The Spoken Word
In the January 1998 issue of The
Wire, Mike Barnes is testing 3 members of Tortoise and their musical
knowledge when the subject of American minimalist composers comes up:
The Wire: What about Steve Reich? Parts of Tortoise
remind me of Music For 18 Musicians or his other mallet-based pieces.
John McEntire: Yeah. That's probably one of my favorite
ones. I really like Drumming too and those tape pieces.
John Herdon: Man, you should get that record and drive through
New Mexico. (me: i imagine he's referring to 18 as i can't
imagine driving to Drumming) That was just the perfect music for
the scenery, it seemed to fit so well.
John McEntire: I listened to it three times on the drive from
San Francisco to LA, that 'nothing' highway. (me: you gotta love
the 5!) That was great.
The Wire: It's good to listen to on a train journey too.
John McEntire: I like the essays he was writing at that time,
"Music As A Gradual Process". He's a really good writer.
Here are Steve Reich's own thoughts about the newer Elektra Nonesuch version
of 18 excerpted from an article about the release of Steve Reich
1966-1996 in the June 28, 1997 Billboard:
"Reich calls the new version of 18 longer and more spacious
in comparison with the ECM recording of nearly 20 years ago. The
extra length , a good
12 minutes, has to do with the number of repeats. 'The clarinetist
is older and had to pause longer to take breaths which gives it a more
oceanic pacing,'
Reich says. 'It's a middle -aged ensemble. Still, the performance
has more kick. (me: I don't think so, Steve.)'"