This album is a masterpiece, but I can see why it would be a big surprise to you after listening after Phaedra and Rubycon. After those albums, they started to embrace a more melodic sound on Stratosfear, although that's still recognisably Tangerine Dream. Their soundtrack for the 1977 movie Scorcer came next, the last to feature Peter Baumann. It's both nightmarish and melodic in parts - and another top 30 UK album. You'd be most shocked by Cyclone though, which features proper lyrics and vocals for the first time from temporary member Steve Jolliffe - that album reminds me of an Alan Parsons record. By the time of Force Majeure, TD were essentially a two-piece of Froese and Franke, but continued to pursue a more melodic sound from here on.
One of my favourite records of all time! I bought my first guitar - a beautiful Yamaha 12 string after hearing Cloudburst flight! Delighted you have discovered one of TDs masterpiece recordings ❤
This is very good. My personal go-to album is Logos. My all-time favourite piece of music by anyone is TD's Beach Scene (used in the movie Thief), very euphoric.
I've been listening to Tangerine Dream for decades. You have *so* much more to experience from them. I'm jealous of new listeners going through their vast catalog. Too many other albums to recommend next, but perhaps I'd say Tangram.
Edgar Froese always wanted to constantly change his artistic style. That's why he was a genius. You'd have to listen to 150 T.D. albums and 200 bootlegs over many years to fully understand this unique phenomenon in the history of music. Listen to the album Mala Kunia from 2014. Because it's great electronic music of the 21st century. I recommend listening to "Nights Of Automatic Women" from Edgar Froese's 1978 album "Ages".
Stratosfear, album or song from Tangerine Dream. The first album that changes their sound a little to get more like this album. Reminds me of Pink Floyd actually.
I can breathe touch see the cold air when the announcer begins his intro. And then the sphinx lightning riff! Full blast at 1am= Chrome Cassette version in college dorm. aM e m o r y.
Great review JP! I had the same feeling when I first heard Cloudburst Flight, was this really TD?? If you want another surprise try Cyclone. An experiment with vocals they never repeated but imo it works very well. The side long track Madrigal Meridian must be one of the greatest sequencer driven space rock inventions ever.
The title track Force Majeure was played in my local planetarium when they began their show of the evening and night sky projeted above. I found it quite fitting.
This is definitely in my top 5 TD albums. Magnificent. You'll find that they were very melodic during this period. Albums like Ricochet, Stratosfear, Encore, Cyclone (Which actually has vocals!), this album, and Tangram are ALL outstanding. I love everything they did up to about 1977 or 78 ending with Live Miles. After that, their music was much more disciplined and tracks were shorter. I found their soundtracks to be a little less interesting for the same reasons. Franke was on all the albums of their first 17 years except for the first LP. The live albums from this period have original tracks and thus are just as necessary to a TD discography. Loved this reaction. Enjoy!
@@bookhouseboy280 Yes serious typo. I meant the 1970-1987 or 88. I also like the Froese albums Aqua, Epsilon in Malaysian Pale, Macula Transfer & Ages a lot. at least the original mixes of them.
I remember to have mentioned before in a comment to Rubycon that later drums, percussion and guitar would become an important element of their music. I haven't specified what 'later' meant, but you were told :) - it was fun to watch your reaction to each of these tracks.
Have to add my vote as well for Stratosfear, my favorite album by The Dream. All four tracks have something unique to offer. Plus it has probably the coolest album cover of all the band's works. Most of the covers were designed by Froese's wife, Monique, and I think they are just as much a part of the band's personality as their music (including the way they incorporate images of their son, Jerome, who joined the band for a brief time as well).
I first heard Cloudburst Flight when I was a kid listening to a cheap battery radio under my bed covers, I was converted immediately. I have seen them live a couple of times, back in the 1980's and a few weeks ago. Superb!
I had Tangerine Dream on my CD alarm clock. I sleep listened to 'Goblin's Club' for almost two years every morning! Love Tangerine Dream, and how they influenced later artists.
I recommend you Stratosfear (1976), as it marked their style change, introducing more diversity, melody, the use of drums and guitars, and an overall more "progrock-electronic" oriented sound in their production. If you liked this then you'll probably enjoy that album, althoug not being so polished and perfect in sound and production it has similar virtues to Force Majeure. In the 80s they become dull in my opinion, more new age oriented, although with some puntual exciting moments and nice tracks.
👍Stratosfear strikes the perfect balance between dreamlike climates and more melodic ambiances without having the cheesy sounds and easy-listening moments of Force Majeure.
Agreed, Stratosfear was the first I got of their's and my favourite. Cyclone and this were fantastic too. The mid 80s I gave up, the albums became very uninspired.
It's 1979, I am 9 years old and my older cousin tells me to listen to this album together and from that day and moment I know that this will be a moment for the rest of my life - how correct that has been. TD and JMJ changed my life. 😎❤️
It was a pleasure to watch your review. Your expressions of pleasant surprise while listening are a joy to watch. Yes, Force Majeure is certainly an unusual and exceptionally great TD album.
I was fortunate enough to experience the superbly melodic portion (15:40-19:30) of Force Majeure at my first TD concert with the classic lineup of Edgar Froese, Chris Franke, and relative newcomer Johannes Schmoelling. Santa Monica Civic, November 22, 1980. Timeless
Yo hold up This is actual fire. I'm with you everyone talks about Phaedra and Rubicon which are great fucking albums but this is miles ahead of what those records were. Side 2 is basically welcome to the machine part 2 and I'm all for it!
Shouts from Dr. Franke 'n' Froese - "It's Alive"! Igneously conceived album. This month's selections are volcanic.🌋 Not covered in layers of sappy, slick, sedimentary slime. It's so satisfying😁. Peace and Love.
Hi dear JP, this is the first TD surprise for me too and one of my all-time electronic music favorites. Besides all other suggestions here, I strongly recommend you to give their "Green Desert" album from 1986 also a try, especially, if the drum & guitar combination in this album was appealing to your taste.👍
Saw them in Stockholm in 2020, was quite disappointed actually - not a single track from the years 1976 - 2000, should be a crime to use a name as Tangerine Dream and make tours not playing any of the master pieces. 'Tangerine Dream - the new era' would be more correct. Me and a lot of people actually left the concert after half the time. Promised myself to not see "older" bands with new members again under a famous name.
Love your reactions & descriptions JP of the great Force Majeure album. Plenty of others in their catalog but this is classic TD to me. You could try 'Exit', 'Logos', 'Poland', 'Thief', 'Tangram' and 'Hyperborea'. One of their more creative periods.
Great reactions JP! Cloudburst Flight is an epic masterpiece of electronic music. The rest of Force Majeure is awesome as well. I've been listening to this album since it first came out.
Thanks for this man. I think that this album, particularly 'Cloudburst Flight', while it got fantastic reviews from a lot of TD fans, it never got the true praise it deserved. My oldest sister Susan, who was always soooo far ahead musically of everybody I knew, put me onto this in 1979, not long after it's release. Roll forward a few years, as an owner of pretty much all of TD's back catalogue, I lent this album to several of my friends, telling them to sit or lay down, chill, making sure they listened to it through cans. Most of them went out and bought the CD shortly after. Then I got 'Underwater sunlight' and recommended they got that too, which they did. Like so many people, TD meant 'Phaedra' or 'Rubycon' or 'Stratosfear', wonderful experimental albums, then the film 'Risky Business' suddenly turned on interest in TD. 'Force Majeure' and 'Underwater Sunlight' are so stand out (not that all their other albums were unworthy), but the approachable sound of these two albums is spectacular.
They didn't tour this LP but they did do Cyclone in 1978 and the Tangram era stuff in 1980.. would have been wonderful to have heard Force Majeure live with Klaus on drums...
@@lemming9984 But you are right about the clear UK 1979 version. I have that as well. It did also come out on the usual black vinyl but if you bought this record chances are you bought it at your import record store where we usually bought the slightly higher priced but overall better quality records/packages.
@@vdggmouse9512 It was quite a surprise playing it for the first time, I was expecting black. It wasn't marketed as a special edition, as it would be now. The only other clear vinyl I ever had was Steve Hillage's Rainbow Dome Musick.
JP, I have some suggestions for you. I am someone who is considered to really know his classic Prog. I'd like to recommend a few overlooked classics ( and to anyone out there who'd like to go a little deeper ). I assure you these are all very accessible and very interesting. here we go...Steve Hillage - "Green", Hawkwind - "Quark, Strangeness, And Charm", Nektar - "Recycled", Camel - "A Live Record", Phil Manzanera & Eno - "801 Live" ( I normally dont go for live albums, but these two offer material not on studio lp's and/or unique versions of their studio counterpoints), Hatfield & The North - "Rotter's Club", Caravan - "Waterloo Lily", Rennaissance - "Scheherazade", Eloy - "Ocean", Jethro Tull - "A", FM - "Black Noise", Utopia - "RA", Robert Calvert - "Capt. Lockheed & The Starfighters" featuring both music ( backed by Hawkwind, Eno,& Arthur Brown ) and comedy skits ala M. Python. Hope you find this helpful. These may not be super well known, but they are every bit as good as the big guys of Prog. TRUST ME.
Fantastic review JP. So glad you enjoyed this so much. There are many more albums from TD that deserve a review, but I also encourage you to just drop them in your playlist and enjoy in your own time!
Used as part of the soundtrack for Risky Business which introduced a new audience to Tangerine Dream. Great music. I suggest you have a listen to Canyon Dreams particularly Canyon Voices.
OMG❣ Just found your channel due to the LOVEBITES reaction the outer day. And OMFG! again 😀 Tangerine Dream and full albums...🙏 This album is so good. I was fifteen and been stuck ever since. ❤ Any album is great but I've come to like this one and "Stratosphere" the most. With Love🙏❣
JP, Try Logos. An amazing album. TDs best song is Loved By The Sun from Legend soundtrack. With Jon Anderson adding his vocal and lyrical talent, one of the finest songs of the whole decade. Easily top 25 of the century.
@@JustJP thank you for your reply. Now, you are probably going to get hundreds of suggestions on what TD you should listen to. Do a bit of research on the band members and you'll probably see that their best work always involved Chris Franke and Edgar Frose. If you can listen to and watch the film (Legend). It's a soundtrack too. I don't know how but they just nail it. Some of the pieces break your heart. Jon Anderson also sings on one of the tunes. You won't be sorry JP. Keep up the good work. 🖖
It'd weird, they were one of my favourite bands live. A totally different experience, not much action, just 3 guys buried in keyboards. But the sound experience just sucked you in. They simply just took you on a journey.
So if you (obviously) liked Force Majeure, then most TD's recordings of that era (circa 1976-80) should be your cup of tea. Including live performances too. Try Stratosfear of Tangram next!
Justin, dude...the 80s incarnation of this style is the Underwater Sunlight album. Listen to Song of the Whale, particularly part 2. Not kidding. I'm a HUGE Force Majeure fan as it's Tdream's shinging prog moment. But if you like this, Song of the Whale pt 1 &2 is the next to check out. Also, Livemiles - Albequerque Concert.
I like this album, used to listen to these when I was a high school student in the late 80s. Check out Logos, it's a live album recorded in London, one of their more cohesive albums with many many enjoyable and memorable moments.
Klaus Krüger is great. Had a band in the late 70s and the drummer said it was very difficult to be the slave to the sequencers when he was used to driving the band. Krüger also played of Froese's Ages album.
Justin you need to check Tangerine Dream's Thief Soundtrack which both quotes the Metamorphic rocks sequencers and builds upon its sound, though in a slightly darker urban setting. Also Edgar Froese's soloalbums Ages and Stuntman are quite similar to the Force Majeure sound.
Green Desert, Phaedra, Cyclone, Force Majeure, Stratosfear, Pergamon, Tangram, Poland (live), Hyperborea, Le Parc, Exit, Underwater Sunlight... They are still played on my turntable (or on my cd player 😊).
I haven't seen mention of TD's soundtrack for the movie Sorcerer. That album was my introduction to the music of Tangerine Dream and I bought it because I was intrigued by the album cover . I got it home and played it and at the tender age of 13 I just didn't get it. I went back to it a couple of years later and was hooked. The opening track is very disjointed but so atmospheric. The movie bombed when it came out but is now a cult classic and I heartily recommend it
Oh yeah, Force Majeure indeed! This album's a tour de force - a real powerhouse. I had a lot of TD back in the day, but somehow I missed this one. How could I? I agree this is as good or better than anything else I know by them. And by the way, you had the lighting right for the first track! You shouldn't have gone with more light later - the way you had it with that eerie colored background lights made it feel like a black light tripping den, perfect for an album like this. You should do that again when another occasion arises for some good extended space rock.
The first TD album I ever purchased, and still one of the better ones! Cloudburst Flight is absolutely transcendent. My favorite album remains Tangram.
LEGEND that is Force Majeure. This is rocket science music for Rocket Scientists beamed back 44 years from interstellar space long before synths became mainstream. Loose the phones and listen on some serious speakers my friend. Edgar RIP.
Been a fan of Tangerine Dream since hearing Encore in 1978 when just 12 years old. In my opinion they reached creative peak in 1980 with the album Tangram.
Good choice :) To me it's one of their peaks, a blend of earlier 'Berlin School' electronica with prog rock'ish stuff, just before they moved towards more simple music.
Fantastic album, 💯 pure creativity Tangerine Dream are electronic music geniuses. The amazing synthesizers that were used in this album are some of the very best quality, plus the compositions are absolutely phenomenal. The 70s and 80s were the best years Iconic music and there are more early 80s albums too. Amazing! and Incredible. Tangerine Dream can create Cinematic Masterpieces🍊thanks JP for this phenomenal album upload.
I love your reactions JP, but the moving text on that screen in the background is very distracting, I've had to put a blank text document panel over it.
This was a good time. Yeah you know you're probably right it's weird that people wouldn't recommend this more highly. I think people do like this album, but if theyre like me, they just remember this album as having a good feel but maybe don't normally sit down and take it in the way we did here. But then again idk, those drum sections pull you right in; if you're listening to it as background music, once those sections, the sequencers too, come on, you're just sucked right in to the groove. And it really is worth it to sit with, I don't appreciate it often enough. Now that I have a car I feel like this'll be great for driving. Makes me think you're gonna like Exit. Exit is probably my favorite. Stratosfear is really nice too. Unique feel,, kind of an odd one, a transitional period for them. More in the direction of Force Majeure but no drums. The drums are a surprisingly good development in this album. Exit tho, look forward to that one! Now you can't say no one told you about that one! Especially the title track, oh man, that's deep.
The fading in and out from one thought to another is some thing they do at there concerts. They play for three or more hours and never stop, they merge each song into another and it takes you with them. just fantastic Masterful ORIGINAL (1960s) Musicians. They had electronic Nerds Build them machines that could make different sounds and were the first to use some of them in their music . just to much to say about Edgar.
Seventies TD has to be characterized by two albums, which will may make you refine how you feel to this band. 1) RICOCHET 1975 which is an amazing piece of work (in part live) and 2) ENCORE 1977 Live U.S. Tour. Force Majeure is I guess a prelude to Eighties TD. It still included Baumann but sadly he left after this 1979 release. TD imo is always best LIVE, as they are great improvisers to the extent you don't always know what they are actually playing as it's often all fused together (in a good way). That is why their Bootlegs are always so amazingly brilliant. No-one else did it like they did. I mean 10-15 mins just to get going for a 30-40 min track! On their night they could hit non-stop home runs. And the fans loved it. That's TD.
Baumann was out two years earlier (77) after Encore. Klaus Kruger was the third member on Majeure (with Froese and Franke). I agree that their live stuff was stellar, and that extended with Quichotte/Pergamon, Logos and Poland in the early 80s.
Just watching because I love Tangerine Dream and I read Force Majeure. I know this album from the inside out. There is not much to tell they evolved. The sound changed over the years. I could recommend more like that, BUT, maybe I name the album Tyger. Another Evolution of their sound. Worth mentioning, that Edgar Froese was the only fixed member until his death in 2015. For me, Tangerine Dream stopped existing. Different members produced different sound. My favourite era are the 70s and 80s but there is nothing I dislike. Tyger is a mix created from poetry of William Blake and has vocals. White Eagle, Warsaw and the Poland concerts are great synth albums. Fun Fact: Tangerine Dream also created Soundtrack for GTA 5, Grand Theft Auto V (game music NOT the music in the Radio stations) In the USA TD came to fame with the soundtrack for Risky Buisiness staring a young Tom Cruise. (Love on a real Train)
They were on there way to an An American tour when Edgar died . And I am sorry to say they haven't been the same since. I still like watching what they put out but it's not the same. But what do I know. I'm a 70 year old Acid head. Love to all.
Stratosfear is also good from this time period but I like a lot of their work a little later than this. "Exit" is a real good album and I would recommend Justin.
Tangerine Dream are a part of my late teen life (1979-1982). It was a time of selfdiscovery and wide open attitude to the unknown. By the way, Tangerine Dream are the band who made the music you listen to while waiting for game loading of Grand Theft Auto 5
It's hard to overstate how influential this was on bands like YMO and other early 80's techno, electronic dance groups, not to mention an entire generation of early video game soundtracks plus horror music soundtracks.
There is an earlier Tangerine Dream which you might explore. Their first album, Electronic Meditation(1970), Alpha Centauri(1971) and the amazing Zeit(1972).
TD has had different incarnations. Sometimes all synths, sometimes with guitar, drums, and sax. I know I keep harping on this, but check out Tangerine Dream's 1992 live album "220 Volt Live." Part of it was recorded in Seattle, home of Jimi Hendrix, and they conclude the concert by playing Purple Haze (and that is NOT the best part of the album).
@@altair8598 is that Cinnamon Rd your referring to? There's a similar short uptempo joyful one at the end of Poland uncredited at the time but on later CDs it was given a name, which escapes me at the mo! 🤗
Hey JP I have a New Band for your channel and it's also Electronic genre music full album it's called SPACE - " Magic Fly " 1977 full album. there are 8 super tracks on this fantastic LP. TH-cam recommended it to me back in 2005 while searching for Synthesizer music from the 1970s and the song that started it all was Magic Fly song with it's amazing Synth Bass and Kick Drum beat plus other Synths added to the mix, so I played the entire album and WOW every song is different and creative. Especially Tango In Space it has got so many layers of pure Electronic Magic. Not at all a typical tango song. It's just a title name. 💯👍 Electronic Musical Geniuses nonstop Awsomeness.
You're absolutely correct about Cloudburst Flight. Iconic.
Love this album. One of the best in this genre. Cloudburst is a magnificent piece of music.
This album is a masterpiece, but I can see why it would be a big surprise to you after listening after Phaedra and Rubycon. After those albums, they started to embrace a more melodic sound on Stratosfear, although that's still recognisably Tangerine Dream. Their soundtrack for the 1977 movie Scorcer came next, the last to feature Peter Baumann. It's both nightmarish and melodic in parts - and another top 30 UK album. You'd be most shocked by Cyclone though, which features proper lyrics and vocals for the first time from temporary member Steve Jolliffe - that album reminds me of an Alan Parsons record. By the time of Force Majeure, TD were essentially a two-piece of Froese and Franke, but continued to pursue a more melodic sound from here on.
One of my favourite records of all time! I bought my first guitar - a beautiful Yamaha 12 string after hearing Cloudburst flight! Delighted you have discovered one of TDs masterpiece recordings ❤
This is very good. My personal go-to album is Logos. My all-time favourite piece of music by anyone is TD's Beach Scene (used in the movie Thief), very euphoric.
I'm not a big lover of Tangerine Dream's music, but I've always considered this album to be one of the greatest in electronic music. A hug.
Cloudburst flight, one of the best solos ever.
Geat solo for sure, but Edgar was cheating in the studio (playing slow, and speeding the tape when recording).
I've been listening to Tangerine Dream for decades. You have *so* much more to experience from them. I'm jealous of new listeners going through their vast catalog. Too many other albums to recommend next, but perhaps I'd say Tangram.
Edgar Froese always wanted to constantly change his artistic style. That's why he was a genius. You'd have to listen to 150 T.D. albums and 200 bootlegs over many years to fully understand this unique phenomenon in the history of music. Listen to the album Mala Kunia from 2014. Because it's great electronic music of the 21st century. I recommend listening to "Nights Of Automatic Women" from Edgar Froese's 1978 album "Ages".
Yes, good shout. Personally I believe 'Madagasmala' is another gem of a track.
@@nicholasburgess7035 Yes! Mala Kunia (2014) It's a beautiful album.
This is my favorite album by Tangerine Dream. I have listened to this album hundreds of times. It never gets old for me. SO GLAD you reacted to it.
You really should take on Ricochet next. A 2 track masterpiece.
Stratosfear, album or song from Tangerine Dream. The first album that changes their sound a little to get more like this album. Reminds me of Pink Floyd actually.
Pink Floyd drummer Mason actually made a Stratosfear mix that wasn't issued.
A Kraut-rock Pink Floyd. 😃
I still do think you should try out the live album Poland.
That remains my favourite album of TD. Somehow they're live even better than in a studio.
I can breathe touch see the cold air when the announcer begins his intro. And then the sphinx lightning riff! Full blast at 1am= Chrome Cassette version in college dorm.
aM e m o r y.
Poland, what a master piece that is! Totally agree.
Great review JP! I had the same feeling when I first heard Cloudburst Flight, was this really TD?? If you want another surprise try Cyclone. An experiment with vocals they never repeated but imo it works very well. The side long track Madrigal Meridian must be one of the greatest sequencer driven space rock inventions ever.
The title track Force Majeure was played in my local planetarium when they began their show of the evening and night sky projeted above. I found it quite fitting.
This is definitely in my top 5 TD albums. Magnificent. You'll find that they were very melodic during this period. Albums like Ricochet, Stratosfear, Encore, Cyclone (Which actually has vocals!), this album, and Tangram are ALL outstanding. I love everything they did up to about 1977 or 78 ending with Live Miles. After that, their music was much more disciplined and tracks were shorter. I found their soundtracks to be a little less interesting for the same reasons. Franke was on all the albums of their first 17 years except for the first LP. The live albums from this period have original tracks and thus are just as necessary to a TD discography. Loved this reaction. Enjoy!
Agree about the soundtrack albums. Tracks too short!
Well, the tracks on the soundtracks *are* short, but the entire album ( at least _Sorcerer_ and _Thief_ ) do set a mood.
I believe you meant up to 1987/88, the time of Live Miles.
@@bookhouseboy280 Yes serious typo. I meant the 1970-1987 or 88. I also like the Froese albums Aqua, Epsilon in Malaysian Pale, Macula Transfer & Ages a lot. at least the original mixes of them.
I remember to have mentioned before in a comment to Rubycon that later drums, percussion and guitar would become an important element of their music. I haven't specified what 'later' meant, but you were told :) - it was fun to watch your reaction to each of these tracks.
Have to add my vote as well for Stratosfear, my favorite album by The Dream. All four tracks have something unique to offer. Plus it has probably the coolest album cover of all the band's works. Most of the covers were designed by Froese's wife, Monique, and I think they are just as much a part of the band's personality as their music (including the way they incorporate images of their son, Jerome, who joined the band for a brief time as well).
I first heard Cloudburst Flight when I was a kid listening to a cheap battery radio under my bed covers, I was converted immediately. I have seen them live a couple of times, back in the 1980's and a few weeks ago. Superb!
Stratosfear is probably my fave from TD, you should loop back and give it a review
Its a nice bridge between their old Kosmiche sound and this
I had Tangerine Dream on my CD alarm clock. I sleep listened to 'Goblin's Club' for almost two years every morning! Love Tangerine Dream, and how they influenced later artists.
I recommend you Stratosfear (1976), as it marked their style change, introducing more diversity, melody, the use of drums and guitars, and an overall more "progrock-electronic" oriented sound in their production. If you liked this then you'll probably enjoy that album, althoug not being so polished and perfect in sound and production it has similar virtues to Force Majeure. In the 80s they become dull in my opinion, more new age oriented, although with some puntual exciting moments and nice tracks.
👍Stratosfear strikes the perfect balance between dreamlike climates and more melodic ambiances without having the cheesy sounds and easy-listening moments of Force Majeure.
Agreed, Stratosfear was the first I got of their's and my favourite. Cyclone and this were fantastic too.
The mid 80s I gave up, the albums became very uninspired.
Poland was the last good thing they did imo
@@neuroisis85 I agree!
Klaus Krieger (who also played with Iggy Pop) on the drums. He also played the drums on the TD album Cyclone and Edgar Froese's soloalbum Ages.
It's 1979, I am 9 years old and my older cousin tells me to listen to this album together and from that day and moment I know that this will be a moment for the rest of my life - how correct that has been. TD and JMJ changed my life. 😎❤️
Heyyyyyy it's my favorite of theirs after Phaedra. This one is the melodic beautiful TD. Phaedra is the drifting in a space cocoon TD.
It was a pleasure to watch your review. Your expressions of pleasant surprise while listening are a joy to watch. Yes, Force Majeure is certainly an unusual and exceptionally great TD album.
The best Tangerine Dream album. A masterpiece.
I was fortunate enough to experience the superbly melodic portion (15:40-19:30) of Force Majeure at my first TD concert with the classic lineup of Edgar Froese, Chris Franke, and relative newcomer Johannes Schmoelling. Santa Monica Civic, November 22, 1980. Timeless
Yo hold up This is actual fire. I'm with you everyone talks about Phaedra and Rubicon which are great fucking albums but this is miles ahead of what those records were.
Side 2 is basically welcome to the machine part 2 and I'm all for it!
Shouts from Dr. Franke 'n' Froese - "It's Alive"! Igneously conceived album. This month's selections are volcanic.🌋 Not covered in layers of sappy, slick, sedimentary slime. It's so satisfying😁. Peace and Love.
Hi dear JP, this is the first TD surprise for me too and one of my all-time electronic music favorites. Besides all other suggestions here, I strongly recommend you to give their "Green Desert" album from 1986 also a try, especially, if the drum & guitar combination in this album was appealing to your taste.👍
Got to see Tangerine Dream in concert a couple of times, they were (are still?) a great live band, too.
Saw them in Stockholm in 2020, was quite disappointed actually - not a single track from the years 1976 - 2000, should be a crime to use a name as Tangerine Dream and make tours not playing any of the master pieces. 'Tangerine Dream - the new era' would be more correct.
Me and a lot of people actually left the concert after half the time.
Promised myself to not see "older" bands with new members again under a famous name.
Love your reactions & descriptions JP of the great Force Majeure album. Plenty of others in their catalog but this is classic TD to me.
You could try 'Exit', 'Logos', 'Poland', 'Thief', 'Tangram' and 'Hyperborea'. One of their more creative periods.
Great reactions JP! Cloudburst Flight is an epic masterpiece of electronic music. The rest of Force Majeure is awesome as well. I've been listening to this album since it first came out.
Thanks for this man. I think that this album, particularly 'Cloudburst Flight', while it got fantastic reviews from a lot of TD fans, it never got the true praise it deserved. My oldest sister Susan, who was always soooo far ahead musically of everybody I knew, put me onto this in 1979, not long after it's release. Roll forward a few years, as an owner of pretty much all of TD's back catalogue, I lent this album to several of my friends, telling them to sit or lay down, chill, making sure they listened to it through cans. Most of them went out and bought the CD shortly after. Then I got 'Underwater sunlight' and recommended they got that too, which they did. Like so many people, TD meant 'Phaedra' or 'Rubycon' or 'Stratosfear', wonderful experimental albums, then the film 'Risky Business' suddenly turned on interest in TD. 'Force Majeure' and 'Underwater Sunlight' are so stand out (not that all their other albums were unworthy), but the approachable sound of these two albums is spectacular.
Great album. You REALLY need to listen to Stuntman by Froese, released around the same time. Absolutely breathtaking.
I bought Stuntman in the 80s.. had 2 LPs at one point... Dali-esque Sleep Fuse was my favourite synth track for many years...
@@neilloughran4437 Drunken Mozart in the Desert was used really well in Sagan’s Cosmos.
I see you weren't too thrilled with it. Give it another listen. It might grow on ya.
I bought this on first release - clear vinyl, if I remember correctly. I saw them on this tour too.
So jealous!
They didn't tour this LP but they did do Cyclone in 1978 and the Tangram era stuff in 1980.. would have been wonderful to have heard Force Majeure live with Klaus on drums...
@@neilloughran4437 It must have been for Tangram then...I'm old and it was long ago! I also saw Klaus at Coventry Cathedral for Audentity.
@@lemming9984 But you are right about the clear UK 1979 version. I have that as well. It did also come out on the usual black vinyl but if you bought this record chances are you bought it at your import record store where we usually bought the slightly higher priced but overall better quality records/packages.
@@vdggmouse9512 It was quite a surprise playing it for the first time, I was expecting black. It wasn't marketed as a special edition, as it would be now. The only other clear vinyl I ever had was Steve Hillage's Rainbow Dome Musick.
JP, I have some suggestions for you. I am someone who is considered to really know his classic Prog. I'd like to recommend a few overlooked classics ( and to anyone out there who'd like to go a little deeper ). I assure you these are all very accessible and very interesting. here we go...Steve Hillage - "Green", Hawkwind - "Quark, Strangeness, And Charm", Nektar - "Recycled", Camel - "A Live Record", Phil Manzanera & Eno - "801 Live" ( I normally dont go for live albums, but these two offer material not on studio lp's and/or unique versions of their studio counterpoints), Hatfield & The North - "Rotter's Club", Caravan - "Waterloo Lily", Rennaissance - "Scheherazade", Eloy - "Ocean", Jethro Tull - "A", FM - "Black Noise", Utopia - "RA", Robert Calvert - "Capt. Lockheed & The Starfighters" featuring both music ( backed by Hawkwind, Eno,& Arthur Brown ) and comedy skits ala M. Python. Hope you find this helpful. These may not be super well known, but they are every bit as good as the big guys of Prog. TRUST ME.
801 is great, either their live or studio albums!
Fantastic review JP. So glad you enjoyed this so much. There are many more albums from TD that deserve a review, but I also encourage you to just drop them in your playlist and enjoy in your own time!
Used as part of the soundtrack for Risky Business which introduced a new audience to Tangerine Dream. Great music. I suggest you have a listen to Canyon Dreams particularly Canyon Voices.
Oh and launched the career of one Mr Tom Cruise as a bonus
OMG❣ Just found your channel due to the LOVEBITES reaction the outer day. And OMFG! again 😀 Tangerine Dream and full albums...🙏
This album is so good. I was fifteen and been stuck ever since. ❤
Any album is great but I've come to like this one and "Stratosphere" the most. With Love🙏❣
Thanks so much for watching Pappa :)
JP, Try Logos. An amazing album. TDs best song is Loved By The Sun from Legend soundtrack. With Jon Anderson adding his vocal and lyrical talent, one of the finest songs of the whole decade. Easily top 25 of the century.
My favourite TD Album so far, i've still got a lot to listen to. 😄
I recommend the track 'Crystal Voice' from the Firestarter soundtrack.
@@barriniho yes I second that recommendation crystal voice, charly the kid and shop territory from the album fire starter(movie)
Wow your on Tangerine Dream. This could go on for ever... Massive catalogue. Love your channel.
Thanks so much wfam! Loving what I've heard of them :D
@@JustJP thank you for your reply. Now, you are probably going to get hundreds of suggestions on what TD you should listen to. Do a bit of research on the band members and you'll probably see that their best work always involved Chris Franke and Edgar Frose. If you can listen to and watch the film (Legend). It's a soundtrack too. I don't know how but they just nail it. Some of the pieces break your heart. Jon Anderson also sings on one of the tunes. You won't be sorry JP. Keep up the good work. 🖖
It'd weird, they were one of my favourite bands live. A totally different experience, not much action, just 3 guys buried in keyboards. But the sound experience just sucked you in. They simply just took you on a journey.
I'd also recommend checking out SYNTHWAVES by Thorsten Quaeschning (a current member of Tangerine Dream) & Ulrich Schnauss (an ex-member of the band).
Great listen, this is one of the top TD albums I know of. I like the title, the 3 powerful tracks and it's transformative ways.
So if you (obviously) liked Force Majeure, then most TD's recordings of that era (circa 1976-80) should be your cup of tea. Including live performances too. Try Stratosfear of Tangram next!
Justin, dude...the 80s incarnation of this style is the Underwater Sunlight album. Listen to Song of the Whale, particularly part 2. Not kidding. I'm a HUGE Force Majeure fan as it's Tdream's shinging prog moment. But if you like this, Song of the Whale pt 1 &2 is the next to check out. Also, Livemiles - Albequerque Concert.
I like this album, used to listen to these when I was a high school student in the late 80s. Check out Logos, it's a live album recorded in London, one of their more cohesive albums with many many enjoyable and memorable moments.
Logos is stunning, but turned out to be a completely studio album (like most of TD's 'live' albums)
I was at the concert in London, it sounded amazing and later heard why! A bit dismayed really by that fact.
Many albums throughout the last 45 years! Exit is my favorite.R.I.P. Edgar
One of their greatest albums, also do Cyclone, also with the same drummer, but also vocals, flutes and wind instruments!
Klaus Krüger is great. Had a band in the late 70s and the drummer said it was very difficult to be the slave to the sequencers when he was used to driving the band.
Krüger also played of Froese's Ages album.
Justin you need to check Tangerine Dream's Thief Soundtrack which both quotes the Metamorphic rocks sequencers and builds upon its sound, though in a slightly darker urban setting.
Also Edgar Froese's soloalbums Ages and Stuntman are quite similar to the Force Majeure sound.
Green Desert, Phaedra, Cyclone, Force Majeure, Stratosfear, Pergamon, Tangram, Poland (live), Hyperborea, Le Parc, Exit, Underwater Sunlight... They are still played on my turntable (or on my cd player 😊).
Low lights good!
I'm not sure what TD was thinking when they tacked on that mincing passage starting at 20:00.
I haven't seen mention of TD's soundtrack for the movie Sorcerer. That album was my introduction to the music of Tangerine Dream and I bought it because I was intrigued by the album cover . I got it home and played it and at the tender age of 13 I just didn't get it. I went back to it a couple of years later and was hooked. The opening track is very disjointed but so atmospheric. The movie bombed when it came out but is now a cult classic and I heartily recommend it
The soundtrack album Thief from 1981 is very similar in the soundscape to this. You will surely like that as well.
Oh yeah, Force Majeure indeed! This album's a tour de force - a real powerhouse. I had a lot of TD back in the day, but somehow I missed this one. How could I? I agree this is as good or better than anything else I know by them. And by the way, you had the lighting right for the first track! You shouldn't have gone with more light later - the way you had it with that eerie colored background lights made it feel like a black light tripping den, perfect for an album like this. You should do that again when another occasion arises for some good extended space rock.
The best Tangerine Dream album from my humble point of view.
The first TD album I ever purchased, and still one of the better ones! Cloudburst Flight is absolutely transcendent. My favorite album remains Tangram.
Thank you for this, JP :) Always a pleasure to Dream with you :) Stratosfear next!
Ty Toten :)
LEGEND that is Force Majeure. This is rocket science music for Rocket Scientists beamed back 44 years from interstellar space long before synths became mainstream. Loose the phones and listen on some serious speakers my friend. Edgar RIP.
I LOVE Cloudburst flight, one of the best named tracks of all time.
Force Majeure is might. Now listen to Tangram. It is as amazing. Great reaction.
Also, check out 220 Volt Live and Turn of the Tides for the "full band" feel.
Been a fan of Tangerine Dream since hearing Encore in 1978 when just 12 years old.
In my opinion they reached creative peak in 1980 with the album Tangram.
Good choice :) To me it's one of their peaks, a blend of earlier 'Berlin School' electronica with prog rock'ish stuff, just before they moved towards more simple music.
Fantastic album, 💯 pure creativity Tangerine Dream are electronic music geniuses. The amazing synthesizers that were used in this album are some of the very best quality, plus the compositions are absolutely phenomenal. The 70s and 80s were the best years Iconic music and there are more early 80s albums too. Amazing! and Incredible. Tangerine Dream can create Cinematic Masterpieces🍊thanks JP for this phenomenal album upload.
Force Majeure usually tops every poll have ever run on top TD albums (goes and checks - OK it normally comes in at #2)
Great album.. think I heard my name mentioned at the start... hard to say as everyone pronounces it differently... ;).
great TD album from Virgin years (their best years)
suggestion: Manuel Gottsching & Michael Hoenig - Early Water
And Hoenig's Departure from a Northern Wasteland. A masterclass in sequencing.
I love your reactions JP, but the moving text on that screen in the background is very distracting, I've had to put a blank text document panel over it.
LOL!
The LED lights need to be shielded, too. Although they're not glaringly bright, they do require to be hidden from direct view.
Statosfear my favorite.
Stratosfear, Tangram, Poland!
This was a good time. Yeah you know you're probably right it's weird that people wouldn't recommend this more highly. I think people do like this album, but if theyre like me, they just remember this album as having a good feel but maybe don't normally sit down and take it in the way we did here. But then again idk, those drum sections pull you right in; if you're listening to it as background music, once those sections, the sequencers too, come on, you're just sucked right in to the groove. And it really is worth it to sit with, I don't appreciate it often enough. Now that I have a car I feel like this'll be great for driving.
Makes me think you're gonna like Exit. Exit is probably my favorite. Stratosfear is really nice too. Unique feel,, kind of an odd one, a transitional period for them. More in the direction of Force Majeure but no drums. The drums are a surprisingly good development in this album. Exit tho, look forward to that one! Now you can't say no one told you about that one! Especially the title track, oh man, that's deep.
This is a great album, love it! And really happy that you like it too.
Ty Matt, its good 😎
The fading in and out from one thought to another is some thing they do at there concerts. They play for three or more hours and never stop, they merge each song into another and it takes you with them. just fantastic Masterful ORIGINAL (1960s) Musicians. They had electronic Nerds Build them machines that could make different sounds and were the first to use some of them in their music . just to much to say about Edgar.
What a great review, word for word , my very thoughts !
Don't miss Exit, Justin!!! :)
Seventies TD has to be characterized by two albums, which will may make you refine how you feel to this band. 1) RICOCHET 1975 which is an amazing piece of work (in part live) and 2) ENCORE 1977 Live U.S. Tour. Force Majeure is I guess a prelude to Eighties TD. It still included Baumann but sadly he left after this 1979 release. TD imo is always best LIVE, as they are great improvisers to the extent you don't always know what they are actually playing as it's often all fused together (in a good way). That is why their Bootlegs are always so amazingly brilliant. No-one else did it like they did. I mean 10-15 mins just to get going for a 30-40 min track! On their night they could hit non-stop home runs. And the fans loved it. That's TD.
Baumann was out two years earlier (77) after Encore. Klaus Kruger was the third member on Majeure (with Froese and Franke). I agree that their live stuff was stellar, and that extended with Quichotte/Pergamon, Logos and Poland in the early 80s.
Appreciate the correction should have checked dates. Can be deceptive when relying on distant memories. Thank you for replying.
Just watching because I love Tangerine Dream and I read Force Majeure. I know this album from the inside out. There is not much to tell they evolved. The sound changed over the years. I could recommend more like that, BUT, maybe I name the album Tyger. Another Evolution of their sound. Worth mentioning, that Edgar Froese was the only fixed member until his death in 2015. For me, Tangerine Dream stopped existing. Different members produced different sound. My favourite era are the 70s and 80s but there is nothing I dislike. Tyger is a mix created from poetry of William Blake and has vocals.
White Eagle, Warsaw and the Poland concerts are great synth albums.
Fun Fact: Tangerine Dream also created Soundtrack for GTA 5, Grand Theft Auto V (game music NOT the music in the Radio stations)
In the USA TD came to fame with the soundtrack for Risky Buisiness staring a young Tom Cruise. (Love on a real Train)
Thanks so much for the info Homer, and for watching :)
Great sounding drums
They were on there way to an An American tour when Edgar died . And I am sorry to say they haven't been the same since. I still like watching what they put out but it's not the same. But what do I know. I'm a 70 year old Acid head. Love to all.
"Cloudburst Flight" is my favourite TD track - and the ending really gets my subwoofer (and windows) a rockin'.
I first heard this stuff in Risky Business with Tom Cruise.
Stratosfear is also good from this time period but I like a lot of their work a little later than this. "Exit" is a real good album and I would recommend Justin.
"Exit" would be a great full album reaction choice. Cutting technology for its time.
This is probably my favourite TD album! Such a warm sound, this and Cyclone were the "with drums" outliers back in the day (the latter isn't as good)
What a treat to see TD reactions. Subbed for sure. Ricochet is my favorite. Repping Tacoma
Ty Jake!
Cloudburst flight is beautiful ❤
Tangerine Dream are a part of my late teen life (1979-1982). It was a time of selfdiscovery and wide open attitude to the unknown. By the way, Tangerine Dream are the band who made the music you listen to while waiting for game loading of Grand Theft Auto 5
Film score geniuses.
It's hard to overstate how influential this was on bands like YMO and other early 80's techno, electronic dance groups, not to mention an entire generation of early video game soundtracks plus horror music soundtracks.
There is an earlier Tangerine Dream which you might explore. Their first album, Electronic Meditation(1970), Alpha Centauri(1971) and the amazing Zeit(1972).
I think that this album has been a very big inspiration for Muse band.
Everything in this album is perfect, except the last track where a rogue piece of instrumentation goes haywire, it makes it more magic.
TD has had different incarnations. Sometimes all synths, sometimes with guitar, drums, and sax. I know I keep harping on this, but check out Tangerine Dream's 1992 live album "220 Volt Live." Part of it was recorded in Seattle, home of Jimi Hendrix, and they conclude the concert by playing Purple Haze (and that is NOT the best part of the album).
Does anyone rate Hyperborea by TD? Enjoyed your reaction JP.
it's a classic
It's great too, but not as great as this one
@@HippoYnYGlaw Chronozon, for example is joyful, a change in direction for TD. Glad you like it too.
Hyperborea is a gem!
@@altair8598 is that Cinnamon Rd your referring to? There's a similar short uptempo joyful one at the end of Poland uncredited at the time but on later CDs it was given a name, which escapes me at the mo! 🤗
Nobody told me about this either. Really enjoyed.
Hey JP I have a New Band for your channel and it's also Electronic genre music full album it's called SPACE - " Magic Fly " 1977 full album. there are 8 super tracks on this fantastic LP. TH-cam recommended it to me back in 2005 while searching for Synthesizer music from the 1970s and the song that started it all was Magic Fly song with it's amazing Synth Bass and Kick Drum beat plus other Synths added to the mix, so I played the entire album and WOW every song is different and creative. Especially Tango In Space it has got so many layers of pure Electronic Magic. Not at all a typical tango song. It's just a title name. 💯👍 Electronic Musical Geniuses nonstop Awsomeness.
Listen
"Hyperborea" and "White Eagle" two great Tangerine Dreams albums!