Wendy Carlos - Switched-on Boxed Set

this_poison · Post by **this_poison** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 6:50 am

Apologies if this has been up before, but I've just received the Switched-on Boxed Set this morning and the enhanced content has blow me away.

It's the first time I've had all the tracks together in the same format, and the sound is excellent, but the pictures and text in the booklets (200pages) and on the cd are just fantastic.

The notes on the Moog Modular and it's growth, set-up and use are totally engaging and offer an insight into the whole Switched-on history of the like I've not seen before.

I felt slightly guilty looking at my Bob Moog doll after the great man left us, and even moved it away from my Voyager as it was bringing my mood down when I played.

This boxed set has thankfully reminded me of why I loved Moogs before I could ever afford one, loved Bob (and miss him) without even having met him and eventually even grew an effection for "other" synthesizers.

Tonight I will rewatch the Moog Movie and put my Bob Moog doll back on the Voyager where he rightfully belongs.

Thanks Bob, and thanks Wendy for reminding me why.

martin · Post by **martin** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 7:25 am

i also have the box set, and have loved switched-on bach since i was little.
when i could afford a voyager i bought one and will always listen to those recordings to get new ideas for sounds.

switched-on bach is such a beautiful, playful, fun recording and will always stay an inspiration to my own playing.

i love the book that comes with the set, and just looking at all those modules is awesome.

i don't have bob sitting on my voyager, but i have a photo of bob and a signed printout of an invitation email to the moog event in london in 2004.

without bob's modulars and wendy's music i'd have taken up corn flake collecting as a hobby.

martin

(moognase)

Sweep · Post by **Sweep** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 10:11 am

Yes, the Switched On Box Set is brilliant - both for the recordings and the booklets. The care and professionalism Wendy puts into everything she does are very evident.

Have you checked out any of Wendy's later recordings as well? Sonic Seasonings has two new 19 minute pieces packaged with it, dating from the eighties. Beauty in the Beast seems to be hard to get into for some people - but Bob Moog loved the title piece; and so do I, for what's that's worth. Tales of Heaven and Hell runs a whole range of emotions.

Her digital re-recording of Switched on Bach, SoB2000 is an interesting contrast with the original.

Also from a specifically Moog perspective, the remastered Clockwork Orange soundtrack is as brillaint as it always was, and has a couple of short additional tracks. Of course it's worth every penny just for Timesteps.

And Secrets of Synthesis is a fascinating insight into Wendy's methods and attitudes.

I could continue, easily.

But yes, the sounds and arrangements are just beautiful in many of those pieces, and Wendy's sense of fun comes up frequently. It seems to be another of her `secrets of synthesis,' the thing that keeps the painstaking and intricate work focused and light.

Qwave · Post by **Qwave** » Sat Nov 19, 2005 9:27 am

Switched-On Bach was the first synth music I ever heard!
My mother bought the LP in 1971 or 72 here in germany. And non of my parents friend did now more about this or the instrument used. She liked this J.S. Bach recordings. And I liked it too then and now. I was about 6 years old then.
I own the remastered Box-Set, because the sound is way better then the original CBS CDs form the eighties. And the booklet alone is woth half of the box price.
Luckily I own both LP cover versions now: the one everybody knows and the slightly different on where the Bach actor is looking a like being angry. The text on he back of this cover is in german and written very funny.
It goes like: "this is not a shubby-do music" and things like this.

martin · Post by **martin** » Sat Nov 19, 2005 2:24 pm

no shooby do music, huahuahua, awesome!

any chance of posting some of the worst original quotes off those liner notes (with translations)?

Qwave · Post by **Qwave** » Sat Nov 19, 2005 4:53 pm

Martin,

here are some excerpts:
on the front the headline is (just on the top of the cover):

"Barock-Revolution
or
the strange adventures of J.S. Bach in the country of electrons"

on in the lower center of the back:

"Warning" (in very big letters!)
"This record is a totally new fact. It is neither a 'thrity-centimeterstereoclassicsounddemonstrationdisk' nor a simple 'great pop record'."

and

"No drummer is going bezerk, no tweating Sugarbabies, no sad touched cymbal."

And this ends with these in english (!) printed words:

"it's exciting! It's revolution! It's an exciting revolution!"

To see the different album cover pictures, have a look here:
http://www.endlessgroove.com/issue1/switch.htm

GregAE · Post by **GregAE** » Sat Nov 19, 2005 9:23 pm

Qwave wrote:Switched-On Bach was the first synth music I ever heard!

Likewise! Hearing SOB for the first time was a revelation for me - I had to know more about the instrument that produced those sounds. Back in the day, there was no Internet, so getting information meant a trip to the music store or writing/calling to request literature. Information access was pretty scarce back then.

Nevertheless, after hearing SOB I had seen the light! My first synth was a PAIA home-built - meager in capabilities, but a synth nonetheless. I took an interest in electronics as a result, learning how to solder and modify circuits.

My high school had a Moog Sonic Six, which was the first Moog I ever played. Since I was the only 'Moog Head' in my high school who had a clue about using the thing, I was allowed to bring it home and play with it. I spent many happy hours with it sitting on the floor in my bedroom twisting knobs and listening to the glorious sounds it produced (the Sonic Six had built-in speakers). The incessant sounds drove my parents crazy!

Soon after, a musical friend and I approached the school's music director about writing a piece of music that would incorporate the Moog and PAIA synths, along with organ and choir. We wrote the piece in our senior year and had the pleasure to perform it at the school's spring concert. It was later performed and recorded at a county concert. I felt like a Keith Emerson, ensconced behind a couple of synths twisting knobs and making noises.

Those high school experiences eventually lead me to get a BSEE degree and enjoy an enthusiastic life-long pursuit of musical electronics. Although I couldn't afford a Minimoog back then, I think my Voyager Performer more than makes up for it now!

I had the pleasure of meeting Bob Moog in the spring of 2000, at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC. I had the chance to personally thank him for his wonderful creations and contributions to our musical world. He was as gracious as ever, and seemed just a little embarassed by all the adulation he received from me and many other Moog fans. Speaking to some of the other attendees that day, I learned that many had experiences similar to mine - hearing SOB was a truely a turning point in their lives.

Thanks Bob and Wendy! Your musical effects have been and continue to be an inspiration to us all!

Greg

martin · Post by **martin** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 7:19 am

a truly exciting exciting revolution revolution!

BrianK · Post by **BrianK** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 8:20 am

Her new CDs "The Lost Scores" also has some amazing work on it. The wonderful reworkings and proper reissues of all her CDs is great!