A major new box set of Tangerine Dream‘s classic Virgin era releases has been announced, In Search Of Hades.
In Search Of Hades is a massive 16 CD / 2 Blu-Ray set of music from arguably their most important era, 1973-1979. The set features newly remastered versions of the albums ‘Phaedra’, ‘Rubycon’, ‘Ricochet’, ‘Stratosfear’, ‘Encore’, ‘Cyclone’ and ‘Force Majeure’, all from the original first generation master tapes. New mixes were done by prog artist and producer Steven Wilson.
It also features 8 CDs of previously unreleased material, including the previously unreleased soundtrack to ‘Oedipus Tyrannus’ (75 minutes), recorded in July 1974. Extracts from these recording sessions have previously been included on Rubycon, Encore and the Virgin sampler album ‘V’, but the full 75 minute recording has for the first time been mixed in stereo and 5.1 for the box set.
Also newly mixed and included are 2 CDs worth of previously unreleased pieces from the Phaedra sessions, and a 15 minute out-take from Rubycon.
Finally, 3 London concerts recorded by the Manor Mobile are included in full (Victoria Palace Theatre in 1974, The Rainbow Theatre in 1974 and Royal Albert Hall in 1975).
The box set also features 2 Blu-Ray discs, featuring the stereo and 5.1 remixes of ‘Phaedra’, ‘Oedipus Tyrannus’ and ‘Ricochet’ in high resolution, along with a 1976 German TV performance and BBC Old Grey Whistle Test broadcast of Tangerine Dream at Coventry Cathedral.
In Search of Hades also features a hardback book, with new liner notes and rare photographs and memorabilia.
Here’s a preview of one of the remixed tracks from the set:
In Search of Hades is available to pre-order in some countries now, but we have not seen a US distributor yet. If you have additional information, share it in the comments!
These are the albums that introduced me to Tangerine Dream when I was a teen. They still mean the most to me now. Amazing material!
good stuff
I’m in Germany and both stores say that the box set is not deliverable to my country. You might have thought that this is of interest to Germans given that we’re famously fond of electronic music and have had some notable bands over the decades. I think, one even recorded some of their finest albums with a certain English upstart record label. If I only I could remember their names …
Like we say in my country: “The shoemakers always wear the worst shoes!” 😀
It’s €48.71 delivery to Italy… still affordable but i was not prepared to such a shipment rate!
What’s up with no US distribution? They’re leaving a lot of money on the table by not getting in Amazon US!
holy fucking hell…
Great to see 5.1 mixes of some songs. I think that was the pinnacle of audio we were reaching before mp3 sharing killed it. I remember walking into Best Buy and seeing racks of 5.1 recordings on DVD-A and SACD and the next month they were gone. I was very sad to see the fraud that is “Hi-Res” supplanting real achievements in audio.
RELEASE DATE: JUNE 14, 2019
The boxset also comes with a 68-page hardback book containing photos, cuttings and a new essay by Wouter Bessels and input from Steven Wilson. Remastered by Ben Wiseman in 2018 with box art by Rupert Lloyd.
CD One: “Phaedra” – Released as Virgin V 2010 in 1974
Phaedra (Remastered 2018)
Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares (Remastered 2018)
Movements of a Visionary (Remastered 2018)
Sequent C’ (Remastered 2018)
[Bonus track] Phaedra (Steven Wilson 2018 stereo remix 19.37)
[Bonus track] Sequent C’ (Steven Wilson 2018 stereo remix 2.21)
CD Two: November 1973 – Phaedra outtakes volume one – previously unreleased
2nd Day (20.30)
Flute Organ Piece (10.58)
Phaedra Out-Take version 2A (20.36)
CD Three: November 1973 – Phaedra outtakes volume two – previously unreleased
Phaedra Out-Take 1 (11.42)
Phaedra Out-Take 2B (5.42)
2nd Side piece 1 (13.05)
2nd Side piece 2 (9.18)
Organ piece (5.48)
CD Four: “Live at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London – 16th June 1974” Previously unreleased
Manor Mobile recording, mixed by Phil Newell, produced by Tangerine Dream.
The Victoria Palace Concert Part One (46.54)
CD Five: “Live at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London – 16th June 1974” Previously unreleased
The Victoria Palace Concert Part Two (28.15)
The Victoria Palace Concert – Encore (13.01)
CD Six: “Oedipus Tyrannus” – Recorded in July 1974. Previously unreleased Mixed by Steven Wilson
Overture (10.58)
Act 1 (16.42)
Act 2: Battle (10.05)
Act 2: Baroque (8.53)
Act 2: Zeus (5.39)
Act 3 (22.08)
CD Seven: “Live at the Rainbow, London – 26th October 1974” Previously unreleased
Manor Mobile recording, mixed by Ben Wiseman at Broadlake Studios, Herts, England – June 2018.
Introduction by John Peel (2.35)
The Rainbow Concert Part One (36.51)
The Rainbow Concert Part Two (29.22)
CD Eight: “Live at the Rainbow, London – 26th October 1974” Previously unreleased
The Rainbow Concert Part Three (37.55)
The Rainbow Concert Encore (12.27)
CD Nine: “Rubycon” – Released as Virgin V 2025 in 1975 Mixed by Steven Wilson Previously unreleased
Rubycon Part One (Remastered 2018)
Rubycon Part Two (Remastered 2018)
[Bonus track] Rubycon (extended introduction 15.04)
CD Ten: “The Royal Albert Hall, London 2nd April 1975”
NEW stereo master tape version with full John Peel intro, mixed by Phil Newell, produced by Tangerine Dream.
The Royal Albert Hall Concert – Part One (1.10.33)
CD Eleven: “The Royal Albert Hall, London 2nd April 1975”
The Royal Albert Hall Concert – Part Two (40.12)
The Royal Albert Hall Concert – Encore (13.44)
CD Twelve: “Ricochet” – Released as Virgin V 2044 in 1975
Ricochet Part One (Remastered 2018)
Ricochet Part Two (Remastered 2018)
[Bonus track] Ricochet Part One – Steven Wilson 2018 stereo remix (17.06)
[Bonus track] Ricochet Part Two – Steven Wilson 2018 stereo remix (21.21)
CD Thirteen: “Stratosfear” – Released as Virgin V 2068 in 1976
Stratosfear (Remastered 2018)
The Big Sleep in Search of Hades (Remastered 2018)
3am at the Border of the Marsh from Okefenokee (Remastered 2018)
Invisible Limits (Remastered 2018)
[Bonus track] Coventry Cathedral – The original film soundtrack (34.02)
[Bonus track] Stratosfear (single edit) Previously Unreleased (4.20)
[Bonus track] The Big Sleep in Search of Hades (single edit) (3.24)
CD Fourteen: “Encore” – Released as Virgin VD 2506 in 1977
Cherokee Lane (Remastered 2018)
Monolight (Remastered 2018)
Coldwater Canyon (Remastered 2018)
Desert Dream (Remastered 2018)
[Bonus track] Encore (3.14)
[Bonus track] Hobo March (4.19)
CD Fifteen: “Cyclone” – Released as Virgin V 2097 in 1978
Bent Cold Sidewalk (Remastered 2018)
Rising Runner Missed by Endless Sender (Remastered 2018)
Madrigal Meridian (Remastered 2018)
[Bonus track] Haunted Heights by Peter Baumann (6.11)
[Bonus track] Barryl Blue by Edgar Froese (7.19)
CD Sixteen: “Force Majeure” – Released as Virgin V 2111 in 1979
Force Majeure (Remastered 2018)
Cloudburst Flight (Remastered 2018)
Thru Metamorphic Rocks (Remastered 2018)
[Bonus track] Chimes and Chains by Christoph Franke (4.47)
Disc Seventeen – Blu Ray: 5.1 Surround Sound & 96 kHz / 24-bit stereo Steven Wilson Mixes
NB all Blu Ray discs are region free
Phaedra [Phaedra]
Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares [Phaedra] Penteo up-mixes (5.1)
Movements of a Visionary [Phaedra] Penteo up-mixes (5.1)
Sequent C’ [Phaedra]
Overture (10.58) [Oedipus Tyrannus – Recorded in July 1974]
Act 1 (16.42) [Oedipus Tyrannus – Recorded in July 1974]
Act 2: Battle (10.05) [Oedipus Tyrannus – Recorded in July 1974]
Act 2: Baroque (8.53) [Oedipus Tyrannus – Recorded in July 1974]
Act 2: Zeus (5.39) [Oedipus Tyrannus – Recorded in July 1974]
Act 3 (22.08) [Oedipus Tyrannus – Recorded in July 1974]
Disc Eighteen – Blu Ray: 5.1 Surround Sound & 96 kHz / 24-bit stereo Steven Wilson Mixes
Ricochet Part One [Ricochet]
Ricochet Part Two [Ricochet]
Tangerine Dream at Coventry Cathedral [Visual content, BBC TV 3rd October 1976] (27.20)
Signale aus der Schwäbischen Strasse – Tangerine Dream documentary & performance (NDR / SFB TV Germany – 23rd May 1976). (44.44)
The boxset also comes with a 68-page hardback book containing photos, memorabilia, cuttings and a new essay by Wouter Bessels and input from Steven Wilson. Remastered by Ben Wiseman in 2018 with box art by Rupert Lloyd.
CD One: “Phaedra” – Released as Virgin V 2010 in 1974
Phaedra (Remastered 2018)
Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares (Remastered 2018)
Movements of a Visionary (Remastered 2018)
Sequent C’ (Remastered 2018)
[Bonus track] Phaedra (Steven Wilson 2018 stereo remix 19.37)
[Bonus track] Sequent C’ (Steven Wilson 2018 stereo remix 2.21)
CD Two: November 1973 – Phaedra outtakes volume one – previously unreleased
2nd Day (20.30)
Flute Organ Piece (10.58)
Phaedra Out-Take version 2A (20.36)
CD Three: November 1973 – Phaedra outtakes volume two – previously unreleased
Phaedra Out-Take 1 (11.42)
Phaedra Out-Take 2B (5.42)
2nd Side piece 1 (13.05)
2nd Side piece 2 (9.18)
Organ piece (5.48)
CD Four: “Live at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London – 16th June 1974” Previously unreleased
Manor Mobile recording, mixed by Phil Newell, produced by Tangerine Dream.
The Victoria Palace Concert Part One (46.54)
CD Five: “Live at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London – 16th June 1974” Previously unreleased
The Victoria Palace Concert Part Two (28.15)
The Victoria Palace Concert – Encore (13.01)
CD Six: “Oedipus Tyrannus” – Recorded in July 1974. Previously unreleased Mixed by Steven Wilson
Overture (10.58)
Act 1 (16.42)
Act 2: Battle (10.05)
Act 2: Baroque (8.53)
Act 2: Zeus (5.39)
Act 3 (22.08)
CD Seven: “Live at the Rainbow, London – 26th October 1974” Previously unreleased
Manor Mobile recording, mixed by Ben Wiseman at Broadlake Studios, Herts – June 2018.
Introduction by John Peel (2.35)
The Rainbow Concert Part One (36.51)
The Rainbow Concert Part Two (29.22)
CD Eight: “Live at the Rainbow, London – 26th October 1974” Previously unreleased
The Rainbow Concert Part Three (37.55)
The Rainbow Concert Encore (12.27)
CD Nine: “Rubycon” – Released as Virgin V 2025 in 1975 Mixed by Steven Wilson Previously unreleased
Rubycon Part One (Remastered 2018)
Rubycon Part Two (Remastered 2018)
[Bonus track] Rubycon (extended introduction 15.04)
CD Ten: “The Royal Albert Hall, London 2nd April 1975”
NEW stereo master tape version with full John Peel intro, mixed by Phil Newell, produced by Tangerine Dream.
The Royal Albert Hall Concert – Part One (1.10.33)
CD Eleven: “The Royal Albert Hall, London 2nd April 1975”
The Royal Albert Hall Concert – Part Two (40.12)
The Royal Albert Hall Concert – Encore (13.44)
CD Twelve: “Ricochet” – Released as Virgin V 2044 in 1975
Ricochet Part One (Remastered 2018)
Ricochet Part Two (Remastered 2018)
[Bonus track] Ricochet Part One – Steven Wilson 2018 stereo remix (17.06)
[Bonus track] Ricochet Part Two – Steven Wilson 2018 stereo remix (21.21)
CD Thirteen: “Stratosfear” – Released as Virgin V 2068 in 1976
Stratosfear (Remastered 2018)
The Big Sleep in Search of Hades (Remastered 2018)
3am at the Border of the Marsh from Okefenokee (Remastered 2018)
Invisible Limits (Remastered 2018)
[Bonus track] Coventry Cathedral – The original film soundtrack (34.02)
[Bonus track] Stratosfear (single edit) Previously Unreleased (4.20)
[Bonus track] The Big Sleep in Search of Hades (single edit) (3.24)
CD Fourteen: “Encore” – Released as Virgin VD 2506 in 1977
Cherokee Lane (Remastered 2018)
Monolight (Remastered 2018)
Coldwater Canyon (Remastered 2018)
Desert Dream (Remastered 2018)
[Bonus track] Encore (3.14)
[Bonus track] Hobo March (4.19)
CD Fifteen: “Cyclone” – Released as Virgin V 2097 in 1978
Bent Cold Sidewalk (Remastered 2018)
Rising Runner Missed by Endless Sender (Remastered 2018)
Madrigal Meridian (Remastered 2018)
[Bonus track] Haunted Heights by Peter Baumann (6.11)
[Bonus track] Barryl Blue by Edgar Froese (7.19)
CD Sixteen: “Force Majeure” – Released as Virgin V 2111 in 1979
Force Majeure (Remastered 2018)
Cloudburst Flight (Remastered 2018)
Thru Metamorphic Rocks (Remastered 2018)
[Bonus track] Chimes and Chains by Christoph Franke (4.47)
Disc Seventeen – Blu Ray: 5.1 Surround Sound & 96 kHz / 24-bit stereo Steven Wilson Mixes
NB all Blu Ray discs are region free
Phaedra [Phaedra]
Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares [Phaedra] Penteo up-mixes (5.1)
Movements of a Visionary [Phaedra] Penteo up-mixes (5.1)
Sequent C’ [Phaedra]
Overture (10.58) [Oedipus Tyrannus – Recorded in July 1974]
Act 1 (16.42) [Oedipus Tyrannus – Recorded in July 1974]
Act 2: Battle (10.05) [Oedipus Tyrannus – Recorded in July 1974]
Act 2: Baroque (8.53) [Oedipus Tyrannus – Recorded in July 1974]
Act 2: Zeus (5.39) [Oedipus Tyrannus – Recorded in July 1974]
Act 3 (22.08) [Oedipus Tyrannus – Recorded in July 1974]
Disc Eighteen – Blu Ray: 5.1 Surround Sound & 96 kHz / 24-bit stereo Steven Wilson Mixes
Ricochet Part One [Ricochet]
Ricochet Part Two [Ricochet]
Tangerine Dream at Coventry Cathedral [Visual content, BBC TV 3rd October 1976] (27.20)
Signale aus der Schwäbischen Strasse – Tangerine Dream documentary & performance (NDR / SFB TV Germany – 23rd May 1976). (44.44)
Available from:
Banquet Records £139.99
Resident £131.99
Drift: £129.99
Norman Records £128.99
SuperDeluxeEdition £125.00
Juno Records £124.99
Compact Disc Services £121.99
RecordStore UK £119.99
UDiscoverMusic £119.99
Amazon UK £116.41
Burning Shed £115.00
ITunes (download) £79.99
Also:
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Discrepancy Records AU $290
A poet from 6th century BC, Theognis of Megara wrote that “no man takes with him to Hades all his exceeding wealth”…
However, he had no chance of coming across the newly released Tangerine Dream box set… Both Theognis, and undoubtedly Hades, would approve of this wealth in one’s possession – if only they had the chance to listen to the 16 CDs and 2 BR discs of the Virgin recordings from 1973 to 1979…
In Search of Hades not only contains splendid remasters of Tangerine Dream classic albums from the 1973-1979 period, but also numerous previously unreleased tracks that are genuinely spellbinding. The Steven Wilson mixes and Ben Wiseman-remastered versions can be heralded as examples of how informed and sensitive remastering should be done, when we are flooded with countless remastered editions of classical albums that not only over-compress the original material, but may also genuinely massacre those… The Ricochet and Phaedra remastered versions notably also restored their original structure, with material that was either cut or misplaced in some previous releases.
In addition, for the first time one can hear quality recording of certain era-defining live appearances that TD fans so far only could hear in bootleg recordings and mono radio material of highly varying “quality”.
First fact to stress is that the previously unreleased material is not a mere pile of studio leftovers and obscure curiosities that stayed in dusty basements for good reason. Instead, they are astonishing electronic soundscapes that are not only musically, but also historically, significant.
The Phaedra Outtakes are of simply aching beauty, with gentle piano, flutes, strings, electronic swirls and indescribable sound effects all combining into subtle, sensitive sonic paintings that are at the same time cosmic and terrestrial, alien and human.
These recordings show again something that unashamedly biased (with good reason) TD fans have known for a long time: the way that Mellotrons are used by Tangerine Dream truly stands out, when compared to the ‘raw’ and typical Mellotron sounds found in countless electronic and progressive rock albums.
Among the included concert recordings, the Victoria Palace live appearance is particularly notable, as some remarked: it is an evolutionary ‘missing link’ between the sound world of Atem and that of Phaedra.
Not only we have here a group of fiercely innovative musicians improvising live, something that in electronic music cannot be understated, but the sonic gems of this concert have the ambient soundscapes, fluid and utterly sensitive meditations of what we could hear on the classics Zeit and Atem. These are seamlessly blending with the more melodic Mellotron strings and flutes, underpinned by tight pulsating sequencers, a novel and characteristic sound that on Phaedra became a global phenomenon.
Nothing ever stays static, nothing ever has straight lines or perpendicular sharp corners. Everything here is fluid, constantly changing and evolving…
This Victoria Palace concert is also perhaps the most audible example of the heroics that some may take for granted nowadays: one can hear how the sequencers are drifting out of tune, how the jamming musicians make this process an organic part of their improvisations and we also hear how the naughty analogue equipment is being tamed again, with on-the-fly re-tuning.
The other two London concerts, at The Rainbow Room and of course the Royal Albert Hall appearance, are connecting us more with the sound world we know from Phaedra and Rubycon perhaps, but here, too we have ample improvised compositions firmly rooted in a unique variant of space / ambient music that Tangerine Dream have unleashed on audiences well before ambient was called ambient…
In the fiery sequencer patterns we already hear elements of what Ricochet was to be, as a supreme example of Berlin School wizardry that stood the test of time. One can defy modular enthusiasts and sequencer magicians of 2019 to even replicate or emulate the astonishing sequencing present on these recordings from more than four decades ago.
The concert recordings show musicians achieving something in the 1970s that is rare even today, despite the mainstream position that some genres of electronic music occupy nowadays in major live performances and festivals. These live recordings are simply humbling: one has to clash with, and firmly realise, one’s own limited human abilities, when trying to even follow the intricate multi-layered details swirlingly unleashed on us by these musicians.
Here we have largely improvised jams spanning, and seamlessly combining, distant corners of many different galaxies of electronic music. Actually playing multiple layers of intricate patterns emerging from fiendishly unstable analogue sequencers, instead of static repetitive patterns that many even now think sequencers are for? Of course, why not. Seamlessly blending spacey electronic atmospheres with gentle, almost fragile flutes and strings, piano textures and human voice? Of course, why not? Do taped strings pushed through phasers and modulated effects sit at home with pulsating Berlin School patterns of a very ordered and structured Universe? Sure.
Clearly, above is a far from exhaustive overview of the box set, but even if one omits mentions and reactions to the vast amount of musical material of this treasure chest, the Oedipus Tyrannus simply must be mentioned.
This is perhaps one of the, if not the, most mythical Tangerine Dream albums. It only existed in various unofficial forms, in highly variable (but consistently low) quality versions and it gained a mythical status not only due to these factors, but also because it contains a monumental electronic suite.
The epic material takes us from the avantgarde atmospherics of the Overture to the mind-blowing sequencers of the Battle to the playful melodic inventions of Baroque (latter actually being more of a Renaissance-era slow dance if one wishes to be knit-picking, when listening to the characteristic melodic lines). It further shows, as if there was any need, that Tangerine Dream has been and remains quintessential to the history of not just one genre or sub-genre of electronic music, but to the history of electronic music, full stop.
The range of music on just this box set shows how they have remained influential for vast arrays of electronic music ranging from most avantgarde and experimental ambient to the most mainstream sub-genres.
So what would be the single central characteristic of this vast collection of music released in this box set? Can one condense into a single word all the breathtaking and fiery improvisations, delicate and fragile melodic inventions, vibrations of star systems from distant outer space, waves and fluid motions of unidentifiable liquids, swirls and storms of strange aethers?
Most definitely, and Tangerine Dream fans can put it down as nothing surprising, long-known by them and merely re-enforced by the proofs in this box set:
Imagination.
(originally written for Notes From A Nebula, 20 June, 2019)