- Despite soundtracking Tom Cruise getting off with Rebecca De Mornay in Risky Business (or perhaps because of it), 'Love on a Real Train' is perhaps my favorite Tangerine Dream song. The problem, though, is that it is far too short: the version I have on my TD best-of set clocks in at a paltry two-and-a-half minutes of bliss. Luckily, former Mylo keyboardist and Love Triangle owner William Threlfall (aka Williams) must've been having the same problem.
On his "original mix", Williams plays it straight, miming the beatless original track almost note-for-note. It's more dramatic than its predecessor, but it's also now a little more than six minutes long. There's more time here to luxuriate in the bubbling synthesizers and yearning, bird-call melodies. Does it come as any surprise that Williams released this on Valentine's Day?
Swedish duo Studio apply their patented brand of Balearic acoustic-guitars-and-popping-bass dust all over the tune in their "version". It's a compelling take on the tune, reimagining the train running over the coast with surf crashing onto the tracks, instead of Cruise making it on Chicago's less-than-ideal transit system. If you've heard Studio before, you'll know exactly what to expect, which I'm not sure is such a good thing going forward. I'm sold for now, but suspicious of what comes next.
The highlight of this 12-inch, predictably, is Williams' Odyssey mix, which does little more than plug a pumping house beat and a trance-y bassline underneath a slightly sped-up original. All told, it doesn't need anything more to attain excellence. Radiant.
TracklistA Sample Love On A Real Train (original mix)
B1 Sample Love On A Real Train (Odyssey mix)
B2 Sample Love On A Real Train (version By Studio)