[.ca] Phaedra

Un Essentiel amazon.fr:
A l'instar de Can et Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream fut l'un des premiers groupes allemands à tirer la quintessence des synthétiseurs au début des années 70. En plein courant psychédélique, la bande à Edgar Froese quitte le radeau du rock planant, dans lequel s'enlisent bon nombre de groupes acoustiques, pour plonger dans les eaux vierges du "new-age", préfigurant ainsi l'arrivée de cette paisible vague électronique qu'on appelle "ambient". Sorti fin 73, Phaedra ouvre la voie de la reconnaissance à leurs harmonies célestes. Il faut dire qu'avec ses longues plages instrumentales dépourvues du moindre rythme ou de la moindre attaque, cet album possède toutes les vertus requises pour relaxer les jeunes urbains alors stressés par le krach pétrolier. Mais quelques décades plus tard, force est de constater que leurs enfants, ceux qui écoutent DJ Spooky et qui vont se déstresser dans les fêtes techno, considèrent toujours avec le même intérêt ce "silence aménagé", qui étend ses nappes de Moog, Mellotron, orgue Hammond et autres pianos électroniques le long de deux thèmes magistraux qui durent plus de 20 minutes chacun. Des titres longue durée qui riment avec intemporalité ? --Stéphanie Lopez

Amazon.com essential recording:
This 1974 masterpiece from Christopher Franke, Edgar Froese, and Peter Baumann ebbs and flows with richly dark soundscapes of electronic sounds and synth. Phaedra was a progenitor for much ambient--and some dance--music, influencing such artists as Steve Roach. After listening to Phaedra it's easy to understand why. The signature pulsing of thick, beautiful Tangerine Dream synth falls across the ambient treasures here, pulling along the orchestral dreamscape before oozing aside for thick washes of expansive sound. The now-classic title cut is both soothing and ghostly, throbbing with subtle sequences and twisted metallic calls before diving into a swamp of nightmarish whistles and hoots. "Mysterious Semblance" soars and swoops like a lovely electronic eagle, bringing tripped-out light and cosmic dignity to the collection. This and the follow-up Rubycon are juicy pieces to the Tangerine Dream pie. --Karen Karleski

Music that Melts:
'Phaedra'(1974), 'Rubycon' (1975), and the live 'Ricochet' (1975), are the three albums that are the pinnacles of TD's analog 70's Virgin Records years. I cannot put into words the sounds that emanate from the first, side long track "Phaedra" on the album of its namesake, though. It is music that melts. Simplistically, it is like Minimalist music like Steve Reich or Phillip Glass on acid. But it is much more than that. The first cut of three on side two, er, I mean track 2 of the album "Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares" is not a repetitive space trip at all like the Minimalists, but more of a concerto for Mellotron, and the way "Movements of a Visionary" uses the VCS3 synthesizer to replicate some sort of aviary from Uranus is simply amazing. A classic album, and timeless masterpiece. If you buy this CD and like it, get "Rubycon" and "Ricochet". I am a huge TD fan of their other albums and varying styles, but this album sets a standard that almost no art from any genre can surpass. In 1976 (I was 16, you do the math) a weird friend of mine came over my house to play records. That's what we did in those days. Video games weren't invented, and the internet, well... And the only album that he brought with him was Tangerine Dream's "Phaedra". I never heard of them, but was willing to listen. I was blown away in a way I have never been blown away before. I've heard music that impressed me because of the good musicianship. I've had music that I've instantly to a liking to because I liked the songs or melodies. I've had music because it moved me in one way or another. But here was music that was mimicking sounds that I had in my brain that were never expressed aurally before. A kind of organic/electronic/psychological head-trip that was extremely cool in a way that I never came in contact with before. I had Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" and liked the second track "On the Run" very much; the sequenced synth line was very trippy. But TD took it to a MUCH higher level. I bought my own copy, and for the next few years proceeded, along with their albums "Rubycon" and "Ricochet" wear it out.

Depends on your point of view.:
If you're into more industrial/ebm style synthesizer music, stay clear of this title, instead get Tangerine Dream's 'Exit' album. TD uses alot of great textures in Phaedra, but it ends up sounding very bland. If you're into ambient electronic, this is almost beyond 5 stars, but most people that have heard later TD albums, will be disapointed with this highly praised early release. This is definately one for the collectors, or for ambient music aficionados. But this is a review, and not opinion, so if you like ambient/ethereal, purchase this one. If you want something more aggressive, yet still TD, get "EXIT".

Beautiful, anagogic soundscapes:
This beautiful album carries willing souls in a mesmerizing journey. Writing about such music is at once easy and difficult; easy because it is extremely evocative and varied, difficult because the experience it offers is hard to put into words. The title track, a masterful 17-minute electronic poem, is perhaps the most perfect creation on the album. After a calm, shimmering introduction, a perpetually morphing bassline enters and is the center around which subtle textures are developed; the bass eventually fades, as the introduction's calmness takes over again. The same kind of shifting bass reappears in 'Movements of a Visionary', an intricate, rythmic piece with many treated voices. On the other hand, 'Mysterious Semblance...' is not built around a center but rather evolves from a series of chord changes that evoke, among other things, a nocturnal procession. The short and flute-driven 'Sequent C' closes the album on a similar ceremonial note, and as a whole the album itself is akin to an initiation, inevitably putting its listener in a religious, peaceful mood. These soundscapes reveal new subtleties with each listen.

A new chapter for Tangerine Dream:
In 1973, Tangerine Dream recorded Green Desert, with Froese and Franke, but with Baumann absent. That album was shelved until 1986, by which point received so much digital treatment that you couldn't tell which parts were actually recorded in 1973 (it sounded too much like Le Parc and Underwater Sunlight than anything they did in 1973). In '73, Rolf Ulrich Kaiser was in charge of the Ohr label, the label Tangerine Dream recorded for. He just changed the name of the label to Kosmische Musik. There was a little unintended project called the Cosmic Jokers, which featured Klaus Schulze, Manuel Göttsching, Harald Grosskopf, Jürgen Dollase, Dieter Dierks, Rosi Müller, and Gille Letmann (mainly members of Wallenstein and Ash Ra Tempel), in which those albums were release without anyone knowing about it (although their albums are incredible), and angering most everyone involved in the process (especially Schulze). Tangerine Dream luckily stayed out of it. Froese once said that he refused to be a part of R.U. Kaiser's "cosmic circus", that's why TD defected from Ohr. And for good reason as Kaiser started receiving lawsuits, and fled Germany in the process, causing his Ohr, Pilz, and Kosmische Musik lables to go under. British radio mogul John Peel obviously appreciated Tangerine Dream's music, named Atem "Import of the Year", giving them UK exposure. That gave Richard Branson's Virgin Records a chance to sign them. And for this new album for a new label a drastic change in direction. Instead of soundscapes consisting of drones and space electronic effects, the synthesizers obviously take center stage. And Phaedra is the results. There is a more minimalist feel to the music, while retaining that otherworldy feel. This is the album that they refer to as the beginning of the "sequencer-era" for this group. The album opens up with the title track, which proves that. After all the experiments of synthesizer, Froese changes to Mellotron, which is basically the last several minutes of this track. "Mysterious Semblance at the Strands of Nightmares" is definately Froese's time to shine, as about 90% of the piece consists of just his Mellotron (although there are plenty of spacy electronic effects here). "Movement of a Visionary" continues on this new direction for the band. Strangely Baumann includes a little harmonica here, which might seem like a bad idea, works quite well with the pulsating electronics found here. "Sequent C'" closes the album which is basically spacy flute from Baumann himself, in which he overlays the flutes creating this echoey effect. This is truly one of the all-time great electronic albums, and I know I'm not alone in my opinion of this. Truly a must-have!

A long winded borefest:
A lot of people love this album and I understand why. Tangerine Dream as a band mastered the art of atmosphere and subtlety and were pioneers of electronic music. But, to somebody who enjoys melodic, soulful music, listening to Phaedra is about as fun as reading a Dickens novel. Too much air, not enough substance. The above statement may be unfair of me. Tangerine Dream wasn't set on making "fun" music. "Interesting" is a much better term. But it's not even interesting unless the sound of the wind perplexes you.

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