In the late 1960s, Tangerine Dream belonged to a German group of avant-gardists who more or less renounced the Anglo-American rock idiom. They preferred to investigate their European roots, resulting in electronic composers such as Stockhausen and Varèse. Klaus Schulze was initially part of Tangerine Dream, but leader Edgar Froese (guitar / keys) formed the most famous line-up at the time of the
… third album Zeit (1972) with keyboard players Peter Baumann and Chris Franke. This trio signed with Richard Branson's still young label Virgin in 1974 and thus ended up at the forefront of German electronic music. Zeit was still released on the German label Ohr and apart from Froese's guitar and four cellists, for the first time they exclusively use synthesizers, organs and generators. The original double LP contains four drawn-out pieces full of viscous drones and ghostly soundscapes. Zeit is an epic album, sounding like one electronic mantra that will carry you or leave you cold. This re-release adds another eighty minutes in the form of live recordings that are hardly distinguishable from the studio material in terms of quality. (MR)more
