Electric Counterpoint: Steve Reich: Amazon.ca: Music

1. Different Trains: America - Before the War

2. Different Trains: Europe - During The War

3. Different Trains: After the War

4. Electric Counterpoint: Fast

5. Electric Counterpoint: Electric Counterpoint: Slow

6. Electric Counterpoint: Fast

Product Description

From Amazon.co.uk

Different Trains (1988) will probably go down in history as Reich's masterpiece. And deservedly so. Reich's phase-shifting minimalism is made dazzlingly entertaining in Different Trains, which is scored for string quartet and digitally sampled voices that repeat bits of speech concerning trains and Reich's experience with them growing up. The sinister part here is than some trains carried Jews to death camps. That's here as well. The Kronos Quartet has also never sounded better. Electric Counterpoint (1987) has one guitar--Pat Metheny in this case-- playing to 10 pre-recorded motifs, also on guitar. You absolutely need this. --Paul Cook

Amazon.com essential recording

Different Trains (1988) will probably go down in history as Reich's masterpiece. And deservedly so. Reich's phase-shifting minimalism is made dazzlingly entertaining in Different Trains, which is scored for string quartet and digitally sampled voices that repeat bits of speech concerning trains and Reich's experience with them growing up. The sinister part here is than some trains carried Jews to death camps. That's here as well. The Kronos Quartet has also never sounded better. Electric Counterpoint (1987) has one guitar--Pat Metheny in this case-- playing to 10 pre-recorded motifs, also on guitar. You absolutely need this. --Paul Cook

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars not his best but worth a listen, Feb 27 2004

By

David Brooks (Spruce Grove, AB Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Electric Counterpoint (Audio CD)

Steve Reich can be undigestable at times and not the easiest of composers to listen to, it's as if your listening to a record with the needle sticking to the groove with very little developement...so it's safe to say that you certainly have to be in a certain mood to appreciate this kind of music but it does have it's rewards. The c.d is divided up into two sections, "Different Trains" with the Kronos Quartet as good as usual. The momentum of the music depicts the progression of trains through out America and Europe and what they represent, human voices reciting historical dates.
The second work on the disc "Electric Counterpoint" almost seems as though it doesn't belong on the same disc but it's in my opinion the diamond in the rough. I have been a Pat Metheny fan long before Steve Reich and it's the main driving point in owning the disc, brilliant guitar playing.

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5.0 out of 5 stars The Fastest Train, Feb 17 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Electric Counterpoint (Audio CD)

This album is great, yep. It's neat. What are you expecting when you say things like, "for me this album just doesn't cut it." That says nothing about Reich's work. It only says that you could not connect with what he is doing. It's a shame too, because Reich does some very nice work on this album - The Fastest train, on the fastest train. It's so very entertaining - he does such a good job of putting all of that material together. Stow you tastes and opinions away then listen again - maybe you'll actually hear Steve Reich's music.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Lyrical work, May 14 2003

By

"mondotofu2" (Southern Maine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Electric Counterpoint (Audio CD)

Reich often provides his listeners an inward journey, but this journey on different trains tells a story. The liner notes tell of his riding trains in the United States back and forth between family and parallels the events happening in Europe during World War II. It is strongly affective.

Too, the Pat Metheny performance on this work is lyrical, and though I was first a Reich fan before I fell for Metheny's work, I think that Pat has imparted some wisdom for Steve in changing this work to be more "idiomatic" of the soul of the guitar.

One of my favorite Reich albums.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars good Steve Reich to have
Different Train is one of Steve Reich's most talked-about pieces. It was inspired by his personal memories of his experience as a child riding trains a lot all over the United... Read more

Published on Mar 11 2003 by I X Key

2.0 out of 5 stars It Just Misses for Me
I would like to love this CD. I have always admired Reich. And the concept is powerful. The Kronos quartet pairs with prerecorded sounds of steam engines to compare the composer's... Read more