Various Artists (20)

I strongly recommend this CD, 'Music for Book Lovers'. As always,anything produced under the stamp of the Bodleian Library,Oxford is well done indeed. Good recording,a well-rounded selection,and nicely produced too.
As the blurb says "Gentle music makes a perfect accompaniment to reading,and this selection has been chosen with the reader in mind."
I really couldn't have put it better myself.

Product Details

* Audio CD (April 25, 2000)
* Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
* Label: Ellipsis Arts
* Catalog: #3670
* Format: Box set
* ASIN: B00004T0FZ
* Average Customer Review: 4 out of 5 stars Based on 23 reviews. Write a review.
* Amazon.com Sales Rank: #39,070 in Music

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Disc: 1
Music Music
1. Valse Sentimentale - Clara Rockmore ListenMusic ListenMusic
2. Oraison - Ens D'Ondes De Montreal ListenMusic ListenMusic
3. Etude Aux Chemins De Fer - Pierre Schaeffer ListenMusic ListenMusic
4. Williams Mix - John Cage ListenMusic ListenMusic
5. Klangstudie II - Herbert Eimert/Robert Beyer ListenMusic ListenMusic
6. Low Speed - Otto Luening ListenMusic
7. Dripsody - Hugh Le Caine ListenMusic
See all 16 tracks on this disc
Disc: 2
Music Music
1. Cindy Electronium - Raymond Scott ListenMusic ListenMusic
2. Pendulum Music - Sonic Youth ListenMusic ListenMusic
3. Bye Bye Butterfly - Pauline Oliveros ListenMusic ListenMusic
4. Projection Esemplastic For White Noise - Joji Yuasa ListenMusic ListenMusic
5. Silver Apples Of The Moon, Part 1 - Morton Subotnick ListenMusic ListenMusic
6. Rainforest Version 1 - David Tudor ListenMusic
7. Poppy Nogood - Terry Riley ListenMusic
See all 13 tracks on this disc
Disc: 3
Music Music
1. He Destroyed Her Image - Charles Dodge ListenMusic ListenMusic
2. Six Fants On A Poem By Thomas Campion: Her Song - Paul Lansky ListenMusic ListenMusic
3. Appalachian Grove - Laurie Spiegel ListenMusic ListenMusic
4. En Phase/Hors Phase - Bernard Parmegiani ListenMusic ListenMusic
5. On The Other Ocean - David Behrman ListenMusic ListenMusic
6. Stria - John Chowning ListenMusic
7. Living Sound, Patent Pending Music For Sound-Joined Rooms Series - Maryanne Amacher ListenMusic
See all 13 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Opening with Clara Rockmore's reworking of Tchaikovsky with the theremin, and finishing with one of Brian Eno's ambient soundscapes, OHM artfully succeeds in its goal of giving a representative (as opposed to the impossible, comprehensive) overview of the first several decades of electronic music. Over 3 discs, 42 compositions, and 96 pages of notes and photos, OHM clearly illustrates the producers' and contributing writers' point that early electronic music is much of the foundation of contemporary music. Herein lies the connective tissue bridging musique concrète, 20th-century classical, electronic experimentation, and the theoretical avant-garde to psychedelia, ambient, dub, techno, electro, and synthpop and the globalization of sound. The groundbreaking uses of loops, sampling, drones, remixes, and cut-and-paste technology are put fully into context. The diversity of music included makes any sort of summation impossible, but that is also the point: electronic music is not really a genre, but an open field of endless possibility. From John Cage's famous "William's Mix" of tape snippets to Karkheinz Stockhausen's electronic orchestral compositions, from David Tudor and Holger Czukay's experiments in unrelated blendings of audio elements to David Behrman's supremely peaceful duet between computers and musicians, the aural renegades on OHM tread where none (save a few of their contemporaries) had gone before. The liner notes convey the incredible amount of hard work and experimentation it took to stitch together many of these pieces in the predigital era. Putting aside the inevitable quibbles about what's missing (much of it due to legal and/or logistical issues), a more complete collection of musical eggheads, eccentrics, and visionaries is hard to imagine. --Carl Hanni

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27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars Possibly the definitive guide, July 19, 2000

Reviewer: Matthew D. Mercer (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
OHM makes a very lofty ambition to cover the entire history of electronic music in one set of 3 CDs. While three CDs may offer considerably more time than the standard 1 or 2 disc compilation, it is hardly enough space to really cover much in detail for one decade of music, let alone four. "OHM" is refreshing in its honesty, admitting these flaws and then getting on with what really matters: the music.

Many of the pieces included on this set have been severely shortened for variety's sake. Rather than include the full hour or so of Terry Riley's "Poppy Nogood," for instance, we are treated to a seven minute excerpt. In many instances, this does what the set is meant to do on the whole: it gives a good overview of the history and growth of electronic music as its own experimental genre.

Some of the names appearing within this collection are fairly well known: John Cage, David Tudor, Edgard Varese, Steve Reich (performed by Sonic Youth), Karlheinz Stockhausen, Terry Riley, Iannis Xenakis, Pierre Schaeffer.... There are also a few unexpected appearances, by Tchaikovsky (an absolutely beautiful performance of his "Valse Sentimentale" on theremin), Holger Czukay (of Can), and a few more contemporary artists such as Jon Hassell and Brian Eno, vintage ambient that finishes up the last disc at the close of the seventies.

Much of the music is what may be considered "difficult" by unexperienced ears. Every once in a while this is true: La Monte Young's "31 I 69" maybe be edited down to a mere 7 minutes, but it's still almost impossible to endure the solid tone of mid-range feedback. Tudor's "Rainforest" squawks and chirps like an electronic jungle of his own creation. Many of the tracks, on the third disc especially, are more ambient in nature and are easier to absorb.

As a fan of electronic music and its history, I cannot praise the label enough for putting together this fantastic compilation. Any limitations of the format are made up for in terms of quality and variety. Not only does it cover artists whose work I already appreciated, and places them in a historical context, but it also draws attention to dozens of other artists that until now may have lived in the high-profile composers' shadows.

As with the Caipirinha set "Early Modulations: Vintage Volts" (recommended also, only two songs overlap), many of the works are decades old and sound as new as any of the "glitch" movement hitting the streets this year. This set is essential!

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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars Kid Stockhausen, January 17, 2003

Reviewer: P. Gunderson (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This is required listening for anybody interested in the history of electronic music. Although implicitly aiming for the techno music audience, this audio history is overwhelmingly focused on the classical avant-garde of electro-acoustic composers. The closest you'll get to pop electronica is the Brian Eno track at the end of the third disc. No Kraftwerk, no Moroder, etc. Instead "OHM" manages to point to the continuities between, say, John Cage and artists currently working at the experimental edges of electronica (so-called IDM). It seems to be saying, "You think Kid 606 is visionary? Well check out this Stockhausen track from '59!"

Admittedly, some of the songs are much more interesting to think about than they are to listen to. Some of the early pieces that were made through thosuands of hours of pains-taking tape-splicing could be made today in an afternoon with a digital audio editor and a few effects plug-ins.

It is a beautiful package, containing a 90 page booklet of essays, quotations from the featured artists, and photographs. What all music should be: an education in daring. show less