From: mephdbo@prism.gatech.EDU (Cosmic Stranger)
Newsgroups: rec.music.newage
Subject: Some albums that I picked up (LONG)
Date: 27 Jul 92 02:47:22 GMT
Organization: ***


Found an interesting used records store this weekend. Picked up some OLD
cutout LPs there. I thought I would share some of my early impressions.

Please hit n if you do not want to bore yourself with this long post 


Eberhard Schoener's Meditation:
	I have got hold of the Bali Agung album quite a while ago. My
	understanding is that most of his albums ( I only know of 4)
	are in some ways related to his trips and excursions into the
	Southeast Asian islands. The Bali Agung incorporates gamelan
	music quite extensively.  But Meditations is entirely electronic
	and consists of 2 sidelong pieces. This and the following 
	Wiengarten albums were all composed in the late 70s to mid 80s
	time frame. They are not as slick or as suave as the present day
	synthetic albums.  
	But musically they are quite sound. Both the pieces in Meditation
	are kind of somber, dark and brooding, probably perfect for deep
	meditation. The pieces are collage of electronic sounds put together
	in a very purposeful manner. The sounds vary from background drones
	layered with distant ocean waves and occasional brush strokes across
	the aural canvas to sonic pulses that seem to travel all around
	the audio space.  I had my headphone on and it was an interesting
	experience trying to follow these gently but randomly moving pulses.
	There is no hint of melody or rhythm in the music. It does not 
	elevate your senses like some of current space music does. But it
	kind of creates a soundfield perfect for immersing yourself and 
	concentrate ...on nothingness :-)

Carl Weingarten & Gale Ormiston's Windfall:
Carl Weingarten, Ormiston & Phil Neon's Submergings:
	Long time ago I had purchased Weingarten & Whitney's Dreaming in
	Colors, which I found to be a very interesting album consisting 
	primarily of explorations in guitar and electronics.  Both of these
	LPs bear close resemblance to Fripp and Eno's works. The music
	consists mostly of processed guitar and synthesizers mixed with an
	occasional ambient track or two.. The music has more variations in
	them than that found in the F&E albums. The pieces are shorter and
	have more color to them rather than being an impenetrable wall of sound.
	From their acknowledgments it does appear that they derived some of
	their inspiration from Fripp and others.
	I am still not through with these albums.

The Light Program by Geoffrey Downes The New Dance Orchestra
	I remember somebody on the net talking about this album 3-4 years
	ago. I was curious enough to buy this double album.  I think, the music 
	when accompanied by imagery and movement can be a real treat. The
	music consists of 5 relatively long pieces and each pieces have 
	sections that blend into one another. It has the feel of fast paced
	electronic light jazz moving over a beat that continually changes. I
	am not into dance music and probably cannot say how good or bad it
	is. But the rhythm has an infectious touch to it as I found myself
	tapping my feet halfway through the pieces. It is fun music. It would
	probably be fun driving to such music along a mountain road somewhere
	out west on a nice sunny spring day and see how fast can you corner
	without losing your cool :^)

Steven Schoenberg's Three Days in May:
	The jacket of this album made me curious enough put down the $3.00
	price for it. I think it is a 1984 recording. The accompanying text
	claims that all the pieces were played impromptu. For some reason
	I am very choosy when it comes to the piano music that are found in
	the newage bins of record stores. This is an album that would definitely
	find its way into those bins. But to my surprise I liked the music very
	much. There are, a very distinctly classical influence and a brush of
	jazz and a whiff of minimalism written all over the music. (My liking
	could have been due to the fact that I do not listen to these piano
	albums too often)
	I think that added lot of depth to the otherwise runoffthemill
	piano music. But considering that fact it was made in 1984 I
	probably cannot call it runoffthemill even without all the extra
	garnishing. Good album, perfect for a Sunday brunch or a late
	afternoon cappuccino on your back porch. :-)

Cluster & Brian Eno's Old Land:
	I do not think I need to say anything about it besides the fact
	that I have been waiting to get it for quite a while now. :-)

Michele Musser's Eye Chant:
	I have never heard her name before. The credits on the sleeve
	made me somewhat curious. The instrumentation consists of Synth,
	Effects, guitar controller, programming and some of the pieces
	seemed to have been commissioned by various organizations, including
	one by the PBS series Healthfront.
	It is a fascinating album. The phrases and names that ran through my
	mind when I was listening to it were: avant-garde, ambient, incidental,
	voices, Laurie Anderson, techno-beat, ethnic, Gary Hughes. At times
	I enjoyed it and at others I was not so sure. But it was never boring.
	It is an engaging piece of work done in 1986. Even though I felt
	at times that it is sounding like Anderson, I would attribute that
	judgment on my part primarily to my existing familiarity with Anderson's
	works. Otherwise it would be unfair to the artist because I think
	there is plenty of originality in the album. If you are into the type
	of music described by the labels I mentioned above then give it a
	shot if you stumble on it.

Tom Johnson's An Hour for Piano: (Frederic Rzewski: Piano)
	It seems that Philip Glass blames Mr. Johnson, once a music critic
	for Village Voice, being the originator of the term "minimalism".
	I did not know this..interesting data point.
	The album with two sidelong solo piano pieces presents about an hour
	of definitely listenable minimalism. I am somebody who has a real hard
	time with Philip Glass and his likes (I have not tried Mishima or
	Passages yet). This album presents a much gentler side of minimalism
	with hypnotic patterns and variations that are almost romantic at
	times. Somebody who, like me, is not a minimal fanatic would probably
	enjoy the album most by listening to it as a sonic wallpaper that is
	not quite up on the wall yet. Just let your attention drift back and
	forth without trying to hear every notes (sometimes the sound is real
	soft and gentle) or without trying to just get it over with ( that's
	what I do when I listen to Glass). But it is still minimalism in its 
	essence.

other albums that I purchased not too long ago:

KLF's ChillOut: heard so much about it that I paid $10 for the imported
	LP. I am still wondering if it was worth the price even though
	I like that steel guitar piece on side A immensely.

l Subramanium's Expressions of Impressions:
	I am not a big fan of his music. I prefer his brother's work over his.
	But I liked this album quite a bit because it is almost purely Indian
	classical in nature and very very sublime and mellow. No pyrotechnics.

	I seem to have a natural bias towards the spacey and sublime ;^)

happy listening..
d.
-- 
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"MEDITATION should - like a window - open the approach to
 ourselves"			----E.S.
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