“A very good soundtrack which really sticks to the idea of a futuristic invasion of aliens on a music that will always be a source of remembering”
1 Alien Voices 0:16 2 Wavelength Main Title 1:54 3 Desert Drive
(Quichotte Part One excerpt) 2:00 4 Mojave End Title 3:59 5 Healing 2:23
6 Breakout 1:09 7 Alien Goodbyes 1:50 8 Spaceship 2:18
9 Church Theme 3:41 10 Sunset Drive 3:23 11 Airshaft 3:10
12 Alley Walk 2:55 13 Cyro Lab 2:13
14 Running Through the Hills 1:30
15 Campfire Theme 1:23 16 Mojave End Title Reprise 3:51
VARESE SARABANDE | VCD 47223
(CD 37:55) (V.F.)
(Cinema, thematic EM, Berlin School style)
For some of us (remember the 80's? When Internet didn't exist and that in the Canada/Usa countries, there were few information about TD?), 1984 was a ghostly year regarding Tangerine Dream. No album, no concert. Does the Dream still exist? In reality the German trio was more than busy. The German wonder boys were polishing new equipment and were still under the spell of writing shorter tracks with the sound extravaganza known since Exit and White Eagle. The Dream's digital era. Within the years 1983 and 1989, Tangerine Dream will produce more than 15 movie soundtracks. Some were great. Others were fair and /or nastily bad. Soundtrack meant shorter tracks and a commercial bend that will sign the halt of making longer evolutionary tracks with these legendary turns of structures so dear to the psychedelic/electronic years of Tangerine Dream. With hindsight, we notice that Hyperborea's Sphinx Lightning will be the last long track in studio by the Froese's sonic ship
WAVELENGTH is among the good soundtracks from Tangerine Dream. Mostly unknown from a wider audience, it literally surfs on the waves of great albums like Logos, White Eagle and even Force Majeure to name but a few. But the material in it is not as what we can call new music. It's a kind of musical mosaic made of bits and pieces picked here and there from these albums, moulding thus an interesting futuristic soundtrack. Each of these small jewels that forge WAVELENGTH will bring you at the doors of classical works from Franke/Froese & Schmoelling. Titles like Desert Drive, Healing and Spaceship come from the Quichotte, Pergamon and Tangram era, whereas that Church Theme and Sunset Drive are alternate versions of Silver Scale and Remote Viewing. But there are still some interesting fresh ideas behind WAVELENGTH. Titles like Wavelength Main Title, Breakout, Alien Goodbyes and Spaceship bring reminiscences of Force Majeure or Thief while that Mojave End Title has that little something which ties it to the numerous classics of the band. It's a great track with a lively and catchy harmonic beat.
Unfortunately, WAVELENGTH is out of print. I don't think that it's an inescapable work, but it has its charms. I do believe that it's a nice compilation of different musical visions of titles already known with some nice new music which has the unique signature of the Dream. This is why I think that it's a very good soundtrack which really sticks to the idea of a futuristic invasion of aliens on a music that will always be a source of remembering. If you come across it buy it, but at a fair price and you will be very happy.
Sylvain Lupari (October 8th, 2007) *****
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