As noted in the Exit review, Thief was actually the first Tangerine Dream I'd ever heard. The album was being played in the background of a pickup football game (?!) while I was still a junior in high school (late 1981). And, as it turns out, it was also one of the earliest Tangerine Dream albums for me to purchase. And I've owned a physical copy ever since. Unlike most Tangerine Dream albums, Thief is one I haven't heard since I did a retrospective for Gnosis some 19 years ago. And like most of these early 80s albums from TD, Thief represents a personal soundtrack - a nostalgic remembrance of an exciting exploratory time for me, especially regarding music.
While absorbing Thief this go round, the first thing I noticed is just how much guitar is present, an instrument largely missing from Exit and beyond. 'Dr. Destructo' packs a wallop whereas 'Diamond Diary' is Tangerine Dream at their sequencer best. This was by far the most direct Tangerine Dream album released to date. Like Exit, this is an album that has moved into the excellent rating category over the years. Whether that's due to personal experience or a warm objective evaluation, I cannot say. But my life is intrinsically linked to this album.
Ownership: LP: 1981 Elektra (USA). Single sleeve. Recent acquisition from a store in Albuquerque (2022). Like most of the Tangerine Dream albums I first owned on LP, they were early swap outs for a CD. And I've maintained that old CD for some 30 years, until now. Recently I became aware that the US LP pressing (which is of course what I once owned) contains one different track performed by a different artist ('Confrontation'). The box set (below), naturally enough, left this piece off since it wasn't by Tangerine Dream. The bonus track is a slightly extended version of 'Dr. Destructo', so nothing to really get excited about.
CD: 2020 Virgin (as part of the Pilots of Purple Twilight box set). I have notes about the box set on the White Eagle entry.
12/30/20 (new entry); 4/17/22
12/30/20 (new entry); 4/17/22
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