Turns out, I'm a fan of structured music (though not structured settlements): I understand Mr Abrams is supposed to be a visionary of free jazz but this recording sounded, in the words of an underwhelmed fan of another disc, like "everyone was doing a solo". While I'm sure there is some sort of coherence here I don't hear it, similar to a problem I had with Francis the Mute from Mars Volta, give me something with an understandable layout and composition and I'll let the day drift by. This may make me a philistine to some (especially a jazz fan relative from Abrams' hometown) but so be it. This recording was a little hard to track down in digital form, Amazon (linked above) has an overpriced CD that should be reserved for the true conosieur while Emusic actually had one for download
1.31.2009
Structural Analysis
My apologies for the long delay from my last post, things got a little crazy around casa de deeper: from postal misappropriations to structural failures, it's been a month. I've also delayed writing this entry in the hopes that the materials (The Muhal Richard Abrams Orchestra's Blu Blu Blu) would grow on me, it didn't.
Turns out, I'm a fan of structured music (though not structured settlements): I understand Mr Abrams is supposed to be a visionary of free jazz but this recording sounded, in the words of an underwhelmed fan of another disc, like "everyone was doing a solo". While I'm sure there is some sort of coherence here I don't hear it, similar to a problem I had with Francis the Mute from Mars Volta, give me something with an understandable layout and composition and I'll let the day drift by. This may make me a philistine to some (especially a jazz fan relative from Abrams' hometown) but so be it. This recording was a little hard to track down in digital form, Amazon (linked above) has an overpriced CD that should be reserved for the true conosieur while Emusic actually had one for download(about the only thing worth downloading from this free to cheap service). (August 2011: Emusic has grown greatly since original posting, I feel it is well worth a look)
Turns out, I'm a fan of structured music (though not structured settlements): I understand Mr Abrams is supposed to be a visionary of free jazz but this recording sounded, in the words of an underwhelmed fan of another disc, like "everyone was doing a solo". While I'm sure there is some sort of coherence here I don't hear it, similar to a problem I had with Francis the Mute from Mars Volta, give me something with an understandable layout and composition and I'll let the day drift by. This may make me a philistine to some (especially a jazz fan relative from Abrams' hometown) but so be it. This recording was a little hard to track down in digital form, Amazon (linked above) has an overpriced CD that should be reserved for the true conosieur while Emusic actually had one for download
1.04.2009
A is for...*Shudder*
Make it stop! Oh, for the love of God! Make it stop!
I've gone through Abba's Gold: Greatest Hits a couple times now. Why did I start here? Partly for the challenge of reviewing something I don't like and partly because they were listed first in the book. While the production quality is quite good, the lyrics are so vacuous it made my ears bleed. True, it's said that the 90's remastered edition (which is what I listened to) lost a little when the tracks were not doubled up leaving what was once a choir-like effect an empty shell of it's former self; but, that doesn't remove the overall saccharine effect of the album, lots of words come through the speakers but not much gets said (kinda like this post).
That hollowness, that escapism is what I think makes this group, and disco, so polarizing: while a little escape, a little sugar can be a great harbor from the storms of life, a decade long fleeing of the woes of life left a very bad taste in many peoples' mouths.
So, was it worth it? To me, no; to a long time fan, probably; to someone looking for the perfect playlist to small animals with, instant classic.
Falme on!
I've gone through Abba's Gold: Greatest Hits a couple times now. Why did I start here? Partly for the challenge of reviewing something I don't like and partly because they were listed first in the book. While the production quality is quite good, the lyrics are so vacuous it made my ears bleed. True, it's said that the 90's remastered edition (which is what I listened to) lost a little when the tracks were not doubled up leaving what was once a choir-like effect an empty shell of it's former self; but, that doesn't remove the overall saccharine effect of the album, lots of words come through the speakers but not much gets said (kinda like this post).
That hollowness, that escapism is what I think makes this group, and disco, so polarizing: while a little escape, a little sugar can be a great harbor from the storms of life, a decade long fleeing of the woes of life left a very bad taste in many peoples' mouths.
So, was it worth it? To me, no; to a long time fan, probably; to someone looking for the perfect playlist to small animals with, instant classic.
Falme on!
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