Within the first few minutes of Turn of the Tides, it’s clear that this is no mere slideshow of new age scenes but a journey through music into strange lands. Edgar Froese had fashioned a story called “The Coachman’s Tales” inspired by surrealists like Carlos Castaneda and distilled a small part of it to serve as the plot behind this program music. The result is as ambitious an album as TD has released in a long while, expanding its reach beyond mere electronics by bringing in guitarist Zlatko Perica, saxophonist Linda Spa, singers Jayney Klimek and Julie Ocean (always on fire), and even the Vienna Horn Ensemble. The music here, matched to an interesting if awfully trippy travelogue, is remarkably engaging and exotic for late-period Dream. There is the sense that Edgar Froese has roused himself from a long sleep of new age club music to answer the call of the artist within. He certainly picked a good time to engage the services of additional musicians, especially Perica, whose guitar adds an extra dimension of warmth and energy to the arrangements. The old Dream-ers and musical spelunkers will find a world capable of sustaining extended introspection on Tides: rushing through the Jungle of Danger and Innocence on “Jungle Journey,” watching a ship fight against the currents of time on “Galley Slave’s Horizon,” crossing a strange valley on “Midwinter Night.” It’s been ages since TD took you to places like this. If you think the Dream died with the ‘90s, renew your reveries with Turn of the Tides. Don’t let the new age accolades scare you: this is some of the tastiest mind candy that the Froese contingent has given us.
The Songs
1. Pictures At An Exhibition (Modest Mussorgsky, orchestrated by Maurice Ravel) (3:01)
2. Firetongues (6:32)
3. Galley Slave’s Horizon (7:47)
4. Death of a Nightingale (5:30)
5. Twilight Brigade (9:45)
6. Jungle Journey (6:34)
7. Midwinter Night (4:38)
8. Turn of the Tides (7:40)
CD reissue bonus track
9. Story of the Brave
All titles composed and arranged by Edgar Froese and Jerome Froese unless noted.
The Players
Edgar Froese (keyboards, keyboard mix, lead guitar, acoustic guitar), Jerome Froese (drumming, keyboards, percussion, lead guitar), Zlatko Perica (acoustic and electric guitars, all guitar arrangements), Linda Spa (soprano sax, keyboard mix, alto sax, tenor sax, all horn/sax arrangements) with Roland Braunstein (trumpet on 1), Jayney Klimek (backing vocals), Julie Ocean (backing vocals), Vienna Horn Ensemble (horns on 1). Produced by Edgar Froese; engineered by Christian Gstettner and Lenny Bird; mixed by Christian Gstettner.
The Pictures
Photographs by Monica Froese, Jim Rakete, Ralf Strathmann. Graphic design by Marc Schikowski.
The Plastic
Released on compact disc and cassette in November 1994 in Germany (Virgin, 839454-2), the US and Canada (Miramar, MPCD 2806/23039); reached #2 on the US New Age charts, nominated for Grammy for Best New Age Album. Re-released on compact disc and cassette in September 1999 worldwide (TDI, EFACD 63019) with different cover. Re-released on expanded compact disc on January 29, 2010 in Germany (Eastgate, 232651) with one bonus track and slightly different cover.
