Cyclone

Following Tangerine Dream's 1977 US tour and Peter Baumann's departure, Edgar Froese and Chris Franke took the dramatic steps of reinventing Tangerine Dream by inviting drummer Klaus Krieger and wind instrumentalist Steve Jolliffe into the fold. The latter had been in an early incarnation of the band during the late 60s; but his tenure at this stage would certainly be more controversial, as Jolliffe would also supply Tangerine Dream with-wait for it-vocals. This change of direction, along with further use of acoustic instruments, was an attempt to broaden both the band's sound and appeal. So, at the very least, hats off to TD for trying something radically new. The album opens with the vocoder of "Bent Cold Sidewalk;" a straight-forward song with a decent hook, the chorus fades into a more familiar sequencer terrain before returning to the vocal refrain. "Rising Runner Missed By Endless Sender" is even more of a short-take; riding on a sinister keyboard line and Krieger's quick tempo, it seems more like a proof of concept than a finished work. Taken alone (and vocoder aside), Jolliffe's vocal contribution may not be ideal, but they do integrate well with the music. Thus, whatever the prognosis, Froese and Franke must have put some thought into what they were doing here. Yet if the first side of the album left anyone feeling short-changed, the second side's "Madrigal Meridian" more than makes up for it. Here Tangerine Dream offers a journey as dark and sinister as the cover art. Krieger's syncopation with the sequencers is hypnotic, and the track ends in a gloriously romantic refrain. Jolliffe's leads—whether flute, lyricon or modulated whatever—float effortlessly, while Froese offers one of his best guitar solos on record. The album took some critical heat upon release, but didn't suffer commercially. Cyclone is the album that broke the band in their native Germany, and the subsequent European tour in support of it achieved record attendance. I must agree with the fans: The album was a bold and daring direction for the band. Yet the fact remains that Tangerine Dream would never weather this type of storm again.