Sorcerer (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture)

Tangerine Dream are famous for their film soundtracks; over the years, they've done nearly as many movie scores as anything else. But this 1977 suspense film by William Friedkin (of French Connection and Exorcist fame) was their very first. It also happens to be the last thing the group recorded with their famous '70s lineup before Peter Baumann quit to start a solo career, and it functions as a bit of a last hurrah for the "classic" T. Dream sound of the previous several years. The opening "Main Title" track harks all the way back to the band's earliest days, with its dark but free-flowing feel of celestial ambience. Other cuts seem to underline the slowly building tension inherent in the film, and the combination of aqueous lead synth lines atop an angular bed of sequencer patterns brings to mind milestone TD albums like Rubycon and Ricochet. Be advised to take the title of "Abyss" literally—it's a bit like peering into a black hole and trying not to get sucked in. Even if you do, at least you'll be surrounded by bewitching electronic textures.