It's hard to know how to rate this music. I've know it since the 1970s when radio DJ Alan Freeman played a snippet from a vinyl LP on his Saturday rock show! The LP was on Virgin's pioneering and cheapo Caroline label. I bought a copy as it was fascinating stuff - I'd never heard anything like it. That LP featured only the first two parts of the work, and is my favourite version of these pieces. This Nonesuch CD set features all twelve parts spread over more than three hours. The music is densely repetitive, at times irritating and at others so fascinating. It's really love it or hate it stuff. You definitely have to be in the mood for it. I'm glad I bought this set, although truth told, it only gets listened to infrequently.
This set comes in a rather superfluous card slipcase with the picture of Philip Glass shown above. The same picture features in the lush booklet that accompanies the set. This set seems to be quite expensive at the moment, so you might be better off buying the Nonesuch Retrospective 10 CD box which features a couple of parts from this and is a rather better buy at only a fraction more.
The Caroline Records release of Parts 1 & 2
Live in The Netherlands!
Live in Brighton!
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