Customer Reviews

Cords

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I own an original 1978 "clear" vinyl copy of CORDS which I am afraid to put a needle to. So this CD allows me to listen to this synthesizer masterpiece at will. CORDS stood out from the other electronica of that era due to its advanced layering and oceanic depth. Even in today's electronica genre this project has a fresh sound. An assemblage of titles which posses an ominous "breathing" quality about them.

This album is more like Electronic Realizations for Rock Orchestra than like Sequencer. If you liked the original Synergy album ER you'll probably like this one. If you like Sequencer (and I do) you'll probably like this one more. It's a return to the early days of synth music, when composers and musicians were just figuring out what to do with them, and just what they could do.

While I like Sequencer a little better than Chords, I like Chords better than the first album.

My incentive to post a review though is that the editorial blurb states :

"The album is wholly composed and performed by Larry fast"

which I believe is incorrect.

Chords was the first Synergy album to include any form of guitar work, specifically in the form of an early prototype synth guitar and it was performed by someone other than Mr. Fast.

Really interesting stuff though, with a 'darker' feel than the first two albums. This one is a must have for synthesizer fans in my humble opinion.

This album blew me away in 1977 as a thoughtful, fast-forward use of electronic instrumentation for melodic music. While others around were utilizing similar technology, this album is truly inspired with music commensurate with the instrumentation (technology) that moves from beginning to end with the right mix of excitement and understatement making this a truly classic recording.

My introduction to Synergy was through this album. I am still enthralled by the creativity and the energy of Larry Fast's music. "Phobos and Deimos Go To Mars" is still one of my all-time favorite pieces of music.

Larry Fast weaves a tapestry of multicultural, diverse patterns and rhythms in this album. In addition to the rock influence of the 60's and 70's inherent in most music of that time period, as well as the grand "Classical Rock" influence of Yes, Genesis, Peter Gabriel and other of the genre, Larry Fast includes a strong Middle Eastern/Turkish flavor into some of the tracks.

If you'd like to hear "classical" techno/synthesizer music, this album is a must-listen.

anything that synergy records along with vangelis, manahein steamroller, tangerine dream is far superior to the techno junk flooding the market today. listen to this recording and be transported along a multi textured musical path

If I could only keep one Synergy album, it would be this one. It has enough experimental flavor to be interesting; I particularly like "On Presuming To Be Modern III". Parts of it can be a bit new-agey and forgettable, but this and "Games" probably belong in the collection of any electronic music fan.

I first discovered Synergy with this album when it first came out. I still own that original clear vinyl LP.

Larry Fast weaves a tapestry of music that evokes dervishes, grand symphonies, syncopation, chamber music and a myriad of other styles, all within a coherent motif that flows from one piece to the next. I rarely get tired of listening to this album.

This is electronic music at its best. Instead of depending on repetitive drum tracks, etc. Fast creates music that utilizes traditional styles, while forging new territory using his imagination.

Favorite tracks:

Deimos and Phobos Go To Mars

Disruption in World Communications

A Small Collection of Chords

One of the most baroque, intense and visceral things I've ever heard. Would make a wonderful sountrack to something fairly dark. Multi-textural, multi-layered, very tough, melodically narrative and directional, from beginning through middle to end. Bought it as soon as I heard it in record store in 1978.

As a previous post also so eloquently put it: it blew me away.

The sounds Larry coaxed out of his synthesizers for this album still sound fantastic. The songs are well written and melodic also. If there are symphony orchestras in other galaxies, they probably sound like this!