Tangerine Dream
Stratosfear

Here is a record that withstands the test of time thanks to its multiple layers of interpretation: "Stratosfear," or ambiguities: recorded in August 1976 in Berlin.

Let's consider the title: a wordplay that distorts the English term (stratosphere) by introducing the theme of fear. Or the cover image, created by Brian Cooke and Trevor Key, the Virgin Records graphic designers: you can flip it upside down and it's the same as before, in its sanguine beauty. Or the instrumentation used: each member of the German trio plays moog and mellotron, but electronic resources are supplemented by a Fender piano (Peter Baumann), a harpsichord (Chris Franke), piano, and 6 and 12-string guitars (Edgar Froese); the latter once showed up in the studio with a harmonica, causing astonishment among his companions.

"Stratosfear," or ambiguities: when I had a vinyl and record player, I liked to play the opening track, which gives its name to the album, at 45 RPM instead of 33: and it worked just the same, being a piece characterized by a very clear and singable melodic theme, which with my little experiment was greatly accelerated but didn't lose any of its integrity.

The emphasis on melody, in the 10'38" of this track (on the Internet I came across a shorter version, 5'08", re-arranged and quite lively but beware: it is not the original) marks the stylistic transition of Tangerine Dream for the years to come: from long meditative suites to shorter pieces with simple and well-structured themes.

The rest of the album evokes nocturnal and otherworldly atmospheres: the short "The Big Sleep In Search Of Hades," opened by harpsichord and flute (but it is the mellotron simulating the latter); an attempt to win over the American audience by mentioning a marsh in Florida: "3am At The Border Of The Marsh From Okefenokee" (it is in this track that Edgar Froese plays his infamous, and spectral, harmonica); finally the closing "Invisible Limits," with a tense dialogue between sequencer and electric guitar melodies before the closure entrusted to the lyrical and relaxed sounds of piano and flute-mellotron.

34 minutes of music in total: but they are the quintessence of Tangerine Dream.