Customer Reviews

Steve Reich Eight Lines: City Life

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This is some of the best minimalist music ever written. City Life in particular is a very original composition. It uses pre-recorded sounds from thy city (street vender calls, fog horns, etc.) as major thematic material. The pulsing music gives you the sense of energy present in the city. In the last movement the music becomes a nightmarish crime seen. As sound samples taken from police radio transmissions infuse the music with a sense of danger. Nothing like this has been written since Different Trains. However this music is not for every one. It is style very minimalist and if you are not used to it can be difficult to understand at first. I hope you will try this CD.

These are brilliant renditions, which inject a new feeling into the pieces, as well as staying faithful to the original recordings. The sound is brilliant, and allows a listener to become engaged in the processes that Reich is famous for.

For anyone interested in learning about Steve Reich's music, this cd is the perfect introduction. The four pieces selected reflect the most accessible of Reich's works; lush, rhythmic, and inviting. And for fans for Sufjan Stevens, here you will find perhaps his strongest musical influence.

Not since Wynton Marsalis' 'Citi Movement' or Gershwin's 'American in Paris' have we been treated to such splendid musical examinations of urban life.

Even an amateur like myself can hear what's going on here. Reich's ear for melody and counterpoint are alive and well, and you can clearly picture what part of town you are exploring, or even the time of day... or night.

Not as challenging as the You Are Variations, this recording could easily be a primer to Reich's work; a jumping off point for those new to his minimalist brilliance.