Terry Riley's In C is not only a seminal work of minimalism, its influence has enormous range — from progressive rock ensembles such as Can and Tangerine Dream to soundtrack composers through younger classical composers who, while not minimalists as such, have drawn heavily from Riley's ideas as presented herein. His central premise was beguilingly simple yet protean in actuality: 53 short melodic fragments (varying from a single note to about 20) that may be played by any number or type of instruments, repeated any number of times, and played at any desired tempo. The sole restriction is that they be played in order from one to 53 and that the musician listen to his fellow performers. Additionally, a steady pulse (here played on piano) is maintained throughout, providing a "stem" from which the other phrases sprout. The piece ends when the final instrumentalist plays the last phrase for the last time. Thus, individual performances will vary enormously while retaining an essential character unique to the composition. The melodic phrases written by Riley tend toward a Southeast Asian, especially Balinese feeling, a sense reinforced by the healthy representation of marimbas and vibraphones in this recording. As the work progresses, a huge aural image of diverse and complicated activity is presented, very much like a view of an industrious city (or anthill) as seen from above, each action following an independent line but the whole somehow achieving a strong sense of direction. While In C has since been recorded on several occasions, this was the initial release of the piece and there's an extra added spark or excitement in the air as these musicians (including Jon Hassell, David Rosenboom, and Stuart Dempster) were clearly caught up in the creation of a kind of music unheard until this point. Along with Steve Reich's Drumming, Philip Glass' early piano studies, and La Monte Young's works for justly tuned piano (and arguably more than any of them), In C is one of the most crucial minimalist compositions and simply one of the major works of 20th century music. This album belongs in the collection of every contemporary music fan regardless of preferred genre.