This anthology covers Story's work between 1979 and 1986, serving up 18 pieces. Because there is no attempt to provide the pieces in chronological order (though the notes do indicate which album each piece comes from), there is no sense of Story's development as a composer -- a later piece focusing on piano may well be followed by a more electronic piece. Abridged is a collection of small, floating still-life pieces, absorbing by dint of their lack of drama. Story's work draws the listener in, somehow capturing the attention by refusing to demand it -- it's as easy to let the music fall into the background as to concentrate on it as a foreground element.