Customer Reviews

Games

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

 

 

Larry Fast went on tour with Peter Gabriel soon after the latter left Genesis. The concept for the album actually started as a series of sound checks prior to the concerts. This is Synergy that moves - you can dance to it, as you can hear in "Delta One". "Delta 3/A" went on to be released as a single, and was used as incidental music for major sporting events during the early 1980's. If you like Synergy and like to dance, this is the one for you!

Synergy shows great creativity and inventive with Games; this album represents the acoustic and aesthetic transition of 70's - 80's electronic music, as well as the first applications of digital synthesizing. Some tracks are somehow catchy (like Delta One) while others are rather experimental (the soundcheck for Delta Three and Delta Four), but always with the characteristic sound we've come to expect from Larry Fast's classic works (such as Cords). The remastering process is also great and allows the listener to find much more rich and detailed sounds than the analog record did. I mention this because I only had a tape Delta One (seemingly recorded from the 1986 vinyl version). I recommend this CD to every serious electronic music collector.

Firstly, just because I 'only' gave it 4 stars doesn't mean I don't very much like this album, just that it has it's ups and downs. Overall it's clear that in terms of synthesizer advances this is nearer the beginning. Except for nuances in the loudness of different 'voices', there isn't the subtlety that Larry Fast displayed in later albums. Not his fault, of course.

Now for the good part... Delta One has never failed to raise my morale. In fact, when I first heard the beat (120/min) and chord progressions, I said 'hey this would be a great Regimental March to the Terrain Mobile Infantry in Starship Troopers!' Maybe that's out in left field, but crank up Larry Fast while watching the DVD of Heinlein's classic.

Personally I prefer this to any of his other 5 or 6 other solo works that I know of. A good place to start.

This review applies to the vinyl version. As a big fan of "Cords", I have been looking for something close to it in the Synergy catalogue. Personally, I didn't find it until this bargain bin acquisition. I love many artists in the Electronic/New Age genre - especially Tangerine Dream and Vangelis. Synergy (Larry Fast) doesn't really compare to either though he is much closer to early T.D. than Vangelis.

As of 2012, this LP and "Cords" still sound like the music of the future - even though this was recorded in 1979! Mostly because it is 'melodically cold' and has no other conventional instrumentation. Also like "Cords", the music is original. I like it - a lot.

The sound quality on a clean vinyl pressing is excellent. I wish I could say more about whether someone would like this - it is tough to describe. If you like 'B grade Science Fiction movies' that don't have the latest, greatest effects but have a certain aura about them that creeps you out, I think this would be the musical equivalent. This is the music of the future that has yet to appear and may never! But it will always leave you wondering about what lurks ahead...beware! And enjoy!!

This is a shining moment in pre-1980 electronic music, blending innovative synthesis techniques with late 70s pop/rock sensibilities.

Delta One is the standout here, full of positive, upbeat atmosphere. One caveat, however: The version included here is not the mixdown as presented on the original vinyl and cassette release. When Larry Fast presented his demo of this song to the record label execs, they strongly suggested that he redo the mix with more of a "disco" feel so it would sell better. The engineers took out the "marching snares" and other elements, and the result sounded much more like Giorgio Moroder. The version of Delta One on this CD reissue is the restored version of his original vision for the track.

I would have given this five stars had the "disco" version been included as a bonus track. Still, it's almost as enjoyable.

I still own a vinyl copy of this album and I can tell you that the compression involved with the digital mp3 version completely destroys the spacial, cross-channel effect (most notably on "Delta One") that was so hypnotic in its original analogue form. It's but a flat, two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional soundscape. What a disappointment.