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TANGERINE DREAM
Tangerine Dream - Phaedra (50th Anniversary Edition) [2025] (5 x CDs)
Here’s a reissue that feels like a quiet celebration of mystery: Phaedra, Tangerine Dream’s 1974 breakthrough, turns 50, and Universal’s anniversary box set is a warm, immersive tribute to one of electronic music’s most spellbinding moments.
Back then, Phaedra was a revelation. It didn’t sound like anything else on the shelve, no drums, no vocals, just swirling Moogs, eerie Mellotrons, and sequenced pulses that felt like transmissions from another planet. It was the band’s first release for Virgin Records, and despite zero radio play, it climbed the UK charts purely on word-of-mouth. The album helped define the Berlin School sound and opened the door for ambient, synthwave, and countless experimental offshoots.
This 2025 edition spreads out across five CDs: the remastered album, Steven Wilson’s new stereo and surround mixes (he’s handled the material with real care), plus a treasure trove of studio outtakes from the original 1973 sessions. These sketches and alternate takes, some raw, some surprisingly polished, offer a rare glimpse into the band’s process, where improvisation and accident often led to magic.
Also included is a full live recording from Tangerine Dream’s first UK concert at London’s Victoria Palace Theatre in June 1974. It’s a hypnotic, exploratory set that captures the band in their early prim, unpredictable, unbound, and deeply atmospheric.
The packaging is thoughtful and understated, with a beautifully designed book featuring liner notes by archivist Wouter Bessels. His essay adds just the right amount of context, balancing technical insight with storytelling warmth. For those who missed the In Search of Hades box, this release makes much of that material available again, but in a more focused, album-centric format.
What makes Phaedra endure isn’t just its historical importance, it’s the feeling it evokes. There’s a sense of space, of time suspended, of something ancient and futuristic all at once. This reissue doesn’t try to explain it away; it simply invites you back into the dream.
Whether you’re revisiting it or discovering it for the first time, this edition is a gentle reminder of how strange and beautiful electronic music can be when it’s left to wander. (B)
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Track lists
CD1
01 Tangerine Dream - Phaedra 17:41
02 Tangerine Dream - Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares 9:45
03 Tangerine Dream - Movements of a Visionary 7:58
04 Tangerine Dream - Sequent C' 2:24
05 Tangerine Dream - Phaedra (Steven Wilson 2018 stereo remix) 17:43
06 Tangerine Dream - Sequent C' (Steven Wilson 2018 stereo remix) 2:24
CD2
01 Tangerine Dream - 2nd Day 20:36
02 Tangerine Dream - Flute Organ Piece 11:00
03 Tangerine Dream - Phaedra Out-Take version 2A 20:37
CD3
01 Tangerine Dream - Phaedra Out-Take 1 11:47
02 Tangerine Dream - Phaedra Out-Take 2B 5:44
03 Tangerine Dream - 2nd Side Piece 1 13:05
04 Tangerine Dream - 2nd Side Piece 2 9:20
05 Tangerine Dream - Organ Piece 5:50
CD4
01 Tangerine Dream - The Victoria Palace Concert: Pt. 1 46:57
CD5
01 Tangerine Dream - The Victoria Palace Concert: Pt. 2 28:18
02 Tangerine Dream - The Victoria Palace Concert: Encore 13:01
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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.
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A group I've heard of but never got around to actually listening to so thanks for the opportunity to make a start.
ReplyDeleteHi Dr Robert,
DeleteThat’s a great place to begin, Tangerine Dream has a way of quietly drawing people in when the time is right. Phaedra is a perfect gateway, immersive, mysterious, and unlike anything else. This 50th Anniversary edition really opens the door with care, offering both the original magic and deeper context through outtakes and live recordings. Enjoy the journey.
Cheers.
This is a great box. Saw them in the 70s on their cathedral tour. They were playing at St. Something-or-Other (can't remember the name) in Denver. Just three guys and several banks of equipment. They came out without a word, played for a good forty-five minutes--spellbinding synths (totally free form at the time), then after some thunderous applause, Edgar Froese leaned into his mic and said, "Now for our second number..."
ReplyDeleteHi JWDen.
DeleteThank you for sharing that vivid memory. That cathedral tour must’ve been something truly otherworldly. Tangerine Dream’s ability to conjure atmosphere without a single word is part of their magic.
Froese’s dry humor after forty-five minutes of sonic immersion is classic.
Cheers.
If I remember correctly , French television showed a cathedral concert back then (Frisco?). Giant candles for lightshow, enormous synths, guys with long hair and dark sunglasses. Definitely left an impression hhh (was just a kid back then). I few years back I went to see Gong (post-Daevid Allen), ft. Steve Hillage. Rather small venue, more than half empty, and they were phenomenal, went to greet people after the gig... Same with TD; they are as good now as they were then, so if you get a chance to see them, don't think twice, just go. And thanks BB for another ace share, along with your own comps, you seem to be on a roll lately. Grtz.
DeleteOr.... it was the Coventry Cathedral gig I saw and the dark sunglasses were a figment of my imagination hhh.
DeleteGreat, Thank You.
ReplyDeleteI am delighted this has grabbed you, Chrtistiaan111.
DeleteEnjoy.
Cheers.
I was listening to this when I first heard "Phaedra." It comes in just before the 2 minute mark. My radio shows for the past 50 years have had a strong Triad Radio influence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaizPp2QAzA
ReplyDeleteHi Rod Stasick,
DeleteThat’s a beautiful moment you shared.
That free-form ethos, curious, expansive, unbound, runs right through Tangerine Dream’s work, and it’s clear you’ve been channeling that same energy across decades. Thanks for the link.
Cheers.