Reconstructed Artifacts

Personnel: Synergy (electronics); Larry Fast (programming, electronics).

Recording information: Synergy Studio, Great Swamp, Morris County, NJ.

Photographer: Larry Fast.

Reconstructed Artifacts is a new album of old tunes, freshly re-recorded pieces from Synergy's back catalog. The idea is somewhat strange; after all, Larry Fast has been an important name in analog electronic music, his Synergy project one of the rare non-German acts to leave a mark on the '70s. So why go back and digitally re-record what was the pride of analog synth fans? As questionable as the decision may be, the results are convincing, at least in part. Early pieces like "Relay Breakdown" and "Warriors" (from Electronic Realizations for Rock Orchestra, 1975) or "S-scape" (from Sequencer, 1976) sound clearer, better defined, and have more punch -- more so if you compare them to the cheap LP pressings. But again, wouldn't a remix and a remaster be enough, especially since Fast is very careful here to reconstruct the pieces down to every little detail? If Fast achieved excellent results with pieces from his Tangerine Dream-influenced days, his treatment of later tracks is a bit disappointing. The symphonic bombast of the albums Audion (1981) and Metropolitan Suite (1986), which called for more elaborate arrangements, including programmed drums, strings, and winds, has lost some of its charm in these digitized renditions. A piece like "Into the Abyss" screams for a real orchestra, and even the best digital reconstruction can't change that. For the newcomer (or those who still hold on to their LPs), Reconstructed Artifacts makes a fine "best-of" CD, but Fast's followers will find that it adds nothing substantial to his discography. ~ Fran?ois Couture

Genre:

• Pop / Rock

Music Categories:

• Rock & Pop: Art Rock