Outside of catching the last half of a TV special about the Kronos Quartet, this was my first exposure to them, and even though I liked what I’d heard enough to seek out an album, I have to admit to you that this may not be the one to start out on. Oh, it’s good, but perhaps you should get your feet wet with the Released “best-of” collection before you wander further into the Quartet’s very eclectic world. Favorites here include “Digital” – which is a lot of pounding and clicking, but for some reason I find it terribly soothing – and 
John Zorn’s “Cat O’ Nine Tails (Tex Avery Directs the Marquis de Sade)” (what a title…!), a cartoonish composition which will truly grate on your nerves unless you are in just the right mood for it.
- Digital composed by Elliott Sharp – (1:39)
- Spoonful composed by Willie Dixon – (4:33)
- Spectre composed by John Oswald – (5:48)
Cat O’ Nine Tails composed by John Zorn – (12:48)
- Quartet Euphometric composed by Henry Cowell – (1:54)
- Physical Property composed by Steven Mackey – (14:31)
- Soliloquy from How It Happens composed by Scott Johnson – (13:13)
- Quartet No. 2 composed by Sofia Gubaidulina – (8:31)
- Abe kee tayk hamaree composed by Pandit Pran Nath – (10:57)
Released by: Nonesuch
Release date: 1993
Total running time: 74:58