MADCAP'S FLAMING DUTY

I haven't bought a TD album since Underwater Sunlight and only really bought this because it was dedicated to the memory of Syd Barrett. So shock number one is that it is not an instrumental album, it has vocals, (which is enough to send many a Tangerine Dream fan into a flat spin), and shock number two arrives on the form of the vocals themselves - some reviews have likened Chris Hausl to Mark Almond, which is close, but not strictly accurate, but they would be perfectly at home on an 80's synth-pop CD (or more recently Dark Wave and EBM). However, that be said, the guy can sing and it really fits the music to a T. He even manages a passable Irish lilt on Lake of Pontchartrain, which is my only niggle here - I have strong doubts about the song being Traditional Irish, since Lake Pontchartrain is near New Orleans and is about a Creole Girl.

Musically, TD have re-found their stride and any of the tracks here (sans vocal) would sit comfortably alongside tunes from Stratosphere or Force Majeure - Edgar Froese's lead guitar breaks are equally worthy of those albums alone (most notably on A Dream of Death). In fact it is the guitarmanship that really lifts the majority of the songs, for example the acoustic guitar overlaid with some seriously sustained electric/ebow guitar from Thorsten Quaeschning on The Blessed Damozel is just sublime. Add to this the vocals (adapted from 17th & 18th century poetry from the likes of Shelly and Blake) and Tangerine Dream have produced something really special.