Optical Race | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 1988 | |||
Recorded | April–May, 1988, in Berlin and Vienna | |||
Genre | Electronic music | |||
Length | 52:39 | |||
Label | Private Music | |||
Producer | Paul Haslinger, Edgar Froese | |||
Tangerine Dream chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Optical Race is the thirty-fifth major release and eighteenth studio album by Tangerine Dream. Optical Race is the inaugural album of the Melrose Years era, as it is the first appearance of the band on the Private Music label, founded by former Tangerine Dream member Peter Baumann. [2] It was their first album without Christopher Franke since 1971's Alpha Centauri and the band's first to be programmed largely with a computer, an Atari ST using Steinberg/Jones software. The sleeve of the 12" release and the first release on CD and Compact Cassette features a die-cut outer sleeve with a multicolored inner sleeve.
"Atlas Eyes" is in 5
4 time. "Mothers of Rain" first appeared two years before the album's release, during the band's 1986 European tour. "Turning Off The Wheel" was re-released on the Transsiberia album in 1998 under the title "The Golden Horn". "Optical Race" was played by the group on German TV show Wetten, dass..? (moderated by Thomas Gottschalk) in 1988.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Marakesh" | 8:17 |
2. | "Atlas Eyes" | 4:04 |
3. | "Mothers of Rain" | 5:13 |
4. | "Twin Soul Tribe" | 4:28 |
5. | "Optical Race" | 3:13 |
6. | "Cat Scan" | 5:35 |
7. | "Sun Gate" | 4:44 |
8. | "Turning Off the Wheel" | 6:11 |
9. | "The Midnight Trail" | 5:54 |
10. | "Ghazal (Love Song)" | 5:00 |
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup of the group was its mid-1970s trio of Froese, Christopher Franke, and Peter Baumann. In 1979, Johannes Schmoelling replaced Baumann until his own departure in 1985. This lineup was notable for composing many movie soundtracks. Since Froese's death in 2015, the group has been under the leadership of Thorsten Quaeschning. Quaeschning is Froese's chosen successor and is currently the longest-serving band member, having joined in 2005. Quaeschning is currently joined by violinist Hoshiko Yamane who joined in 2011 and Paul Frick who joined in 2020. Prior to this Quaeschning and Yamane performed with Ulrich Schnauss from 2014 to 2020. Schnauss only played two shows with Froese in November 2014 before Froese's passing.
Edgar Willmar Froese was a German musical artist and electronic music pioneer, best known for founding the electronic music group Tangerine Dream in 1967. Froese was the only continuous member of the group until his death. Although his solo and group recordings prior to 2003 name him as "Edgar Froese", his later solo albums bear the name "Edgar W. Froese".
Electronic Meditation is the debut album by German electronic music group Tangerine Dream. It was released in June 1970 by record label Ohr.
Zeit is the third studio album by German electronic music group Tangerine Dream. A double LP, it was released in August 1972, being the first release featuring Peter Baumann, who joined then-current members Christopher Franke and Edgar Froese. Zeit is subtitled Largo in Four Movements.
Exit is the sixteenth major release and eleventh studio album by the German group Tangerine Dream. The first track features an uncredited Berlin actress chanting, in Russian, the names of the continents of the world and pleading to end the threat of "limited" nuclear war, which was a potential danger facing the world during the late Cold War era in which the album was released. Exit reached № 43 in the UK, spending five weeks on the chart.
Tangram is the thirteenth major release and tenth studio album by the electronic music group Tangerine Dream. It became their fifth biggest selling album, reaching #36 in the British Top 40, and spending 5 weeks on the chart.
Jerome Froese is a German musician who, in 1990, officially joined his father Edgar Froese in the band Tangerine Dream. He remained a member until 2006. Prior to his direct involvement in Tangerine Dream, Froese often appeared on the covers of the band's albums as a child, beginning with the 1973 release of Atem, when he was two years four months old at the time the album was released.
The electronic music group Tangerine Dream has released more than three hundred albums, singles, EPs and compilations since the group was formed in 1967.
Ralf Wadephul, born 1958 in Berlin, is a German keyboardist/composer who collaborated with Tangerine Dream in the late 1980s on their first "Melrose Years" album Optical Race (1988). While all the material on this album was composed by Froese and Haslinger prior to him joining the band, Wadephul did contribute the track "Sun Gate", a romantic ballad type number that features an Edgar Froese guitar solo. He also performed with the band on their North American tour later that year. Ralf left the band shortly afterwards following the birth of his son Julian Wadephul. The 2006 Tangerine Dream release "Blue Dawn" consists of material composed by Froese and Wadephul during that same tour in 1988, albeit of a studio nature. Ralf continues to keep busy as a musician and sound engineer to this day.
Tyranny of Beauty (1995) is the fifty-first release and twenty-third major studio album by Tangerine Dream. Guitarist Zlatko Perica does not appear on this album or its follow up Goblins' Club (1996). His absence is filled by guest musicians Gerald Gradwohl and Mark Hornby on both releases and during the groups London performance in November 1996.
Paul Haslinger is an Austrian musician and composer. He lives and works in Los Angeles, California.
Le Parc (1985) is the twenty-sixth major release and fourteenth studio album to be recorded by electronic artists Tangerine Dream. Each track on the album is inspired by parks from around the world. Le Parc marked Tangerine Dream's last studio release with Johannes Schmoelling, who left the band in October 1985. The title track "Le Parc" was used as the theme for the short-lived U.S television series, Street Hawk. A video was produced for "Tiergarten". The track "Central Park" was used as the opening theme for the movie Diamond Ninja Force directed by Godfrey Ho.
Livemiles is the thirty-fourth major release and sixth live album by Tangerine Dream. It is the last album with Chris Franke. The first half of the album purports to be a recording of the June 8, 1986 concert in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, and the second half of the album from a concert in West Berlin on August 1, 1987, Germany. In reality none of the album was recorded live, instead all created in the studio, as contract filler for their label Jive Electro.
Melrose is the thirty-ninth major release and twentieth studio album by Tangerine Dream. This album was released in 1990 on the Private Music label founded by former Tangerine Dream member, Peter Baumann. The album further developed the instrumental pop style known from the previous two Private Music albums, Optical Race and Lily on the Beach. Edgar Froese's son, Jerome, for the first time appears on a Tangerine Dream album as a full-time member. This was Paul Haslinger's last album with Tangerine Dream.
Johannes Schmoelling is a German musician and keyboard artist. He was a member of the prolific electronic music group Tangerine Dream from 1979 to 1985.
Canyon Dreams is the fortieth major release and it was released as the fourteenth soundtrack album by German band Tangerine Dream. It was recorded in 1986 and released in 1991 on compact disc and compact cassette formats. The music was written as a sound accompaniment for an eponymous scenic video film about the Grand Canyon by Jan Nickman, released by the record label Miramar in 1987 on VHS, Betamax and LaserDisc. The album's tracks are divided into various episodes and related to the titles of the cuts.
Rockoon is the forty-fourth major release and twenty-first studio album released by Tangerine Dream. The album was started in March 1991 and completed January 1992, making it the longest production ever in the band's history until the release of Quantum Gate in 2017. The album was nominated in the US for the "Best New Age Album 1992" Grammy and reached the Top Ten in Billboard New Age charts and the Top Twenty in Billboard Jazz charts.
Under Cover – Chapter One is the 117th release and first and so far only cover album by electronic group Tangerine Dream. It is the group's twenty-eighth major studio album and was released in December 2010. The idea for the album is said to have started in 2008 in Los Angeles. The band was touring in the west coast area at the time, and their promoter jokingly told the band they should cover top 40 hits. It grew into a bet and a full blown concept after careful consideration from the band. Information on the album started to circulate in early autumn, and it was made available for pre-order on the Eastgate Shop website in November. Although appearing on Madcap's Flaming Duty (2007) and appearing on the cover art and performing vocals on this release, vocalist Chris Hausl never became an official member of the group.
Mars Polaris — Deep Space Highway To Red Rocks Pavilion is the 67th release and 25th major studio album by the electronic group Tangerine Dream. It was originally released in 1999, and re-released in 2009. All the tracks appeared on their live album Rocking Mars, which was released in 2005 with four extra tracks. It was recorded at Stadthalle in Osnabrück.
Quantum Gate (2017) is roughly the 150th release and roughly 30th main studio album by Tangerine Dream. It is the first full-length album since the death of founder Edgar Froese in 2015, and is largely based on ideas and musical sketches left by Froese. The album was preceded by and is companion to the 2015 mini-album Quantum Key.