From my review of The Official Bootleg Series Volume Three (Detroit March 31): "These vintage Tangerine Dream live albums never fail to satisfy. The 1977 set is the Detroit live concert of which snippets were taken for the Encore album. 'Cherokee Lane' and 'Monolight' apparently were scripted for most of the concerts, so no major revelations there. But once Edgar plugs in the guitar for 'The Emerald Beyond', it becomes absolutely jaw dropping. 'Conjuration' also features some intense Froese soloing. I never knew that Tangerine Dream ever revisited their Electronic Meditation years."
I could probably leave it just like that and this review would suffice. Though I'm going to take it further and state that the Washington show is even more fleshed out. The Ford show in Detroit above was only their second concert on the tour. The Washington show was their 6th, and by then they had a better idea of what the US audiences were enjoying - or at least what they perceived to be enjoying. Interesting to note that they had returned to Detroit for a show on Apr 3rd. I haven't heard any of the three concerts in between, and from what we understand, most were improvised beyond the 2 set pieces mentioned in my Detroit review. Froese really kicks out the jams here, most notably on the 27 minute 'Monolith' (a wordplay on 'Monolight' I would presume). This is in 'Kalter Rauch' territory! Another revelation is the use of Spanish themes and guitar on 'Rain in Spain'. I don't recall hearing this sound from them prior. And I could swear there's some dirge-y organ in here as well. One thing I like about this recording is Professor Mota (who I'm sure just as many could do without), who proves to be quite knowledgeable about the band - and progressive music in general. His accent is hilarious "Tanyerine Dream" and he is incredibly enthusiastic about the whole affair. The interview with Chris Franke was interesting and we learn that he too was going to have an upcoming solo album like his peers Froese and Baumann, but obviously that didn't happen (until 15 years later - totally different). This might be my favorite show of them all to date, and I've enjoyed so many of them.
Ownership: CD: 2004 Castle (UK). 2xCD. Part of the The Bootleg Box Set Vol. 2. I discuss this box in more detail on the Nottingham 1976 entry. Sure enough my picky home CD player couldn't get through 'Monolith' so I moved it to the SUV. And despite hitting potholes on an interstate, it played through fine. I've decided to move the whole box there as music like this is perfect for running errands in the city.
10/10/22 (new entry)
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