Customer Reviews

Sonic Seasonings + [Enhanced CD]

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'Sonic Seasongings' is definitely one of my desert island picks. Having been a fan of Wendy Carlos from her soundtracks to 'Tron' and 'A Clockwork Orange,' I came across this 2CD set almost accidentally while doing a search for ambient music on Amazon. When I discovered that Wendy actually released a 1972 album that nowadays is classified as ambient, I was very intrigued and purchased the set without hesitation. Little did I know what I was in for when the music met my ears for the first time!

'Sonic Seasonings' is a tranquil yet lively album that gives new meaning to the term background music. Wendy creates portholes to worlds that are familiar but also odd. If you like Brian Eno, Steve Roach or Harold Budd -- you will be in heaven when you hear these tracks! I often play them quietly at work and it's not unusual for someone to ask me "WHAT'S THAT," with raised eyebrows when they hear the swirling sounds during "Summer," or the wolves of "Winter" coming from nowhere and everywhere all at once.

In addition, the two 1986 bonus tracks that make up 'Land of the Midnight Sun' are just as essential, and they compliment the "seasonal tracks" quite well.

Highly recommended for any Wendy Carlos fan, those who appreciate ambient music, or anyone in need of a listening experience that will take you away from the doldrums of reality!

I first discovered this wonderful album as a two disk vinyl set checked out from the public library. Synthesizers were my high school fascination and I'd already discovered Tomita's "Pictures at an Exhibition" & Wendy's (then Walter Carlos') "Switched on Bach". But this... there was nothing like this, nothing I could even compare it to. Each side of the two albums was a season (Sonic Seasonings), winter, spring, summer, fall; Each a unique tapestry of sound exploration, like a sound track for your imagination. Summer is one of my favorites, the sounds of frogs and crickets flowing by creates the mental image of flying low over a planet of ponds and swamps. Wendy was so far ahead of her time with this spectacular album that there weren't even terms for it yet. I wore out the library's copy and eventually the copy I bought. I was overjoyed to discover it was finally available on CD, in the digital format it was meant to be heard in. The new "bonus" tracks compliment the original work... the sound of a rocking chair and a cat purring in your lap! If you like music that broadens your mind, you'll love this masterpiece of sonic wizardry.

Since Wendy Carlos was always in pursuit of the perfect sound, the flawless recording, digital technology facilitates her quest for perfection. These are her times, and SONIC SEASONINGS definitely benefits from them. Until buying this 2-CD set (a bonus-enhanced digital facsimile to the original 2-album set), I hadn't heard these recordings in over 25 years, and I've thought about them a lot in the interim. As it turned out, the digital upgrade is very satisfying, as the clarity enhances the original artistic objective: the aural verisimilitude of a reminisced landscape; and where once the pops and clicks accumulating on your vinyl copy had disrupted the suspension of disbelief, we now have perfect space.

There's not much to say that hasn't been said by other reviewers. If you're an old Carlos fan, you already know that SONIC SEASONINGS was as groundbreaking as her SWITCHED ON BACH recordings. You also know that, unlike a lot of pioneers of electronic music, Carlos, with meticulous devotion, delivered fully realized compositions, not half-baked experiments presented as novelties of sound. You also know she's a genius of unsurpassed originality. SONIC SEASONINGS stands the test of time, as do all of her original compositions; if you liked the vinyl edition of SONIC SEASONINGS back in the day, you'll like it now. This recording still amazes me, how so vividly it captures the FEEL of the seasons, a new-era equivalent of Vivaldi's FOUR SEASONS, a comparison I'm sure she intended in the conceptualization of the project.

If you're a fan of ambient music, this is a must-have CD. Of course, you Carlos fans already know what it's all about, so if you haven't upgraded to the CD edition, you need to correct the error as soon as possible. A couple of years back, SONIC SEASONINGS was released on CD, but the cost was close to $30. It was reissued last November at this amazingly low single-CD price, though it's the same 2-CD set. Also, sans the 20-minute-per-side limitation imposed by LPs, Carlos was able to fit three of the original tracks on one CD, which would have left a necessary second CD for the last original track with a lot of wasted space. Carlos generously fills the void with previously unreleased impressionistic compositions of the same ambience as the four original season-themed pieces. I thought it was quite kind of her, really, thus making this CD a bargain for any Wendy Carlos fan.

I had this album on vinyl back in the 70's. I had it on tape and listened to it while drifting off to sleep. Then came several moves and a switch to Cd's. Lost the album during one of the moves. Rejoiced that I was able to hear again, this time w/o the pops and scratches. This CD speaks to your soul.

Pre-dating the environmental + musical movement by at least 15 years, Sonic Seasonings stands as aural experience unmatched by any artist. Carlos incorporated nature with synthesized music in 1972. The result is a album of unsurpassed originality.This is not "background" music. It requires one to abandon their outer space.It invites one to listen to the sound of another plane. Track 1- Spring provides a rainstorm. Track 2- Summer provides the unrelenting heat of the sun. Track 3- Fall provides an oceanside campfire. Track 4 provides the crystalline coldness of a nightmare. The (circa 1986) companion pieces: Aurora Borealis + Midnight Sun (20 minutes each) are synth-heavy layered excursions not unlike what many aspiring "new-age" artists, years later, would offer to that faction of the newly clued-in public. Carlos was, and is, a pioneer in the realm of synthesized music. Sonic Seasonings is the perfect place to start exploring this Artist. It is a rewarding experience ... if you take the time to LISTEN. Buy it now before it is relegated to "out-of-print" status!

Sonic Seasonings has been at the top of my list of CD-wants since 1984. The depth of field, stereo imaging and quietness of some passages just cry out for the digital treatment.

It was revolutionary when released in 1972, and you know what? It's still revolutionary today. It's not classical, not jazz, not popular -- today this album would be filed under "New Age" but that term was unknown 26 years ago. Carlos takes natural recordings and mixes in wisps of melody and synthesized birds, insects and wind, creating sonic tapestries more real than real. As a listening experience it never ceases to astound, and over thousands of playings I have yet to get tired of it.

For the CD re-issue she has dug out an alternate ending to one of the tracks, which is fascinating seeing other directions she considered. She also drops in, unannounced, a whole unreleased album(!) from 1986, two 20-minute tracks done in a similar style but utilizing the digital technology available 14 years later.

My old LP is shiny from being played to death. I'm glad to finally be able to retire it.

I first heard Wendy (Walter) Carlos's 'Sonic Seasonings' as a young fella when it came out in the early seventies. At the time, it was so cutting edge that I think most people didn't quite grasp the idea (no, I didn't really either). But now, since the creation of the catagory 'ambient', the time was due for its re-release. The original mix was great, and this newly mastered version is typical Carlos first rate stuff. Unlike much of the genre, 'Seasonings' isn't just background mood adjustment pulp. One can actually kick back and get into each season's 'story' and appreciate its development. 'Winter' is icey, and 'Spring' is stormy. Don't be left out in the cold on this one. After you give it a listen, you'll wish you had the poster from the original L.P. release like I do...(hee,hee).

Normally, I'm not one for relaxing music. I don't buy a lot of New Age or soft, tinkly things. But this album--wow. I loved it years ago when I had the double album, and when Wendy Carlos remastered it for CD I bought it immediately. It lives on my iPod now, and whenever I'm having trouble relaxing at night or taking a nap, I listen to it. This isn't active music--it's phenomenally recorded spring-summer-fall-winter soundscapes with electronic sounds and music quietly interspersed. Much of the time the natural sound is louder than the electronic additions--which makes this a very unusual example of the genre.

I've tried to find other music like this album, but I've never heard anything so well composed and recorded. The sense of space is incredible, and the compositions are really very nice. The fact that it puts me to sleep shouldn't stop you from buying the album--in fact, I've listened to it when not intending to sleep, and enjoyed the experience just as much.

The extra tracks aren't very interesting to me, and I don't listen to them. But the original recording sounds like it could have been made yesterday--the sound quality is truly amazing considering its age.

Enjoy!

the seasons are really well depicted you can almost feel very warn during the summer section and chilly during the winter with the icicles tinkling all around

I received this album back in the 70's as a present not knowing what the heck to expect. This was back when Wendy was Walter. I remember listening to this and finding it so incredibly bizarre because I was so young. Now I feel that this is an incredible experience. This album came back to haunt me in college when a classmate of mine was really into Wendy's music and wound up turning me on to the other albums as well. I'll never forget the deep conversations about the Walter/Wendy conspiracy and sitting down in music class and analyzing each and every movement of this record. i was so happy when it showed up in CD format a couple years ago along with extra tracks. Wendy definitely has kept the Moog alive for so many years and plays it as an instrument. I can't explain it, you gotta hear it for yourself.