Records

Christian Marclay | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 31, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: ATAVISTIC
• ASIN: B0000080CG
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #245,821 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting listen!, June 16, 2004

By 

B. Parker "bcsparker" (oh) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Records (Audio CD)

I bought this CD without knowing anything about Christian Marclay, other than that he was a turntablist with an ear for crazy sound manipulation. I found that to be somewhat of a misrepresentation. Christian is more of a performance artist. He uses things like multiple turntables (up to 12), records that are often altered, deformed, glued together, saw blades, etc. Oftentimes, performances end with him destroying records. He's more about the history, physical possibilities, the very medium of vinyl itself. Seeing the pictures and reading Thurston Moore's liner notes and Christian's comments on each song, you get more of a sense of this.
All that being said, this is a corrosive album, with at least a few tracks that are rough the first few times. "Dust Breeding" has constant left-channel-right-channel audio switching, but in the end it becomes an effective multi-track. "1000 Cycles" is filled with hard vinyl pops that are hard to ignore, but it's because the record is glued together from several different ones. "Phonodrum" is what you could imagine a scizophrenic hears in his head right before he goes off the deep end.
That's not to say there aren't elements to enjoy on this album. Many of the collages come together to form compelling pieces. In "Brown Rain," for example, you simultaneously hear an old calypso tune, the sound of a ping pong game, and a mutated trumpet solo. "Second Coming" consists of a porno flexidisc (remember flexidiscs?) being played over a jittery, skipping acoustic guitar line. "Night Music" is filled with so many samples and so many pops and crackles, it all becomes part of the rhythm.
Admittedly, since Christian is a performance artist, it would be more interesting to watch him create these collages, but I know I can't afford to go to SoHo art galleries. So, one is left to digest this album. For those looking for tunes or DJ type scratching, you will be disappointed. The only dancefloor this record is involved with is the one in your head. For people with an adventurous ear, you might want to check it out.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a little too strong and corrosive for most, January 6, 2002

By 

Andrew Suber (Terlingua, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Records (Audio CD)

I admit... I'm something of a music snob. When loud, corrosive guitar noise is unleashed, I'm up in the thick of it like a pig in slop. This record stumped me though...

The textures and images that this music produces are so bizarre and disturbing that I can't in good conscience recommend it to the average listener. It's not that it's particularly loud, even. It's just disturbing. Real disturbing. Ministry or Trent Reznor can't touch this guy when it comes to producing nightmares.

I ain't kiddin'... I fell asleep to this album once and had terrible, terrible dreams. It's still aesthetically sound, I suppose, but proceed with caution.