REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: June 16, 2023

TANGERINE DREAM – Stratosfear

I don’t go too far into electronic music (especially the pop variety), but in the seventies there were some great progressive music being made with keys and synths at the forefront, and Tangerine Dream were an originator.

This was actually their seventh album, released in ’76 in their classic Virgin label period. They have also been very prolific, having released over 80 albums throughout their career. For a short while I was all over albums like this as it was new and interesting, until the call of the guitar called me home. My favourite track on this album is the short, slow, brooding The Big Sleep In Search Of Hades, as the Pink Floyd vibes come flowing through.

Amid the pulses and drones of the synths I find this a very relaxing record to put on.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

PRINCE – Lovesexy

This was album number ten for the Princely one and would see the experimental side of Prince coming to the fore, it was one of the least successful album (sales wise) he recorded up until this point. Even so, it’s chock full of groovy goodness and contains one my favourite ever Prince tunes: Alphabet Street.

Compared to a lot of his tunes the sound is quite sparse on this track, but the groove is so cool. In fact, the whole album feels as though it’s an experiment in groove. Dance On is all about that wild fusion drum pattern at the intro. The outro track Positivity has elements of Asian music to add to the feel and vibe of a very percussive focused album.

Not his best work for sure, but I like it and I thought it was cool that he took so many risks.

8/10 from The Grooveman.