Sonic Seasonings + [Enhanced CD] [Enhanced]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Before there was ambient music, in a time before the New Age, there was Wendy Carlos's Sonic Seasonings, a double LP released in 1972. Taking the form of Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, Carlos orchestrated four side-long soundscapes designed, according to producer Rachel Elkind, to be "part of the decor." Using only her Moog synthesizer and environmental sounds, Carlos created prototypical ambient music, predating Brian Eno's similar work by a few years. Carlos weaves gentle, often reedy synthesizer melodies through chirping birds on "Spring," phase-shifted church organ drones across crystalline bells and wind on "Winter," and she seems to simulate an alien space landing on "Summer," mimicking nature with her synthesizer. An added treat on this special double CD is a 40-minute, unreleased, two-part suite from 1986 called "Land of the Midnight Sun." Using her Synergy synthesizers, Carlos orchestrates slow-motion melodies and overlapping minimalist layers that recall Steve Roach's "Structures from Silence." Sonic Seasonings is the first wave of a batch of Wendy Carlos reissues. While many of Carlos's classical, "Switched-On" orchestrations have an antique, dated charm, this original composition sounds fresh and current. In attempting a music that wouldn't draw attention to itself, Carlos achieved a prescient work of subtlety and depth on Sonic Seasonings. --John Diliberto

Tracks:

Spring
Summer
Fall

Tracks:

Winter
Winter (Out-take)
Aurora Borealis
Midnight Sun

Amazon.com

Before there was ambient music, in a time before the New Age, there was Wendy Carlos's Sonic Seasonings, a double LP released in 1972. Taking the form of Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, Carlos orchestrated four side-long soundscapes designed, according to producer Rachel Elkind, to be "part of the decor." Using only her Moog synthesizer and environmental sounds, Carlos created prototypical ambient music, predating Brian Eno's similar work by a few years. Carlos weaves gentle, often reedy synthesizer melodies through chirping birds on "Spring," phase-shifted church organ drones across crystalline bells and wind on "Winter," and she seems to simulate an alien space landing on "Summer," mimicking nature with her synthesizer. An added treat on this special double CD is a 40-minute, unreleased, two-part suite from 1986 called "Land of the Midnight Sun." Using her Synergy synthesizers, Carlos orchestrates slow-motion melodies and overlapping minimalist layers that recall Steve Roach's "Structures from Silence." Sonic Seasonings is the first wave of a batch of Wendy Carlos reissues. While many of Carlos's classical, "Switched-On" orchestrations have an antique, dated charm, this original composition sounds fresh and current. In attempting a music that wouldn't draw attention to itself, Carlos achieved a prescient work of subtlety and depth on Sonic Seasonings. --John Diliberto

Customer Reviews:

Wow.......2006-07-19

This CD is awesome. My favorites on the 2 cds are Winter, Aurora Borealis and Midnight Sun. What an incredible album.

Just great.......2006-06-25

After, what, 30 years, i am still knocked out by this record. It is a fascinating piece of work, involving and truly innovative. The bonus tracks are also extremely good. Why isn't it available on dts or SACD?

Sonic Seasonings.......2005-10-07

Wendy Carlos gives her musical impressions of the various "Seasons" of the year -- Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, plus a few other related topics that have never been released until this disc. Very eclectic, but enjoyable. (Have not viewed the stuff available on the Enhanced CD part of the disk.)

Amazing Audio Journey.......2005-01-23

I first discovered this wonderful album as a two disk vinyl set checked out from the public library. Synthesizers were my high school fascination and I'd already discovered Tomita's "Pictures at an Exhibition" & Wendy's (then Walter Carlos') "Switched on Bach". But this... there was nothing like this, nothing I could even compare it to. Each side of the two albums was a season (Sonic Seasonings), winter, spring, summer, fall; Each a unique tapestry of sound exploration, like a sound track for your imagination. Summer is one of my favorites, the sounds of frogs and crickets flowing by creates the mental image of flying low over a planet of ponds and swamps. Wendy was so far ahead of her time with this spectacular album that there weren't even terms for it yet. I wore out the library's copy and eventually the copy I bought. I was overjoyed to discover it was finally available on CD, in the digital format it was meant to be heard in. The new "bonus" tracks compliment the original work... the sound of a rocking chair and a cat purring in your lap! If you like music that broadens your mind, you'll love this masterpiece of sonic wizardry.

The Wonderful Worlds of Wendy Carlos.......2004-06-11

'Sonic Seasongings' is definitely one of my desert island picks. Having been a fan of Wendy Carlos from her soundtracks to 'Tron' and 'A Clockwork Orange,' I came across this 2CD set almost accidentally while doing a search for ambient music on Amazon. When I discovered that Wendy actually released a 1972 album that nowadays is classified as ambient, I was very intrigued and purchased the set without hesitation. Little did I know what I was in for when the music met my ears for the first time!

'Sonic Seasonings' is a tranquil yet lively album that gives new meaning to the term background music. Wendy creates portholes to worlds that are familiar but also odd. If you like Brian Eno, Steve Roach or Harold Budd -- you will be in heaven when you hear these tracks! I often play them quietly at work and it's not unusual for someone to ask me "WHAT'S THAT," with raised eyebrows when they hear the swirling sounds during "Summer," or the wolves of "Winter" coming from nowhere and everywhere all at once.

In addition, the two 1986 bonus tracks that make up 'Land of the Midnight Sun' are just as essential, and they compliment the "seasonal tracks" quite well.