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From Publishers Weekly
Just as anything evolves when its setting changes, 20th-century music mutated as it moved beyond the confines of concert halls and into listeners' everyday environs. Thanks to car stereos, headphones, even computers, people now move within their own soundtracks. In this chronology of compositional innovations, Prendergast, an internationally published music writer, details the widening of sonic possibilities with advancements in recording, amplification and electronic instruments, and with the creative talents of hundreds of bold, brilliant composers. He credits Mahler with first evoking the hypnotic "ambient experience of landscape and emotion," kicking off the century of "repetitive conceptual music." Prendergast describes how, after a four-day fast, the sound of a single piano tone proved revelatory for Karlheinz Stockhausen; how sitarist Ravi Shankar influenced everyone from minimalist Philip Glass to the Beatles; how Donna Summer "merged Germanicity with black music's long history"; and how scores of house and techno artists have "moved the focus of the music away from its creators towards the listener." Organized by artist, the book provides suggested "Listenings" for each one, as well as a list of the "Essential 100 Recordings," which recommends ambient guru John Cage's "In a Landscape," megastar Bowie's absorbing "Low" and Goldie's "Timeless," a debut that brought ambient jungle/drum and bass into the mainstream. Talking Heads' producer Brian Eno, a maverick whose own music heavily influenced New Age and ambient house music, gives the book his stamp of approval in his foreword. B&w photos. Agent, Simon Trewin of Drury House, London.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.From Library Journal
Here, Irish music critic Prendergast makes an admirable and largely successful attempt to build bridges between the worlds of contemporary classical and rock music. But as the author never clearly defines or describes the term ambient, the reader is left to infer the connections among composers and genres. Prendergast divides his subject into four large sections: "The Electronic Landscape," "Minimalism, Brian Eno, and the New Simplicity," "Ambience in the Rock Era," and "House, Techno, and Twenty-First Century Ambience." The first is the most problematic section, as many of the observations here are simplistic and the listening lists too quirky and subjective to be useful. Prendergast is on much surer footing in the three subsequent sections, however. The text is packed with a wealth of detailed information and cogent observations on minimalist composers, rock personalities, technological innovations, and movers and shakers in the various worlds of contemporary music. Prendergast has an astonishing grasp of the global scene in popular music and writes with authority and conviction. Despite its flaws, this is an important addition to libraries with holdings in cultural and popular studies.DLarry Lipkis, Moravian Coll. Bethlehem, PA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Comprehensive, detailed and stimulating,
This review is from: The Ambient Century From Mahler to Moby-The Evolution of Sound in the Electronic Age (Hardcover)
"The century of aeroplanes," wrote the composer Claude Débussy, "deserves a music of its own". That, in essence, is the theme of this book: the story of how music has evolved over the course of a new century.What is outstanding about The Ambient Century is the sheer breadth of the work. Mark Prendergast has an encyclopedic knowledge of musical genres and a refreshing willingness to look beyond traditional classifications. This allows him to find unexpected threads and connections, bringing together apparently unrelated figures such as Débussy and Air, the Velvet Underground and Ravi Shankar, John Cage and the Beatles. In particular, it explodes the myth that modern music developed in response to the introduction of electronic devices such as amplifiers and tape machines. On the contrary, he shows that the groundwork for the electronic revolution had already been laid by the vision of composers such as Erik Satie, who had begun by emptying music of the jaded complexities of the classical genre. Long before technology made music omnipresent in our environment, it was Satie who invented the concept of what he called 'furniture music'. This is a big work, not one to be read in a single session. It is comprehensive and detailed, covering every genre of music from classical to folk to rap, techno and reggae. For each of its sections there is an extensive list of recordings for the reader to explore further. It is a book to dip into, to read and return to. Unsurprisingly, his liberal and eclectic approach has aroused the ire of some of the more narrow minded commentators, in those magazines whose auto-anal obscurantism has baffled a generation of genuine music lovers. Prendergast's views are confident and sometimes quirky. He is not afraid to praise artists who have the misfortune to be popular with audiences. Inevitably, readers will agree with some of his judgements and disagree with others. Given the comprehensive nature of the work, that is hardly surprising. Ultimately, the test of any music book is this: does it leave you wanting to go out and find the music and listen to it? In the case of The Ambient Century, there is no question. Prendergast's work is written with an unconcealed enthusiasm and love of his subject. On this basis, the book is a triumphant success.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ambient Music gets an intelligent outline.,
By Kelvin Sholar (nyc, ny) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Ambient Century From Mahler to Moby-The Evolution of Sound in the Electronic Age (Hardcover)
I read Mark Pendergast's book because I am an academian and a musician that is considered an ambient style artist. I opened this tome and was not only well educated, but well humoured. Mark uses an easy to understand language and quite clear opinions on the accessibility of the music which can be hard to glean from most publicity driven media. I gathered a deep understanding of the history and the observable cross-fertilization that birthed Ambient music. I learned some new things that helped to explain the connections between Ambient, Classical music, Rock , Jazz and Indian music. I was inspired by the breadth of historical investigation and the easy to read style of Mark's writing. I thouroughly recommend this book to anyone who would like to see a clear line from Mahler to the present given in a unpretentious manner. Personally this book has inspired my conceptual outlook on my last few recording projects with such as qtip (of A tribe called quest) and I'm sure it will inspire all who strive to create and enjoy Ambient music of this century and the following.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent source of information,
By David Rullo (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Ambient Century From Mahler to Moby-The Evolution of Sound in the Electronic Age (Hardcover)
As a musician in the electronic field, I found this book to be a delight to read. It traced the history of ambience, from early classical sources I wasn't aware of, through the rock period (where its history tends to be overlooked and ignored) and finally into the age of the DJ. If it overlooked anything, it was the industrial age, however, it more than makes up for that with its excellent coverage of the areas. If you want to read about the contributions of Trent Reznor or Skinny Puppy, this isn't the book for you, but if your interested in seeing how music and electronic insturments grew up together and what their relationship was, this is a book you won't want to pass up.
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