Audion

this was actually a replacement for me as I had this decades ago on cassette tape. And I still love it!

Electronic Realizations is one of my very favorite albums of all time. Sequencer, Cords, and Games have also been much-listened to CDs that I have had in my collection for years. I stopped there--over a decade and a half ago I remember listening to Audion and not liking it so I never added it to my collection.Recently, I have been adding immensely to my music collection and have been going back to discs that I rejected before to see if my tastes had changed with age. Taking another look at Synergy, I decided to give Audion another go. The first track sounded interesting, so I decided to keep on listening. I soon became bored and came to the conclusion all over again that I didn't like it. I listened to it again several times, listening to certain tracks, skipping around, and generally trying to get a better feeling for the album. Maybe it would grow on me--I had to stay with it. No matter how many times or chances I gave it, however, did it begin to sound any better. It seemed so monotonous, like he kept using the same settings on his synths over and over. The same synthesized beat sound, the same rapid high-frequency scales, and the same sort of feeling repeated constantly through the album.Frustrated, I immediately switched to Cords, and I felt like I got splashed in the face with cool water. Cords also has a number of repeating themes, but the variety of timbres was so much wider. There was a full spectrum of sound and melodies being used. In Audion, the palette seemed just so limited.I'm a huge Synergy fan and love the work of Larry Fast, but this one, in my opinion, just falls flat.

Perhaps under the influence of Peter Gabriel (for whom he played keyboards), Larry Fast toned down his grand orchestral sweeps and focused on more succinct rock arrangements for this CD. The results were generally good, especially on the almost-heavy-metal "Revolt on L-5" and the more laid-back "Terminal Hotel." The most prominent sound on both of these tracks is the insistent electric percussion, which sounds like a rock drum set more than anything else. The grand approach is still evident on a few songs, especially "Electric Blue" (which goes on a bit long) and "Flight of the Looking Glass," which sounds like an outtake from one of Fast's earlier CD's (not that that is a slur). After this, the exoticism of "Shibolet" is another refreshing change. My favorite track, however, is the opener "Orbit Five," a wonderfully brief study that is like a haiku or a clever epigram.

This is a really fine CD of music that has passed the test of repeated listenings days after picking it up on a whim. The music featured on this disc harks back to the 1980's and must have been quite innovative at the time...clearly Synergy is the granddad of Juno Reactor and similar ambient electronica music groups (and is a distant relative of groups roughly contemporary like Tangerine Dream). All instrumentals here, folks, and heavy on the synthesizer; much of the album sounds like the soundtrack for an '80's science fiction movie that never was, and reminds me (nostalgically, yes) of the soundtracks for "Tron" or "2010" especially. A couple of the tracks veer dangerously close to the cheesy and sentimental for my tastes, but overall this is a CD of excellent music in this genre.

I had the fortune to buy my copy of Synergy's 'Audion' off of the hands of the artist himself (Larry Fast), a few years ago at a gig where he teamed up with Tony Levin, Jerry Marotta and another guitarist (almost the exact dream band that accompanied Peter Gabriel in his early eighties albums/tours) in Phoenix. The album is pure electronic joy: reminds me a lot of Tangerine Dream and early Vangelis, which is to say it's a great piece of electronic music. Never a dull track and never overdoing for the sake of musical virtuosity. It is quite unfortunate that once again this album, originally released in 1981, is out of print. If you ever can get a hold of a used copy, do so!

Synergy's best album, and one of the truly best electronic instrumental synth albums ever made. All of Larry Fast's (Synergy) works are worthy, and they were certainly original, but this CD has the makings of a true masterpiece. There are elements of so many styles of music here, but all done in an aesthetic, harmonic way. Unlike so many electronic artists and albums of today, Audion contains not only listenable, plesant music, but challenging compositions. If you buy only one Synergy CD, make it this one.

Larry Fast has always been an inspiration to all of us who work in the world of composition and synthesis. This album really stretches the limits of the imagination and yet it bridges the gap of classical and avante-garde techniques. Synergy has always been a vehicle for innovation and techniques in recording and synthesis. My favorite is "After The Earthquake" where he paints a facade of determination and unrelenting pride; the piece is fit for a seminar for success. Even with all the technology at hand (at that time) he never fails to realize that the melody and in whole, the composition is still the driving force behind an excellent piece.

Another great edition to my music library!