Search - Tangerine Dream :: Canyon Dreams (Dlx)

Forgotten classic...?

Neil Thompson | Birkenhead, Wirral United Kingdom | 08/02/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Canyon Dreams" is a bit of an oddity as far as TD releases are concerned. Recorded with the short-lived Froese, Franke, Haslinger lineup, it's not considered a "major" album release and tends to be left aside as "just another soundtrack". In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. "Canyon..." is a small diamond of an album, very much an equal partner (imho) to "Underwater Sunlight", most often sited as that trio's finest production.With the exception of the extra tracks penned by the dependably bland Jerome Froese, the rest of the tracks are composed by the aforementioned trio with a subtlety and majesty so missing from later TD. "Shadow Flyer" is boppy without being annoying and almost seems out of place with the next six tracks, which blend and merge beautifully."Canyon Carver" is superb; slow build to a powerful main theme, reminiscent of TD's work with Johannes Schmoelling. From there we have some wonderful floating synth patches on "Water's Gift" that seamlessly wanders into "Canyon Voices" and "Sudden Revelation".There's very little of the up-tempo aor that TD became in later years; this album feels like the old era TD re-born, it has the continuity and flow that was once their trademark. It's a shame that these three didn't stay together longer; it appears that with Chris Franke's departure went the TD ambience that I loved; certainly Franke's first solo effort, "Pacific Coast Highway" is outstanding and much more like TD than TD...I originally owned the video of this before the album and while the visuals are awe-inspiring in their own way, they sometimes detract from the inspirational qualities of the music itself.Definitely worth buying."