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| Reich: Different Trains, Electric Counterpoint / Kronos Quartet, Pat Metheny | 
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| Creators: Steve Reich, Pat Metheny
Label: Nonesuch
Category: Music
List Price: $16.98
Buy New: $4.80
You Save: $12.18 (72%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $4.80
Avg. Customer Rating:  (19 reviews)
Sales Rank: 5566
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 79176
UPC: 075597917628
EAN: 0075597917628
ASIN: B000005IYU
Release Date: October 25, 1990
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Spectacular Aural Imagery!! May 11, 2005
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
I was very fortunate to hear the Kronos Quartet perform this up in Orono, Maine (at the University of Maine) the year this CD was released. Not being familiar with either Reich, the piece, or the KQ at the time, I was completely blown out of the water by the uniqueness of the idea, the emotion of the narrative, and the jarring comparison between Reich's life and the lives of so many others. Several jazz perfomers have tried similar "voice-matching" techiniques--Victor Wooten and Jason Moran, most recently--but hearing a child's message on an answering machine replayed on the bass guitar does not match the emotional impact of the narrative Reich provides. It is such an abstract notion with such concrete results. Kronos is impeccable in their performance, as usual, and they provide the flair and brass needed to pull off such a feat. I played this CD (along with Gorecki's Symphony #3) every year in my Holocaust class for juniors and seniors in high school. They are as blown away by the whole concept as I originally was. It is a technically impressive and emotionally draining experience.
Electric Counterpoint is, quite sadly, the overlooked portion of this CD for me. I am a huge Pat Metheny fan, but I look to his other CDs for his best work. I know it is my loss. . . .
Bottom Line: Whether or not you like Steve Reich and/or the Kronos Quartet, you need to give this CD a listen--it is a challenge and a delight.
 not his best but worth a listen February 28, 2004
4 out of 15 found this review helpful
Steve Reich can be undigestable at times and not the easiest of composers to listen to, it's as if your listening to a record with the needle sticking to the groove with very little developement...so it's safe to say that you certainly have to be in a certain mood to appreciate this kind of music but it does have it's rewards. The c.d is divided up into two sections, "Different Trains" with the Kronos Quartet as good as usual. The momentum of the music depicts the progression of trains through out America and Europe and what they represent, human voices reciting historical dates.
The second work on the disc "Electric Counterpoint" almost seems as though it doesn't belong on the same disc but it's in my opinion the diamond in the rough. I have been a Pat Metheny fan long before Steve Reich and it's the main driving point in owning the disc, brilliant guitar playing.
The Fastest Train February 18, 2004
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
This album is great, yep. It's neat. What are you expecting when you say things like, "for me this album just doesn't cut it." That says nothing about Reich's work. It only says that you could not connect with what he is doing. It's a shame too, because Reich does some very nice work on this album - The Fastest train, on the fastest train. It's so very entertaining - he does such a good job of putting all of that material together. Stow you tastes and opinions away then listen again - maybe you'll actually hear Steve Reich's music.
Lyrical work May 14, 2003
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Reich often provides his listeners an inward journey, but this journey on different trains tells a story. The liner notes tell of his riding trains in the United States back and forth between family and parallels the events happening in Europe during World War II. It is strongly affective.Too, the Pat Metheny performance on this work is lyrical, and though I was first a Reich fan before I fell for Metheny's work, I think that Pat has imparted some wisdom for Steve in changing this work to be more "idiomatic" of the soul of the guitar. One of my favorite Reich albums.
good Steve Reich to have March 11, 2003
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
Different Train is one of Steve Reich's most talked-about pieces. It was inspired by his personal memories of his experience as a child riding trains a lot all over the United States to visit each of his divorced parents, & also interviews he did with holocaust survivors about their experiences aboard European trains in WWII. The string quartet's job is mostly to match speech melody, & there are other trainy sounds mixed in, too. The music is very muscular, very compelling.Electric Counterpoint is some of Reich's most beautiful music if you ask me. Each note is absolutely clear; the music changes gradually in increments with great awareness of keeping the listener never bored but always interested. The guitar virtuosity of Pat Metheny does a lot for the piece, too. For one thing, Reich finished his drafts of the music with Metheny telling him where the notes could go given the physical shape of guitars. For me, Electric Counterpoint is probably much more enjoyable to listen to than Different Trains. Wonderful music. Different Trains is an important Reich piece to be familiar, but I'd even highly recommend this cd just for Electric Counterpoint. This cd is very high on the list of Steve Reich cd's to get.
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