Search - Passport :: Ataraxia (Mlps)

Doldinger's Most Beautiful Music

Gavin Wilson | 09/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Passport started operations in the early 70s as a totally German, essentially jazz-rock band. They recorded some decent albums of the genre -- such as 'Handmade' and 'Cross Collateral' -- but by the time they released the sonically impressive 'Infinity Machine', it was clear that their leader Klaus Doldinger was prepared to be flexible to attain greater popular success. (I guess he had seen what fellow countrymen Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk had achieved.) But whereas the Tangs were keyboards with a bit of guitar, Doldinger was sax with a bit of keyboards, so Passport were always going to be slightly different.By the time of 'Ataraxia', Doldinger had recruited a couple of South American musicians to add a limited ethnic flavour to the mix. But Klaus was very much in control, and he used that control to write what I believe is Passport's masterwork.Ataraxia Parts 1 and 2 are two of the most gorgeous instrumental tracks I know -- a wonderful blend of synth intro leading to a climactic sax, backed by a suitably steady rhythm section. 'Sky Blue' is a catchy number, and the most likely candidate for a single, if the group ever released one. It wouldn't have been out of place as the theme to a 70s TV detective series. You can see how Doldinger was evolving into a soundtrack composer ('Never-Ending Story', 'Das Boot' etc).The rest of the album is great in parts (ie 'Reng Ding a Dong' and 'Loco-Motive'), though the last track is, as another reviewer here writes, a disappointment.But this album was my soundtrack to the summer of 1978. I wore out side 1 of the LP, and I searched in vain for another Passport album which approached the excellence of this. Sadly I never found one."

Released in USA as "Sky Blue," one of their best.

Gavin Wilson | 12/23/1998

(4 out of 5 stars)

"More melodic than most, this is a collection of songs, many of which you would swear you've heard before, but you can't quite place. good balance of sax, keyboards, and guitar."

Excellent but for one ill-advised track

Mark Champion | San Antonio, TX United States | 09/12/1998

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Never the most consistent of bands, Klaus Doldinger's Passport continues to frustrate on this late-70's release. Fortunately, the worst track is saved for last: the glaring, honking, squonk-fiesta that is "Alegria." Apart from this ill-advised leftover from the previous year's "Iguacu," this is a rather fine Doldinger effort. "Sky Blue" (for which the original American LP was justifiably named), "Loco-Motive" and the stately "Louisiana" are outstanding examples of how excellent this band can be; the rest of the album, if treading familiar ground (the loping "Mandrake," "The Secret"), nevertheless also fares well. Much more interesting than subsequent releases which began incorporating wretched and unnecessary vocals (a bid for jazz-lite radio airplay), it is arguably the last of Doldinger's more creative work of the 70's and 80's."