Both from albums of electronicized versions of Holst's The Planets released the same year - 1976.
Wonder which came out first and who was the more pissed off?
Tomita's has the edge I think for its frolicking stereophony and shimmery reverb
Gleeson's sound palette is a bit flatter and duller
Tomita's flickers are that much more scintillating and well, mercurial, darting hither and thither .... tickling your ears in an almost ASMR-y way
Strange because if Gleeson had done something as far-out as his contributions to Herbie Hancock's Sextant, than he would have won the battle.... perhaps having to be tied to the score held him back?
Used to love listening to Holst's Planets as a boy, "Mercury" was a favorite, but my ab fav was "Neptune".... so eerie and oneiric... I used to listen to it sprawled on my parents's bed half-swooning into the mystic mist billowing out of the old-fashioned sideboard-style radiogram
So let's compare electronorenditions, shall we?
Again, Tomita the clear winner.... the machine Gleeson is using is a cruder and clumsier instrument than his rival's
But where I think the Tomita electronic rendering brings out dimensions to "Mercury" not available to Holst, when it comes to “Neptune, the Mystic” think the original orchestral template creates a diaphanous, elusive quality that electronica makes too clear and bright...
Here's a whole playlist of orchestral interpretations of "Neptune"
