the same treatment. You have been warned. |
