Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Truly the Original Synth., 5 Aug 2003
I bought this album when it came out on vinyl, oh so many years ago, and played it until it was worn out. Like another reviewer, I bought the CD version a few years ago only to find that Wendy Carlos' contributions were cut right back and many other contributers took their place. Buy this version. It is far superior and shows Carlos to be the most innovative electronic musician of the age. When this was recorded synthesisers were mostly if not completely monophonic instruments. Therefore multi-tracking was the name of the game. So much work was done before the advent of the technology that would undoubtedly have made life easier. Well worth listening to is Carlos' ground breaking "Timesteps". It really would have suited the opening scenes of the film. My personal favourite here is Carlos' own "Country Lane". This is just sublime and does, as the sleeve notes point out, sum up the entire Clockwork Orange movie. Timesteps may be a little difficult for the uninitiated so initially get into but, stick with it and you'll be well rewarded. Beethoven, Rossini and Purcell are all featured alongside the Carlos compositions. This album contains music that didn't make it onto the film soundtrack and two bonus tracks, Orange Minuet and Biblical Daydreams, are included for those who remember the original vinyl release. What are you waiting for? This is electronic music at its best.
|
|
|
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent - better than the film soundtrack CD, 18 Mar 2000
By A Customer
I had this recording on vinyl when the film first came out. Wendy Carlos (then Walter) provided a stunning soundtrack to a remarkable film. I recently purchased the Warner Brothers soundtrack CD 7599-27256-2 thinking it was the same thing but it was a mixture of Carlos and orchestral versions. Go for the all-Carlos CD as it also contains original compositions of high quality. Carlos introduced me to the music of Monteverdi, Scarlatti and others through these synthesised versions for which I am eternally grateful. Also check out the album "Switched on Bach 2000" which surprisingly doesn't feature on the Amazon list.
|
|
|
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A London Labyrinth favourite,
If your curiosity has brought you as far as considering buying this album, there are good reasons to go ahead but be aware of the Warner Brothers 'Clockwork Orange Soundtrack' which I would recommend first. If you have arrived here via the book or the film you may find this music bewildering. If you want a token Carlos album for your collection, Switched On Bach was the biggie and effectively year zero for electronica as a music category in popular culture. Like much of the music here, however, it is kitsch and twee, sometimes interesting, always clever, sometimes unsettling, always soulless. Such shortcomings are very evident on this compilation, stripped as it is of the playful irony afforded by the context of the film or the extraordinary juxtapositions of contrasting sonic assaults featured by Kubrick on the Soundtrack where the classical covers rub shoulders with medieval and Vaudeville numbers, Gene Kelly and far-out Carlos originals. It provided a shocking musical tapestry thirty years ago and still sounds powerful today. The Soundtrack was certainly more than the sum of its parts which cannot be said of this Carlos-only CD. If you know early seventies electro-dilettantes like Rick Wakeman ( Cans And Brahms, Six Wives...), David Bedford (The Ancient Mariner) and even John Barry (The Persuaders), some of the original inspiration can be found here. 'Country Lane' which is absent from the Soundtrack CD had a huge influence on the rash of later synth bands despite its lack of anything resembling a backbeat. I'm sure an enterprising remixer could still make a club hit of it if they ignored the waltz-time opening. The main reason for buying this album, however, is the inclusion of the full-length version of 'Timesteps,' a Carlos original shortened by nearly ten minutes on the Soundtrack. This full version is a fascinating piece in which Carlos manages to keep an eye on fleeting melodies while pushing the envelope with the arrangement to explore the new synthetic palette instead of merely immitating an orchestra. The second to fifth minutes correspond to the abridged version which sounded almost frightening in its originality all those tears ago. I'm afraid I disagree with Carlos, however, when she bemoans the compression and tweaking applied to 'Timesteps (Excerpt)' for the Soundtrack. If you compare the two, the abridged section sounds better mixed and much punchier, especially to modern ears. So, whichever way you approach it, a flawed gem but one which still shines (fairly) undimmed. Buy both.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
~ Johann Sebastian Bach
~ Wendy Carlos
![Switched On [BOX SET]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41F6SEA79EL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
~ Johann Sebastian Bach
~ Wendy Carlos
![A Clockwork Orange (2 Disc Special Edition) [DVD] [1971]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BOQq9MgpL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Malcolm McDowell
With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is). 
Amazon Home