“Essential is the best way to discover Lambert's universe which is made of music strongly influenced by Tangerine Dream”
1 Light Sky 5:51 2 Sun 10:49 3 Successive Pictures 3:01 4 Energetic 5:21 5 Two Worlds 5:10 6 Return 6:36 7 Voyage to Nowhere-Extract (Lambert & Stephen Parsick) 5:17 8 Open Sky-Extract (Lambert & Palantír) 6:33 9 White Light-Extract (Jiannis & Lambert) 6:42 10 Floating in Magic 10:46 11 Glider 3:14
(CD 69:20) (V.F.) (E-Rock Berlin School)
You always hesitate to discover Lambert's universe? Well…here's a good compilation that will guide you through his music. Built between the albums Timeless Vision and Finis Terrae, this collection of 11 titles proposes a more accessible vision of the German synthesist music. It means that this selection of music doesn't always offer the best of Lambert, but well and truly the best of his two universes with very catchy titles and others more or less complex which show all of his skills to unstitch the ambiences with very good patterns of sequences leading to polyphased rhythms.
Light Sky starts things up with a good electronic rock structured on sequences in stroboscopic and spasmodic mode. Undulatory, the movement goes up and down while being supported by a solid and throbbing bass line and adorned of Bongo style percussions. This very New Berlin School structure supports a melody weaved in synth layers sounding very Tangerine Dream in Le Parc and which fall in a rather abrupt way. Fans of Tangerine Dream, this is quite easy to manage. The first 2 titles come from the Inside Out album. If Light Sky goes down easy, Sun is more complex and present a creation more personal to Lambert's own style. The sequencer is always very active with evolutionary structures of rhythms which enchant in this universe wraps of mist and of good synth solos (Lambert is also very creative on synths) which inject orchestral effects. It's one of good titles of Inside Out, but not the best. The album Mirror of Motions is also represented by 2 titles. Successive Pictures is a meshing between Synth-Pop and E-Rock. The rhythm is lively and catchy, and the melody is just as much. It's like a crossing between Mark Shreeve and Tangerine Dream and even Mike Oldfield for the guitar. Energetic is heavy and slow. The percussions hammer spheroidal movement of the sequencer which is as much harmonious as the synth. At the beginning, that track reminded me of the Optical Race period, but the more I listen to and the more I hear perfumes of Legend. Two tracks chosen in Dimensions of Dreams is not very representative of this excellent album. If Return is explosive at the level of the sequencer and the percussions, Two Worlds is more experimental and possesses a very particular cachet for a so short title. I reviewed the album quite recently and it is by far Lambert's most accomplished opus.
A short extract! A simple short extract of Voyage to Nowhere from the excellent Trancesession album is waiting for our ears on this ESSENTIAL. It's a pity and tell yourself that this album made with Stephen Parsick is an inescapable in the field of retro Berlin School. Four other titles are unknowns to me. Again here, it's an extract of Open Sky that Lambert proposes to us. Taken out of the album Finis Terrae, composed with Palantir, this extract offers a structure of a not completely ambient rhythm with sequences which skip in suspension in effects of wind instruments, the signature of Palantir. It's like to hear a music of the Schmoelling years of Tangerine Dream jumps in Linda Spa's vapors. If that doesn't really give a deep overview of the album, that sounds very good here. The extract of White Light, from the Timeless Vision album made in collaboration of Jiannis has puts my ears on the alert. The introduction is eroded by a nebulous approach where hollow breezes and faded voices form a mixture of an underground sanctuary. The movement of sequences and the very TD layers which escape from there at the edge of the 3 minutes maintain these ambiences in the dungeons of The Keep. Floating in Magic is a title livened up by a movement of sequences which does its jogging with the harmonies of the morning birds. That sounds retro, just like White Light and 2 the titles which date of the end of the 80's. Glider, an unpublished title, is a little ballad rather romantic with beautiful synth effects. Simple and cute, especially with the light arrangements which make spin the music, that's next to the style of ballads from the Melrose time.
We cannot always separate the name of Tangerine Dream from the music of Lambert. Normal, because Lambert is not ashamed of spreading the fruits of his immense influence. And I'm OK with that! He assumes with delight and prolong this pleasure that we had when we discovered a new album of the famous Berlin trio. Thus, ESSENTIAL is the ideal front door to Lambert's universe. And in my mind, this compilation addresses above all to those who still haven’t had the pleasure to discover his music. May you have a great discovery! You are going to love it if Tangerine Dream is a part of your passion …
Sylvain Lupari (August 23rd, 2017) ***** SynthSequences.com Available on Spheric Music & CD Baby