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Title: Seminal Jazz-Rock Electronic Masterpiece
Review: Roger Powell was the ARP instrument's demo musician in the early 1970's, and this album was considered a showpiece for ARP synths when it came out in 1973. The music is jazzy, rythmic and fast, all of which was uncommon in the more stately electronic music of that time. Compare this with Switched-On Bach (I and II) or with Tangerine Dream, and you'll see that Powell's music has a driven American sound to it.The ARP syths are not used to create electronic soundscapes like Tangerine Dream, or to transcribe classical music, which makes the portentiously-named pieces like "Ictus: The Primordial Pulse" age well. These are mediatation pieces, but living, pulsing music.Powell's album stands alone for these reasons. I paid $75.00 for the vinyl on EBay about a month before this CD release came out, and the mix and mastering are excellent, capturing and enhancing Powell's music without sounding too digitally harsh.
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