''Ages'' is

Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese having been the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup ...

leader

Edgar Froese Edgar Willmar Froese (; 6 June 1944 – 20 January 2015) was a German musical artist and electronic music pioneer, best known for founding the electronic music group Tangerine Dream in 1967. Froese was the only continuous member of the group ...

's fourth studio album, released in 1978. Originally a double LP, it was reissued by Virgin Records in 1997 on one CD, with the closing track "Golgatha and the Circle Closes" missing. Froese has since remixed the album and released it on his own Eastgate label in 2005. This version also omitted a track, but not the same one as before, and another song, "Metropolis", was shortened. The album was recorded in Autumn 1977 at Amber Studios in Berlin. The drums and percussion were played by Klaus Krüger (aka Klaus Krieger) who was in Tangerine Dream at the time. Some parts of songs on the album were later reused on Tangerine Dream's albums, most notably "Nights of Automatic Women", which is very similar to "Madrigal Meridian" from

Cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...

. Before the album was released, "Ode to Granny A" was released in an abridged form as the b-side to Tangerine Dream's live single "

Encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers after the planned show has ended, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford University Pres ...

", under the title "Hobo March".

Reception

On its initial release, the album failed to chart in any territory. A review on the

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

website by Jim Brenholts awarded the album 4.5 stars stating "Edgar Froese is a great musician and a shrewd businessman. Realizing that he and his associates would need money to fund the progress of Tangerine Dream, he took advantage of both of those qualities and launched his solo career while Tangerine Dream was still in their infancy. That solo career has contributed many gems and classics to the e-music community. Ages is one of those classics. This album has all of Froese's virtuosity and something that his listeners rarely hear—a sense of humor. Froese does not show that side of himself to his listeners very often, so it is a treat. Putting that positive energy into play does much for this album; it makes it a classic.

Track listing

Personnel

* Edgar Froese – guitar, keyboards, synthesizer * Klaus Krüger – drums, percussion

References

{{Authority control 1978 albums Edgar Froese albums