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Reich: Different Trains / Electric Counterpoint by: Steve Reich, Pat Metheny

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Rating: - And then they stopped playing, and I said 'More, more'...

...and I applauded
It is not unreasonable to consider Different Trains to be Steve Reich's masterpiece. This may even go down in musical history as the pinical of modern American music. Haunting, beautiful, sad and exciting, Different Trains takes the musical style of a brilliant composer and transforms it into a piece of music that has both musical brilliance and emotional profundity. The repetitive sounds of the Kronos Quartet (at the peak of their form, might I add) and the voices of Holocaust survivers make a remarkable piece. The train noises used go from tacky to terrifying, as they are used for the jollity of the North American rail network, to being like the screams of helpless victims. I think that the last movement is the most effective, Reich leaves behind the train motif of the other movements, and the piece winds its way to a haunting and beautiful end.
The other piece on this disc, Electric Counterpoint, makes an interesting, if light weight, supplement. The piece is exceptionally well played and well written, and is genuinly likeable, though it lacks the depth of Different Trains. The first movement is the best, the other movements are less good, but still enjoyable.
The sound on this disk ranges from good to exceptional. Different Trains has a mono quality about it, and seems less polished than Electric Counterpoint. This said, it does not detract in the slightest from the music. The sound on Electric Counterpoint is brilliant, recorded in full blooded stereo. All in all, this is a brilliant, if slightly short, disc that is a must have for everyone with even a slight interest i modern classical music. Seriously reccomended.

Rating: - Probably the best Reich to buy

I have a lot of Steve Reich, and hardly listen to any of it at home - it is very intense and requires a lot of concentration. I would say that I find it more suited to the public performance - it is not background music. However, this has a musicality about it that is engaging and mesmerising.

Rating: - Heartstoppingly beautiful

I won't talk about different trains as the other reviewers here clearly like it a lot, however I don't think I've ever sat through it all. What I will say is that I still give this album 5 stars without the first half of the album. The electric counterpoint tracks are quite simply insanely beautiful. Pat Metheny shows off his perfect technique by recording a 10 part Canon of guitar completely dry (no "reverb" effects used here at all, it sounds big because it is) but with the touch of warm tape compression pleasingly unavoidable using this technique of tape delay (a perfect object lesson in why analogue audio sound is still lauded in this digital age). The piece opens with pulsing chords formed by a choir of Methenys tapping their guitars fretboards to produce specific pitches, and hence establishing the basic harmonic structure. This section leads in to a more conventional plectrum technique for the first fast counterpoint. The second piece drops the tempo significantly, and reworks the original theme, before leading to the climactic thrid section (climactic? surely this is minimalism!). After establishing the Canon for the main theme, which will be immediately recognisable to anyone who's listened to Little Fluffy Clouds by The Orb - a short sample of this section was looped as the main texture on this tune (not to mention the main reason for its success), we then get treated to the entrance of the bass guitar, followed by strummed chords before the repeat and fade out. Of course an entrance of bass guitar and some strumming shouldn't add up to anything like a crescendo, but after a very dynamically static, almost pastoral 12 minutes of transcendental melodic invention this arrives with more comparative gravitas than many more conventionally 'weighty' pieces. In conclusion: buy it now, no, really; right this very minute; it is absolute perfection. Of course the choice is yours, don't buy it then, see if I care: I'm listening to it right now!

Rating: - Something rather different

On first hearing "different trains", I was immediately struck by just how "different" the sound actually was. The idea of recording speech and integrating this into a musical performance is not new, but the effect achieved here certainly is. The various train effects that are added, such as a steam whistle, are skilfully and tellingly deployed. In addition, the sheer emotive power of the music cannot be denied - the effect of the central movement describing the holocaust victims' experiences is as horrific as anything produced by Hollywood.

Unfortunately, I also felt it to be slightly lacking in overall coherence compared to some of Steve Reich's work. The piece sounds very much as if it were written in two parts - one in which the survivors describe their experiences, and the other relating to post-war America (and, seemingly, an entirely different set of trains with a different message - though maybe this is what the composer wanted!).

The second piece, played by Pat Metheny, is similarly effective. It begins with a slowish introduction (with lots of "reverb" effects) and gradually builds itself to a vigorous, energetic climax in the final movement.

If you are a fan of Steve Reich's music, then you should certainly have this CD. If you aren't familiar with his music (and it can be difficult to get), than this would be the ideal place to start.

Rating: - Another Reich masterpiece.

'Different Trains' is one of those pieces of music it's easy to call a masterpiece. Reich invents a completely new technique, putting sound clips of real people talking to music that reflects the inherent rhythm and pitch change of the spoken word (a technique which he re-uses to good effect in 'The Cave'), uses it to discuss the fate of Jews in the Holocaust, and creates an incredibly powerful piece of music, which is one of my all-time favourites. This recording is stunning, even better than hearing the Kronos perform it live. Yet another Reich must-buy!

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