"This was a transitional period for Phlip Glass. After Einstein on the Beach, his high water mark, he decided to gradually alter his style and eventually shifted away from minimalism to a more operatic and symphonic style. However, "Analog" captures his experiments with minimalist organ has the complete soundtrack to the film "Northstar" about a sculptor's works (I believe this is out of print) which condenses his minimalist style to pop song length. That is followed by two pieces from an ep for the Soho News. The peak of this issue is "Mad Rush", an unreleased piece from the time that lives up to his name. Also "Analog" belatedly realizes the fact that many fans of Glass (mine included) prefer his music on analog organs, rather than digital (which sound cold in comparison) synths or acoustic reissues of early analog pieces."
Recycled Glass
Roland | Idaho | 10/27/2006
(2 out of 5 stars)
"This is yet another release that is mostly stuff already released. Why can't Orange Mountain stop ripping us off and just stick to actual releases of something that is not 80% recycled? Not saying all there released music is recycled, but a lot is. Philip Glass sucks now anyways, he doesn't even compose or play the original minimalist stuff that got him recognized. Now all he does it compose long, boring operas and uninspired symphonies, that no one seems to honestly like, even though no one has the integrity to tell Glass that this music sucks. Is everyone afraid of hurting poor old Glass's feelings or something? If you do not already own North Star, then this album may be a good buy, but if you do own North Star and other stuff like Solo Piano - then you are basically just buying stuff you already have, except for a few songs. Why not just buy the individual MP3's?? No reason to keep buying duplicate songs from all these releases! For the record, I still love the old Philip Glass music!!"
Recycled
David Toub | Wyncote, PA United States | 06/27/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"The music is great, but I already have all of it, and have had this in some cases for decades. North Star has been available since the 70's and one can still procure it online. Dressed Like an Egg is nothing more, as best I can tell, than Another Look at Harmony, Part IV, which was released a few years ago on CD. Mad Rush has also been around for ages, and certainly isn't a significant piece.
So the music's great, but this album is misleading. None of this is "analog," in any sense of the word. Nor is it newly discovered music or even newly released music."
CLASSIC!
R. Guerin | Brooklyn, NY | 01/22/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Even as a person with a more than healthy appetite for the music of Philip Glass, I had never had the occasion to hear Dressed like an Egg nor had I ever heard this 16 and a half minute redition of Mad Rush.
Besides the wonderful remixing and remastering (a treatment more of Glass' aged catalog deserves), hearing this "early" music performed and recorded under the supervision of the composer, who was arguably at the height of his revolutionary period, with the seemingly purest music this listener had ever heard-the unabashed joy of music making and simultaneous self-awareness of an artist at the zenith of his "revolutionary creativity", brings about the conclusion that this type of experience is unprecedented in our times.
North Star, Dressed like an Egg, and Mad Rush all date to a period in Glass compositional life (the composer was about 40 years old), when he was officially past his "minimalist period", by about 5 years. The results of him, "putting back into the music" using melodies and harmonic development without shame or embarrassment, turned out to be incredibly telling as we see the composer's ouevre now 30 years later.
This music, which sounds really wonderful on these recordings, are a total treat, and an essential entry into the recording legacy of the most important composer in American history."