Silver Apples of the Moon' is without a doubt the best known work from influential composer and electronic music pioneer Morton Subotnick. It was originally commissioned by Nonesuch records back in 1967, when electronic music was more of a series of ideas than a recognised art form, and since then it has achieved well deserved classic status, influencing so much that would come after it is impossible to conceive. Subotnick's instrument of choice was the Buchla modular synthesizer, a gigantic patchable electronic beast which was co-developed by Subotnick himself (along with Ramon Sender) and he used his deep knowledge of the workings of the instrument to produce a truly original record which used the sounds to create landscapes of shifting electronic sound. Surprisingly for something so unusual (even now) the album caught the attention of the mainstream and was something of a success on its release, and this catapulted Subotnick into some kind of mythical fame or other which gave him the grounds to record several more albums using the Buchla, one of which ('The Wild Bull') is paired up here with 'Silver Apples.'. If you haven't heard these pieces they still stand tall as milestones in the genre, 'Silver Apples.' especially has the shimmer of something truly out of time and out of sorts with reality, and although these are now sounds we've heard time and time again (not least from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop) there is still nothing done quite in the same way. The way Subotnick builds in rhythms, sequences and soundscapes is simply breathtaking and has to be heard repeatedly to be fully appreciated - this is groundbreaking composition still now, and it is rare to hear someone so gifted approaching a sound-making device such as the Buchla. Electronic music fans take note, you need this album and if you have had any interest in the recent Paradigm collections (Daphne Oram, Pauline Oliveros etc) or the BBC Radiophonic Workshop re-issues you should really grab this without delay. Essential, that's all there is to it.