FORCE MAJEURE

Having travelled through the discography of TD from their 1960s origins to this album, pretty much in order, and coming away surprisingly underwhelmed, I came upon this 1979 release and was completely sucked in. I love this! By far the most engaging and mature work of the band that I've encountered. Perhaps I am biased by my love of the Thief soundtrack (despite the album's ultimate song not being a TD performance), but I had long been a fan and frequent spinner of the "Encore" discs (especially the guitar-dominated Side Three epic, "Coldwater Canyon"). The sound on Force Majeure is just so much more forward, so much more surrounding and engulfing than many of their earlier works in which I always felt (feel) that I had to work so hard to enter, engage, and immerse myself into. Maybe its the more live sound of the drums, but I think it's the way the synth tracks are all finally mixed distinctly and forward. Also, the melodic constructs used here are much more dynamic whereas in older stuff the melodic shifting was so much more subtle, fluid, and gradual. This may not deserve a full five stars but for me it stands above their other acknowledged "masterpieces."