“It's a cute little CD that gently enters the ear like a nice breeze in a heat wave”
1 Rubycon 2010 (2010 remix) 6:32
2 Zulu 8:29
3 Order of the Ginger Guild 2010 (2010 remix) 4:00
4 Norwegian Wood 5:32
Eastgate 044 MINI CUPDISC 8
(CD 24:33) (V.F.)
(E-Rock)
Launched during the Dream's European tour between March and April 2010, ZEITGEIST is the 5th mini album of the Cupdisc series. A series that already totals 8 releases since the very first one, One Times One released in 2007. Is Edgar Froese running out of ideas? It's possible because this Cupdisc offers 2 remixes, a cover (already the 4th) of a The Beatles' track and only one new title. It's a cute little CD that gently enters the ear like a nice breeze in a heat wave. But be careful, cute means cute! Something well done that you can listen to without shouting genius. You have to put things in perspective and understand that the Tangerine Dream adventure has become a story of big money with a few strokes of genius scattered along a long road filled with a lack of imagination and inspiration since the departure of you know who...
Rubycon 2010 has a new look! After an intro full of heterogeneous sounds, the heavy sequence that is so familiar to us jumps with its unbridled chords that shape a nervous chaotic rhythmic accompanied by a synth a little more delicate. The great strength of this remix is undoubtedly the reconstruction of the sequences and the percussions that are more violent and boisterous in the middle of the track. As for the rest, Rubycon 2010 offers an updated sound where you really grasp the upcoming directions of the trio Baumann, Franke and Froese. It's good, but was it necessary? I still love the original. Zulu is the new track here. And when I say new, I say it with a vague hesitation because I have the strange impression to be in heard ground. Is it from the period of Tyranny of Beauty? Lily on the Beach or Destination Berlin? Because the play of sequences is rather heavy even if fluid and is also close to the Hiroshima series. I hesitate because everything sounds so much like it in the TD universe since the mid 80's. It's good but not really great, especially since it precedes another remix in Order of the Ginger Guild 2010 which is really close to the Zulu tune, except for the African choirs. I like this heavy sequencer that sits in the middle of the track, but I'm not really a connoisseur of this era of TD (1997) to draw a credible parallel. Let's just say it's big synth pop-rock. Norwegian Wood is a solid studio version instead of the live performance found on Under Cover-Chapter One, and it's still good.
There's not much to say about this 6th Edgar Dream's Mini Cupdisc. It's obvious that it's well done and that it moves quite a bit. Papi Froese seems to have quickly understood that the pockets of his new generation of fans seem to be deeper than those of the old ones. They who keep hoping for a few strokes of genius from good old Edgar and who can't bring themselves to get rid of this old girlfriend who gave us so many good moments.
Sylvain Lupari (July 30th, 2011) *****
Available at Groove nl