Good record, but not without flaws

A delicious breakout record for Christian Fennesz, and features some of his best work, like the title track and Caecillia. However, the album (the original version which is only the first 8 tracks seen here) ends on two flat, boring songs. Considering how gorgeous and mature Black Sea turned out, this album seems quaint and almost 'cute' in comparison. It's a wonderful record, genre defining, to be sure, but it is definitely starting to show its age and its weaknesses as time passes.

Modern Classic

Those of us who are fans of abstract electronic music regard this as an absolute classic. A perfect match of the most beautiful moments of My Bloody Valentine, the Beach Boys with Brian Eno's alein landscapes. After Endless Summer the trend changed from cold, minimal techno to warm, organic soundscapes. Fennesz paved the way for Fourtet and The Books, as well as Animal Collective, et el. This version is reputed to have removed more of the digital sounding stuff and placing a greater emphasis on the lower end.

How does it compare to the original mix?

I read on the Downtown Music Gallery site that this edition has been 'cleaned up' by Fennesz to make the melodies more apparent. This seems unfortunate since the genius of Endless Summer (and I don't use the word genius lightly) is in the textures not the melodies. I would love to hear from someone who has heard both editions and can comment on the differences.

With a title and cover artwork so obviously referring to the Beach Boys, one had to anticipate that this 2001 full-length CD by Fennesz would be more melodious than usual. It is, but you’ll only get as close to surf music as the imagination of an experimental electronica artist from Vienna, Austria, will allow you to — and that’s still quite far. Fennesz puts the emphasis on sunny melodies and a somewhat lighter atmosphere, but drowns them in glitch textures. The result strikes and disconcerts. Easy solutions do not fill this man’s cup of tea. The melodies are never played throughout, but dismembered, notes assigned to different instruments or electronically cut up and reassembled. The vibraphone in “Caecilia” has been tripled, some notes appear upfront, parts of the main theme happen in the background. Another example: the long notes making up the main line in “Before I Leave” are played on an organ, but the sound is constantly interrupted by clicks, producing an analog/digital effect of the weirdest kind. The pieces themselves are bipolar: while the melody remains stuck in its groove, repeating endlessly in post-rock fashion, the textures evolve beautifully. Yet, the listener is left with a deceiving impression of stagnation. The ultra-kitsch flavor of some cuts (like “Shisheido”) makes for an incentive to climb aboard or go away, depending on the listener’s interest (or resistance) to ’70s nostalgia. Scoffing the fan, the album closes with the long (11 minutes) “Happy Audio,” a typical example of Fennesz’s magic experimental ambient touch. Endless Summer, Rovi – François Couture