by Jim BrenholtsThe Evolution of the Dark Side of the Moog is a collection of pieces from Vol. 1 through Vol. 8 of that glorious e-music series from Pete Namlook, Klaus Schulze, and -- on half of them -- Bill Laswell. This CD traces the growth of the series and includes the now-famous Robert Moog introduction from Vol. 5. These three visionaries have created a series that rates as some of the best space music ever to grace a disc changer. Gathering pieces from the entire set into one disc is a stroke of genius and as exciting as anything. This is neither psychoactive nor psychoacoustic. It is almost perfect space music for cadets and even for casual fans. It is essential even for collectors with the entire set on hand already.