Tangerine Dream - Near Dark (1988)

"Near Dark" is a sibling recording to "Three O'Clock High", where both albums are a product of the short-spanned Tangerine Dream's adventure with the orchestration of electronic music. One can only regret that in 1988 the band under Froese did not pursue that direction further. Instead, Christopher Franke, who left the band around the time this album was released for sale, continued to contribute to the development of the branch of art otherwise known as electronic music - much in the vein of Near Dark, where not only was the music augmented by electronically simulated orchestration, like on this album, but also enriched by the real symphonic orchestra, founded by Christopher Franke. Near Dark is an early proof that the musical interests of the members of the band Anno Domini 1986 were diverging at the exponential rate.

Shortly after the return from the concert tour promoting the latest studio album, "Underwater Sunlight", the band, in a completely new shape, sat down to fulfill the contractual obligations with respect to soundtrack scores. Indeed, there was so much work, that the musicians worked steadily, every day, for the next twelve months, much like any ordinary guys - as if they were not the musicians, the artists, but the paid craftsmen. The output of this cinematic era is quite uneven, but due to their enormous experience, most of what was released, is of very good quality, and innovative, too.

The first set of soundtracks resemble the style developed on "Underwater Sunlight" - this certainly is true in the case of "Three O'Clock High" and "Near Dark". Whereas the instrumentarium is and overall tone similar, these scores are much darker, much more thrilling, and never as sweet as the mother studio album was. Both albums feature short compositions (Near Dark slightly longer and more developed), filled with the aggressiveness of Edgar Froese's guitar, and with the equally aggressive percussive and complicated rhythms of Chris Franke. What distinguishes these two albums of Tangerine Dream from any other work from their heritage is the overwhelming presence of rich orchestral arrangements, which add the nocturnal symphonic layer to their otherwise interesting work. What a pity that this direction was not continued. it must not have pleased Edgar Froese, who never had a penchant for the orchestra, not Paul Haslinger, who is virtually nonexistent on these two albums. Indeed, "Three O'Clock High" and "Near Dark" are the children of Christopher Franke. After the mad production cycle was over for him - he left the band in 1987 - he started to search for new directions in electronic music from 1990 on. I must admit that I am very, very happy because Chris seems to have expanded the inspirations the traces of which are present on "Three O'Clock High" and "Near Dark". There was a multitude of roads he might have taken, and in my opinion, there was no better path than the orchestration of the electronic. If you are interested in these two Tangerine Dream albums from late 1986, you will be happy with almost anything that is signed by Christopher Franke solo, with the help of his own Berlin Symphonic Film Orchestra.

Near Dark is a very rich album. For the first time, Tangerine Dream scored a real horror, and thus the atmosphere reflects the emotions the film was supposed to deliver. The band masterfully performs its task, and what we get is a real masterpiece, an album that might just as well serve as the instructional composers' booklet for artists in the genre. As if it was not enough, for the first time in history of electronic music, Tangerine Dream takes on blues. Yes, my friend - in fact the album is opened by 'Caleb's Blues', a fantastic instrumental song which is like a bridge thrown over the fuzzy waters dividing the so much different banks of feeling-based blues music and cold emotional electronica. Who would have thought? Some 11 years later, Christopher Franke confirmed his insporations with his hilarious album "Pacific Blue", where he shamelessly ignored the self-imposed taboo, and went overboard creating music in as many musical styles as possible. Whoever had any doubts as to who was the creative force behind Tangerine Dream curtain, should rethink the issue more than once.

"Near Dark" is a an absolutely perfect album, which should be enjoyed not only by Tangerine Dream fans, or those who love electronica, but also by everyone who is interested in innovative soundtracks - this album should not be forgotten. Quite to the contrary

Reviewer: A music fan from www.amazon.com