Synergy Reconstructed Artifacts

Klik hier voor de Nederlandstalige versie

When I first saw this I thought wow a new Synergy album! It would have been the first in over a decade. I would have been wiser however to have taken note of the title first as it really says it all. These are re-recorded tracks from his previous albums. For want of a better term Synergy had something of a 'bleepy' sound that twenty years ago was OK, even radical and new but feels rather dated to me nowadays. So re-recording some of the best numbers would have had some merit to it. The thing is though that he has kept that same feel to them so it left me wondering what was the point. The tracks selection is good and so it does make a rather useful 'best of' for those wanting to try Synergy for the first time. There used to be an excellent double LP best of called 'Semi Conductor' however which I thought was even better than this. I'm not certain but I think that it was re-released on CD so if you can find it that would probably be a better place to start, if not this would do. The first two tracks are taken from the 1975, well ahead of its time, album 'Electronic Realizations for Rock Orchestra'.

'Relay Breakdown' has some really nice staccato melodies and as with nearly all Synergy a rather orchestral feel with a playful edge. 'Warriors' is even more symphonic sounding with big strings and little flute melody before entering a much more 'pop music' feel with happy little lead lines and boppy rhythm over faint mellotron sounds. Its then back to more sober classic realms- well sort of! It skirts between the majestic and twee. At the time I liked it and even today it does have a sort of charm if in the right mood, but if not? 'S-Scape' was from the 'Sequencer' album released a year later. A rapid staccato sequence sets the pace. Again the melodies are first class though a bit too 'happy' for my tastes nowadays. Sawing strings maintain the classical leaning. This however is no Berlin School offering as the album title might suggest, actually nothing could be further from the truth. As my wife would say- its proper music- but with a very synthetic feel. We then fast forward 5 years to the 'Audion' album.

'Orbit 5' acts like an introduction to the excellent 'Ancestors'. Rapid melodic sequences provide a base to a rhythm / lead line combination which bring up vivid images of camel trains travelling across the desert. Its all rather cinematic and first rate picture music without the twee edges of some earlier offerings and as such I still enjoyed it as much today as I did in my earlier days of listening to EM. 'Flight of the Looking Glass' is another offering from 'Audion' though this time a live track . The electronic orchestra is back in full swing, loads of strings sawing away for all they are worth and kettle drums pounding out- very well done, if you're into that sort of thing. We leap forward another five years to 1986 for the rest of the CD, all the remaining tracks being taken from the 'Metropolitan Suite' album. 'North River' is like orchestral film music combining tender and dramatic moments side by side. 'Steam and Steel Towers' is pretty much more of the same but is very impressive in that the synthetic feel is much less abrasive than on earlier albums.

Some people will prefer it for that where as others love that element of the Synergy style. 'Metropolitan Theme' contains more contemporary sounding melodies than on the previous two tracks and is rather pleasant in an easy listening sort of way. 'Into the Abyss' despite its title is fairly similar but with something of a euphoric edge. A CD for those feeling nostalgic. (DL)

Nederlandstalige versie

Wanneer ik dit eerst zag dacht ik, wauw, een nieuw Synergy album. Dit zou het eerste zijn in 10 jaar tijd. Ik had beter eerst wat aandachtiger naar de titel moeten kijken, deze zegt alles. Het zijn allemaal heropgenomen tracks van vorige albums. Synergy heeft een beetje een 'bleepy' klank, die 20 jaar geleden zeker ok was, vrij radicaal zelfs, nu schijnt hij mij echter wat gedateerd. Dus deze heropgenomen tracks hebben misschien wel hun voordeel. Het is echter zo dat hetzelfde gevoel behouden blijft, dus restte mij de vraag: wat is hier het nut dan van?

De keuze van de tracks is goed, dus geeft het wel een 'best of' voor diegenen die Synergy een eerste keer willen proberen. Vroeger was er de uitstekende dubbel-lp 'Semi-Conductor', die naar mijn mening zelfs beter was dan dit. Ik ben er niet zeker van maar ik denk zelfs dat die ooit is uitgebracht op CD, indien zo, is dit dus misschien zelfs een betere manier om met Synergy te beginnen. De eerste 2 tracks komen van het album 'Electronic Realizations for Rock Orchestra', dat in 1975 op zijn tijd vooruit was. "Relay Breakdown" heeft enkele hele mooie staccato melodieën en een orkestraal gevoel over zich, zoals immers in de meeste Synergy nummers. "Warriors" klinkt nog symfonischer met zijn grootste stringpartijen en een fluitmelodie en gaat dan bijna op de pop toer verder met vrolijke solo's en een ritme over verre mellotronklanken. Dan verder met sobere klassieke gevoelens, wel – een soort van toch. Het schommelt tussen majestueus en flauw. Vroeger hield ik hier wel van en ook vandaag heft het nog een bepaalde charme, wanneer je ervoor in de juiste stemming bent want anders… "S-Scape" komt van het 'Sequencer' album, enkele jaren later.