STRATOSFEAR

Stratosfear is my most recent Tangerine Dream album. It's also apparently the last of the "classic" lineup of the band, and I must say also my least favorite of them. That's not to say it's a bad album, mind you - still a lot to like here, but they started to go in directions I don't really appreciate as much as their first six. I think the reason I don't like this one nearly as much as the first six is the electronic, programmed drums. There are very few occasions where I really enjoy programmed drums, and this isn't one of them. The few signs of real drums are appreciated, that's for sure. Anyways, drumming aside, this album is still mostly pretty fun. The first two tracks are much less to my liking than the second half of the album. While the first half seems to be more looking forward to the new sound the band was moving to, the second half brings back memories of their older albums I love so much. Plus, the programmed drums are less intrusive.

The material on the first side is worthy of two and a half stars for me, while the material on the second side is worthy of four. Seems like three stars is the obvious choice here, since I'd listen to any of the first six studio efforts over this one if given the choice.