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67 of 70 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's Better Than It's Critics Say, January 31, 2000
I'm not quite sure exactly what it is that some reviewers dislike so much about this album. No, it is not "Switched On Bach." Would it have been worth recording if it were identical to the album Carlos did 25 years earlier? Times change, artists mature, and technology marches on.The principle change -- aside from the switch to digital synthesis -- is Carlos's use of "authentic" tunings popular in Bach's time. The result is that the music does sound different -- less bright, more subdued, with richer harmonies. It doesn't sound the way we are used to hearing it, but most of what we hear now is based on contemporary performance practice. If anything, the works on this album probably sound more like they did in Bach's day. Alright, synthesizers didn't exist back then, but neither did a number of modern instruments that Bach's music is routinely played on today. The performances are still good -- in fact, probably better than those on the original album. Modern technology allows a musician to "clean up" errors and improve raw performances in ways that simply weren't possible back in 1968. There's no tuning drift, no tape hiss, no extraneous 60Hz line noise, and no performance errors. This album doesn't deserve the low marks some reviewers have been giving it. If it suffers in comparison with the original "Switched On Bach," it only suffers because it *is* different. Again, what's the point of doing exactly the same thing 25 years later? If you are after the original experience, then the recently issued "Switched On Boxed Set" is what you want. Still, this CD does make an interesting comparison and companion piece. The music is well done, and certainly doesn't deserve the bashing it's gotten here.
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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Labra lege: Cateva carissima mea Lapides Provolventes est., November 8, 1999
This is one of my favorite recordings, and I am astounded at the July 8th statements. Just to make certain, I pulled out my LPs and listened to the original analog Switched On Bach. It was just as good as I remembered, and I hadn't worn out the grooves by using a lousy player. Like all LPs, there is a measureable loss in bass due to compression and reconstruction, but the music is still there to charm. Then I played my own Switched On 2000, and found it also a sheer delight. But it is a digital version that Carlos has created anew, and I enjoy this new version just as much as the analog. They are two different takes on the same Bach masters. Incidentially, the analog was created by Walter Carlos, and the digital by Wendy Carlos. I suggest ordering the "W.Carlos Switched-On Boxed Set" if one wishes to compare the analog with the digital. This set was taken from the long lost master tapes, and is superior to my LPs.Totius Vobis Frontem Tabernae Sopionibus Scribum.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quit complaining -- get both, January 7, 2000
Do yourself a favor, and get BOTH the original album (the new Switched-On Boxed Set is a real bargain with all that's on it) and this 25th anniversary retro look back. They're different in many ways, just like Genn Gould's two versions of The Goldberg Variations: one young and cheerful the other rich and deeper and more introspective.Of course, if nostalgia is your only motive, only the original will satisfy you. But that's okay, it doesn't mean this much more recent visit is no good, as some reactionary listeners claim. It is darker, sure, but the special tunings make it all sound very smooth and rich. I love them both!
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~ Johann Sebastian Bach
~ Johann Sebastian Bach
~ Johann Sebastian Bach
~ Johann Sebastian Bach
~ Wendy Carlos
by Wendy Carlos 
