STEVE REICH : Different Trains · Electric Counterpoint (Kronos Quartet · Pat Metheny) (1989) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This late-'80s work finds the minimalist composer mixing acoustic and taped material to great effect. The disc's centerpiece is "Different Trains," a work that frames Reich's impressions of his boyhood train trips between his mother in Los Angeles and his father in New York; Reich also intersperses references to the much more harrowing train rides Jews were forced to take to Nazi concentration camps. Using the fine playing of the Kronos Quartet as a base, Reich layers the work with the taped train musings of his governess, a retired Pullman porter, and various Holocaust survivors -- vintage train sounds from the '30s and '40s add to the riveting arrangement. And for some nice contrast, Reich recruits guitarist Pat Metheny to create a similarly momentous piece in "Electric Counterpoint" (Metheny plays live over a multi-tracked tape of ten guitars and two electric basses). Two fine works by Reich in his prime. Stephen Cook
STEVE REICH (1900-1959)
Different Trains    
1.    Kronos Quartet–    America – Before The War    8:59
2.    Kronos Quartet–    Europe – During The War    7:31
3.    Kronos Quartet–    After The War    10:20
Electric Counterpoint    
4.    Pat Metheny–    Fast    6:51
5.    Pat Metheny–    Slow    3:21
6.    Pat Metheny–    Fast    4:29
Credits : 
Cello [Kronos Quartet] – Joan Jeanrenaud (tracks: 1 to 3)
Viola [Kronos Quartet] – Hank Dutt (tracks: 1 to 3)
Violin [Kronos Quartet] – David Harrington (tracks: 1 to 3), John Sherba (tracks: 1 to 3)
Guitar – Pat Metheny (tracks: 4 to 6)
Cover [Cover Photography], Photography By [Cover Photography] – Karl Steinbrenner
Notas
"Different trains" recorded August 31 - September 9, 1988 at Russian Hill Recording, San Francisco.
"Electric counterpoint" recorded September 26 - October 1, 1987 at Power Station, New York City.