RSSHarold Budd & Hector Zazou [extended]
- The Pearl [Editions EG, 1984] A-
- Abandoned Cities [Cantril, 1984] B+
- The White Arcades [Opal, 1988] C+
- Glyph [Made to Measure, 1995] **
- In the House of Mirrors [Crammed Discs, 2008] *
See Also:
Consumer Guide Reviews:
Harold Budd/Brian Eno: The Pearl [Editions EG, 1984]
Budd's previous work with the avant-pop sound-environments king was a mite tacky--he tended to signify spirituality with wordless vocal choruses that reminded me of the Anita Kerr Singers, though I'm sure they boasted a prouder lineage. These eleven pieces are more circumspect and detailed, and while they do slip into decoration they're the most intellectually gratifying (and emotionally engaging) music Eno's put his name on since his first Jon Hassell LP. Finally he succeeds in making soporific an honorific. A-
Harold Budd: Abandoned Cities [Cantril, 1984]
This phonographic record of a gallery installation called Image-Bearing Light moves slowly but not glacially. Sounds like chords on a color organ played back at 16-r.p.m.--stark yet soothing. Recommended to seekers after low-down ambience. B+
Harold Budd: The White Arcades [Opal, 1988]
Long before Brian Eno hyped ambient, there was the less pretentious term background music, and you can be sure our brave new age will goop up the margin between the two. At his most austere, Eno's old buddy Budd is hyperromantic, and this isn't exactly austere--with the proper inducements (hypnosis, or a large bribe), he might even call it a sellout. Weak-mindedness passing itself off as spirituality--it's what new agers seek in classical music. Budd's angle is to eliminate any vestige of difficulty from the concept. C+
Glyph [Made to Measure, 1995]
downtown minimalism meets ambient techno meets the Algerian half of (how could you forget?) Zazou Bikaye ("The Aperture," "As Fast as I Could Look Away She Was Still There") **
Hector Zazou: In the House of Mirrors [Crammed Discs, 2008]
Middle East meets Far East for trance sans dance ("Hool Ki Seva," "Twice as Good as We Are"). *