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Silver Apples/Contact | 
| Artist: Silver Apples
Label: Mca
Category: Music
List Price: $16.98
Buy New: $14.99
You Save: $1.99 (12%)
Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 60910
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 4.9 x 0.2
MPN: 11680
UPC: 008811168025
EAN: 0008811168025
ASIN: B000002P7M
Release Date: October 21, 1997
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Tracks:
| • | Oscillations | | • | Seagreen Serenades | | • | Lovefingers | | • | Program | | • | Velvet Cave | | • | Whirly-Bird | | • | Dust | | • | Dancing Gods | | • | Misty Mountain | | • | You and I | | • | Water | | • | Ruby - Silver Apples, Creasy, Joy May | | • | Gypsy Love | | • | You're Not Foolin' Me | | • | I Have Known Love | | • | A Pox on You | | • | Confusion | | • | Fantasies |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Oft-sampled electronic pop pioneers the Silver Apples released two exceptionally influential, off-kilter records in 1968 and '69, then apparently vanished. The group was formed in New York City in the psychedelic heyday of 1967 by drummer Danny Taylor and protosynth player Simeon, who quaintly named his hand-built instrument the Simeon. Taylor was a powerhouse of polyphony and his looping, loping playing is the engine that drives the Apples' experimental music, characterized by snippets of found sound, weird and warbly high-pitched singing, stray banjos, and--most importantly--the battering, buzzing, bleeping beauty of the Simeon synth. The two albums are a bizarre, sincere mixture of avant-garde sensibilities, pop melodies, folk-psyche song structures, overwrought poetry, and hefty percussion. It is difficult-to-describe, signature music that ranks high alongside the most forward-thinking avant-prog. The group got back together in the mid-'90s, spurred on by the enthusiasm that many acts showed for their music (the group has been name-checked and more by Spacemen 3, Low, and Stereolab). But as is often the case, the reunion records just don't quite cut it--this one CD has everything you need. Lazy electronic musicians are encouraged to sample the heck out of this band; you won't be the first. --Mike McGonigal
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| Customer Reviews: Read 24 more reviews...
 The Real Beginning December 1, 2008
Geary S. Mizuno (Bethesda MD)
I bought both of these records in a cut-out bin in 1971 in Honolulu, Hawaii. At that time, synthesizers were either cobbled together by the artist, or bought as custom piece of equipment from people like Don Buchla and Robert Moog. "Electronic music" spanned a great deal of variety, from "musique concrete" to covers of rock music, to "realizations" of traditional classical music (such as Walter/Wendy Carlos' Switched-On Bach). It is difficult to express the radical nature of Silver Apples - pathbreaking is probably an understatement. Apart from the tonalities of the synth, other key elements of Silver Apples are the rhythmic pulse of "minimalist" music such as La Monte Young and Terry Riley (derived from Eastern gamelan and other sources), the focus away from melodic development, and the extension (within a rock context) of modal scales. I found it difficult, as a 10th grade student, to listen to in 1971 but now the music is "mainstream" in the sense that ther are significant subgenres of music that utilize elements of what Silver Apples was experimenting with in the late 1960s.
BTW, the reviewer who mentioned Lou Reed's "Berlin" probably has not heard "Metal Machine Music." An awesome p[iece for those who are interested in explorations of pure guitar tone palettes. Another CD to listen to is Fripp and Eno, "No Pussyfooting."
Sounds a LOT like Portishead's album "Third" ! May 17, 2008
Gabe (Denver, CO USA)
My first listen to Portishead's album "Third" brought on strong flashbacks of my first listen to Silver Apples. The latter's trademark electronic drones and repetitive, tribal drum-driven sound is echoed - perhaps even lovingly copied - in the hugely anticipated Portishead album. If you've followed the crowds gobbling up "Third," don't hesitate to also gobble up Silver Apples, who gave us a similar sound 40 years ago...
 3 and 1/2 stars of fine fun from 1969. August 10, 2007
fluffy, the human being. (forest lake, mn)
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
released in 1969, "contact," by silver apples sounds just that. but, to me, that's half the fun. i love its dated sound. a rock album of electrickery, before electronics were fashionable. a batch of electronic songs that make room for a banjo appearance here and there. what's not to like? yet alas, i know that this music will not tickle the taste buds of everybodys ears; but for the musically adventurous i recommend it. for collectors of sixties sounds, i recommend it. for freaks and musical carnival minds, i recommend it. etc...
you need to hear this if you like today's electronica May 15, 2007
Abe (Columbus, Ohio)
People complain about the lyrics-It's poetry! This music is BENT. Only listen to it if you are avant garde and there won't be any problems. This is more pure than "The Garden" because it was all recorded at one time. "The Garden" was reworked in the 90's on every other track. Not that I don't like "Garden". I'm listening to this album right now and all I can say is that they are contenders for the elusive trophy of art rock champions. Look deeper into this band and you will see how amazing they were for a brief, bright flash in time.
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