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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
fundemental for an understanding of reich's later works, September 14, 2002
whether you are new to classical music, or minimalism, or to steve reich, this recording is essential to obtaining a further knowledge of where reich has come from.
included on this disc are four pieces:1) come out. this is where reich begins to experiment with tape loops, using one repeated phrase, on more than one reel to reel tape machine. the phrase is drawn slowly out sync on one player, while the other player maintains its original speed (this happens on two tape players naturally). the result to begin with, is an echo, a slight reverberation. then proceeds to what sounds like delays. the process continues until the phrases come back into sync with each other. 2) piano phase: this is reichs adaptation of the phrase syncing he pioneered in 'come out' for piano.
he begins with one 12 note melodic fragment formed on five pitches (the pattern is this: e, f#, b, c#, d, f#, e, c#, b, f#, d, c#) which is played by two performers (in this case the duo 'double edge') in synchronicity with each other. they begin to move out of phase with each other (one speeds up slightly, while the other maintains a steady tempo) until they are one note apart...repeat the process until two notes, then three, then four...until they are back in alignment again. this is repeated with two other melodic fragments, and then the piece ends. 3) clapping music: another jump in reichs evolution. he takes the idea of phase modulation, and removes the transitory sections (the speeding up) and just jumps one performer ahead to the next pattern.
the pattern used is one which reich takes with him throughout his works (to name a couple, it can be found in 'music for 18 musicians, and music for pieces of wood).
the recording here features steve reich, and russ hartenberger (founding member of the percussion group 'nexus') 4) it's gonna rain: this was reichs first piece to ever deal with tape loops, and with gradually shifting phases. it has a lot of the same elements as 'come out' reichs music follows in some of the theoretical philosophies of john cage (among others) who said "if something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. if still boring, then eight. then sixteen. then thirty-two. eventually one discovers that it is not boring at all." reich does just that. his music has often been referred to as process oriented, because it deals so much with a process, rather than piles of notes. his music is not for everyone, but for those who can put down preconceptions, and venture into new musical realms, reichs is some of the most rewarding there is.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's Gonna Rain, April 21, 2003
Warning, this is a strange CD. It's not going to fit everyone's taste, but if you are the type that likes to explore, or extremely bored with POP music, then this is the CD for you. This was created & recorded before the computer age, yet deals with the process of the computer age. Back then some Classical Experimenters used tape loops to created multi layered repetitions of rhythm & melody. I believe the high light is "It's Gonna Rain" from a recording of a Pentecosta street preacher yelling about Noah's flood. The words "Its Gonna Rain" become rhythm with something like: "Its Its, Its Gonna Its Gonna, Gonna Gonna, Gonna Rain Gonna Rain, Rain Rain...then the piece adds layers of layers of the sermon until it becomes a vast sound effect. Believe it or not I played "It's Gonna Rain" during a Performance Art piece called "Noah's Art" where I gave out water balloons & pistols to an audience while reading & then acting out the 10 commandants. The Tape loop was used to drive everyone into a frenzy to drown me with water. It Worked. Thanks Steve.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Impossible to ignore, January 15, 2001
Like most of you, I first heard Reich's work on "Music for 18 Musicians." I found the piece interesting, calming, and texturally rich, if perhaps a bit New Age-y--you know, "music to meditate to" or something equally ridiculous. But, having vowed to listen to the Reich Box, a recent acquisition of my school's music library, disc by disc, I began with the first one--Reich's early works--not knowing exactly what to expect. I was floored.The speech pieces--"Come Out" and "It's Gonna Rain"--are visceral, arresting, mind-melting, slabs of noise that will haunt you long after you finish listening to them. I guess this is "classical music," but I've never had classical music kick me in the face quite as hard as these frightening pieces. "Piano Phase," on the other hand is a "process piece"--two pianos playing the same simple figure, but at slightly different speeds. Rhythms rub against each other, battling for space, then stretch out, suddenly speeding up and melting into one another only to be drawn apart again. At the halfway point, they realign, and then the process reverses, the second half unwinding itself in a mirror image of the first. The reviewer who said that this music should not be heard is absolutely wrong. This music will blow your mind, wipe it clean, and make you a new one, all in twenty minutes. Headphones are highly recommended for this particular piece. "Clapping Music," though not as immediately arresting as the first three pieces, is still a rhythmically intoxicating web of sound. These works are often called "rough," emblematic of a phase in Reich's career in which he has not yet refined his compositional techniques. However, to me, these pieces (and his other process pieces) have a gut impact that his later, more polished works--while still gorgeous--lack. There is something inherently beautiful in the Deistic notion of setting something into motion and letting it take care of itself. For years in Western music, the influence of the composer's imagination could be felt during every second of a given piece. Reich, however, changed all of that. In his early works, the governing processes give the music a life of its own, apart from the composer, the performer, and the audience. Don't ignore these revolutionary pieces; let the music amaze you, because it is truly amazing.
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Interact With Your Music: Discover, listen to, and buy new music, all from the pages of SPIN's digital edition, free to Amazon customers.
by Alex Ross
~ Steve Reich
~ Composer: Steve Reich
~ Terry Riley
~ Shanghai Film Orchestra
by Steve Reich 
