Steve Reich, Early Works

While I don't know if this will actually end up ranked that high on my list, just because the probability of repeat listening is low.  But without much doubt, this album is one of the most interesting that I own.  

Steve Reich is a minimalist composer who I started listening to because, way back when I was in pre-school, I was buddies with his son, Ezra.  Steve's wife used to take us to see movies or filmstrips at the public library in Woodstock.  My parents hung out with them; I can safely say that my parents have never had any other friends with as interesting a profession as 'minimalist composer.'  Well, no - I can think of two: one of my dad's colleagues was a law professor and a nationally-ranked Scrabble player; one of my dad's childhood friends served in the army, then in the Peace Corps, then built log cabins, and is now a nurse.

But I digress.

There's space inside each of the pieces on this album to hear new things and to think about what you're hearing, and I really like that.

In minimalism, you can pretty much hear the beginning of everything.  Three of the pieces rely on tape loops - the first, his most famous, is called "Come Out," and features two audio clips of a boy accused of murder during the 1964 Harlem riots.  One clip is slightly slower than the other; both are looped - after a while, they go out of synch, and then you start hearing things: different emphases, new words, new rhythms, new sounds.  It is a crazy experience.  

But, as minimalism can do, it gets repetitive.  I don't wish the album to be any different - the songs aren't supposed to have a pop hook or anything, and if they were constructed like that, Steve Reich would be competing with the likes of John Tesh and Yanni instead of with John Adams and Philip Glass - but it's not something you can hear over and over again because it loses its impact the third or eighth time through.  

Still, it's like the Wizard of Oz/Dark Side of the Moon experience of a few weeks ago: something everyone should try at least once, and then again every so often just to make sure their head's still working.