Electronic Realizations For Rock Orchestra

Artist: Synergy
Label: Polygram Records
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 731455804225
EAN: 0731455804225
ASIN: B00000612K

Release Date: 1998-03-31

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Tracks:

Legacy
Slaughter On Tenth Avenue
Synergy
Relay Breakdown
Warriors

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Customer Reviews:

1970's classic: a message in music.......2006-03-30

Mark B's review is spot on. So many miss the point with this music -- the important word in "rock orchestra" isn't rock. Larry Fast is a composer for orchestra. Okay, in this case it's a (one-man) orchestra of electronics but there's no better way to understand the music here. All the classical forms are here and the interplay of "instruments" is very much orchestral music. Yes, the analog sound is dated but so is the sound of a lot of music and that doesn't make it bad, well, not to my ears anyway.

On this album Larry Fast was a man with something to say and he says it extremely well through his music. Truly a classic piece of electronic music in any era. And stands up well with modern era classical composers as well.

If you want to know something of the history of modern music and especially the electronic genre then this is a "must have".

. . .and nobody played guitar.......2005-12-04

Dave Marsh, the editor of the Rolling Stone Record Guide, referred to this album (and the rest of Synergy's works at the time) as "Truly pompous anti-rock BS".

Well, I'll step up right here to say that it is neither pompous, anti-rock, nor BS. It is actually a symphonic-type work for Moog synthesizers with a 70's Progressive Rock feel. Larry Fast shows himself as a first rate composer with this work, with a expert use of counterpoint. With only the analog instruments available to him at the time, this album must have taken Fast many months to compose, record, and mix. The sound is very LARGE, with textures ranging from lush to explosive to somber. There is one memorable point in the track "Synergy" where two lines of music dance around a single Minimoog tone which ascends from the bottom through the top ranges of the instrument. It is absolutely breathtaking to listen to.

There is really nothing out there to compare it to. It is a bit like Walter Carlos' realizations of Bach's works, but these pieces are original compositions (except for Slaughter on Tenth Avenue). It's never boring--there is not a weak point in it from beginning to end.

I must admit, I have a soft spot in my heart for Electronic Realizations because it is actually the first CD I ever bought (in 1987). That doesn't stop it from being a great album though. After all these years it is still one of my favorites. If you are a fan of Electronic, Progressive, or even Classical Music, I think you may enjoy this album and recognize it for the masterpiece it is.

Among the best of 70s electronic music.......2005-01-01

Like many of the reviewers here, I first "discovered" Synergy in the mid-70s when his music was still new. As an avid listener of both classical music and progressive rock, I enjoyed his blend of classical construction with rock's sense of transition and rhythm.

I still enjoy this album over a quarter of a century later. It remains both musical and moving; there are numerous moments that are quite heartfelt, like in the ending to Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, the way Warriors presses its second theme, and the almost perfect transition (one of the Great Ones, in fact) in Legacy at about the 6:20 mark.

Though Larry Fast had his moments on subsequent Synergy albums, Electronic Realizations remains my favorite and in consistently the most listenable. I rate it alongside Vangelis's Heaven and Hell and Jean Michel Jarre's Equinoxe as my favorites in the genre (I would place Klaus Schulz, Michael Hoenig, Tangerine Dream, et. al. in a more abstract grouping, as they tend to be less melody-oriented).

If you're looking to explore this branch of music, this album is a great place to start. It won't appeal to everyone, but to those who bother to listen, it offers numerous rewards.

Essential electronic release.......2004-01-01

Synergy is actually one man : Larry Fast, well known of Pete Gab's fans. Larry is a true genius in his realm, and his talent deserves to be recognized. ERfRO is his first effort and also his best. This record features five magic tracks, constructed on the same pattern as symphonic pieces, hence the name of the album. There are no drum machines, just various synths creating an ambient music à la Tangerine Dream or Robert Fripp (see my review of Robert's Blessing of tears). All in all, this is a fabulous record, one of the best of its category (i.e. electronic and ambient music), but unfortunately Synergy's following records don't have the same quality. Nonetheless, I recommend it to all synth lovers.

Orchestrated Compositions Realized on Electronics.......2003-03-25

The title of this album, criticized by some, is accurate. This is music realized by a "rock" orchestra. What else to call the battery of electronics that Larry Fast used to bring his compositions to life? A trained composer, an electrical whiz, Fast combined his fine musical sense with the potential of Synthesizers to create new orchestral timbres. No one else in the field of electronic, now or then, has done the same, with the exception of Wendy Carlos, Fast's friend and cohort.

Most people doing electronics fall into the throbbing gristle of sequencers, forgetting that music is more than rythym or effects. Fast's compositions are modern music, and could probably be played by organic instruments and sound good. Most Prog doesn't hold up not because it's Prog, but because the composition and orchestration are not up to standard, unlike Fast's music.

People who listen to this album and think its trance or ambient, are actually getting neo-romantic compositions orchestrated with new sounds. That's what electronic music was supposed to be about. Ah, well. Ah, me. Electronic Realizations still sounds good because Fast knew how to orchestrate, not because analog synths sounded better. (if you ever tried to play a 1972 Minimoog and keep it tuned, you know what I mean.)

If you like this album, check out Larry Fast's "Reconstructed Artifacts," reworkings of his Synergy stuff with modern equipment. Clearer sounds, heavier emphasis on rythyms, but still well-written music. Do another one, Larry, please.

Music CD:

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

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