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A Recording, Not A Live Performance   December 12, 2001

The new Nonesuch recording was designed from the ground up to be a recording, not a live performance. Most instruments are close-mic'd, which gives the odd feeling of standing next to all of the instruments at the same time. I love it for its open spaces, surprising tempo, and stunning imaging of the mallet instruments. It is as lush and beautiful as the ECM recording, but I prefer the subtleties and pacing of the ECM more.


the music lives   June 3, 2001
  3 out of 4 found this review helpful

when i picked this cd up, it was for the reputation of the composer and the cover art. i had heard a trip hop remix of it and thought it interesting. i havent stopped listening to 18 since i bought it a month ago. its engaging levels of rhythm, the harmonic depth, and the pulses that flow through the music create an organism of sound. one listens to the piece and feels let in on some celestial secret about how life was created: through pulses and surges of pure energy. in 18, reich captures that feeling exactly. this recording is full of vitality and is an example of very accessible minimalism. some of reich's other work is less easy to listen to, but this piece has the perfect balance between the movement of harmony and rhythm and staying static for periods of time. for the intellectual listener, the way that reich layers the sound is incredible to hear. a must have for all.


How many works have you listened to a thousand times?   February 5, 2001
  2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I never tire of this-- and I've listened to it (on ECM) a thousand times-- no exaggeration. This version is nearly as good as the ECM: the genius of Reich shines through. Put this on and have a religious experience (says this atheist).


Consider other recordings...   February 2, 2001
  15 out of 16 found this review helpful

Many other reviews comment generally on the beauty of this piece. Here are my concise views and recommendations:

-This recording is sonically precise, but slow and less organic than others available (e.g. the ECM recording). The sense of the overall tapestry of the work is diminished by the close miking one hears throughout. Certain little blips or phrases are artificially highlighted for too long. Too bad, because re-recordings of other works (such as Music for Mallets, Voices, and Organ) also seem to ephasize individual instruments above an overall wash from the ensemble without picking up on little bits of phrases from one instrument too much.

Recommendations: --For a first listen, the ECM recording is essential. It preserves the sense of this piece occurring in a performance space. Having heard the piece live twice, the role of reverb and the concert hall is considerable. Only the ECM recording comes close to hearing this piece live.

--If you want a dead-on reading, with maximum clarity of each line, I recommend the Ensemble Modern recording. Their performance is closer to what seems the natural tempo. Their mixing establishes the interplay between the parts very clearly without "artifically" highlighting certain parts too much, as seems to happen in Reich's second recording.


Quintessential Minimalism   December 11, 2000
If I could describe this album in only one word, it would have to be subtle. This is NOT the minimalism of Glass or Adams at all. I don't know about listening to this album while its raining outside, but it is certainly an album that requires concentration. If you can tune everything but this album out, then you will be rewarded with one of the greatest pieces written in the later half of the 20th century. The phasing is spectacular, and the scat singing is very well done and impressive. It has a bit of neotonality, but if you're expecting to be hammered into submission by functional harmony, then this is the wrong album for you. Very peaceful yet intense. Very subtle yet brilliant.