Customer Reviews

Near Dark

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was really surprised how good this CD was. It really stands on it's own not unlike the way Thief does. One on their best last ones with Chris Franke. Though the opening track is a little cheesy the rest of the CD is well worth tracking down.

"Near Dark" is a sibling recording to "Three O'Clock High", where both albums are a product of the short-spanned Tangerine Dream's adventure with the orchestration of electronic music. One can only regret that in 1988 the band under Froese did not pursue that direction further. Instead, Christopher Franke, who left the band around the time this album was released for sale, continued to contribute to the development of the branch of art otherwise known as electronic music - much in the vein of Near Dark, where not only was the music augmented by electronically simulated orchestration, like on this album, but also enriched by the real symphonic orchestra, founded by Christopher Franke. Near Dark is an early proof that the musical interests of the members of the band Anno Domini 1986 were diverging at the exponential rate.

Shortly after the return from the concert tour promoting the latest studio album, "Underwater Sunlight", the band, in a completely new shape, sat down to fulfill the contractual obligations with respect to soundtrack scores. Indeed, there was so much work, that the musicians worked steadily, every day, for the next twelve months, much like any ordinary guys - as if they were not the musicians, the artists, but the paid craftsmen. The output of this cinematic era is quite uneven, but due to their enormous experience, most of what was released, is of very good quality, and innovative, too.

The first set of soundtracks resemble the style developed on "Underwater Sunlight" - this certainly is true in the case of "Three O'Clock High" and "Near Dark". Whereas the instrumentarium is and overall tone similar, these scores are much darker, much more thrilling, and never as sweet as the mother studio album was. Both albums feature short compositions (Near Dark slightly longer and more developed), filled with the aggressiveness of Edgar Froese's guitar, and with the equally aggressive percussive and complicated rhythms of Chris Franke. What distinguishes these two albums of Tangerine Dream from any other work from their heritage is the overwhelming presence of rich orchestral arrangements, which add the nocturnal symphonic layer to their otherwise interesting work. What a pity that this direction was not continued. it must not have pleased Edgar Froese, who never had a penchant for the orchestra, not Paul Haslinger, who is virtually nonexistent on these two albums. Indeed, "Three O'Clock High" and "Near Dark" are the children of Christopher Franke. After the mad production cycle was over for him - he left the band in 1987 - he started to search for new directions in electronic music from 1990 on. I must admit that I am very, very happy because Chris seems to have expanded the inspirations the traces of which are present on "Three O'Clock High" and "Near Dark". There was a multitude of roads he might have taken, and in my opinion, there was no better path than the orchestration of the electronic. If you are interested in these two Tangerine Dream albums from late 1986, you will be happy with almost anything that is signed by Christopher Franke solo, with the help of his own Berlin Symphonic Film Orchestra.

Near Dark is a very rich album. For the first time, Tangerine Dream scored a real horror, and thus the atmosphere reflects the emotions the film was supposed to deliver. The band masterfully performs its task, and what we get is a real masterpiece, an album that might just as well serve as the instructional composers' booklet for artists in the genre. As if it was not enough, for the first time in history of electronic music, Tangerine Dream takes on blues. Yes, my friend - in fact the album is opened by 'Caleb's Blues', a fantastic instrumental song which is like a bridge thrown over the fuzzy waters dividing the so much different banks of feeling-based blues music and cold emotional electronica. Who would have thought? Some 11 years later, Christopher Franke confirmed his insporations with his hilarious album "Pacific Blue", where he shamelessly ignored the self-imposed taboo, and went overboard creating music in as many musical styles as possible. Whoever had any doubts as to who was the creative force behind Tangerine Dream curtain, should rethink the issue more than once.

"Near Dark" is a an absolutely perfect album, which should be enjoyed not only by Tangerine Dream fans, or those who love electronica, but also by everyone who is interested in innovative soundtracks - this album should not be forgotten. Quite to the contrary.

I had nearly forgotten that they did the soundtrack for "Near Dark". Pretty good though. I seem to recall tracks near the end of "Bladerunner" that were done by TD. If you plan to buy the "Near Dark" video don't read the titles on this CD. They may contain "SPOILERS".

My Dell 'puter has a DVD/CD Player and came with a "Tangerine Dream" DVD demo bundled. Pretty cool!

...certainly far from TD's best soundtrack work. "Pickup at High Noon" and "Bus Station" are a couple of the highlights here. Oddly, the music heard over the opening credits, as Caleb is driving, is nowhere to be found, and that was one of the better cues in the film. Instead this CD opens with the cheesy "Caleb's Blues". It's neither bluesy nor interesting. "Fight at Dawn" and "Severin Dies" are nice as well, perfectly accenting the action in the film but menacing and driving enough to work well alone. I'd recommend this to fans of the film and/or TD completists.

In the mid-to late 80s, Tangerine Dream cranked out soundtracks like Ken Griffey Jr. hits home runs: in bunches. This 1987 soundtrack, for a less-than-interesting "scary" movie, turned out to be the end of the line for me. I had still hung in there, with "Underwater Sunlight" and the "Legend" soundtrack in 1986, but barely. I didn't know it at the time, but I simply stopped buying new TD releases, because their music was gradually becoming... uninteresting, which is the worst complaint one can make.

This soundtrack demonstrates the worthiness of the "skip" or "program" button on your remote. If you pick and choose, there is some decent stuff on here. In particular some of the longer tracks are worth exploring. "Pick Up At High Noon" is atmospheric and dark (near dark?). "Bus Station/Rae's Theme" is the best track of all, an 8 min. piece that starts out haunting and midway through becomes more reflective. "She's My Sister" and "Father & Son" also are worthwhile. After that, it's a very mixed bag. "Good Times" is a short piece that shows TD is not a rock'n'roll band: just aweful.

Overall, this soundtrack is slightly better than, say, their soundtracks for "Three O'Clock High" or "Shy People" from the same era, but keep your remote handy: you will need it!

Surely no-one will say that the "Near Dark" score is one of TD's best; much like the film it has the odd good idea but fails to ignite any real passion or energy. Nevertheless, there are a couple of nice atmospheres and the bluesy "Good Times" is one of the only credible guitar based works the band have ever done.

Overall, this is an album that sounds churned out on a tight deadline with the minimum of fuss and bother. Compare it to the great soundtracks: "Firestarter" most notably, and it doesn't really stand up.

The late 80s were a difficult time for TD, the loss of Johannes Schmoelling was a huge blow and Chris Franke was soon to call it a day as well; many mediocre soundtracks may pay the studio bills but they're not going to win new legions of fans...

With shades of "Livemiles" in the production, this is probably one for the TD completists only...

Not one of TD's best soundtrack albums. It contains some pretty good material (Bus Station, She's My Sister) but most of it's mediocre. If you're looking for late 80's/early 90's TD soundtracks, get the soundtrack to Miracle Mile instead. It's really excellent. If you're willing to go back in time a little more, try the following soundtracks: Thief, Risky Business, Sorcerer.