Sublime. Originally released as Walter Carlos' Clockwork Orange in 1972, it was later titled Wendy Carlos's [sic] Clockwork Orange upon rerelease as an "enchanced CD" in 1998. Being a huge fan of A Clockwork Orange, I had to have it. It is pure magic.
The electronic music was made by Wendy (at that time still Walter) after she released Switched-On Bach. She and producer Rachel Elkind had started messing with a spectrum follower, an electronic device that converts sound into electronic signals that mimic the rhythms and overtones of the original sampling. They wanted to make the first electronic "vocal" work and had picked the Choral Movement from the Ninth Symphony (Beethoven, of course) for this. In the midst of doing this, Carlos was introduced Anthony Burgess' novel. It inspired Carlos to create a musical "poem" of the book. At this point, Carlos learned that Stanley Kubrick had finished a film version of the historical novel, and a meeting occured. Some of the music Carlos had created was used in the film. This release is not the film soundtrack, but the book soundtrack, if you will.
If you enjoy electronic music and classical music, this is a must have. If you are a fan of A Clockwork Orange, this is also mandatory. Unfortunately, fans of all these things are mostly unaware of the existence of this release. I have included a link to the release on Amazon, but be warned, it is going for over $50, and I am not selling mine.
Mandatory FTC Disclaimer: I did not receive this to review. If you click on the link I may earn a commission.
