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Progressive Rock CD Reviews

Peter Baumann

Transharmonic Nights

Review by Gary Hill

This is a reissue of a solo album from one of the founding members of Tangerine Dream. It was originally released in the last 70s. It is a product of its time in terms of the synthesizer tones. That’s not a bad thing, but it is recognizable for that time period. It’s an electronic set that’s fully instrumental. It’s also very intriguing. It’s quite a fun ride that never feels repetitive.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2016  Volume 4 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review
This Day

While the keyboard sounds on this are dated, they are also quite classy. Some of the elements of this make me think of Pink Floyd just a bit. Things like Kraftwerk and Vangelis certainly deserve to be mentioned, too. This instrumental is classy stuff.

White Bench And Black Beach
There is almost a folk rock turned electronic vibe to this cut. It’s definitely a change in a lot of ways despite the same general instrumentation.
Chasing The Dream
There is a great electronic music vibe and energy to this. It’s another that feels a bit like a cross between Kraftwerk and Vangelis. It’s a cool tune that has an almost science fiction feeling to it. There is a real space music thing in some ways, particularly the more rhythmic section.
Biking up the Strand
There is a real playful, summertime freedom to this piece. Sure, it’s still set in the same electronic territory as the rest, but it’s just more fun-loving somehow.
Phaseday
Now, this one really sounds a lot like Kraftwerk in a lot of ways to me. It has a real space-music section mid-track. From there it moves to more mellow electronica before working back out to the song proper.
Meridian Moorland
I love the cool keyboard sounds on this thing. It has a great classic groove to it in s many ways. Sure, it’s still related to the rest, but somehow this just gels in different ways. It’s probably my favorite cut here. There is a percussion section later that brings a different angle. It drops to extremely mellow stuff after that, but then works out to the same kind of stuff that preceded it.
The Third Site
This is faster paced and more energized. It’s a cool tune with a lot of percussive elements at the start. Some of the melodies hint at world music, too.
Dance At Dawn
Percussion elements start this. Then it works to a jazz kind of thing. As it works forward it really gets into military type stuff alternated with electronic sections.
 
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