Tangerine Dream Inferno

Klik hier voor de Nederlandstalige versie

Not the live album of the London gig I was expecting, this is a concert featuring new music inspired by 'Inferno' from Dante Aligheri's 14th century 'La Divina Commedia' and performed live at the St. Marien zu Bernau Cathedral on October 7 2001. Tangerine Dream's music has often been inspired by classical mythology/literature from 'Phaedra' to William Blake's 'Tyger' and this album consists of typical latter day Froese/Froese anthems and textures with operatic vocals on most tracks and Iris Kulterer's percussion/kettledrums. Not a combination to get the chart compilers at SMD towers too busy I would have thought.

However, the percussion works better here, adding an extra dimension to the overall classical sound and curiously, by a cruel, ironic twist of fate, the Froeses do use sequencers quite liberally and the tunes are generally more than respectable, better than a number of latter day releases. However, the problem I suspect for many will be the ubiquitous operatic vocals. Nevertheless, there are some instrumental sections, for example, the opener 'Before the Closing of the Day' begins with 'Tyger'-like lush melancholic textures, enhanced here by subtle vocal contributions, before a typically strident TD theme emerges, with the kettledrum slowly beating, adding to the melodramatic atmosphere, speeding up quite promisingly towards the end.

'The Spirit of Virgil', sorry about the obvious comparison, sounds like a bonus vocal track from the 'Tyger' sessions but 'Minotaure hunt at dawn' is a decent tune with an effective instrumental section, but the song, although well sung here, as throughout, is hard going. Operatic tracks like 'Io mon mor' and 'vidi tre facce' will alienate many fans from the outset but I have to say that some instrumental pieces are promising. The instrumental 'Justice of the karma law' is probably the most reminiscent track to the Dream Mixes style with busy percussion, pads and the occasional sequence and I was left pondering on what 'As the Sun moves to Heaven', and a number of others, would sound like without vocals.

It is not unusual for artists to experiment with opera/classical styles, Vangelis being a case in point on his recent 'Mythodea' release, and if you've ever wondered what contemporary Tangerine Dream compositions would sound in an operatic/classical setting, this is definitely for you. However, I suspect Dave will have to put 'features operatic vocals' next to the listing to avoid some being disappointed. I have to be honest and say that I haven't yet managed to listen to the entire album in one sitting but there is still creativity at work here and I admire the band for this project for daring to do something radically different. I hope that they can now move on to the next phase. (SR)

Nederlandstalige versie

Dit is niet het live optreden van hun concert in Londen, dat ik verwachtte. Dit concert is geïnspireerd op Dante's 'Inferno' uit de 14e eeuw, en werd live gebracht in de St Marien zu Bernau kathedraal op 7 oktober 2001. TD's muziek was al meermaals geïnspireerd op de klassieke mythologie, van 'Phaedra' tot William Blake's 'Tiger'. Dit album bevat typische latere Froese/Froese composities, met operastemmen op de meeste tracks en percussie/pauken van Iris Kulterer. Niet direct een combinatie om de SMD hitlijsten mee te halen. Hoewel, de percussie werkt hier goed en geeft een extra dimensie aan de algemene klassieke klank.

Eigenaardig genoeg gebruiken ze de sequencers vrij uitzinnig en zijn de melodieën meer dan respectabel, beter dan op enkele van hun vorige uitgaven. Ik denk echter dat de operastemmen voor de meesten onder ons een probleem vormen. Sommige instrumentale secties zoals de openingstrack "Before the closing of the Day" begint met een "Tiger'-achtige melodie, bijgestaan door subtiele stemmen alvorens er een typisch TD thema opduikt. De pauken dragen hun steentje bij tot de gevoelige atmosfeer en versnellen wat tegen het einde.

"The Spirit of Virgil" klinkt als een bonustrack voor 'Tiger' en "Minotaure hunt at Dawn" heeft een 'echte' instrumentale sectie en is erg leuk. De melodie, die gezongen wordt, is vrij moeilijk. Operagezangen als 'Io Mon Mor' en 'Vidi Tre Face' zullen vele fans vervreemden, toch zijn sommige secties veelbelovend. "Justice of the Karma Law" is het meest te vergelijken met hun 'Dream Mixes', met hevige percussie, klanktapijten en de gebruikelijke sequences en ik vroeg me af hoe "As the Sun moves to Heaven" en enkele andere tracks zouden klinken zonder deze gezangen.