Search - Glenn Branca :: Ascension

Structured Noise

directions | Space Time Foam | 01/27/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Ascension could fall in the same category as another Ascension, John Coltrane's in particular in that it puts together a large group of musicians for a free improvisation but somehow seems to have rules or structures that keep in within a certain framework. It has elements of minimalism, certainly Philip Glass is a name check except that it is really LOUD so that you forget the pretensions. And yes, Lee Ranaldo is on it. Sonic Youth took the wall of noise of this album and fit it into song length and made history. The Ascension is a good antidote for ambient albums and I'm glad to see it in regular cd format remembering the good laugh I had when I went to a pretentious record store that had original lp's of "The Ascension" and "Lesson #1" marked for one hundred bucks with a sticker saying, "If you don't know what this is and why it costs this much, don't bother to ask". Avante-garde fanatics will drool over this cd, the rest of us can blast it at speaker damaging volume and ask questions later."

Definitive 80's Branca

JCJB So-Cal | Los Angeles, CA USA | 10/01/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"... with the Longo cover and tray art to prove it. Army of guitars, track 4, Light Field (in consonance) is by itself worth the price of admission. Brilliant. What Phillip Glass might have done if he played electric guitar on acid. In the best possible sense, great stuff. Much of Branca can be daunting, so the recommendation is to check out this album and track 4, Light Field first - very, very cool."

Remastered, at last.

George Danochristos | Athens, Greece | 12/21/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The two-word review that sums up this awesome recording is: "The Drone". There are other visionaries that based their sound on drone like John Cale and Kraftwerk however Glenn Branca got set to take La Monte Young's theory to the max. A problem with the original 99 Records LP is that it sounded too compressed. You get a group of guitars rumbling in unison then teutonic drums invade like Comanche spearheads assaulting hords of buffaloes, but instrument separation was very poor robbing the effect. Same impression with the 1994 previous CD reissue on New Tone/Robi Droli Records. This 2003 re-release on Acute is at last remastered, sounding better than ever before. I'd recommend getting Ascension in conjunction with Lesson No.1 (also originally released on 99 Records), the two form the best works of early Branca and the videoclip included is great. In conclusion I'd say Branca has done a job difficult for others to surpass but then there's always Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music..."