3 Minute Einstein

Hugh Hopper & Kramer - Huge (1997) {Knitting Factory-Shimmy Disc SH088}
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© 1997 Knitting Factory / Shimmy Disc | Shimmy-088
Rock / Art Rock / Canterbury Scene / Experimental / Prog-Rock

Recorded as a guitar-less trio (Hugh Hopper on bass, Kramer on piano, organ, and tape loops, plus Damon Krukowski on drums), Huge is marginally less chaotic than Hopper and Kramer's previous collaboration, 1994's A Remark Hugh Made. Each of the songs is a relatively concise (only two tracks break the five-minute mark) and melodic improvisation on a basic theme, which generally is introduced, soloed upon, and quickly resolved, with Kramer's found voices and sound effects providing the album's only truly random element.

Terms such as “fastidious”, “intimate” and “quietly nuanced” have long been applied to the immensely respected Ingrid Haebler’s interpretations. She was a “purist” in the best sense of the word and has often said that she always sought to convey the essence of the music and the structure and the message of the work, without anything to disrupt it. With an imposing discography, Haebler was regarded by many as Philips’ “house pianist”. Decca now proudly presents her Complete Philips Recordings on 58CDs in tribute to this rare and special artist.

There's perhaps a touch of irony in the title of Dutch pianist and composer Jeroen van Veen's box set Minimal Piano Collection because at nine discs, it's a pretty massive collection. The program booklet notes that he recorded the entire set, which includes more than ten hours of music, in only six days, an astounding feat. In the program notes, van Veen offers a remarkably clear and concise history of minimalism in music. He defines it broadly enough (following the lead of composer and critic Tom Johnson) to include works by Friedrich Nietzsche and Satie. Philip Glass is the composer most widely represented, with three of the set's nine CDs devoted to his music originally for piano, as well as transcriptions from his film scores and operas. Two discs are given to van Veen's mammoth 24 Préludes, organized according to the framework of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. Other composers range from the very well known, such as Michael Nyman, John Adams, Terry Riley, Arvo Pärt, and John Cage, to the familiar-to-specialists, like Tom Johnson, Wim Mertens, and Jacob ter Veldhuis, to those little-known to American audiences, like Klaas de Vries, Simeon ten Holt, John Borstlap, Yann Tiersen, and Carlos Micháns.

Evidence for the birth of the universe is raining down on you. It's called the cosmic microwave background, and it's had quite a journey. Born in the stupendous annihilation of matter and antimatter seconds after the big bang, trapped in the hot plasma of the expanding universe for 380,000 years, and then suddenly released when the universe cooled to the point that atoms could form, this echo of creation has been on an uninterrupted voyage through space for 13.7 billion years—until it reached you. The cosmic microwave background is just one of the many clues about the history and nature of our universe that make the science of cosmology a wondrous, fascinating, and philosophically profound field of study.

Prior to the release of The Power to Believe (2003), King Crimson issued this disc in two distinct forms. In Asian territories it was christened Shoganai (2002) - which literally translates as "it could not be helped" or there is no way of doing, or nothing can be done. In the rest of the world, it was released as Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With (2002). While P.J. Crook's inventive artwork is perceptibly different, the audio contents are the same. Featured within is King Crimson's inaugural incarnation of the 21st century with Adrian Belew (guitar/vocals), Robert Fripp (guitar), Trey Gunn (Warr guitar/rubber bass/fretless Warr guitar), and Pat Mastelotto (drums/percussion) all providing their respective input…

King Crimson - Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With (2002) {Sanctuary Records SANEP123}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 227 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 81 Mb
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© 2002 Sanctuary Records / Discipline Global Mobile | SANEP123
Rock / Art Rock / Prog Rock

The relationship between this EP and King Crimson's Power to Believe (2003) long-player mirrors that of the six-track Vrooom (1994) sampler and subsequent full-length release Thrak (1994). The music perfectly contrasts the primarily instrumental and live Level Five (2001) EP by honing in on the latest lyrical contributions from Adrian Belew (guitar/vocals). The disc begins with "Bude," the first in a series of short spoken verses incorporating an electronically manipulated and harmonized Belew. The result is similar to the voice box effect used by Peter Frampton on "Do You Feel Like We Do?."