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| AllMusic |      [1] | 
Optical Race is the thirty-fifth major release and eighteenth studio album by Tangerine Dream. Optical Race is the inaugural album of the Melrose Years era, as it is the first appearance of the band on the Private Music label, founded by former Tangerine Dream member Peter Baumann.[2] It was their first album without Christopher Franke since 1970's Electronic Meditation and the band's first to be programmed largely with a computer, an Atari ST using Steinberg/Jones software. The sleeve of the 12" release and the first release on CD and Compact Cassette features a die-cut outer sleeve with a multicolored inner sleeve.
"Atlas Eyes" is in 5
4 time. "Mothers of Rain" first appeared two years before the album's release, during the band's 1986 European tour. "Turning Off The Wheel" was re-released on the Transsiberia album in 1998 under the title "The Golden Horn". "Optical Race" was played by the group on German TV show Wetten, dass..? (moderated by Thomas Gottschalk) in 1988.
Track listing
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| 1. | "Marakesh" | 8:17 | 
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| 2. | "Atlas Eyes" | 4:04 | 
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| 3. | "Mothers of Rain" | 5:13 | 
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| 4. | "Twin Soul Tribe" | 4:28 | 
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| 5. | "Optical Race" | 3:13 | 
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| 6. | "Cat Scan" | 5:35 | 
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| 7. | "Sun Gate" | 4:44 | 
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| 8. | "Turning Off the Wheel" | 6:11 | 
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| 9. | "The Midnight Trail" | 5:54 | 
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| 10. | "Ghazal (Love Song)" | 5:00 | 
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Personnel
- Paul Haslinger – composer, musician
- Edgar Froese – composer, musician
- Ralf Wadephul – composer
- Christian Gstettner – studio technician
- Monica Froese – cover concept
- Norman Moore – art direction and design
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| Main studio, live and soundtrack albums
 (1970–present)
 | | The Pink Years (1970–1973) |  | 
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 | The Virgin Years (1974–1984) |  | 
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 | The Blue Years (1984–1988) |  | 
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 | The Melrose Years (1988–1990) |  | 
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 | The Seattle Years (1991–1995) |  | 
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 | The TDI Years (1996–2005) |  | 
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 | The Eastgate Years (2005–2014) | 
Phaedra 2005 (re-recording)Blue DawnParadisoTangerine Dream Plays Tangerine Dream (re-recordings & remix)Springtime In NagasakiMadcap's Flaming DutySummer in NagasakiPurple DiluvialViews from a Red TrainTangram 2008 (re-recording)Hyperborea 2008 (re-recording)Autumn In HiroshimaThe London Eye Concert (live)FlameChandra - The Phantom Ferry Part IWinter in HiroshimaIzu (live)DM V (remix)Zeitgeist (live)Under Cover – Chapter One (covers)The Endless SeasonThe Island of the FayThe Gate of SaturnThe Angel of the West WindowLive at the Lowry (live)Mona Da VinciFinnegans WakeKnights of Asheville (live)Machu PicchuLive in Budapest (live)Live at Admiralspalast Berlin (live)Cruise to Destiny (re-recordings)Starmus — Sonic Universe (with Brian May) (live)The CastleThe Cinematographic Score GTA 5 (soundtrack)Chandra - The Phantom Ferry Part IISorcerer 2014 (re-recording)Josephine the Mouse SingerPhaedra Farewell Tour - The Concerts (live)
 | 
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 | The Quantum Years (2014–present) | 
Mala KuniaSupernormal - The Australian Concerts (live)The Official Bootleg Series Volume One (live)Quantum KeyThe Official Bootleg Series Volume Two (live)Live at the Philharmony Szczecin - Poland (live)Particles (live & studio)Light Flux (re-recordings & studio)The Sessions I (live)Quantum GateThe Sessions II (live)The Sessions III (live)The Sessions IV (live)Recurring Dreams (re-recordings)Oedipus TyrannusLive at Augusta Raurica Switzerland (live)The Sessions V (live)RaumLive at Reims Cathedral (live)
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