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-lo... more »ng 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« less
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
"'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. Highly recommended for any Wendy Carlos fan, those who appreciate ambient music, or anyone in need of a listening experience that will take you away from the doldrums of reality!"
Amazing Audio Journey
Jeff Wright | Hendersonville, TN USA | 01/22/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"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."
Sonic Seasonings - Revisited
David Whaley | Chicago NW Suburbs | 12/26/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I had this album on vinyl back in the 70's. I had it on tape and listened to it while drifting off to sleep. Then came several moves and a switch to Cd's. Lost the album during one of the moves. Rejoiced that I was able to hear again, this time w/o the pops and scratches. This CD speaks to your soul."
More a Sonic Experience than Music
Alric Knebel | Biloxi, MS | 01/19/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Since Wendy Carlos was always in pursuit of the perfect sound, the flawless recording, digital technology facilitates her quest for perfection. These are her times, and SONIC SEASONINGS definitely benefits from them. Until buying this 2-CD set (a bonus-enhanced digital facsimile to the original 2-album set), I hadn't heard these recordings in over 25 years, and I've thought about them a lot in the interim. As it turned out, the digital upgrade is very satisfying, as the clarity enhances the original artistic objective: the aural verisimilitude of a reminisced landscape; and where once the pops and clicks accumulating on your vinyl copy had disrupted the suspension of disbelief, we now have perfect space.
There's not much to say that hasn't been said by other reviewers. If you're an old Carlos fan, you already know that SONIC SEASONINGS was as groundbreaking as her SWITCHED ON BACH recordings. You also know that, unlike a lot of pioneers of electronic music, Carlos, with meticulous devotion, delivered fully realized compositions, not half-baked experiments presented as novelties of sound. You also know she's a genius of unsurpassed originality. SONIC SEASONINGS stands the test of time, as do all of her original compositions; if you liked the vinyl edition of SONIC SEASONINGS back in the day, you'll like it now. This recording still amazes me, how so vividly it captures the FEEL of the seasons, a new-era equivalent of Vivaldi's FOUR SEASONS, a comparison I'm sure she intended in the conceptualization of the project.
If you're a fan of ambient music, this is a must-have CD. Of course, you Carlos fans already know what it's all about, so if you haven't upgraded to the CD edition, you need to correct the error as soon as possible. A couple of years back, SONIC SEASONINGS was released on CD, but the cost was close to $30. It was reissued last November at this amazingly low single-CD price, though it's the same 2-CD set. Also, sans the 20-minute-per-side limitation imposed by LPs, Carlos was able to fit three of the original tracks on one CD, which would have left a necessary second CD for the last original track with a lot of wasted space. Carlos generously fills the void with previously unreleased impressionistic compositions of the same ambience as the four original season-themed pieces. I thought it was quite kind of her, really, thus making this CD a bargain for any Wendy Carlos fan."
A Prophetic Offering
David Whaley | 06/18/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Pre-dating the environmental + musical movement by at least 15 years, Sonic Seasonings stands as aural experience unmatched by any artist. Carlos incorporated nature with synthesized music in 1972. The result is a album of unsurpassed originality.This is not "background" music. It requires one to abandon their outer space.It invites one to listen to the sound of another plane. Track 1- Spring provides a rainstorm. Track 2- Summer provides the unrelenting heat of the sun. Track 3- Fall provides an oceanside campfire. Track 4 provides the crystalline coldness of a nightmare. The (circa 1986) companion pieces: Aurora Borealis + Midnight Sun (20 minutes each) are synth-heavy layered excursions not unlike what many aspiring "new-age" artists, years later, would offer to that faction of the newly clued-in public. Carlos was, and is, a pioneer in the realm of synthesized music. Sonic Seasonings is the perfect place to start exploring this Artist. It is a rewarding experience ... if you take the time to LISTEN. Buy it now before it is relegated to "out-of-print" status!"
Track Listings (3) - Disc #1![Sonic Seasonings + [Enhanced CD]](https://nationalbookswap.com/cd//l/76/8076/208076.jpg)
