The LP reached No.39 in the UK, in a 4-week chart run, and eventually reached silver status for selling in excess of 60,000 copies (£100,000+).
Recording
Nick Mason of Pink Floyd did the original mix of Stratosfear in April 1976 at Hansa by the Wall. Due to disputes between Tangerine Dream and Virgin, this mix was abandoned.[4]
Stratosfear combines Tangerine Dream's acoustic and electronic influences more tightly than before. For instance, at the end of the last track, "Invisible Limits", the deep piano/flute tune reveals the album's romantic flavour even after the earlier predominantly synthetic compositions (tracks #1 to last part of track #4). It was Peter Baumann's last studio album with the group.
The album marks the beginning of the band's development away from their uncompromising early 1970s synthesizer experiments toward a recognisably more melodic sound, a trend they would pick up again in 1979's Force Majeure. The title track "Stratosfear" has been played live many times and has been released in a re-mixed form on a number of other albums.
Critical reception
According to Allmusic's John Bush, Stratosfear "shows the group's desire to advance past their stellar recent material and stake out a new musical direction" and also marks "the beginning of a more evocative approach for Tangerine Dream".[5] Bush said the title track, which begins with a "statuesque synthesizer progression before unveiling an increasingly hypnotic line of trance", is the album's highlight.[5]
A new CD version was issued in 2019 re-mastered from the original master tapes. It contained the extra bonus tracks 'Coventry Cathedral' (previously unreleased), 'Stratosfear' (single edit) and 'The Big Sleep in Search of Hades' (single edit) both previously released on promotional only singles in 1976.
