Post Description

Synergy - Electronic Realizations For Rock Orchestra

(released 1975)

Track:
1. Legacy 
2. Slaughter On Tenth Avenue 
3. Synergy 
4. Relay Breakdown 
5. Warriors 

Personnel:

    Larry Fast: performance, composition, arrangement, production,engineering, programming
    Produced by Marty Scott. 

Credits:

    All tracks written by Larry Fast, except "Slaughter On Tenth Avenue" by
    Richard Rogers. Original bass line for the third theme of "Warriors"
    written by Jerry Rutman. 

Comments:

Electronic Realizations For Rock Orchestra (1975) was the first of five albums released by Larry Fast under the "Synergy" name. It's also the only Synergy album that non-hardcore progressive fans are likely to have heard of (and even this is far from certain).

Although not widely recognized as a groundbreaking work today, ERFRO was given a favourable response at the time of its release. Robert Moog reportedly referred to it as the most important album to feature the synthesizer which bears his name (source: All-Music Guide), and the response of the professional community was sufficient enough that Fast (previously an unknown quality in the music industry) became a member of Peter Gabriel's first solo band only two years later.

Perhaps Fast's inability to gain widespread acceptance with a follow-up Synergy release has weakened his reputation with his general public. Or perhaps it was simply that the decline of progressive music in the mid-1970s prevented him from ever attaining a substantial degree of fame in the first place [According to the aforementioned All-Music Guide, Fast's "foot in the door" of the music industry occurred when he interested Rick Wakeman in his homemade synthesized devices prior to the recording of Tales From Topographic Oceans; in any event, the inclusion of Wakeman and Jon Anderson in the "thanks" section leaves little doubt as to Fast's musical polity at the time.]

One way or the other, though, Fast has never attained the name recognition accorded to similar keyboard figures of the time period. As such (and despite the previous inclusion of Audion (1981) and Cords (1978) in the Tentative Reviews series), the Synergy project has been generally forgotten, even among the "mainstream" of the progressive community.

Today, much of the limited discussion which does take place about ERFRO focuses on its "dated" qualities. In the sense that the album is clearly a product of the mid-1970s, this debate has some relevance; conversely, it is rather unfortunate that a progressive debut this notable is thought of only in such limited terms. In terms of internal diversity, Cords may be the best album in Fast's catalogue -- on a track-by-track basis, however, ERFRO might very well merit this honour. In a decade dominated by another wave of electronic realizations, moreover, it is difficult to explain the obscurity of this album by virtue of its place within a generally discredited genre.

The album, of course, is entire generated from synthesized technology ("Synergy is the Essence of it all ... and nobody played guitar", the liner notes helpfully inform us). While the specific sounds generated from Fast's equipment may be somewhat less than "thrilling" by modern standards, his performance, composition (and, not less importantly, skills at arranging) still make this release well worthy of some investigation.

The album begins with "Legacy", a track which (not entirely unsurprisingly, given the circumstances) commences with a regal synth line interspersed with loop effects somewhat akin to Fripp & Eno's "An Index Of Metals". The remainer of the track switches between a more typical Fastian composition, and an "English classical" motif (the latter of which is developed fairly well towards the end of the work). One might wonder if the conclusion is a deliberate parody of "Karn Evil 9"; this aside, the track is a fair summarization of Fast's performance skills.

This is followed by the most curious piece of the album, a campy remake of "Slaughter On Tenth Avenue" which sounds strangely akin to something Vangelis might be expected to come up with. Fast covers both the atmospheric "murder mystery" elements of the track and the "detective" theme in a somewhat over-the-top manner (again, as might be expected) -- this might be a bit much for some listeners, but the craftsmanship behind the work is completely solid.

The second half of the album begins with two shorter works. "Synergy" (with an intro slightly akin to "The Endless Enigma") is perhaps a bit "flashier" than the situation requires (storm effects, melodrama, etc) but is nevertheless a good composition. "Relay Breakdown", perhaps the least impressive track on the release, also stretches the bombast a bit too far ... but makes up for this with an extremely compelling time- signature-alteration section (not to mention a good melody in the high range).

The best track on the album, however, is "Warriors", the concluding piece. Positioning himself halfway between Rick Wakeman and the as-yet- unknown Philip Glass, Fast provides a repeated (and subtly altered) melodic line for the better part of this number, combining an appropriate sense of grandeur with a hypnotic exploration of the various sounds at his disposal. If only one track could be chosen to make Fast appear relevant to the present decade, this may be the best choice.

ERFRO is a good progressive album which merits more attention than it has received. While not essential (except for keyboard enthusiasts), it is nevertheless recommended.
 

Voor de liefhebbers/verzamelaars van space/synthesizer/ambient/chillout/(oldskool)electronic music.


Groet Nachtuil!!!