Tangerine Dream - Exit (1981)

Posted By : Virginia Plain | Date : 11 Feb 2010 21:37:51 | Comments : 4 |

Tangerine Dream - Exit (1981)
Flac (tracks)+CUE+LOG | 218 MB | Covers (300 dpi PNG)

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Dave Connolly, All Music Guide wrote:
Exit marks the beginning of a new phase in Tangerine Dream's music: Gone were the side-long, sequencer-led journeys, replaced by topical pieces that were more self-contained in scope, more contemporary in sound. Johannes Schmoelling's influence is really felt for the first time here; Tangram, for all its crispness and melody, was simply a refinement of Force Majeure's principles, and the soundtrack to Thief not an album proper. On Exit, listeners are introduced to electronic music's next generation, notably on "Choronzon" and "Network 23," which brought the sound of the dancefloor into the mix (it hasn't left since). That's not to suggest that Tangerine Dream has stopped creating eerie, evocative music; both "Pilots of Purple Twilight" and the stately "Exit" will feel familiar to fans, and the opening "Kiew Mission" is a captivating commentary on nuclear war that includes vocals after a sort (a woman's voice reading locations in Russian). Exit ends on a surprisingly dark note, the alien and foreboding "Remote Viewing." It's on this track more than any other that Tangerine Dream returns to its past, invoking Phaedra and the sequencer-driven works that followed, as if to tell fans that Exit's changes weren't the result of a new band, just a new direction. With one foot in the excesses of the past and one clearly on the road to a more concise sound, Exit is a transitional work. As Schmoelling and, later, Paul Haslinger exerted their influence on Tangerine Dream's music, the emphasis shifted from dark and moody commentary to more positive subjects. It's worth noting that Edgar Froese's social conscience fuels much of Exit -- copies of the record were made available to a cross-section of Russian citizens free of charge to promote an open exchange of ideas at a time when nuclear annihilation was taken seriously. Future albums channeled Froese's activism to environmental concerns, which dovetailed with the band's by-then new age sensibilities. Both here and on White Eagle, Tangerine Dream ushers in the promise and the peril of a new world where reality has caught up with science fiction. Perhaps with such a message, the medium needed to be simpler and more direct. (A note to collectors: Different cover art appears on the Virgin and Elektra releases.)

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Amazon.com wrote:
All throughout the 70s, Tangerine Dream had been experimenting the limits of various keyboard, pedal synthesizer, and sequence effects in order to create very atmospheric musical soundscapes. They weren't meant for everyone, but each album proved to be an interesting listen for those who could get into them. Every release would have very few, yet lengthy tracks, and that aspect didn't really change much over the years. Phaedra(1974) and Rubycon(1975) were the peak output of those type of TD albums, and served as the first real means of gaining a cult fanbase. Then Force Majeure(1979) saw the group beginning to incorporate rhythms into the music, making it more accessible to new listeners. This culminated in 1980's Tangram, which was the last album to feature one giant album-length song. Shortly thereafter, the band created the soundtrack to the movie Thief(1981), shortening the lengths of each instrumental and making them more numerous, and this would carry over onto Exit.

This album is the first one of theirs to have more than four tracks, and most of them rarely go beyond 5-6 minutes. Unlike most of the TD output to be released throughout the 80s, Exit carries a dark, futuristic feel to it, and it can be felt all over the album. White Eagle(1982) continued to explore in the same vein, and Hyperborea(1983) went for a dark ambient sound with cultural references, but Exit probably pulled the theme off the best during this period. Much of the style is brought over from their Thief soundtrack score and given its own breathing space on Exit. High-reverb keyboards had begun to be incorporated heavily into the melodies, and although sounding VERY 80s and maybe coming off as cold to some people, it works for its warish 1984-type atmosphere.

And speaking of future wars, the first track 'Kiev Mission' delivers 10 minutes of melodic rhythm mayhem. The story here is that this track was written as a protest statement against the Cold War in Russia, and many copies of this album were sold throughout the country to get the message across. It starts out with a few bangs, then slowly the synthetic drum beat pulses in and carries a powerful theme around, shortly before an unnamed Russian girl vocalist whispers her plea against a world war. This is where the whole "protest" theme came from. It doesn't end as strong as it starts, but the final part of Kiev Mission shouldn't be skipped. 'Pilots Of The Purple Twilight' is run without any drumming, but carries an awesome melody that repeats for several minutes. 'Chorozon' is a bit more upbeat and positive sounding, and could easily fit on White Eagle. I love the title track's slow, dark, and powerful bass synth that plods along, complete with a memorable keyboard line and rain sound effects. Then 'Network 23' has a surprisingly non-dated techno drum sequence which sort of serves as a prototype for some 80s and 90s techno. Finishing off Exit is the outstanding 'Remote Viewing' which goes through a few different transitions in its 8-minute span. The first 3 minutes or so has sort of a dark soundscape reminding the fans that TD still held onto their 70s era to an extent, and wouldn't abandon it completely over the next couple of albums. 80s TD may be somewhat less complex than TD's earlier material, but it still was very well produced. Then the song ends with a lighter section that repeats a number of times.

Replayability: medium. Enter the Exit often (pun intended).

Although the album's length is slightly less than 40 minutes, each of Exit's tracks is of high quality, and so I'll give it 5 stars. It ended up being my fifth purchase (of many!) for TD, but I would say that it makes a good starting point if you're first getting into 80s TD. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

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Tracklisting:
1. Kiew Mission (9:19)
2. Pilots Of Purple Twilight (4:20)
3. Choronzon (4:09)
4. Exit (5:35)
5. Network 23 (4:56)
6. Remote Viewing (8:18)

Total Time: 36:37

Line-Up:
- Edgar Froese / organ, synthesizer, bass, guitar, guitar (bass), keyboards, Mellophonium, producer, Mellotron, VCS 3 synthesizer
- Christopher Franke / synthesizer, keyboards, Moog synthesizer, VCS 3 synthesizer
- Johannes Schmoelling / synthesizer, keyboards

Pressing: Elektra 557-2