CD-Charts Position 1
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Plays Metallica By Four Cellos

CD-Charts > Music > Exotica
by: Apocalyptica

Release Date February 02, 1998
Predating Metallica's S&M Classical mash-up by 3 years, this is an excellent Chamber Music take on Metallica's pre 1996 catalogue.
Be warned: JUST THE FOUR CELLOS: NO GUITAR/BASS/DRUMS/VOCALS AT ALL!
Fair play though, all the nuances, vocal lines, solos etc are faithfully reproduced through the cello arrangements! It's good stuff, although at times it feels a little sparse.
Standout Track: Sad But True - Really dark, urgent & a cool take on of Hammett's solo!

I'd also recommend the similiar, but fully orchestral, Scorched Earth Orchestra Tribute To Master Of Puppets - It's fantastic (see my review).

CD-Charts Position 2
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Inquisition Symphony

CD-Charts > Music > Exotica
by: Apocalyptica

Release Date October 01, 1999
A hybrid of seemingly impossible genres, but they pull it off, and more! This has to be one of the best albums I have ever heard. If you have a dark classical side, or even if you just like metal and have an open mind then this worth buying, just listen to "nothing else matters"...

This band and their work need to be celibrated. Six stars...

CD-Charts Position 3
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Clockwork Orange (Carlos) (Bonus Tracks)

CD-Charts > Music > Exotica
by: Wendy Carlos

Release Date February 14, 2000
The album was first released by CBS in 1972, shortly after Warner's official soundtrack album. The electronic-only offering contained two tracks not featured on the soundtrack and the only complete version of "Timesteps". The sound quality was also superior, particularly at the low-end of the audio spectrum.

In 1998 Carlos remastered her electronic score for CD. New to this release are two bonus tracks - charming but slight- that could not be included on the original vinyl release due to space contraints. It all sounds excellent and the CD booklet contains the original liner notes and cover art as well as the story of the remastering and the bonus tracks.

If you cherished the CBS vinyl album, then this CD is an essential purchase. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
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My Life in the Bush of Ghosts

CD-Charts > Music > Exotica
by: Brian Eno

Release Date April 11, 1989
This marriage of Eno & Byrne and the concept of taking non-music stuff off amerikan radio and stringing it to music may not sound too promising but it is astonishingly listenable. 'Jezebel Spirit' and 'America is Waiting' are mesmeric and this album rocks with rhythm and strangeness.
The call to prayer tracks and 'Help me Somebody' - spiritual stuff. It's also a great insight into the variety of stuff on the radio if you care to go looking for it, not that I do, too much hassle. You know, when you're skipping through the channels and suddeny get someone saying "All dormice are made out of marzipan" or similar and think "Whaaa?". The fact that they have done the spadework and stitched all of the highlights together for us is genius. I promise that you will be ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
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Cult

CD-Charts > Music > Exotica
by: Apocalyptica

Release Date August 06, 2001
Proving once again that you don't need loud guitars to make heavy music, apocalyptica further steamroll over the theory that they are another covers band. The quality of writing (and indeed playing) puts a lot of other artists, classical and heavy, to shame. I never thought a cello could sound outright nasty, but "struggle" has to be heard to be believed. Whatever type of music you like, buy this without reservation - there is something on this album for everybody.

CD-Charts Position 6
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Switched On [BOX SET]

CD-Charts > Music > Exotica
by: Wendy Carlos

Release Date November 01, 1999
Have been a fan since the early days with my scratchy vinyl and audio cassettes Switched on recordings - which have long worn out. This reprocessed version is excellent and also enjoyed the explanitary sections Wendy puts in. Remembering the early days of the monophonic Moogs through to the extraordinarily 'easy' time for today's artistes makes you really appreciate the effort the musicians, engineers, producers put in to provide us with such superb entertainment. The arrival and development of any new instrument can provide a tremendous spiritual uplift and insight into the beauty of music. (Tchaikovsky's Sugar Plum Fairy hints at this). But Wendy's treatment of that great master Bach's work, brightens up the dullest of days and brings joy to the soul.

CD-Charts Position 7
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Ultra Lounge Vol.1 (Mondo Exotica)

CD-Charts > Music > Exotica
by: Various Artists

Release Date April 01, 1996
I had never heard of most of the tracks on the CD, but then you play it you realise you've actually heard them all before. These tracks have turned up on Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends and Sex And The City. So mix yourself a cocktail (there's a guide with the CD to what cocktails go best) and kick back for some Tikki Lodge fun.

CD-Charts Position 8
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The Well-Tempered Synthesizer

CD-Charts > Music > Exotica
by: Wendy Carlos

Release Date April 24, 2007
Despite taking its title from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, this album explores a wider range of music than its predecessor, the justly famous Switched On Bach. Here, music by Monteverdi, Handel and Scarlatti sits alongside the Bach piece.

I'd advise anyone wondering whether to buy this album or Switched On Bach to buy this one first. Carlos' technique has advanced since the earlier album, and the result is possibly her most brilliant of the early Moog albums. The sound-colours are simply beautiful, the blending of textures by various means (outlined helpfully on Carlos' `secrets of Synthesis' CD) and the sheer overall musicality of the album make this one of the finest synthesizer albums ever recorded.

Wendy Carlos has been a pioneer of new instruments and ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
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Reflections Revised [European Import]

CD-Charts > Music > Exotica
by: Apocalyptica

Release Date May 18, 2004
I found Apocalyptica by accident while browsing and I'm glad I did, I love this music, the cello sound is wonderful and haunting mixed with the heavy metal. I am over 40 but have started to learn the cello due to hearing this CD alone. I have since bought more Apocalyptica, and although some tracks can sound a bit similar to the untrained ear, I still enjoy them. The tracks with vocals can be a bit heavy, but the instrumentals are great.

CD-Charts Position 10
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Sonic Seasonings

CD-Charts > Music > Exotica
by: Wendy Carlos

Release Date March 14, 2003
When I first heard this album in 1972 I was amazed. The reason I'd never heard anything like it was that back then there really was nothing else like it. Since then we've had Eno's ambient electronic music and a host of other, similar things which resemble some aspects of Sonic Seasonings, but in 1972 this was totally groundbreaking.

Back then most of didn't even know what a synthesizer was. I certainly didn't. Now I can find my way around the Moog modular Wendy Carlos used on this album, but the music sounds as fresh as it did originally. Time has only made it more and more clear how skilled Wendy was on her early Moog albums.

Sonic Seasonings was originally a double album on vinyl, with one side each devoted to one of the four seasons. The Moog synthesizer ... Read More: