Ambient Century [Paperback]

Mark Prendergast (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2000

This publication reveals the drift in 20th-century music from composers to non-musicians, from strict rules to no rules, from the single note to the sample. This drift through technology, Minimalism, the rock era and techno music is earthed by the development of ambient sound, to the author the most important breakthough of the past 100 years. With the help of electronics, new ideas and consumer music, Ambient music has established itself beyond question as "the classical music of the future."

Product Details

• Paperback: 509 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Pub Ltd (August 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0747542139
• ISBN-13: 978-0747542131
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,063,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Errors In the Ambient Century, December 9, 2000

By 

Derek Pierce (Bath ,England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ambient Century (Paperback)

I bought this book having read a review in "The Wire" magazine, the review said the book was bad, but I did'nt believe it and bought it. I have since read it and can honestly say that I have never read a book with so many factual mistakes in it. As the writer of a "History of Electronic Music" for a magazine and a lecturer in Computer music I would suggest that you do not buy this book until all the errors have been corrected. A typical example, "Robert Fripp studied JG Bennett at Sherborne House, Dorset", the Sherborne House where he studied Bennett is in Gloucestershire,near Cheltenham. Another "EMS produced the "Portobello" synth, it was in fact called the PUTNEY. There are many more mistakes which makes the book difficult to recommend to my students or indeed anyone else until such time as it has been corrected.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Missed opportunity!, February 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Ambient Century (Paperback)

Upon merely skimming through the index, I came upon numerous errors, as have the other reviewers. I list a couple that I spotted with ease:

Incredibly, there seems to be no mention at all of Isao Tomita, at least according to the contents and index.

Wendy Carlos has never owned or used a Moog System 55.

Giorgio Moroder didn't use a drum machine in anger until at last 1981, when the Linn LM-1 was released. The drums and percussion on all the groundbreaking 1970's Moroder/Bellotte recordings was provided by drummer Keith Forsey or through the use of Moog synthesizer modules. It was a tape loop of Forsey's kick drum that provided the only real drum sound on 'I Feel Love'.

The inaccuracies in this book made me refrain from buying it, which was a shame since the effort was clearly well-intentioned. Roll on a properly error checked new edition!