Tangerine Dream 1996 (C) Book Of Dreams [FLAC]

Review by Jim Brenholts [-]

Tangerine Dream has been a dominant force in e-music for over 30 years. Their influence has spread to rock & roll, space music, ambient, and even new age. During their storied career, they have released dozens of "best-of" packages that have spanned different eras and/or themes. Several of these packages seem to be attempts to goad TD completists -- of which there are at least hundreds, maybe thousands -- into parting with their hard-earned dollars, marks, pounds, francs, lira, or rubles. Book of Dreams is a very concise two-disc set that does not fall into that category. Disc one covers "The Pink Years" and disc two represents "The Blue Years." Edgar Froese, the consistent creative force behind TD, has chosen some of the Dream's more energetic pieces for this collection. Thus, the set has a bit more of a rock & roll influence while it stays within the e-music arena. The coolest aspect of this disc is its presentation of the early pieces in shorter edited versions. Froese's work in editing those compositions was masterful. He was able to extract the best samples and to sequence them logically to represent the time line for TD's growth. Even for avid collectors who already have these tracks in their original versions, this is a worthwhile set. The presentation is awesome.