Force Majeure

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2007-09-29 rating:
Force Ten!!!
Force Majeure is without doubt one of Tangerine Dream's finest albums if not their finest. It's certainly the best album of the band's 1970s output.
After experimenting with a singer on the previous year's 'Cyclone', the group returned to a trio and played to their musical strengths.
The title track opens the album and what a number it is. It brings together everything that Tangerine Dream are about. Moody, atmospheric soundscapes, memorable melodies and a decent rhythmn section. It's twenty minutes of sheer excellence and moves along at an awesome pace.
'Cloudburst Flight' is, to these ears anyway, the best 'short' number the band have ever recorded. A moody, acoustic guitar led opening is broken by synthesizers and then the drums kick in and Edgar Froese gets to enjoy himself with some breathtaking solos. A song designed for a good in car stereo, on a clear, deserted road. Terrific stuff.
Album closer, 'Thru Metamorphic Rocks' starts as a slow burner with some more decent soloing, but unfortunately loses its way and becomes somewhat repetitive, which is a shame.
All in all, 'Force Majeure' represents Tangerine Dream at their most powerful and majestic, and is a wonderful return to form. The band would recruit the classically trained Johannes Schmoelling, and move into more electronic and slightly more commercial areas after this album, but for now, enjoy Tangerine Dream the way that nature intended.
A desert island disc for sure.

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review by: kmw date: 2007-07-16 rating:
Quite simply - The Best
With Edgar and Chrisopher on this kind of form, my only problem with this 1979 album is that it is not long enough. The title speaks for itself.
Quite simply, Tangerine Dream's finest album.

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review by: stargazer4177 date: 2006-10-26 rating:
You'll be left wanting more!
Force Majeure is the first album that I've heard by TD, and what an excellent choice! A couple of plays and I've been instantly hooked by this band and their style of music. Electronic and synth music has been a favourite style of mine for many years, having enjoyed music by Kraftwerk and Jean Michel Jarre since the 70's, but TD put another slant on this completely. The three compositions here are dynamic, exciting and interwoven with superb melodies. If there's more like this on offer then I can't wait to explore further some of their vast array of albums. For those still uninitiated in TD's music I can only say start here as well, as I can't comment on their other work (as yet). Like me, you'll be left wanting more!

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review by: date: 2006-09-22 rating:
Splendid Return To Form!

After the curates egg that was "Cyclone", which, in hindsight, seems to be the prototype of TD's current work in many ways, the band took a step back, looked again and came up with this superb collection of tracks. Klaus Kreiger's drumming is used correctly here, playing across the sequencing to excellent effect and there's a palpable freshness in the compositions, which were still much improvised I understand. There is real texture to the sounds presented here, with something for everyone to enjoy. The only weak part being the closing moments of the title track, which is very out of place.

The second track, "Cloudburst Flight" is one of the classic TD tracks of this era and features some intense guitar work (distorted of course...).

The final track, one I've heard many times in soundtracks, is something else again, starting gently with an excellent guitar break which then fades into one of those superb, heavy, rhythmic improvisations (?) which TD are renouned for.

The band, or should I say the Froese/Franke axis, seem more adept as musicians too - far more comfortable with their instruments and place in the scheme of things. They're using more new sounds than ever on this album, something I very much appreciated at the time (and still do!).

Recommended with much enthusiasm, this album signals a turning point in the band's evolution.


review by: cjhunter2001uk date: 2006-01-31 rating:
Accessible Tangs!
Alongside 'Tangram' this is probably the most accessible of Tangerine Dream albums. Late 'Virgin' years TD releases tend to be a lot more melodic than earlier releases and almost cross over into the mainstream with tracks such as 'cloudburst flight'. It's a classic TD album.

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