Tangerine Dream – Live In America 1992 (DVD/CD)
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: D Main Program: C+ CD: B-
Without any major hit records or singles, Tangerine Dream
has built its reputation for some memorable early film music. They were formed in 1967 and soon were
involved in film soundtracks. William
Friedkin’s Sorcerer (1977), Michael Mann’s Thief (1981) and The
Keep (1983), the Tom Cruise vehicle Risky Business (also 1983),
Walter Hill’s Red Heat and the U.S. theatrical release of Ridley Scott’s
Legend (both 1985). That is
quite a run of key films of their time with some of the best directors in
filmmaking still today. However, though
the band and its separate members continued to make film and television music,
none of it has been up to their earlier work and the projects covered have not
been as strong. That is why I had high
hopes for Live In America – 1992, a DVD/CD set of a brief 45-minutes
long concert closer to the time of that work than to now.
The set includes ten of their original songs, plus a
remake:
1) Two
Bunch Palms
2) Dolls In
The Shadows
3) Treasure
Of The Innocence
4) Oriental
Haze
5) Graffiti
Street
6) Backstreet
Hero
7) Phaedra
8) Love On
A Real Train
9) Hamlet
10) Purple Haze
11) Logos
Why this band gets to have Jimi Hendrix’s Purple Haze
on this set, while DEVO’s music video for Are U Experienced? is not
allowed by Hendrix’s estate makes no sense whatsoever. That is seems almost like a spoof or a
celebration of the decline of the Rock genre is worse, as the crowd cheers it
on, are they really celebrating this weak cover or celebrating the end of the
genre’s dominance? Either way, it is
not great and the rest of the music is mixed at best. There is nothing memorable or stand out as I had hoped, but the
video footage accompanying the music is clichéd, obnoxious and
counterproductive. If the idea was to
be anti-Music Video, they could not have done a worse job. I doubt this would have been slick in 1992,
but it is not today and not seeing the band hardly at all makes them feel like
faceless “Corporate Rock” that this presentation brings them down to the level
of. That makes this a disappointment.
The full frame video image is varied and not intended to
be sharp or have any kind of clarity.
It is that kind of video music presentation, reminiscent of MTV’s AMP
series. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is a
bit better, but not by much and the PCM on the CD has some richness this mix
lacks, but the CD is also better off because it does not include any of the
awful footage from the DVD. There are
no extras, though both discs have room for them. At least fans who care will have a choice of which disc they
like.
- Nicholas Sheffo
