Customer Reviews

KOYAANISQATSI (Complete Original Soundtrack Version)

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

 

 

'Koyaanisqatsi' is a great film and I have watched it many times...I have listened to the original soundtrack even more. I also enjoyed musical cues that were in the movie that were not in the original soundtrack release; I used to have to watch the movie to hear these unreleased musical cues/cuts. Naturally, as someone who has almost every Glass release I was glad to see they would finally add these other cues onto a complete version of this amazing soundtrack.

Listening to the completed soundtrack creates a mood that is much more like watching the film itself as you hear some of the pieces weaving right into each other as they do in the film (rather than silence between tracks). The incorporation of some of the actual sounds from the film in the extra cues works much better than I thought it would. So it is a fine representation and recreation of the entire film's soundtrack onto CD and worth five stars for concept and reproduction of the original film music.

My only issue with this new release would be with sound quality. I find there are several places on the recording where the quality of the sound is 'iffy' compared to the original CD release. If the degredated quality was only in the unreleased tracks I could understand, but I heard some strange anomalies during tracks that sounded fine on the original CD. One track, 'Vessels' (#5 on this disc) starts out clearly and normally enough but in the middle section when the instruments enter the entire sound of the music and chorus suddenly sounds like they are playing in a tunnel. It becomes almost impossible to pick out individual instruments and everything kind of blends together into an heavy echo/reverb-like resonance. I can almost not even make out the chorus against the instruments because it just has such a tunnel-effect. It just sounds very, very strange. It was so odd that I decided to check it against the original soundtrack CD and the clarity of the original was much better in this section and in other places so I don't know what happened with the sound compared to the original release.

So a potential 5 stars for the idea and release of the album, but minus one for some questioning of quality and sound issues in a few places.

*Update: I got a second copy of this disc thinking perhaps I had a 'bad' disc but the sound is still the same. After continuing to compare this release to the original CD release the original is much clearer and 'cleaner' in many sections. However, I also decided to compare this new release to the sound quality heard on the 'Koy' DVD and I found the sound of the music from the DVD and the sound on this new CD are pretty identical. So while compared to the original CD release I think this version sounds inferior, it is nonetheless an accurate representation of the music as also heard in the film on DVD. It now makes me wonder why the original CD release sounds so much different (and in my opinion better) to that heard during the DVD of the film. I still give this version four stars because if they could master the original release to sound so good why could they also not do this with this version?

I saw the 1983 movie "Koyaanisqatsi" when it came out, I was a graduate student in Washington, DC at the time, and it made an enormous impact on me then, both for its visual impact, and of course because of the music. It was in a sense a coming out-party for Philip Glass, who gained mainstream success with the score. I bought the soundtrack when it came out, in its 46 min. abbreviated version. Philip Glass re-recorded the music at some point, but now, finally, after 26 years, comes the fully restored original motion soundtrack.

"Koyaanisquatsi" (13 tracks; 77 min.) is an unbelievably beautiful musical journey, starting with the title track (who can ever forget the low-booming voice proclaiming Koyaanisquatsi, or Life in Turmoil). Great tracks follow one after another, such as the majestic "Clouds", the great choir leading off "Vessels", eventually leading to the major piece, the 18+ min. "The Grids" which just blows you away. In all, hearing the original soundtrack in its full 77 min. glory, remastered and sounding better than ever, is something that was long, long overdue.

I have not seen the movie since I saw it in 1983, and I am itching to see it again, but am afraid that seeing it on DVD will simply not do it justice. This is a movie begging to be seen on the large screen. Given the debate that is going on about climate change and sustainability, I would hope that this movie (like the soundtrack) will find a new audience, at the big screen. Meanwhile, I cannot emphasize enough what a terrific reissue this soundtrack is. By all means, buy it (even if you have the early incomplete version), you will not be disappointed.

This is a piece of music that is tightly connected to the film it was written for, to the point where sometimes the editing of the film was done to match the rhythm of the music. It still stands alone as a wonderful piece of music, but previous releases of "soundtrack albums" have all been sadly truncated versions. (I know, because I've bought all of them, also the VHS at an extortionate 3-digit price during those dark years when the film was unavailable.)

This one is much better, but the killer problem I have with it is that it describes itself as complete, but also describes itself as a "13-track-76-minute album". But that is still not the complete soundtrack. I also have the DVD, which is 85:42 long. Koyaanisqatsi, though it contains several distinct pieces, is a single piece of music that needs to be COMPLETE and listened to in its entirety, including the long, fading radio chatter at the end. As noted elsewhere, the sound quality of the CD is also iffy in places.

But there's a solution that I finally thought of just this morning. My favourite piece of driving music is Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians, and I thought it would also be nice to have the ENTIRE Koyaanisqatsi score to listen to, and hey: I own the DVD Koyaanisqatsi - Life Out of Balance. (I've watched it about 25 times in several states, including NY and MA, and also some that perhaps occupy other dimensions.)

So I "ripped" the DVD into Apple Lossless format for my iPod (using the free software Audacity), which is legal since I own the DVD. Audacity has a fierce learning curve, but you can skip most of that and just go with the defaults. Save it in the highest quality format you can use (preferably lossless), and you'll finally be in complete Philip Glass heaven.
(Next project? The lossless rip of "I was in this prematurely-air-conditioned supermarket, and there were all these aisles...")

This disc represents the third release of music from Reggio/Glass/Fricke's astonishing and influential film. The first release was a disappointing, severely truncated vinyl LP/cassette edition. The second, a re-recording, was a joy and a letdown at the same time, for even though it contained music not available on the LP and was crowned by a complete track for "The Grid" (the soundtrack's most incredible piece) it lacked music judged as "incidental" and simply wasn't the original arrangement/performance. With this release, Glass and Co. chose to contract a few tracks in order to add the missing music and ambient sound effects. The result is a masterpiece as crisp and clear as the film, appropriately equalized to sharpen and highlight what was muted in the re-recording. (This is particularly obvious in the vocal tracks, brass and wind notes.) Sorry, Philip Glass haters--the masterpiece is finally available in pristine form. I'm laughing at you while you attempt to identify music from this score that found its way into "Watchmen" - LOL.

I have every version available and this is the one, it's the only one with ALL the music exactly as it's heard in the movie.

The first thing you need to do is watch the movie. It is a social commentary on how we live life, and keep in mind the film was made over 10 years ago and took about 10 years to film. Philip Glass is a great composer. His songs have been used in the soundtrack of Candyman all the way to most recently The Watchman. Highly recommended :)

More of Philip Glass' provocative score can now be heard with this new CD. KOYAANISQATSI the film has been touted by many. Personally, I don't agree, I feel it is an uneven work. However Glass' score for KOYAANISQATSI is interesting and immensely listenable. I'm thankful the producers of this CD made it available.