Here's the cover to Walter Carlos' Switched-On Bach II (1974, vinyl), from Trans-Electronic Productions, Inc. I found it at Amoeba Records on Haight Street. The album includes the electronic version of Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, Sheep May Safely Graze, and various other suites and inventions.

After listening to it a few times, I think it's a lively, rollicking rendition of Bach that steers clear of sounding heavy or overly processed (as opposed to many current pop-based, synth-laden songs). For the seventies, it's quite an impressive a milestone in all-electronic music production and technological efforts (especially considering that the album was recorded on magnetic tape w/o the help of sequencers, MIDI, computer apps, etc.).

My favorite part is in the middle of the second side. A hyper-paced cadenza pops up from the Brandenburg Concerto. Listening to it is like hearing a harpsichordist who's ingested an astonishing amount of speed, forcing him to stutter out flying notes with equal parts panache and skillful grace.

I knew that Carlos was close buds with Bob Moog, even helped to develop Moog's technology through early adoption and feedback of his synths. But what I didn't realize was that after undergoing a sex change operation in 1972, Walter Carlos is now known as Wendy Carlos. She's probably best known for scoring films like Clockwork Orange and Tron. She also photographs solar eclipses. Pretty cool.