Symphony No. 1 (Tonal Plexus)

Glenn Branca

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 15, 1992)
• Original Release Date: 1983
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Roir
• ASIN: B0000059XA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #747,472 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Symphony No.1

2. Symphony No. 1 (Continued)

3. Symphony No. 1 (Continued)

4. Symphony No. 1 (Continued)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Symphony No. 1 is the acme of what recent New York art rockers have yet accomplished. This may be the loudest piece of music this writer has ever heard. --John Rockwell, New York Times --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Product Description

For Fans Of: Sonic Youth, Swans, Helmet, Rhys Chatham, Phillip Glass, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, LaMonte Young, Noise Bands, Guitar Driven Heavy Metal. Recorded July 18 & 19, 1981 at The Performing Garage, NYC. Produced by Lee Ranaldo.Digitally Remastered By Glenn Branca and Wharton Tiers June 1998!

Performers: Glenn Branca (Soprano and steel-wire guitars) with:
Craig Bromberg:

Tenor, soprano, bowed; Richard Edson :Trumpet and octave guitar; Dave Buk: Trumpet, baritone horn; Ned Sublette:Soprano, tenor and steel-wire guitars; Ann DeMarinis:

Keyboard, percussion: Barbara Ess: Baritone and bass guitars, percussion; Robert Harrison: Soprano, tenor and bowed guitars; Thurston Moore: Tenor, soprano and bowed guitars; Lee Ranaldo: Soprano and steel-wire guitars; Wharton Tiers:Keyboard, soprano and steel-wire guitars /percussion; Gail Varchon:

Keyboard; Fritz Van Orden: Tenor saxophone; Stephan Wischerth: Drums, percussion; Margot Zvaleko: French horn; David Rosenblum: Baritone and Steel-wire guitars

What the press had to say about Glenn Branca and "Symphony No. 1" released as a ROIR cassette in 1983:
"Symphony No. 1 is the acme of what recent New York art rockers have yet accomplished. This may be the loudest piece of music this writer has ever heard." John Rockwell, New York Times. July 19, 1981

"Imagine a lion roaring and put your head in its mouth. Then you might get close to the impact of Branca's music. All the flesh of pop music is hacked away, but the terrifying bones still remain." New Musical Express, UK, January 14, 1984

"He succeeds in turning over the so-called evil sexual powers of rock music in its primitive state into a form of resistance." Kim Gordon, Art Forum, January 1983

"Awesome orchestral impact of Branca's massed minimalist heavy metal mantra." Michael Shore, SoHo News, August 8, 1981

"Those who heard Symphony No. 1 in 1981 knew it left them all shook up. This recording shows there was method in the mayhem. Huge and brutal and utterly magnificent." Jon Pareles, New York Times, Liner Notes, 1983 --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great piece of music, November 10, 2004

By	tyler curtis (chicago, il) - See all my reviews

I have no idea where some of the other people reviewing this album are on, especially the one that likes to go around giving instrumental bands 1-star reviews and praising Nickelback and Creed. With that being said, this CD is awesome! This is definetly at the top of Branca's list along with The Ascension and Lesson No.1. The sound on this CD is massive, I believe he had 16 musicians on this symphony. This is music for people with open-minds. Excellent.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars , February 13, 2005

By	Tim Tape - See all my reviews

the comments of the people before have been very disapointing and very ignorant. This peice is a masterwork of giagantic porportions very itricitly composed. The ignorant narrow-minded naysayers below me just dont understand anything that pushes the limits

This is a must have for anyone that isnt an ignorant narrow minded naysayer but even for them it is truely a must have

5.0 out of 5 stars Proto-SY, December 25, 2008

By	Surferofromantica "S.O.R." (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Branca: Symphony 1 (Audio CD)

The legendary Glen Branca album, could be called avant garde classical music, but really more like the sound of an army of guitars with percussion and some horns. Thurston and Lee from Sonic Youth played in it, and the wave of dissonant guitars is quite recognizable, only without bass or vocals. It's called a symphony, and was supposedly done in four continuous parts, but it really sounds like four distinct pieces that were recorded live and range from 10 minutes to 17 minutes in length. The longest one is also the coolest one - it just drones and drones and drones. Nice.