(((O))) Review: Tangerine Dream – From Virgin to Quantum Years: Coventry Cathedral 22

It’s been 20 years since I fell into the world of Tangerine Dream’s music after reading about them in the 40 Cosmic Rock albums to blow your mind article which covered their magnum opus Phaedra in MOJO’s special edition issue on the progressive rock genre which introduced me to; Marillion (Fish-era), Hawkwind, The Mars Volta, Pavlov’s Dog, and of course Porcupine Tree. Both of those two albums; Phaedra and Rubycon were my gateway to discover a band that were often a pioneer of delving deeper in the psychosis and heading into deeper, darker themes with under watery atmospheres that’ll make your skin crawl.

Whether it’s the Pink (Ohr) years or their run on Richard Branson’s Virgin label, you can’t deny the genius that Edgar Froese, Peter Baumann, and Chris Franke had inspired so many people from Steven Wilson, Jah Wobble, and the King of Pop himself Michael Jackson, who had listened to their score to William Friedkin’s 1977 under-rated gem Sorcerer that inspired him to get a Synclavier for the introduction to ‘Beat It’ from his 1982 classic Thriller. Their music and legacy lives on to continue to inspire the next generation by keeping their spirits alive.

That and this 3-CD / 1 Blu-Ray set, recorded live at the awe-inspiring backdrop of the Coventry Cathedral, the same venue where the original line-up recorded back 50 years ago. But on March 11, 2022; Thorsten Quaeschning, Hoshiko Yamane, and Paul Frick, along with special guest Steve Rothery on guitar, blend in the mystery, wonder, sequences, and electronic textures to the Cathedral and bringing it all back home to where they honour the Church in this meditated vibe.

Going from their golden-era on the Virgin label tackling gems such as ‘The Dream is Always the Same’ and ‘Love on a Real Train’ which would later be in the 1983 classic Risky Business starring Tom Cruise, followed by the nightmarish intensity train-ride with this mellotronic turned electronic beat on the ‘Betrayal Sorcerer Theme’ and into the unknown for the ‘Portico’ to appear.

But once we head into the city of angels with its nod to the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise thanks to the ‘Los Santos City Map’, things get even quicker as they endure moments from their 2022 album Raum. They go through the continuing sequences with a fast-driven beat that begins to shake inside the Cathedral on the title-track while heading towards the deepest, part of the jungle with its search to find the hidden temples with ‘You’re Always on Time’.

The live version feels it has this intense ‘80s post-rock approach in the New Wave-era as the spirit of Froese lives throughout the Cathedral with its ghost lingering on to make sure they’re on the right track before hitting on the dance floor with a hope of peace throughout the ‘Continuum’ that’s waiting for us. But you can’t forget the opening number to kick things off with a bang with a pulsating groove which is ‘Stratosfear’ originally released nearly 50 years ago back in 1976.

You can’t go wrong with that. Then it becomes another pacing momentum as they tackle pieces from ‘Ricochet’ after its gentle lullaby piano introduction which has audiences mesmerised for what’s going on. They’re on this meditated trip they’re embarking on by witnessing to see how far the trio have taken their stamp of approval to keep the machines going before closing it up with ‘Phaedra’ and the two-part ‘Kiew Mission’.

Then, on the encore which features Marillion’s Steve Rotherty for the six-part session of the ‘Coventry Cathedral 22’ suite, there’s elements of the later Floyd textures thrown into the horizon, looking out to see where the future will bring next. But Steve himself puts himself in the middle of the roller-coaster ride and keeping up with the patterns Tangerine Dream would come up with.

The live recording that took place three years ago is an infinite journey into the possible worlds the trio and Rotherty have taken place to set your mind into an unbelievable adventure inside the Cathedral with mind-blowing results to prove the outcome is well-worth exploring.