Tangerine Dream - Tangram 2008 (2008)

Thom Jurek
It's a very rare occurrence when a band can take a classic album and literally remake it. It happens from time to time, but with the possible exception of Van Morrison's live version of Astral Weeks, it seldom works. Enter Tangerine Dream and Tangram 2008. Tangram was the last album -- released in 1980 -- that really showcased Edgar Froese and Christopher Franke in their true form -- Peter Baumann had left after 1976's brilliant Stratosfear -- though it was a new direction. The idea behind this was, of course, Froese's and the result is mixed at best. While it follows the original Tangram's sequence, there is a distraction right from the jump: an insistent, single-pulse rhythm track that does not come from one of their trademark sequencers, but from a pre-programmed drum machine. Adding orchestral elements to fill out the sound takes away the original album's sense of the unexpected and the listener's anticipation. What was once a rich listening experience has become merely a pleasant one. This is not offensive, and it is worth hearing a time or two. If you are a diehard who feels that Tangerine Dream can do no wrong, you already know you need this. But Tangram 2008 feels more like a misfire than an extension of a classic recording.