4.0 out of 5 stars
Music For Open Ears, Jun 12 2003
This review is from: New York in the 1960s, Vol. 1: Sun Blindness Music (Audio CD)
Before he was a part of The Velvet Underground, composer and multi-instrumentalist John Cale was involved in a unique group of New York-based composer/musicians known as the Dream Syndicate. Other members of this group included LaMonte Young and Tony Conrad.
"Sun Blindness Music" is the first in a series of three CDs which showcase John Cale's avant-garde experiments from the mid to late '60s. Three lengthy tracks make up this album and although each of them are different from each other, the idea behind them is basically the same. What we have here is simply a series of drones created on different instruments.
The opening title track runs close to 43-minutes and was performed entirely on a Vox Continental electric organ. Listening to this piece requires some patience and appreciation. It simply consists of a single chord which is held down for a dangerously long time. Over the course of it's 43-minutes, the chord sometimes shifts by a few tones or even a few microtones. Also, the volume of the piece shifts back and forth between normal hearing range to almost complete inaudibility to full volume that sometimes overloads into distortion. This is a very challenging piece of music in both performance and for the listener.
The second piece "Summer Heat" was performed on an electric guitar and consists of a heavily distorted jagged rhythm similar to Cale's later work with the Velvets. At times, the music refrains from its rhythm and sustains into humming feedback.
The third and last piece "The Second Fortress" again features the Vox organ. Instead of focusing on a single chord as on the opening piece, Cale modifies the organ to create an eerie sweeping electronic soundscape. This predates what was to become known as 'ambient music' by nearly a decade. Perhaps, Cale's early work was influential to Brian Eno as this piece is not too disimilar to Brian's ambient experiments of the mid '70s.
This is definitely very different music. It's not rock and roll and could only marginally be classified as modern classical music. It's definitely worth checking out if you're looking for music that is out of the ordinary. Before buying this album, I would recommend finding a friend who already has a copy to let you listen to it. Chances are that "Sun Blindness Music" will either be something worth owning or something worth throwing away. It's Open-Minded Music for Open-Minded People.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
