WHITE EAGLE

Okay, prog fans (especially you younger ones), let's get one thing straight from the start: German synth trio Tangerine Dream made (make) spacey background music of an unobtrusive, rhythmic nature. If you're looking for textbook dynamic progressive rock, DO NOT come looking here! When you listen to TD, don't expect "something to happen," because it WON'T. (It already is.)

1982's WHITE EAGLE, as with others of its ilk, is music for chilling out. It best serves as a means to establish an ambiance or mood in your space, allowing you to placidly go about your business -- reading, chatting, lounging, yoga, floating in the pool, loving, doing the dishes, whatever -- but probably not foosball or ultimate frisbee! (I suppose it might help a newcomer to the band's music to get into this stuff if that person had been a bit of a "head" 'back in the day,' as they say, and given to reading fantastic literature, playing D&D and engaging in other such "mind-expanding" trivial pursuits -- nudge nudge, wink wink.)

WHITE EAGLE has four tracks. "Mojave Plan" is the longest, at over twenty minutes, and it's a typical example of the longer TD pieces from this their early to mid-eighties era. It starts out eerie, and then visits various moods throughout its length. A perfect one to stretch out and drift with, or read classic sci fi by.

"Midnight in Tula" (as with "Choranzon" on the prior EXIT) is this disc's shorter up-tempo "single-sounding" selection, and elevates the mood - a good motivator for a foray to the kitchen.

"Convention of the 24" is almost ten minutes of gentle, aimless drifting, with a smattering of Froese lead. Get back to your book -- though you may well want to lose consciousness at this juncture, especially after overdoing it with the ice cream....

Finally, I have always found the title track, "White Eagle," to be simply lovely. I love the tinkling (!) piano, the hypnotic synth voices, and the gently floating majesty of this bird! My sole complaint is that, at less than 5 minutes, it's over only too soon.

In any case, you either have a taste for this sort of electronic background music, or you don't - just don't say I didn't tell you what to expect. Rather good - if you like it!