Music from the 21st Century

Music from the 21st Century

LP, GNP / Crescendo Records, 1982

 

This vinyl LP was released in 1982 by GNP Records, which was prominent at that time for issuing sci-fi related albums (such as 'Greatest Science Fiction Hits,' by Neal Norman). 

 

The album cover features a memorable illustration by Michael Whelan; they don't make 'em like that anymore.

 

You can listen to the entire LP here.

 

Intended as a "...collection of daring electronic music experiments," Music from the 21st Century "....features the most gifted futurists of the audio spectrum." In all honesty, when I sat down with the album, the only participants that I recognized were Neil Norman, and Tangerine Dream. But the liner notes on the back of the album cover provide bio sketches of all contributors.

 

As far as the music goes, the first side is a letdown. After a brief (1:50) intro track by Richard Burmer, we have a > 19 minute track from Tangerine Dream. While it starts out reasonably listenable, as the track progresses, it displays a failing common to a lot of the 'electronic' music of the early 1980s: too much rambling doodling, for a track of such length. Given the chance to contribute to this LP, Tangerine needed to deliver better material.....

 

Luckily, side two is an improvement. All the artists present music that is coherent, well-composed, and fulfills the sci-fi, futuristic vibe indicated by the LP's title. Too, it helps that these tracks are short.

Who will like Music from the 21st Century ? I'm not sure modern-day fans of electronica and techno will find all that much to get excited about; let's face it, the technology for this genre of music has advanced considerably in the past 40+ years. Nowadays, the sounds featured on 21st Century easily can be surpassed with PC software by artists who are not reliant on studio and label resources.

 

The LP best will appeal to Boomers, who remember their college years and how, if you wanted to hear electronic music on the radio, who had to tune in to the college station late on a Sunday night, when the DJ had leave to play this genre for several hours. That's how it was done, back in the early 1980s..........