Tangerine Dream - Fly and Collision of Comas Sola (complete)
Вставка
- Опубліковано 18 вер 2024
- From 'Alpha Centauri' (1971) Ohr Records, Berlin, Germany.
All artwork and photo's from the original 1971 album and inserts.
Note : needs to be played loud on good speakers to appreciate the amazing zither synthesiser, 'dawn of creation' keyboards, and thunderous drumming accompanied by lotus flute which ends the piece !
Fan review - This is more like it! The second Tangerine Dream album is a huge improvement over the first one. At least in one objective way: as far as I know, it is the first ever electronic album to be fully dedicated to the atmosphere of astral travelling. We may reasonably argue that Pink Floyd did this stuff earlier, and we may even not unreasonably argue that Pink Floyd did this stuff better, but Pink Floyd certainly did not have the gall to dedicate an entire forty-minutes to one grand Cosmic Suite. Especially a forty-minute Cosmic Suite that set up some rules for all, or most, of the subsequent ambient compositions.
Anyway, here's the lowdown to you: after the departure of Schulze and Schnitzler, Froese teamed up with young avant-garde jazz drummer Christopher Franke, turned him into a young avant-garde keyboardist and formed the second core lineup of Tangerine Dream. For this particular album, the talents of two more keyboardists (Steve Schroyder and Roland Paulick) were also used, and Udo Dennebourg contributes flute. As for the compositions, there are only three - a short introduction ('Sunrise In The Third System'), and the two lengthy tracks - one apparently describing the actual journey to Alpha Centauri ('Fly And Collision Of Comas Sola'), and the second one dedicated to the stay on the system ('Alpha Centauri', true enough).
And it's all very nice-sounding, indeed. One thing I miss are the wild guitar solos; Froese seriously limits his licks on here, and for the most part, makes the guitar passages subordinate to the keyboards, or perhaps he just plugs all of his guitars through synthesizers, making them sound "keyboardish" (kinda like Steve Hackett used to do during his work with Genesis). But the lack of guitar heroics is compensated by a sense of... a sense of SENSE, I'd say. This is truly an atmospheric record, able to take you places if you wish, with a well-defined structure and purpose.
'Sunrise In The Third System' slowly and solemnly builds up on a rising wave of organ sounds, against which Froese weaves his subtle "wobbling" guitar lines - and forms a perfect introduction to the main cosmic journey. 'Fly And Collision Of Comas Sola' is true to the title. The first part is the 'fly', a lengthy, static organ pattern backed up with calm flute noises, which then slowly, slowly, deadly slowly gives way to a barrage of astral noise which brings on the 'collision' part: the organ dies away and is replaced by a wild, crashing drum onslaught. Yeah, Schulze did some mad drumming on the previous album, too, but there it was unpredictable (in a bad sense - you never knew when you had to cover up your eardrums) and pointless; here, Franke's drumming - I'm assuming it's Franke on the drums, although I could be wrong - represents either some sort of cosmic battle or just one cosmic body crashing into another. Whatever it is, it's firmly in place.
The title track lacks these moments of wildness - presumably, we're already supposed to be exploring the system and admiring the miracles of otherworldly life, instead of participating in gigantic space battles. Lots of white noise here, but lots of mood-setting organs and relaxing flutes as well, for about eighteen minutes or so, until it all reaches a solemn culmination in the "grand finale", with church organ and overdubbed 'harmonies' - I actually hesitate to call them that, as 'stoned out echoey screaming' sounds more like it, but it's well-organized and arranged screaming; remember, Alpha Centauri is anything but a chaotic album. Everything here is pre-planned and calculated, and I sure prefer it to the wild-eyed self-indulgent ambitious "jamming" of Electronic Meditation.
Arguably, Alpha Centauri is the first ever ambient album (although I admit that the question 'what was the first ever ambient album?' is only second in stupidity and pointlessness to the question 'what was the first ever punk album?': there are miriads of candidates for the job, from T.D. to Cluster to Mike Oldfield to Brian Eno to Philip Glass, and it all depends on our definition of the limits of Ambient as a genre). But even if it isn't the first, or it isn't ambient at all, calling it just a rip-off of some Floydian textures seems rather far-fetched to me. Doubtlessly, the album had a lot of innovative value in its time, and as far as these kinds of 'astral soundtrack thingies' go, it's still perfectly enjoyable in our times - even despite the fact that there are way too few musical ideas displayed on here.
Here's a live version from about 1972 (NOT Ricochet I as stated) !
ua-cam.com/video/xVX3cERDv24/v-deo.htmlsi=3gmTSirjwRG2tt0O
Once I showed Alpha Centauri, my favourite TD album, to a friend and he couldn't believe how someone who isn't a drugs addict could enjoy such sound.
For me the highlight of this album is certainly this song - one of the most awesome pysche masterpieces. 40 years has passed since its debut and it doesn't get dated.
Yeah, we were all crazy listening to this track......
I ❤❤cosmic sound! In 1971 I was 19 and this music opened my mind- Now at 70 cry rememering ...😂
absolute masterpiece of early tangerine dream.
This is the best track (song????) on album. profound. emotional, takes you to another level of consciousness, and you don't want to came back to the reality, excelent work of art......
As 15 years young, I put my cassete deck under my bed, the sound came from all over the room, what a trip it was, man
I had this imported and it took a month to arrive after shelling out over $30 of 1973 dollars, still own it in good shape today. This album made me over the last 35+ years buy every T.D. album I could get. Froeshe once told me in a letter I had more of their stuff than they had, because of all of the labels they had been with and fought with and masters were destroyed by them to prove they were gods over the group' such as the "Firestarter" album.
[Translated] This and a few more "songs" (or whatever you call this) of Tangerine Dream had a profound musical impact to me 20 years ago. Even today I would still say, this is music, as I wanted (also !) to hear even in 50 years like once again on the deathbed before I finally close the eyes. A touch of immortality from the depths of our cosmos. Thanks to the guys from Berlin for this acoustic-musical enlightenment.
[Orginal German] Dieses und noch ein paar weitere "Songs" (oder wie auch immer man das hier nennen mag) von Tangerine Dream hatten mich vor 20 Jahren musikalisch tief mit geprägt. Selbst heute würde ich noch behaupten, das ist Musik, wie ich sie sogar in 50 Jahren (auch !) gerne noch einmal auf dem Sterbebett hören wollte, bevor ich endgültig die Äuglein zu mache. Ein Hauch von Unsterblichkeit aus den Tiefen unseres Kosmoses. Danke an die Jungs aus Berlin für diese akustisch-musikalische Erleuchtung.
Thank you for pinning, may the good souls assert on this planet.
Just listened to this album for the first time in my life today, Moments of total awesomeness! :)
Alpha Centauri, IMO, is not their best album, but this track alone is their masterpiece. Those drums!
Agreed, though I like the flutes and primitive synths as much as the drumming.
That bit where the flutes, toms and guitar all build together just before Chris Franke's first snare fill is fantastic.
The more I listen to it I actually think it's a strong contender. I always loved Zeit since I worked my way back through the pre-Phaedra era, but I actually think this is even better, I just love the organ- and flute-dominated cosmic soundscape it creates, it's a unique album. Tempted to say it's the best and most groundbreaking release outside of the classic Virgin moog-driven TD era. The title track is just epic, the closest old school TD got to doing a "song", even if it is just spoken word and eerie space chants.
It is a very good album. In my strong opinion Tangerine Dream were really great with their early electronic experimental musical works. By late 70's and into the 80's their music became more structured. Sure they had a world wide following, and my one of my all time favorite albums by Tangerine Dream is their movie soundtrack for Firestarter. I saw Tangerine Dream in concert for the first time in the early 90's at the Ventura Majestic Theater in Ventura, CA. Edgar Froese and his son Jerome were performing on stage together. When Tangerine Dream came out do their encore, Edgar Froese was wailing on the guitar doing a instrumental rendition of Jimi Hendrix's 'Are You Experienced'. Everyone stood up and cheered. Including myself. The whole concert was just phenomenal! I will never forget that concert.
Right man, masterpiece
Das ist einfach nur geil. Schade, dass ich 1971 nicht dabei sein konnte.
It is, and I was!
Bought this in the 70's. Through headphones it was amazing - the sound rotated around over and below your head, especially the opening sequence
Yesterday I was fortunate enough to find a near mint copy of an OHR repressing of Alpha Centauri (OMM 556.012) at very nice price! Now it is lying on my shelf =D
what an unique masterpiece.
In 1983, a German movie called KAMIKAZE 1989 came out, starring (but not directed by) Rainer Werner Fassbinder. It was about this cop in a future world, driving around in his white Mercedes. Edgar Froese did the soundtrack but as a solo effort, not with TD.
Some fab drumming on this track!
this is definitely not ambiental music, the ambiental music is just nice sounds, this is epic, it express how a comet breaks thru the atmosphere of the earts hits the earth. for me this is some kind of progressive rock
It's also good to get hold of the original LP and admire the artwork and track details while playing !!
Mega! One of my favourite album sleeves, with Monique Froese artwork. The original Japanese pressing has a booklet with additional photo's, to be seen in this video.
Very Odd
Bit that can be a good thing
Minus Edgar but in our hearts 💕 Always 😊🎉❤
Oh My God
@elektronenklange After the zither synth intro and slowly-building flutes and guitar it's that massive percussive ending that does it for me !!
At that time a band had the opportunity to develop and evolve. The best was yet to come.
CLIFF RACERS.
Brayan Sito fucking Cliff Racers...
Sorry for the advert: if you like vintage TD, you may like this:
brotherhoodofthemachine.bandcamp.com/album/trip-hazard
The album is fully previewable on Bandcamp as has been described as "Hawkwind meet Tangerine Dream in a lift". We have occasional free releases: this is all done for love and not money. Hope you like it !
“... Azathoth, whose name no lips dare speak aloud, and who gnaws hungrily in inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond time amidst the muffled, maddening beating of vile drums and the thin, monotonous whine of accursed flutes; to which detestable pounding and piping dance slowly, awkwardly, and absurdly the gigantic ultimate gods... whose soul and messenger is the crawling chaos Nyarlathotep.” (H.P. Lovecraft, “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”)
this is wonderful!
kosmische music till death please
Incredible sound!!
Tangerine Dream = Music of Gods :')
@maxwellmaxamillian That's pretty much my story, of finding the imported albums in the fledgling UK Virgin outlets in the early 70's. A pity that commercialism has overtaken the current band line-up, with their generally dull and mushy radio-friendly easy listening sounds....
I met Edgar Froese twice. He is a real gentleman and a creative musician. However, if the subject of "Comas Sola" came up, I might've tweaked his nose.
Of course everyone knows that loud sound effects drown out the music about 7:30 into the piece. NOISE is not music and should not be mistaken for music. Sound effects can enhance music, but not when they drown it out.
Who the hell do you think you are...? It's your right to criticize, but suggesting then you know better then Edgar Froese what is, and what is not a music makea you a boffoon. This "noise" drowning out the music to me is a natural step in how this story evolves in my mind.
I believe that was Froese's musical intention, but it doesn't work for me. I have musical opinions like everyone else and the fact that I was "specific" is part of that opinion even though it does not agree with yours. Perhaps, one day, you should publish a treatise on which musical opinions are valid and which are not.@@ijonus
Of course, I really wouldn't tweak his nose. He was a good guy!
what the fuck this sound is crazy
Heyy.... Wake up!!
- I'm waking up as i'm closing my eyes..
Agreed, ambient is far too drippy a word to describe such invention and 'cosmicity', and I don't think that term was being used to cachet music in 1971 anyway... Regards.
alpha centuri premier album avec electronique méditation que de souvenir goldream2 michel goguelat compositeur planant
I don't think the term ambient applies to this - there's too much content, too much to potentially alarm the listener.
If there was no room for Froese's EM-style guitar work in the music they made from this point on (Ultima Thule excepted), there was certainly room for some other "soloistic" element. Dennebourg should've joined full-time - his contributions are absolutely central to this album.
Even he couldn't've redeemed "Zeit" though!
(See also my blog at wordpress - "sirbernardsfs")
@pozzi0 Be sure to get the latest release of 'Zeit' with a bonus live CD from '72 ! No zither synth though.....
@Thepsychedelic68 It surely is.... at least with this piece of music !
wunderbares meisterwerk by TD
may the lard have a wee wee wee wee wee bit o' mercy.....
found out how to reply back to this directly also now ,, bet it is "WAVELENGTH"
@DownGrand1967 mh? excuse me?
jepp
ja, ja, scheissliche musik,
No wonder that after albums as this and Zeit, Atem... they went downhill, I don't think that was conscious decision, they simply couldn't keep the bar so high. That they decided to go more "listener-friendly/radio-friendly" bullshit simply shows their lack of artistic integrity. If you cannot do the best you can, you shut up. I understand they have to "made a living", but that's something different than making art. Thank god they were creating in fresh, youthfull, creative spirits for those few years in the early 70's. For significance sake, they could just as well disband after that, it would have the same effect as making 100+ incredibly dull albums for apes.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, is it not? And I very much doubt any other band could have made this record, so be quiet and enjoy it.
No it is not a wonderful thing, it is painful and sad, it offends people, making them embarassed, full of regrets, and angry.
henrix999 i wouldnt say they went downhill immediatly , i think they went downhill just after 1984 as i love tangram and poland
They were good up until Hyperborea. But their latter live labums aren't that bad
Downhill? Just 2 examples to disprove this. "Optical Race" (1988) is a masterpiece in its own kind, just like the albums from the Sonic Poem Series (2011), "The Angel From The West Window", "Finnegans Wake" and "The Island Of The Fay"