First published in 1987, Evan Eisenberg's The Recording Angel has been translated into several languages and is now considered a classic by those with an interest in the intersection of music and technology. Eisenberg offers an unusually well written and thought provoking study of how the phonograph and related media have transformed music into a tangible commodity and relegated live performance to the background of Western culture. In this newly expanded edition of the book, the author takes fully into account developments related to the era of digital sound recording. The book is essential reading for anyone curious about recording as an art in itself, any collector of recorded music, and any owner of the first edition who has wishes to read more of what Evan Eisenberg has to say about music, how it is created, and how recorded sound has changed the human condition. "The Recording Angel throws out one arresting idea after another." Timothy Day, author of A Century of Recorded Music
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"The Recording Angel throws out one arresting idea after another." Timothy Day, author of A Century of Recorded Music"
About the Author
Evan Eisenberg's writings on music, culture, and technology have appeared in The New Republic, The Village Voice, The New Yorker, The Nation, and other periodicals. His most recent book is The Ecology of Eden.
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
From the outside Clarence's house looks like the others in this part of Bellmore, Long Island. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Mr. D. N. Sumption
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
This book is incredibly captivating and thought-provoking, taking as its central premise the idea that recorded music is a totally new type of entertainment, one that has wrought many changes. Prior to the twentieth century, the idea of hearing the exact same rendition of a piece of music twice was unheard of. By the end of the century, the idea of hearing a performance that diverges from the "correct" recorded version had become the norm. This book charts the change, and the psychological and musical changes that have accompanied it.
The book gets slightly hard-reading after a while: although it is fairly well written, ideas are sometimes hammered home repeatedly and this makes it drag a little. This is the only slight criticism I have, which prevents this from being a five-star read, but otherwise the book is top-notch, and the originality and clarity of thinking behind it are enough to make it a must-read.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.8 out of 5 stars
5 reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
ruminations on recorded music
29 Aug 2007
By Passionate About Music
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
I'm amazed to see that no one has reviewed this book, not even in its earlier edition. That edition was written in 1987. The new edition came out a couple of years ago, but it's basically the same book.
Overall it is very intelligent, thought provoking, and witty. Eisenberg wrestles with the experience of listening to recorded music. What does listening to recorded music do to us, and what does the process of recording do to music?
It's a collection of twelve essays that can be read in any order. Eisenberg is very well read. He seems to have read everything anybody has ever said about music and recorded music. So it's like a crash course in the aesthetics of music.
Eisenberg studied philosophy, and he veers between the personal and the very philosophical. From time to time he throws in a word that seems to be there solely to make you consult a dictionary. "... we can hear Vaughan William's Sixth Symphony as a peroration on the absolutely empty field of a future war." At this point I bet that most of us need to look up "peroration."
Overall it is very intelligent, thought provoking, and witty. Eisenberg wrestles with the experience of listening to recorded music. What does listening to recorded music do to us, and what does the process of recording do to music?
It's a collection of twelve essays that can be read in any order. Eisenberg is very well read. He seems to have read everything anybody has ever said about music and recorded music. So it's like a crash course in the aesthetics of music.
Eisenberg studied philosophy, and he veers between the personal and the very philosophical. From time to time he throws in a word that seems to be there solely to make you consult a dictionary. "... we can hear Vaughan William's Sixth Symphony as a peroration on the absolutely empty field of a future war." At this point I bet that most of us need to look up "peroration."
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book explores music and its meaning in peoples' lives.
2 Oct 1997
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
If you ever wanted to know if someone else really loves music and atributes their life blood to it, this is the book for you. Eisenfeld portrays the role music plays in several distinctly eccentric individuals' lives throughout the chapter, giving the reader not only a beautiful portrait of the characters, but of the universality of music as well.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Recording Angel b Evan Eisenberg
24 Jan 1998
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This book is really an anthropological analysis of music in our culture, and how the documentation of music through recording has changed music's role. It also esxpresses the idea that recorded music (which Eisenberg calls "Phonography") is to live music as film is to theatre. Told from the perspective of someone who has equal admiration and recognition to Caruso, Mozart, Elvis Costello, Frank Zappa and Aristiotle, this music-philosophy book is remarkabl;y readable and quite profound. written before "sampling" of music was a popular artform. Really Great Stuff.
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4.8 out of 5 stars
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