Given the statement above it is no surprise that this album mostly consists of new (or not so new) arrangements of well-known tracks, though there are 14 (not 13) compositions, and the oldest of them is just 30 (not 40) years old. Furthermore this planned series has never been continued with another release.
All arrangements are credited to one or two performers, all of them well-known present or past members of the band.
Southpole Crossing, the only composition that had been previously unreleased, is part of the (yet unreleased) soundtrack Mandala of which three excerpts (including this one) were presented on the jukebox of TD's official homepage in 2005. Performance of this track is credited to Paul Haslinger.
Both Logos Blue and Desert Dream, originally from Logos Live (1982) and Encore (1977), respectively, are credited to Ralf Wadephul. In fact this rendition of Logos Blue was performed live for the first time during the 1988 US tour, when Ralf Wadephul was member of the band. Interestingly enough, both tracks have already been released on Tangents (1994), though all re-recordings and remixes of this box set had been credited to Edgar Froese then; Ralf Wadephul had been credited for analog/digital mastering only, but obviously he had done some more support to the project then. This raises the question whether other re-recordings were done by Ralf Wadephul as well, for example the new version of Monolight, which is much in the same vein as Desert Dream.
Alchemy Of The Heart II, originally from Tyger (1987) is some kind of a stripped down version of the original track, now credited to both Paul Haslinger and Edgar Froese. It is unknown whether this is an early version of this track that did not make it to the album, or whether it was redone at a later time.
Beach Theme, originally from Thief (1981) is credited to Zlatko Perica, and this version is very similar (or even identical) to the live version he performed the guitar solo on during the 1997 European tour, as can be heard on Valentine Wheels (1998).
Phaedra 2005, originally from Phaedra (1974), is credited to Edgar Froese and once again is based around the main sequencer motif, like all new renditions of this classic track since 1988. Anyway, this is a new version, even different from that of the namesake album Phaedra 2005.
Four more tracks are credited to Edgar Froese: Convention Of The 24, from White Eagle (1982), The Challenger's Arrival, from The Keep (1983, released 1997), Sphinx Red Lightning, from Hyperborea (1983), and Ride On The Ray, from Underwater Sunlight (1986). While the first three tracks are remixes based on the original tracks and very similar in style to the remixes on Tangents, the latter track is a new recording with a great guitar solo that might have been recorded during the Berlin concert in September 2006. Unfortunately, this encore is missing on the DVD release Live At The Tempodrome Berlin (2006).
The Blue Bridge, originally from 220 Volt Live is credited to Thorsten Quaeschning and Linda Spa and again might be identical to the live version from the 2006 concert mentioned before.
Two more tracks are credited to Thorsten Quaeschning: A new rendition of Logos Velvet, originally from Logos Live (1982), and a new version of Loved By The Sun, from Legend (1986). The latter could be heard during the Berlin concert as well.
Finally, Pergamon Sphere, originally from Quichotte (1980) is credited to Johannes Schmoelling, though in fact it is the same version that was released in the Tangents box -- where it was credited to Edgar Froese. Johannes Schmoelling was listed in the credits for digital pre-mastering only (which raises a similar quastion like above: what more influence had Johannes Schmoelling on the Tangents box?).
In conclusion, this album is some kind of a mixed bag: With the exception of the first track it contains new versions of well-known tracks only, which of course is immanent for a project like this. Anyway, for any TD fan who doesn't mind reworkings of older material and who accepts that a number of tracks had already been released (under different names) on Tangents, this album features several quite successful new renditions of some classic themes, making Plays Tangerine Dream a worthwhile listen.
Re-Releases
In January 2007 this release became available as MP3 download at the Tangerine Dream Download Shop, which gives the opportunity to download only those tracks which had not been released before.
In March 2009 the album was re-released with different cover design as part of an extensive digipack series (consisting of a total of more than 60 CD and DVD releases) by the Germany based Membran record label, and in May 2009 it was re-released in Japan as part of a series of HiQualityCDs with mini LP paper sleeves.
Releases
Germany
2006: Eastgate
CD: eastgate 012 CD; multicoloured disc; matrix code: 8194; no order number on disc or inserts
2007: Eastgate
Download: complete release or individual tracks as MP3