- Jeff Greinke: Lost Terrain (Silent - 1992)
- Jeff Greinke says this is his "most ambient" work, and many feel it's his best. Sometimes the musical instruments (piano, in particular) are fairly straightforward, yet hauntingly arranged, their tones peeping out obliquely (like the glints of piano ringing from The Precipice...
While at other times, the sounds are purely fantastic (like the dark, dense sonic fog that rolls in from The Moor or the shifting vapours of Falling Away). Mostly very soothing, though River of Wood literally hits a few clinkers with its somewhat clattering (bamboo & what? bagpipes?!) cacaphony. Out of print, but perhaps to be rereleased; take it where/when you can find it!
- William Orbit: The Best of Strange Cargoes (IRS - 1996)
- 16 tracks culled from Orbit's Strange Cargo series, back in his pre-Madonna days (not to be confused with his prima donna days...). All are expertly produced, though perhaps a bit too squeaky-clean for my tastes. While I enjoy the occasional Latino touches, a New Age-iness infects many of the pieces, and TimeToGetWize is afflicted with some Lite rap.
- Propellerheads: Decksandrumsandrockandroll (DreamWorks - 1998)
- More astute readers will reckon by the title that this is not an ambient production, and that would be very correct. Craftily mixing high-powered drum-and-bass with a mish-mash of Seventies' styled sounds and themes, the Propellerheads explode with an energy that is both quirkily fun and technically adroit. Some tracks are spritely, infectuous body-shakers like the groovy Take California or the truly revved-up Bang On!
The classiest number is the rhythm and blues-influenced History Repeating featuring the throaty vocals of Miss Shirley Bassey. The coolest track is On Her Majesty's Secret Service which revels in majestic horns and spy-movie thrills which is multiplied by the intoxicating percussion. Many pieces are decorated with kooky samples, many of which are (and isn't this rare?) actually quite funny.
- Robert Rich: Numena (Linden - 1993)
- These tracks were originally recorded in the mid-80s, released on Multimood in 1987, re-released on Badland in 1991, re-re-released by Linden in 1993 (and subsequently re-re-re-released, and clumped together with 1988's "Geometry" last year). Seeing Robert Rich's roots demonstrates his dedication to his core concepts of "shimmer" and "glurp", as well as his use of "just intonation" tuning.
The Other Side of Twilight is a 25-minute-long sheet of electro-organic serenity; Moss Dance features a controlled cacaphony of kalimba; Numen delves in to a murkier, more deeply hypnotic realm; and The Walled Garden also gives us yet another exploration of sound via Rich's exotic synthwork and ethnic adornments. A classic! (Little wonder it's been released so many times!)
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