Tony Palmer's Film of Tangerine Dream Live at Conventry Cathedral 1975
Review by Gary Hill
How you feel about this video probably depends a lot on how you read the title. If you see the title as "Tangerine Dream - Live at Coventry Cathedral 1975" there's a good bet you are going to be disappointed. As a concert film this fails miserably. The main reason is that the audio track and video track are unrelated. Yes, the music is Tangerine Dream music, but it is not in sync with and most likely not even the same music as the concert presented here. What we really have here is Tony Palmer's artistic representation of a Tangerine Dream concert shown in film. Much like his Space Movie the video and audio are meant to complement each other. This is not meant (or at least I think it's not) a documentary of a concert or a simple concert film. Taken in that light, it's a good DVD - although at less than half an hour a bit short. Those looking for a Tangerine Dream concert video will be disappointed. Those who want a cool audio and video experience based around Tangerine Dream will find this a good effort.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2008 Volume 2 at lulu.com/strangesound.