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Einstein on the Beach
Home > Complete List of "p" Artists > Sean Paul > Item 13
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Einstein on the Beach
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by David Anchel, Sean Barker, Philip Glass, Michael Riesman, and Philip Glass Ensemble
Sales Rank: 86785
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List Price: $36.98
$36.98
At Amazon
on 11-30-2008.
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1. Knee Play 1
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2. Act 1. Scene 1 - Train
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3. Act 1. Scene 2 - Trial
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1. Knee Play 2
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2. Act 2. Scene 1 - Dance 1
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3. Act 2. Scene 2 - Night Train
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4. Knee Play 3
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1. Act 3. Scene 1 - Trial / Prison
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2. Act 3. Scene 2 - Dance 2
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3. Einstein on the Beach/Knee Play 4 - Philip Glass, Glass, Philip
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4. Knee Play 4
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1. Act 4. Scene 1 - Building
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2. Act 4. Scene 2 - Bed
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3. Act 4. Scene 3 - Spaceship
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4. Knee Play 5
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"Einstein on the Beach" is an epic work: long, challenging, and important. Thanks to Amazon.com and Phillip Glass' own Web site, one can hear sonic excerpts from the composition. In this case, however, the excerpts are somewhat misleading because each track is less about the sound itself and more about the accumulating weight of that sound as it is multiplied by the time that elapses as each movement unfolds and as the complete work is experienced. Even so, I doubt this is the sort of work many will sit still for and fully attend to in some sort of marathon audition. Rather, it is a sonic "stream of consciousness" that will likely pass in and out of one's awareness as it progresses...something felt as much as heard. What does it feel like? The answer to this question requires the price of admission, which is not trivial. But once admitted, one would do well to go all the way inside with high quality headphones. In the context of complete silence, the stark poignancy of the music can entwine itself with one's thoughts...coloring them with a haunting sense of the eternal that is simultaneously wonderful and wistful, hopeful and sad. If one is a knowledge worker and uses headphones to facilitate concentration in an office environment, the sonic landscape of "Einstein on the Beach" and the emotions it engenders can have a profound and positive impact on the work one is undertaking. This is awesome and potentially transformational stuff. This said, beware the format. As an unabashed audiophile, I normally purchase music in CD or SACD format. While the MP3 version of "Einstein on the Beach" was shipped instantly, it was RIPed at a fixed rate of 256 KBPS. I would have preferred either variable bit rate or a fixed rate of 320 KBPS. As it is, the high end is a bit strident and the mix lacks "space" in comparison to even a low-end CD. The five stars are for the composition, not the format.
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Einstein on the Beach
Available from Amazon
Price: $36.98
Updated on 11-30-2008.
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