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.

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.

When they program in received semiclassical melodies and set the automatic drummer on 'bouncy swing,' the result is the soundtrack for a space travelogue you don't want to see.