4'33''

You all know this piece of music; used everywhere from UK digital terrestrial channel Dave's off-air test card to the background music performed during televised golf matches. Millions of electrical appliances worldwide have adopted it as their 'sleep mode' music. The majority of national radio stations used to play the EP on repeat throughout the night (although with an increasing demand by the younger generation for more conventional pop music it has taken a backseat from the heavy rotation playlists).

And yet despite the ubiquity of this iconic compositon, the name of John Cage remains largely unknown to most households, except for those confusing him with his Mortal Kombat namesake.

A defining aspect of 4'33" is that it cannot be easily pigeonholed into one style. A fine example of a genre-shattering crossover piece, pompous so-called "musicologists" often attempt to label it with such throwaway terms as 'minimal', 'contemporary classical' or 'musique concrète' but I would highly recommend disregarding such nonsense, especially from the famously misinformed writer Isaac Cox.

Thus, here is John Cage's original composition available for the first time to the iTunes/MP3 generation. With not a second of this golden masterpiece lost (as has previously happened due to scrutiny from radio stations for an abridged edit), you can enjoy it the way Cage intended.

Say what you will about the gangsta rap version that became an underground club hit in the late 80s, or the recently championed dubstep version, but in my opinion none manage to perfectly encapsulate all of the subtle nuances of the original. Remixes, renditions and covers aside - of which there have been many - this is the version that started it all.

So what are you waiting for? Add this timeless release to your digital media library today and you'll never look back. Don't forget to tell your friends and relatives either! Nothing would make me happier than to hear a busful of youths chiming 4'33" from their mobile phones and iPods.

On a side note, I would be interested in meeting the mastering engineer of this particular version of the release, as he has met the recording's challenging acoustic demands immaculately. Aurally unblemished from start to finish, not once does the dynamic range become compromised.

This is perhaps one of the most relaxing pieces of music I have ever heard. I have been aware of John Cage's `4'33"' for many years now and of course the controversy surrounding it but as it is available from Amazon at a fairly reasonable price I thought I would download it and form my own opinion. I have to say I find it profoundly meditative and texturally very deep. Sometimes I will play the track alone in Winamp and watch the position dial move slowly along in perfect time. At other times I will add it as part of a playlist between say some heavy doom metal tracks and then it really stands out, resonating loudly in the silence. Please be warned however that anyone not familiar with avant-garde music may well feel disappointed when they download this track and can hear absolutely nothing.

Not sure that such a masterpiece is suitable to be reproduced on such a lossy codec such as MP3.