Harold Budd

It's true that I can't afford this seven-disc retrospective by one of the finest minimalist/ambient composers ever. Harold Budd is probably best known for his work over the years with Brian Eno, particularly "The Pearl" - although that record's not included here. I've heard a lot of this stuff that is in the collection, and it's great and, besides, it would just be very cool to have "Buddbox" on the shelf we've set aside for boxed sets. As for the work herein, the iconic and gorgeous, piano/synth/strings albums "The Serpent (In Quicksilver)" and "The White Arcades" are spectacular. There's also a generous sampling of some of Budd's collaborative stuff from the '90s - albums such as "Music for 3 Pianos" with Ruben Garcia and Daniel Lentz and "Through The Hill," recorded with XTC's Andy Partridge. There's also a disc of Budd reciting poetry. That could be interesting - or not - but overall this is a gem of a concept.

- RICK KOSTER