PHILIP GLASS — Powaqqatsi (1998) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

In 2002, Philip Glass toured in support of the four-disc set Glass on Film, culled from his movie scores. It was good to see that the Philip Glass Ensemble performed the long-underrated Powaqqatsi among his other collaborations with filmmaker Godfrey Reggio, because those electric keyboard works have outlasted the symphonic stuff. Back in the '80s, Glass didn't seem to think so. He aimed to become the thinking filmmaker's response to John Williams by turning his minimalist background to astringent, stately symphonic movie scores for Mishima, Hamburger Hill, and The Thin Blue Line. It's understandable how Powaqqatsi's music was overlooked: The synthesizers and the orchestra and booming percussion were uncomfortably cluttered and showbizzy. Even today, Powaqqatsi's Anthem sounds like a naked attempt at an instrumental hit like Vangelis' theme for Chariots of Fire. On the other hand, the melodic and textural similarities of the symphonic scores, plus the snatches cribbed from them for other movies, have deadened their appeal. Powaqqatsi is straight-up loud. Instead of Koyanisqqatsi's somber organ prelude (as in a Baptist service), Serra Pelada provides the mightiest track in Glass' career: a gamelan ensemble marching with a drum-and-bugle corp behind the voices of the Latin American Children's Ensemble (set off with a coach's whistle). Almost everywhere, the synthesizers and orchestra work and play together, while the tunes are actually memorable on their own. The three-part New Cities in Ancient Lands, set in China, Africa, and India, features woodwinds and keyboards from the Philip Glass Ensemble, with kalimbas and balafons strewn among the orchestra. Video Dream is simple lyricism, like the English horn that unrolls the Arabic melody of That Place. The ponderous Caught and two of the three Anthem reprises are mere clutter, but somehow Glass makes room for everything, even Foday Musa Suso's kora and vocals on Mr. Suso #1 and Mr. Suso #2 With Reflection. It adds up for a bright world music symphony. John Young  
Tracklist :
1 Serra Pelada 5:02
2 The Title 0:23
3 Anthem (Part 1) 6:22
4 That Place 4:41
5 Anthem (Part 2) 3:48
6 Mosque And Temple 4:42
7 Anthem (Part 3) 8:11
8 Train To São Paulo 3:04
9 Video Dream 2:14
10 New Cities In Ancient Lands, China 2:47
11 New Cities In Ancient Lands, Africa 2:56
12 New Cities In Ancient Lands, India 4:42
13 The Unutterable 7:02
14 CAUGHT! 7:20
15 Mr. Suso #1 1:08
16 From Egypt 3:23
17 Mr. Suso #2 With Reflection 1:18
18 Powaqqatsi 4:35
Credits :
Bass Vocals [Bass Voice] – Al DeRuiter
Bassoon – Ethan Bauch, Lauren Goldstein, Mike Finn
Cello – Seymour Barab
Choir – Hispanic Young People's Chorus
Clarinet – John Moses, Laura Flax, Steve Hartman
Conductor – Michael Riesman
Directed By [Choir Musical Director] – Angélica Rosa Sepúlveda
Double Bass – Barbara Wilson
Effects [Ambient Sound Effects], Recorded By [Additional Recording] – Bob Bielecki, Connie Kieltyka
Flute, Piccolo Flute – Diva Goodfriend-Koven, Michael Parloff
Flute, Piccolo Flute, Saxophone – Jack Kripl
French Horn – Ann Yarbrough, Joe Anderer, Alan Spanger, Sharon Moe, Tony Miranda
Keyboards – Lee Curreri, Martin Goldray, Michael Riesman, Paul Rice
Keyboards, Programmed By [Synthesizer Programming], Sounds [Sound Design] – Jeffrey Rona
Kora, Balafon, Harp [Dousongoni], Violin [Nyanyer] – Foday Musa Suso
Lyrics By [For Children's Choir] – Bernardo Palumbo
Other [Children's Choir Executive Director] – Hector Carrasquillo
Other [Digital Tape Machines Supplied By] – Sid Zimet
Other [Technical Adviser And Consultant For African Music] – Foday Musa Suso
Other [Technical Adviser And Consultant For South American Music] – Bernardo Palumbo
Percussion, Ensemble – Joe Passaro, Roger Squitero, Sue Evans, Valerie Naranjo
Quena, Ensemble – Jefe Ronda, Jorge Joven, Miguel Grande
Saxophone – Steve Elson
Saxophone, Didgeridoo – Jon Gibson
Soloist, Vocals – Shaikh Fathy Mady
Sounds [Sound Effects Design] – Gary Summers
Tambura [Tanpura] – Frank Menusan
Trombone – James Pugh, Keith Oquinn
Trombone, Tuba – Alan Raph
Trumpet – Bill Rhodin, Lorraine Cohen, Neil Balm, Wilmer Wise
Viola – Jack Rosenberg, Jill Jaffe, Karl Bargen, Lois Martin
Violin – Carol Pool, Elliot Rosoff, Karen Karlsrud, Linda Quan, Richard Sortomme, Sanford Allen, Sergiu Schwartz

PHILIP GLASS — Koyaanisqatsi (1983) Four Version | APE + FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

 Parodied more than once, derided, blessed, hailed as a wonder, and decried as a travesty, this (abbreviated) soundtrack is capable of generating fascination and annoyance, often simultaneously. The truth is that this isn't merely minimalism -- it's expressive minimalism, with some impressive nuances. Given the space to breathe, the music here is breathtaking, and becomes even more so when properly linked, in its full form, with the film's visuals. The later Powaqqatsi did not live up to the first film in either a visual or musical respect. Steven McDonald
Tracklist :
1 Koyaanisqatsi 3:28

2 Organic 7:43
3 Cloudscape 4:34
4 Resource 6:39
5 Vessels 8:05
6 Pruit Igoe 7:53
7 The Grid 21:23
8 Prophecies 13:36
Credits :
Baritone Vocals [The Western Wind Ensemble: Baritone] – Elliott Z. Levine
Bass Trombone – Alan Raph
Bass Vocals [Bass Vocal] – Albert De Ruiter
Cello – E. Zoe Hasmann, Garfield Moore, Joseph Kimura, Marisol Espada, Matthias D. Naegele, Richard Sher, Sarah Carter, Seymour Barab
Conductor – Michael Riesman
Countertenor Vocals [The Western Wind Ensemble: Countertenor] – William Zukof
Ensemble – Members Of The Philip Glass Ensemble, The Western Wind Ensemble
Flute [The Philip Glass Ensemble], Piccolo Flute [The Philip Glass Ensemble: Piccolo], Bass Clarinet [The Philip Glass Ensemble] – Andrew Sterman
French Horn – Robert Carlisle, Peter Gordon
Keyboards [The Philip Glass Ensemble] – Michael Riesman
Soprano Saxophone [The Philip Glass Ensemble], Clarinet [The Philip Glass Ensemble], Flute [The Philip Glass Ensemble] – Jon Gibson
Soprano Saxophone [The Philip Glass Ensemble], Tenor Saxophone [The Philip Glass Ensemble] – Richard E. Peck, Jr.
Soprano Vocals [The Western Wind Ensemble: Soprano] – Kathy Theil, Phyllis Elaine Clarke
Tenor Vocals [The Western Wind Ensemble: Tenor] – Neil Farrell
Trombone – Dennis Elliot, James Pugh
Trumpet – Lorraine Cohen-Moses, Philip Ruecktenwald, Wilmer Wise
Tuba – Kyle Turner
Viola – Kathleen Foster, Lois Martin, Martha Mooke, Masako Yanagita, Richard Sortomme, Stephanie Fricker

BILL FRISELL — Is That You? (1990) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Recorded in 1989 while Frisell was still a member of Naked City, Is That You? finds the guitarist already trending away from that band's scattershot assault and toward the more pastoral leanings he would embrace in the upcoming decade. At its best, as on the title track, Frisell creates nostalgic but heartfelt melodies that have the sense of being a soundtrack to a bittersweet movie. Wayne Horvitz' "Yuba City" is also evocative and very much in keeping with his other work from around that time, all sumptuous melodic hooks overlaying somewhat clunky rhythms. There are other nice touches here and there (the charming "Rag," for instance), but too often the gauziness that is an inherent problem with much of Frisell's music comes to the fore. While his cover of "Chain of Fools" chugs along with some dopey panache, "The Days of Wine and Roses" threatens to evaporate into the mist altogether. Fans of his later work may welcome this approach and, indeed, consider it one of his most attractive attributes, but those listeners hoping to hear more of the bite and devil-may-care attitude shown in his work with Zorn may feel suffocated. Brian Olewnick

Tracklist :
1    No Man's Land    6:40
 Composed By – Bill Frisell
2    Someone In My Backyard    2:45
 Composed By – Bill Frisell
3    Rag    4:00
 Composed By – Bill Frisell
4    Is That You? 6:50
 Composed By – Bill Frisell
Tuba – Dave Hofstra
5    The Way Home    6:00
 Composed By – Bill Frisell
6    Twenty Years    2:43
 Composed By – Bill Frisell
7    Chain Of Fools 3:30
 Composed By – Don Covay
Bass – Dave Hofstra
8    Hello Nellie 4:07
 Composed By – Bill Frisell
Tuba – Dave Hofstra
9    The Days Of Wine And Roses    3:35
 Composed By – Henry Mancini
10    Yuba City    5:42
 Composed By – Wayne Horvitz
11    Half A Million    4:00
 Composed By – Bill Frisell
12    Hope And Fear    1:06
 Composed By – Bill Frisell
Credits :
Commissioned By – Kronos Quartet (tracks: 10), Ravinia Festival (tracks: 10)
Drums – Joey Baron
Guitar [Guitars], Bass, Banjo, Ukulele, Clarinet – Bill Frisell
Keyboards, Drum Programming, Bass [Momentary Bass], Producer [Produced By] – Wayne Horvitz