Wendy Carlos

For those who did not shell out for the exquisite Switched On box release from 1999, Wendy Carlos has meticulously crafted and made available individual reissues of her groundbreaking work in electronic instrumentation. The original Grammy winning Switched-On Bach release from 1968 was nothing short of spectacular; it served to open ears to the Moog and baroque, and it quickly became a sort of Sgt. Pepper for the electronic world. Despite the fact that current electronics have advanced considerably, Carlos's meticulous and slightly amusing tones still stand strong, and don't sound like a traditional keyboard - it sounds like a bizarre human voice that is half photographic and half illustrated in character. The ultra-successful follow-up, The Well-Tempered Synthesizer, expands on her thoughtful interpretations of classical music; this time using the challenging works of Monteverdi, Scarlatti and Handel. Canada's own Glenn Gould even provided moving liner notes that heralded the album's Brandenburg concerto interpretations as the finest ever. The remastering of the audio is pummelling - each note is fully brought out and feels as if there is a human heart inside her beautiful machines - and one could almost swear they hear the electrical blood flowing through the wires.