GREEN DESERT

Looking at the other reviews it seems that this album is very controversial, Somebody says that it's effectively the lost masterpiece recorded in 1973 and released only 13 years later, other says that it's just 80s stuff. Probably it's both the things.

The title track is a side-long one, as it was usual for TD in 1973. It starts very spacey and without rhythm, like it's coming from the pink period. Let me say that I immediately loved this track. After some averagely good and sometimes not so good things released in the 80s, with some relevant exceptions mainly in the live albums, we finally have something that's not too far from Zeit. Another clue that this comes effectively from 1973 is the drums and the guitar entering slightly after about 5 minutes. In the old years 5 minutes was the average time until the theme has a significant change in TD long tracks. Also the floydian mood of the guitar (reminds me to Obscured By Clouds) dates this track to 1973. Wondering why this track hasn't been released actually, I think possible that Froese has considered it too "Floydian". Guitar leaves after 5 minutes more for drums and spacey sounds while the keyboard background is smoothly changing. Any doubt about it? It might have been edited before being released, but it surely comes from the 70s. Very Pink. At minute 16 it returns where it started but the love of Froese for Saucerful of Secrets is back again. I really have no doubts about the year of the first recording.

I'm less sure about "Whìte Clouds". The soundscape is not so different and it has something that reminds me to Encore. However this is another very good track.

"Astral Voyager" is closer to Phaedra than to Atem and the title is the most spacey thing that it has. I love this track as I love the whole album, but here I have a doubt about this having been composed later to fill an album too short. Well, if this is a filler I'd like to have a compilation of fillers of this kind. The whistling sound in the second half of the track reminds me again to Encore.

"Indian Summer" is fantastic. The background storms behind the succession of keyboard chords with the bass on the third or fifth then the flute...(of course electronic) is clearly reminding to Encore again. Also the track's title does.

So I think that the original recordings may have been edited and/or overdubbed a little, but those are tracks coming from the 70s. They make me feel a sentiment of regret for the great music that TD have been able to give us in that period. This is probably not at the same level of Atem and Phaedra, but is very close to both.

Happy to be able to rate again a TD album with 4 stars