Tangerine Dream

Poland

The Warsaw Concert

- Live, released November 1984 -

Covers

Picture-LP release UK 1984 Design: Monique Froese	CD release UK 1984 Design: Monique Froese
CD release USA 1988 Design: Monique Froese	CD release Europe 1996 Design: Monique Froese
CD counterfeit release Russia 199?	CD release Europe 2012 Design: Monique Froese

Tracks


		[a]	[b]	[c]
1.	Poland	22:36	22:26	22:26
2.	Tangent	19:59	-	19:59
3.	Barbakane	18:04	13:53	13:53
4.	Horizon	21:10	20:50	20:50
Total running time		81:49	57:09	77:08


		[d]
1.	Poland	22:36
2.	Tangent	15:53
3.	Rare Bird	4:01
4.	Barbakane	18:04
5.	Horizon	21:10
Total running time		81:44

Details


Recording date	December 10, 1983
Recording site(s)	Ice Stadium (Warsaw)
Composer(s)	Edgar Froese, Chris Franke, Johannes Schmoelling
Musician(s)	Edgar Froese, Chris Franke, Johannes Schmoelling
Producer(s)	Edgar Froese, Chris Franke, Johannes Schmoelling

Notes

In December 1983 Tangerine Dream once again performed behind the 'Iron Curtain': After they had played in East Berlin in January 1980 (released on the album Quichotte), now they performed in Poland's capital Warsaw.

Backtracking with Tangerine Dream

Edgar Froese: "We've been called a political band, but when we played East Germany and Poland it was not for political reasons. We just wanted to play to the people there."

Chris Franke: "We are political only in the sense that music can be used as a trigger impulse to start people thinking about society."

Edgar Froese: "After all, what is politics in our time? You might call it crime, Mafia, whatever, instead of politics. Everybody knows that. And not just in some countries, but all of them."

(Interview with Johnny Black, thisBEAT, issue 17, April 1986)

The album Poland was the first one released by the British Jive Electro label -- 'The Blue Years' had begun. It was remarkable that this double album contained once again only previously unreleased material -- there was no crossover music from their previous live recording Logos Live (1982). Like that album, Poland was essentially one continously-segued composition, split into for parts of about 20 minutes each due to the limitations of the vinyl format. TD's ability to smoothly join one distinct section of music to another was once again evident.

Tangerine Dream played two concerts at the Warsaw Ice Stadium on December 10th, 1983: There was an afternoon and an evening concert. The music was remixed and some overdubbing with new parts and bridges was made in early 1984 to provide a typical TD live album with very little noise from the crowd, and, of course, providing the usual excellent sound quality.

While the original release of Poland featured about 80 minutes music, divided into four tracks, most of the mid-80's CD releases did not feature the complete music material because of limitations of the 1-CD format. They were shortened by nearly 25 minutes, leaving out the track Tangent (and Rare Bird) and shortening Barbakane. Only the US double CD release featured the complete material.

Re-Releases

In 1996 and 2003 Poland was re-released on CD, but again the record company did not take the chance to release the complete version of Poland on two CDs. Barbakane was shortened like on the former CD releases, but at least the composition Tangent (including Rare Bird) was included in full length.

Finally, in 2011 the British Esoteric Records started to re-release the TD back catalogue of the Pink and Blue Years. The first album to be re-released at end of May has been Poland as a so-called "expanded double CD version", that is, the complete material as released on the original LP. Unlike on previous releases, the track Tangent has been split into its main part and the Rare Bird encore, which is quite reasonable, as these two are indeed distinct compositions. This album contains no further extra material; which is a pity, as there would have been plenty of room to include the remixed versions from the Warsaw In The Sun single, for example -- at least those have been released on the compilation album Ride On The Ray from the same label a few months earlier. Most (though not all) listeners agree that this version provides the best sound quality of this album (the strongest competitor being the Ralativity release from 1992, which has become quite rare over the years); moreover the CDs come with a 16-page booklet including numerous photos, parts of the original inner artwork and both extensive and excellent liner notes by TD aficionado Andy King.

On occasion of the Record Store Day 2019 on April 13th, Esoteric Records re-released the album on clear vinyl.

Releases


Canada	1984: Jive/Quality 2LP [a]: JV 6616/2; world map labels, gatefold cover 1984: Jive 2LP [a]: JL 2-6616; world map labels, gatefold cover
Europe	1996: Essential/Castle CD [c]: ESMCD365 2003: Sanctuary/Castle CD [c]: CMRCD641; standard jewel case with additional cardboard wrapper 2011: Reactive/Esoteric 2CD [d]: EREACD 21018; slim double jewel case; multicoloured discs 2019: Reactive/Esoteric 2LP [d]: EREALP 2018D; clear vinyl, gatefold cover; limited edition
France	1984: Jive/Carrere 2LP [a]: CA 29266.226; world map labels, gatefold cover CD [b]: CHIP 22
Germany	1984: Jive/Teldec 2LP [a]: 6.28638 DX; world map labels, gatefold cover CD [b]: 8.26099
Greece	1984: Jive 2LP [a]: 40004/5; blue labels
Italy	1984: Jive/Messaggerie Musicali 2LP [a]: ZL 8826
Japan	1988: Alfa CD [b]: 32 XB-221
Netherlands	1985: Jive/CNR 2LP [a]: 573.003/4; red labels
Poland	1985: Tonpress 2LP [a]: SX-T 64/65; red labels, gatefold cover
Russia	199?: ? Counterfeit-CD: Z 1081; blue/black/silver disc
UK	1984: Jive 2LP [a]: HIP 22; world map labels, gatefold cover; there exist two different covers 2LP [a]: HIP 22; blue labels, gatefold cover 2Picture-LP [a]: HIPX 22 CD [b]: CHIP 22
UK?	19??: Jive? *CD [c]:** CDHIP 22; * the composition Rare Bird is included twice: once as part of Tangent and once as a single track not mentioned in the track listing; this version might be not an official one released by Jive but a pirate release
USA	1986: Relativity 2LP [a]: 88561-8045-1; picture labels, gatefold cover 2LP [a]: 88561-8045-1; black labels, gatefold cover 1988: Relativity 2CD [a]: 88561-8045-2; standard double jewel case 1993: Relativity 2CD [a]: 88561-8045-2; silver/brown/black disc; slim double jewel case 2CD [a]: 88561-8045-2; silver/blue/black disc; slim double jewel case; the composition Tangent is split in two tracks of 15:50 and 4:09 (Rare Bird) but labelled as single track 1996: Sequel/Castle CD [c]: 1044-2 2000: Castle CD [c]: CMACD568 2003: Sanctuary CD [c]: 06076-81296-2
Poland was also released as part of the set Collection.