Neu - Neu

The debut album by influential kraut-rock duo Neu sounds a lot like an introverted rock album. The faster songs with Klaus Dinger's driving motorik beat have the drive, but they are also restraint, almost subtle with the minimal keyboard drones and sweet phased guitar lines. And only a half of the songs have drums, the rest of the material ranges from proto-industrial noise of "Sonderangebot" (basically a lot of cymbal noise sounds, until the ugly feedback at the end) to the harmonic drone in D major of "Im Glück" and a lethargic attempt at a vocal track (tentatively sung by Dinger) on "Lieber Honig" which mid-way becomes another ambient drone number, almost sounding like Neu's own "Moonchild", but inferior. As for the rest of the tracks, "Negativland" which takes cues from the first Kraftwerk album and predates Joy Division, is the sole track filled with gloomy and unrelenting brutality, featuring a lot of white noise, atonal guitar scrapings and hard-hitting rhythms. "Hallogallo" is essentially based on rock&roll pulse and drive that is stripped from all its extroverted excesses and instead is something that in a much more refined form. This would be the path for Kraftwerk (Dinger and Rother were members of that band before they formed Neu on their own) to explore on the albums like Autobahn, mechanical, timeless, driving and futuristic. "Weissensee" is a lot slower track in the pastoral psychedelic vein of Pink Floyd, but more mesmerizing.

It has been said about this album that the music on it might as well have been recorded even yesterday, as opposed to at the end of 1971, and that describes the quality of this music well. This was recorded in just four days which makes it remarkable how this album sounds so magical, even more than any other album which takes months to record! Some ambient moments might have benefited from more sense of direction though; otherwise this is essential release for those interested in German kraut-rock.

Blonde Redhead - 23

Blonde Redhead's seventh album, and their second for 4AD record label, 23 presents kindler and gentler version of the former noise-rock veterans who started out in early nineties with apparent Sonic Youth and no-wave influences. Such transformation already begun on 2000' "Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons" and as the band's album titles have got shorter, so has the Redhead's sound got more stream-lined and accessible. Heck, even more polished as far as production goes. The production of Alan Moulder who has worked with bands such as Depeche Mode and My Bloody Valentine, definitely hints at a sort of a high-gloss, dream pop influenced alterna-rock sound. Former fans of the band might view this direction as commercializing or selling out, but that's a limiting way to judge it. Whether or not this is pop-oriented or not, is not a good way to judge if this record has merit. There are only two types of music: good music and bad. Everything else is just a matter of stylistic variation. Even though this album doesn't surpass the 2004 masterpiece Misery Is A Butterfly, this one has enough strengths to consider it as good music.

The title track may throw off diehard BR fans as a more polished and commercial sound with its drastically compressed piano, a hint at eighties pop. However, if one thinks about it, this composition actually reverses a mainstream tactic that I've always considered rather frustrating. Have you ever heard some mainstream pop song that kicks off with something like an awesome guitar riff, only to descend into a bunch of overproduced slick drivel in a matter of seconds? BR does it backwards, it puts the cheesy sound (compressed piano chords) first and then adds layers of psychedelic guitars and loud, booming drums, making it an exciting rocker and an outstanding dream pop song with heavenly vocals from Kazu Makino. In fact, the first three songs that open the album are all outstanding pieces of polished dream pop, with solid guitar playing, sensual female vocals, swirling spacious sounds along, a great attention to detail and good progressions.

Blonde Redhead has always had a dichotomy between the songs: the ones sung by Kazu (guitar, keyboards), and the others by her partner Amedeo Pace (guitars). Kazu has an ethereal and a sensual voice, brimming with erotic tension and subdued passion. Amedeo's tenor voice however is somewhat bland and at its worst sounds unassertive. He sings three songs on the album. "Spring And By Summer Fall" is his attempt at a rock-out song, but it sounds a bit tacky, as his voice weakens this song somewhat. "Publisher" however is a drab attempt at electronic pop. These two are listenable, but nothing more. Only "SW"(track four on the record) is worthwhile: a more complex and grandiose sounding version of something like "Falling Man" on the previous album, replete with a regal sounding French horn interlude. Other seven songs are all sung by Kazu. Including track six "Silently". This is obviously the most blatantly pop oriented number, a bouncy 80s synth pop/new wave influenced song, and probably one of the first instances where the purveyors of transcendent melancholy (which they perfected on Misery) are playing the kind of song that sounds...happy? It's not bad, just way lightweight compared to the previous fare. The last three songs are again worthwhile, "Heroine" having some vocoderized singing and a melancholic progression, "Top Ranking" sounds a bit like "Melody" from Misery with an electro-samba sort of beat and a happy-go-luckier atmosphere and "My Impure Hair" is a swirling, folky ballad with heart-wrenching Kazu vocals.

This album showcases the band's talent at writing accessible, memorable tunes with layered arrangements. It also has lots of nice guitar work on it. Occasional blandness and lighter fare aside, this is quite solid as polished dream pop goes.

Eric Dolphy - Conversations

Conversations by Eric Dolphy contains four tracks. The album's two halves couldn't be any different from each other. First two tracks are very accessible ensemble pieces where Dolphy plays with his sidekicks like Prince Lasha, Bobby Hutcherson and Richard Davis. Hearing Dolphy and others tackling those upbeat and vibrant melodic compositions, is truly indicative of Eric Dolphy's versatility as a musician. As such, this album would serve as a fine introduction for those who might be scared off by sheer statistical density of stuff like Out To Lunch. Not sure what they would think of what is about to follow, as the last two tracks are more explorative fare. "Love Me"on alto sax is yet another one of those unaccompanied reed pieces Dolphy frequently recorded. The last thirteen minutes, "Alone Together" have Dolphy on bass clarinet having a duet with string bassist Richard Davis. The interplay between two instruments and their low registers is spacious and the mood is as intimate as the title suggests.

Soft Machine - Live At The Proms 1970

Soft Machine was the first rock band to perform the BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall. The gig took place on August 13, 1970. Listening to this record, it sounds a pretty decent performance, though its primary importance seems to be that being a historical document. The Softs played three compositions. The version of "Out Bloody Rageous" here is probably the only one that featured the pre-recorded tape loops that were integral to the studio variant, but usually not there in the live context, as the piece was integrated into the continuous medley-like set with other pieces. Here, the number's opener status means that they use the pre-recorded keyboard loops tracks as an intro. The piece itself is played quite nicely, even if a little hurried compared to the other versions. Elton Dean was yet to incorporate the second electric piano thus there's no back-up comping behind Ratledge's organ solo yet. There's an interesting demonic noise section that separates "OBL" from "Facelift", which gets an energetic reading, even if there's some overplaying in that one, such as Elton Dean's occasional aggressive sax spots. Finally they do "Esther's Nose-job". Performed pretty much as usual, the most remarkable spot being Wyatt's psychedelic echo laden scat during the avant-garde section of the piece. Though primarily a historical document, it's still interesting enough to warrant attention. It's fitting that this was re-released as a bonus CD to the remastered Third in 2007.

Frank Zappa - Imaginary Diseases

Imaginary Diseases, an archival release including various live tracks dating from October to December in 1972 presents Frank Zappa at his artistic peak. This is the Petit Wazoo tour documentation. Ten piece group with 6 horn men. Entirely instrumental tracks with truly inspired performances. Impeccable drumming, fantastic horn work, ripping guitar solos and tasteful bass playing is what makes up performances on this, arguably the best Frank Zappa archival release.

The first track "Oddients" is, as the title suggests, an odd piece of improv with some audience participation. Which leads to "Rollo". The only flaw this album has is that the version included here is in edited form, without the vocals section like it used to have during the Petit Wazoo tour, and thus we only get the infamous finale that was later added to "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow" suite for the late 1970s performances. Nonetheless, this instrumental coda is a striking piece of music, with some sad and heart-wrenching oboe used to good effect and also mixed in well with the brass, that tackle the atonal, yet oddly beautiful melodies. "Been To Kansas City In A-Minor" follows as a 10 minute blues jam that logically follows the blues rock orientation of the earlier Mothers line ups, but far more sophisticated thanks to the horn section.

The highlight, though, is the fourth piece. "Farther O'Blivion" suite has been previously unreleased, yet it's an amalgam of several distinct Zappa themes that later became compositions on their own. First part is the "Steno Pool" section from "The Adventures of Greggary Peccary", including a nice tuba solo, followed by the proto-version of "Be Bop Tango". While Bruce Fowler's trombone solo is as magnificent as it was on the Roxy and Elsewhere album (that man can really blow the horn!), it is drummer Jim Gordon who is the most surprising instrumentalist there. He proves to be a proficient jazz drummer and his solo is surprisingly listenable too. Usually I don't care for drum solos but his at least doesn't sound like a bunch of arrhythmic doodling, as could be said about most drum solos. Finally the band rounds it off with an instrumental version of "Cucamonga", much more involving than the later vocal rework on Bongo Fury. Overall, great sixteen minutes.

Fifth track "DC Boogie" starts out as hypnotic fuzz toned psychedelic jam with a heavy guitar solo, but during the middle, after Zappa's interaction with the audience, this improvised tune turns into...yup you guessed it, boogie! "Imaginary Diseases" is another composed tune, with the exuberant brass playing a theme reminiscent of a 70s cop movie on top of funky rhythm section. Frank again turns the tune into guitar fiesta until the head is restated again. "Montreal" is more inspired psyche/blues jamming from the group and is a fine ending to this 63 minute album.

Overall, a fine posthumous, archival release from Zappa. With none of the juvenile sophomoric humor so present in many FZ's work as it is entirely instrumental, and as this is the first release to document the 1972 live band; this is essential and highly recommended.

Michael Nyman - The Draughtsman's Contract

British minimalist composer Michael Nyman's score for Peter Greenaway film from 1982, The Draughtsman's Contract is based on the repetitive bass motifs from 17th century composer Henry Purcell. The soundtrack album features one of Nyman's most well known pieces called "Chasing Sheep Is Best Left To Shepherds", which is the opening number. This short piece has a memorable melody in C major scale rendered on strings and soprano sax carried by a bouncy bass rhythm. Aside the repetition of the bass lines and inventive use of counterpoint, Michael Nyman Band's instrumentation is also worth mentioning: they use saxophones combined with string quartet, brass instruments, electric bass and Nyman himself on piano, who also doubles on harpsichord. "Watery Death" starts with low brass tones and a soprano sax melody that seems to hint at the "Chasing Sheep" theme, and then turns into a sinister amalgam of clanging harpsichord, staccato strings and bubbly brass that indeed lives up to the track's title. "Queen of the Night", another classic Nyman tune is the most bass heavy track: the electric bass really has a rather rock-oriented drive to it. "An Eye For Optical Theory" focuses on the unique saxophone arrangements, whereas the closing "Bravura In The Face of Grief" has a funeral atmosphere, with sad progression ongoing for several minutes, before the harpsichord eventually enters for the final minutes, giving the ending section a very vivid edge. Recommended for minimalist/contemporary classical fans.

John Cale & Terry Riley - The Church of Anthrax

One of the most influential avant-rock ensembles, Velvet Underground, was very much influenced by classical minimalism, particularly by the work of La Monte Young. Terry Riley was also one of the early practitioners of repetitive avant-garde music. So it's logical that John Cale, the most gifted of the Velvets (who was sacked in 1968) would team up with Riley to make a record. When an avant-garde minimalist composer and an experimental rock musician meet to collaborate, you'd expect the results to be as drone-heavy as possible. Unlike Tony Conrad's meeting with Faust in 1972, this album is surprisingly jazz-influenced, but definitely not the kind of jazz-fusion you'd expect from Miles Davis, Weather Report or Soft Machine, although Church of Anthrax at times allows comparisons with the latter band's third album. A heavy street-smart feel carries the nine-minute title track with its rumbling bass-line and skittering drums setting a heavy basis for a melange of colorful keyboards and mesmerizing snake-charmer like soprano sax from Riley, culminating with tortured, yet subdued droning atonal guitars. "The Hall Of Mirrors In The Palace Of Versailles" follows and it appears to be a sedater affair, more in line with Terry Riley's work, the interplay between Cale's piano and Riley's sax is blissful. "The Soul of Patrick Lee" is pure John Cale track which, if Cale hadn't left the Velvets in 1968, wouldn't have sounded out of place on Velvet Underground's third, or even fourth album, the only track with vocals too. "March Ides" is possibly the most jazz-oriented piece, and quite idiosyncratic at that: pounding semi-ragtime piano sets the basis for the song and mingles with more skittering drum work, creating thus a quirky 11-minute improvisation. "The Protégé" is among the shortest tracks on this album, but it also seems the most repetitive, until the false sense of security is chased away by a burst of violent feedback that concludes Church Of Anthrax.

Marc Moulin - Placebo Sessions 71-74

Belgian keyboardist and synthesizer pioneer Marc Moulin initially started out playing jazz in the sixties, then, inspired by Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock on one hand and british prog-rock such as The Soft Machine on the other, moved on to fusion. He founded the band called Placebo (certainly not to be mixed up with the brit-rock group from 1990s) and the group recorded and released three albums. During his tenure with Placebo, Moulin got his hands on an early Minimoog and thus began his pursuit of electronic idiom. As could be expected, the music is heavy on layered keyboards like electric piano, clavinet and analog synthesizers. Not only that, but there are great horn arrangements as well. They use trumpets, saxophones, but also bass clarinet and flutes. Sometimes they even add electronic effects on the horns as well, as possibly inspired by electric Miles Davis bands, but also referring to the experimentation of Frank Zappa and Soft Machine. Even if Marc Moulin himself doesn't look back on the band too fondly, being dissatisfied with sound and perhaps even performance on the band as well as considering Placebo's music a bit too derivative of other well known prog-jazz outfits; there's one thing that can't be denied about this band: they really grooved! Backing the layered arrangements and instrumentation was a solid, funky rhythm section. At the very least, Placebo pulled off a convincing amalgam of progressive jazz-rock orchestrations and funk's rhythmic drive. Pieces like "Aria", "Planes", "Showbiz Suite" and "Only Nineteen" are mind blowing compositions showcasing their musicianship quite well, whereas pieces like "Balek" point to futuristic side of the band with its gurgly synth sounds. This album sounds so ahead of the time you'd think Jaga Jazzist has taken a few cues from Placebo and Marc Moulin. Curious factoid: Francis Weyer, later to be known as easy listening acoustic guitarist Francis Goya played with Placebo as well. If that's him doing the guitar parts on pieces like "N.W", "SUS" and "Bosso" (that one's got a really solid guitar solo), then it's surprising to learn that one of the biggest muzak hacks once had considerable credibility. The music is mostly instrumental, save for one vocal cut "Inner City Blues", which one can take or leave, depending on his opinion of the voice singing (which is apparently uncredited). At the very least it has a nice laid back feel with piano, bass, hi-hat percussion and ethereal flutes. While not all tracks are equally memorable, this underrated gem is an excellent addition to seventies electric jazz/fusion or even funk music collections.

Frank Zappa - Everything is Healing Nicely

Everything Is Healing Nicely is a collection of sessions and rehearsals with the Ensemble Modern (the chamber orchestra playing on The Yellow Shark) from 1991-2 that contains some of Frank Zappa's more accessible classical stuff. Even aside the more melodic pieces, some of his more atonal stuff is spiced up with humorous monologues and improvisation. You can tell the players were having fun when they were performing those compositions. Therefore, if The Yellow Shark album was too heavy to take, one might as well go with this album to get some idea about Zappa's work during his final years. Highlights include "This Is A Test", which harks back to some of Zappa's chamber music work from Burnt Weeny Sandwich era, "T'Mershi Duween" in its orchestral glory and two standout compositions which manage to be both experimental and accessible. "Roland's Big Event/Strat Vindaloo" is an improvisation over a brooding slow groove beginning with a rapid fire clarinet solo followed by a low key duet between FZ and the guest violinist Shankar. As the guitarist was already seriously ill, it was obvious that the glory days of fast'n'furious guitar solos was over once and for all for Zappa, so he wisely opts to play minimal notes and dialogue with the violinist. "9/8 Objects" however is one hell of a number: a four-meter reggae-ish drum pattern supports variety of contrapuntal lines played on cello, marimba, brass and woodwinds, several of them in 9/8 time signature which are played against the overall straight tempo. Mind-blowing! Very reminiscent of some hypnotic Eastern music. Shankar again improvises on violin in this number. Even some of the less accessible pieces feature interesting elements in them. "Nap Time" can well work as a mellow ambient composition. "Master Ringo" and "Wonderful Tattoo" have hilarious monologues on them. Recommended if you want to get the idea of Zappa's avant garde classical work.

Soft Machine - Grides

Grides is a CD/DVD set released by Cuneiform featuring a Soft Machine concert on CD and a German TV broadcast on DVD. Since this is the first time The Softs can be seen on an officially released DVD, this release is essential.

What about the CD itself? The gig was recorded in Netherlands, 25th of October, 1970. This is a decent performance, though at places really interesting. They preview a couple of epic pieces from the Fourth album the sessions for which were undertaken at the time. "Virtually" follows Elton Dean's sax solo on "Facelift" and is 14 minutes long, a bit looser than the studio take. "Teeth" is still a work-in-progress as the composition's different and provisional structure indicates. Even Elton Dean's "Neo Caliban Grides" which was in the Softs' setlist but recorded on Elton's first solo album in 1971, was different in its early version. It has a composed theme after the opening riff, which is quite straight, given Elton's free jazz propensity. Mike Ratledge gets a distorted organ solo before the piece dissolves into atonal group improv. This is one of the last times where they play "Esther's Nose Job" and even that piece is on the verge of falling apart. Not only does the group feel kind of tired when they play this piece for umpteenth time, but there are several elements different: first, the melodic part in "Pig" section is dropped, then Robert Wyatt's voice being totally absent from this gig means that his scat vocal is replaced by the instrumental bass melody during "A Door Opens and Closes" section. Last, but not least, "Pigling Bland" is played exactly as played from 1971 onwards. Only "Pigling Bland" part survived it in the band's setlist the next year. The encore is quite a nice rendition of the mid-section of "Slightly All The Time" as heard on Third album, with more fuzz bass from Hopper and it ends with an aggressive rendition of Hopper's "Noisette" theme.

DVD was filmed at German TV show Beat Club on 23th March, 1971. They play "Neo Caliban Grides", which had reached its full atonal, group improv oriented form; followed by "Out Bloody Rageous" with great solos from Mike Ratledge (backed by Elton on electric piano) and Elton on alto sax. "Eamonn Andrews" features a mind-blowing scat vocal improv from Wyatt and they round it off with a proto-version of "All White". The CD part has an ok concert, but the DVD is why this album is recommended.

Soft Machine - British Tour 1975

I used to think that post-Wyatt Soft Machine was nowhere near as good as the Wyatt era band. I also held that the closer it drew to the loss of even the final original member from the line-up, the worse it became. The evolution of the band could've been summed up with a quote from a Kevin Ayers' song that went like: "Making life easy by making it worse" as the music of SM was being simplified to generic Fusion music which was nowhere near as radical and interesting as the late sixties and early seventies stuff. I thought the studio albums like Bundles and Softs had their moments, but seemed rather underwhelming in some respects. That's studio alright, but what about live?

Well, this live album is thankfully showing an entirely another side to the latter-day Machine. And it is this release thanks to which it is evident that when the Jenkins era band really wanted to, they could display enough power in their performance. Both Bundles and Softs are represented here. This 78 minute set opens with the pairing of "Bundles" and "Land of the Bag Snake" and it already shows that live, these songs could sound more intense than their studio counterparts. While Allan Holdsworth gets most of the respect, I think John Etheridge is as good of a guitarist, if not even more interesting one. Aside his lightning speed solos, his rhythm guitar playing is equally impressive. So, in guitar department, it's all well. "Out of Season" from the upcoming Softs album follows and it's also a bit more energetic than the studio version, even though a bit too long and repetitive. Then comes the early highlight of the album, which is the rendition of keyboardist Mike Ratledge's "The Man Who Waved At Trains" composition. The rendition here sounds a little less jazzy than the studio counterpart, played again with more verve and intensity, with the inspired rhythm guitar playing. It is already apparent that Karl Jenkins has given up on most of his reeds. Not only is his soprano sax on the main melody poorly miked to the point of being nearly inaudible, but also during the solo section, where there used to be an oboe solo; the one who gets the spotlight is...Ratledge instead. He steps up and cranks up a fiery solo for the next four minutes on his fuzzed Lowrey organ. I've always thought Jenkins' oboe solos were too mild and unassertive, so the decision to relegate the solo to the powerful Ratledge organ was fitting. After his solo, Ratledge messes around on his synthesizer, unaccompanied. At this point, he was still cranking up some wild and deranged keyboard sounds, now on synthesizer instead of treated organ or tape loops like earlier. After a minute long "Floating World", another Softs preview, "Ban Ban Caliban" arrives. It's a great one too. Did I mention that on this concert, Ratledge plays more organ than during the earlier Fusion years? Not just solos, but backing as well. On "Ban Ban Caliban", the minimalist and ethereal head is played by soprano sax and wah-ed organ, the textures of these two combined instruments is mind-blowing. Then comes a transitional riff not present on the studio version, which introduces the solo section. On the studio version, there was a sax solo from Alan Wakeman. In his place, Mike Ratledge whips out another fine solo. It really shows that on this concert album, he's nowhere near as invisible as he was on the final studio sessions with the Machine. The comparative lack of reeds and the dual keyboard textures with more prominent Lowrey organ really contribute to tasteful sound picture, which is another reason why this is archival release is so worthwhile. After Ratledge we have a nice guitar solo from Etheridge as well.

Ok, so far so good. Then come the most dispensable ten minutes of the set and that is...you guessed it, the drum solo. Apparently John Marshall had some interesting percussion solo concepts, but 10 minutes is way too long. After that, becomes the powerhouse "Hazard Profile" suite from the Bundles. It's again somewhat different from the studio version. The biggest change is the part five, where the soprano sax melody is dropped and a solo vamp in a different key (C-minor instead of G) is introduced for Ratledge. He starts with synth, then drops it and whips out more fast and furious organ. Another goodie. For what was apparently an encore, "Song of Aeolus" is played, and it's yet another song that would wind up on Softs album. Again this version plods less and in place of cheesy synth strings on the studio version we have some wonderful Ratledge organ comping. Nice one. There is even an earlier version from 1975 with Ratledge taking a fuzz organ solo while Jenkins comped on acoustic piano, which is available on The Floating World 1975. It's also great. "Sign of Five" is a 15 minute guitar led jam that ends the show quite nicely.

And that was it: a show in Nottingham University in October 11, 1975 where it was evident that the Soft Machine could still play it great. It is albums like these which necessitate revisionism of Jenkins era Soft Machine. The warts-and-all energetic performance certainly has stood the test of time better than the comparatively bland and dated studio stuff from mid-seventies Machine. It also might be among the best archival Machine albums not released by Cuneiform.

Frank Zappa - Orchestral Favorites

Orchestral Favorites features several Frank Zappa's instrumental melodies rendered by a very large big band bordering on classical orchestra combining electric combo (bass, drums, electric keyboards) with the vast array of woodwinds, brass, strings and percussion. The 37 piece lineup is known as Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Orchestra (a tag FZ also used for the entire line up on Lumpy Gravy album). This is a fairly inventive fusion of orchestral music and electric sonorities of rock. Not only does the listener get electric organs and synthesizer along with electric bass and a guitar solo during one of the numbers, there are also touches like wah pedal on viola and creative stereo-panning. This is one of the outstanding examples of Zappa's skills regarding musical synthesis.

The drummer here is none other than Terry Bozzio, having already appeared on the Bongo Fury tour in Spring 1975. Apparently this was where he proved to be the true monster drummer for the first time. A critic, blown away by his drumming during the orchestral shows in September 1975, called him the drummer with a future. And it shows. Not only is Bozzio providing strong and loaded backbeat to the majestically arranged "Duke of Prunes" (which also features a feedback heavy guitar solo in the middle), but he also fights himself through the advanced rhythmical labyrynths on the denser numbers such as the ultra-dissonant "Pedro's Dowry" or the multi-sectioned "Bogus Pomp". This 13 minute piece blends several items from the 200 Motels album (off which a fine instrumental version of "Strictly Genteel" is also included) and is made up from several sections ranging from dissonance and atonalism to accessible and memorable melodies. It's also said to be a parody of movie music clichès. Actually the entire album suggests how Zappa might have scored a soundtrack for films, given not only the cinematic qualities of orchestration, but also the inclusion of material Zappa had used in movies (200 Motels material, plus "Duke of Prunes" was originally featured in "Run Home Slow" film). The dissonant pieces could also work well in a soundtrack for a horror movie or a motion picture about some ecological disaster or something (years later FZ wrote a piece called "Outrage At Valdez" which indeed was used in a documentary regarding pollution). The music on this album is very vivid and are played accordingly by musicians. Essential orchestral Zappa.

Robert Wyatt - End of an Ear (1970)

End of an Ear (1970), while far from being the greatest Robert Wyatt outing, is definitely his most bizarre. His renditions of Gil Evans' "Las Vegas Tango" are excellent, containing oddly layered vocalizing set to a freewheeling drums and piano groove. One can imagine that this is what his parent band The Soft Machine could've evolved into, if only they had continued in their Dadaist leanings. This album is all about Wyatt exploring freer and more absurdity-based expressive ways going beyond the increasingly serious and instrumental confines of the Softs which Wyatt was dissatisfied with. He does not do any conventional singing here, he uses effects like tape speed alterations, reverb and echo to experiment with his voice and those voice experiments are the most interesting thing on this record.

Most of the titles are dedications to his friends and musical peers, "To Mark Everywhere", "To Saintly Bridget" are shorter ditties that are based on precise abstract rhythms and atonal noise, then the consistency gives away to free-jazz-for-free-jazz own sake in "To Oz Alien Daevid and Gilli" and "To Nick Everyone" which are really hard to endure. If you get past these two, you're treated to "To Caravan & Brother Jim", based on a consistent beat, rhythmic vocal loop and warm organ courtesy of David Sinclair, who also guests on the most beautiful tune on the album, an "Instant Pussy" re-write that is "To Carla Marsha and Caroline".

This album has some pointless free-jazz noodling, which mar the album, but otherwise it's still a rather non-conformist statement and whoever digs avant-garde music would be compelled by this record. I admire the album mostly for Gil Evans' cover versions and the beautiful David Sinclair collaborations. Overall, this is the least typical Wyatt album, as he actually was still an avant-jazz-based drummer at that stage, becoming a paraplegic several years later and concentrating on more song-based, though not less distinctive, material.

Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention - Weasels Ripped My Flesh

While this post-disbandment Mothers of Invention album from 1970 is definitely not Zappa's best, it's certainly an odd album. It plays with dual juxtapositions. What we have here is melody vs noise, straight beats vs odd time signatures, avant garde experimentalism vs pop leanings, beauty vs ugliness, accessibility vs acquired taste, instrumental vs vocal approach, improvisation vs writing and live vs studio. Quite spread out! While Zappa has flirted with all those extremes on many of his albums, this is the one where polarities serve to define its identity in total. Take "Toads of the Short Forest" for instance, an exquisite instrumental guitar ditty segues into harsh free-jazz jam with everybody playing in alternate time signatures. Or take "Didya Get Any Onja": on-stage atonalist assault being juxtaposed to polished R&B cover of Little Richard's "Directly From My Heart To you" with Sugarcane Harris on vocals and electric violin; and then back to madness with "Prelude to An Afternoon of a Sexually Aroused Gas Mask". Anyone who has enough patience to run through will be rewarded with track sequence 8-10. "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama" is a groovy horn-and-guitar driven rock song with intricate Hot Rats like middle section to boot, "Oh No" as an eccentric jazz shuffle with Ray Collins delivering some strong vocals and "Orange Country Lumber Truck" with its cheerful upbeat melody segueing into guitar solo: only to end without warning and segue into the title track: basically what sounded like an ending of Mothers' concerts back then, is now a demonstrative track on its own. Its cathartic white noise could be seen as a fitting finale as it also could mark the end of the original Mothers of Invention era, as Zappa's next album "Chunga's Revenge" would feature a wholly new line-up and would be a 180 degrees departure from original Mothers' sound.

Eric Dolphy - The Illinois Concert

Although considered one of the lesser Eric Dolphy albums, this is still a record worth checking out for a few reasons. Want a proof that bass clarinet can be a real jazz instrument on his own right? Then listen to this album. Dolphy rips on that instrument through his 20minute rendition of "Softly Through The Morning Sunrise" which literally dismantles a classic jazz melody past any recognition whatsoever. Dolphy was a master when it came to taking jazz standards and using them as fertile vehicles for his improvisations on whatever woodwind he played. This skill is just as worth mentioning as is his mastery on his instruments as well as his challenging compositions. His unaccompanied solo "God Bless The Child" is no less impressive either. Also, while Herbie Hancock playing the piano in Dolphy's ensemble is an unlikely combination indeed, it's still worth hearing nevertheless. That's the second thing to attract to this item in Dolphy's discography. If anything, this certainly sounds interesting even in the already diverse Hancock resume. Strange thing that Miles Davis hated Dolphy, whereas most of his sidemen in the legendary second great Miles Davis quintet (Ron Carter, Tony Williams, and Hancock) had played with Dolphy before. And that on the "Bitches Brew" album, Miles Davis used a bass clarinetist pretty much influenced by Dolphy's revolutionary playing. Then again, true pioneers are always hated first before their ideas become more widespread.

This record is also remarkable for the last two tracks that are are orchestrated with loads of brass and reed instruments. This shows an entirely another side to the man who was considered an anti-jazz charlatan by the conservative jazz establishment. There was more to him than just agile free-blowing radicalism. This guy was immensely talented and skilled. As Charles Mingus said, he would have made it to a classical orchestra. Dolphy even performed "Density 21.5" by Varèse on solo flute, too bad there aren't any recordings out there of that. Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch compositions are often closer to avant-garde classical composers than to your typical jazz writers. As such it was no wonder why musicians outside jazz like Frank Zappa considered him influential.

Art Bears - The World As It Is Today

Even for post-punk art rock music standards, this is fairly difficult listening. Clearly, this album is not for everyone as this type of music quite often gets unbearably heavy. But then, that's what you can pretty much expect from when you deal with musicians like the whacked-out avant-rock multi instrumentalist Fred Frith, the bizarrely wonderful percussion master Chris Cutler and last, but not least, singer Dagmar Krause (all from Henry Cow). Especially the latter has aroused some of the most contradictory opinions a vocalist can expect. An epitome of classical cabaret beauty (of the strange variety) for some, "fingernails on the chalkboard" for others. And there are moments when she blatantly tests your patience on the record. After the dissonant and mutated piano waltz "Freedom", which climaxes with Frith's angular King Crimson esque guitar feedback and Krause's utterly insane howling shrieks at times overpowering even the guitar feedback itself; i swear you shall write Yoko Ono off as a sedate lounge singer in comparison!

Elsewhere, some of the song highlights include the bizarrely memorable and melodic "The Song of Investment Capital Overseas", slightly laid-back "Truth" featuring an unorthodox use of Clavinet, dark and heavy "Democracy" capturing some of the gloomy atmosphere apparent on Henry Cow's "Western Culture" sessions without its obvious woodwind counterpoints; and "The Song of the Martyrs". This song blends gloomy keyboard chords, backward percussion and sports a bizarrely catchy chorus. Frith and Cutler form a great percussion, bass and keyboards oriented ominous and percolating 7/8 metered groove, while Krause is heard mimicking the kind of deadpan sing-speak delivery you could expect from female (post-)punk singers as she intones: "As we look about us/Things seem worse than ever". Occasionally the band delves into noise, but even the noise tracks can at times seem sonically interesting, at least moreso than some of the worst indulgences by Henry Cow, who was great with composed and structured pieces, but mostly aimless when it came to free improv.

Although not a pleasant listen, this album is nevertheless captivating here and there and needless to say, RIO fanatics definitely need this album. There's lots of great musicianship throughout the entire record and some adventurous sonic experimentation as well. Even if you find political lyrics redundant, musically this is too good to be ignored by open minded listeners.

John Surman - Upon Reflection

John Surman, known for his baritone sax prowess, is also pretty good on soprano sax and bass clarinet. This is one of his solo recordings, where he plays all of these reed instruments, in addition to synthesizer. Most of the pieces are multi-tracked, with the exception of a few unaccompanied moments like "Caithness to Kerry" for solo soprano sax. Several tracks contain a lush, yet minimalistic and meditative synthesizer bed upon which layers of horns are added, to provide harmonic structure, melody or counterpoint. The opening track "Edges of Illusion" as well as the album closer "Constellation" are fine examples of jazz-tinged minimalist music with trippy synthesizer motives and languid low reed tones along with a more penetrative soprano sax voice. This isn't clichèd stuff at all, this isn't your usual New Age muzak with a cheesy soprano sax over waves of a cheesy Korg Triton, we're dealing with multi-layered, complex and quirky interaction between reeds and a keyboard. Some of the pieces like a jaunty "Prelude and Rustic Dance" are performed entirely on reeds. Surman is great on baritone sax and bass clarinet, and his soprano sax playing is a welcome alternative to all the smooth jazz triteness that is associated with higher pitched saxes. John Surman is not only a master on his several reed instruments, but he also has a unique and singular musical vision that is truly inventive.

Mice Parade - Mice Parade

This record is NY multi-instrumentalist and Bubblecore record label founder Adam Pierce's seventh under his Mice Parade moniker. MP initially started out as a one man band, but later on developed into a full blown ensemble including dual drumkits and mallet percussion along with various string and keyboard instruments. MP's repertoire has also altered throughout the years, the lengthy instrumentals of Mokoondi era are replaced by succinct song-oriented material. While the last record was dominated by the Mùm girl singer Kristin Valtysdóttir, who also appears here in one song; the majority of the record is sung by Pierce himself. While his baritone-bass voice is fairly limited, it has character and it works well with the compositions. He also gets to duet with Laetitia from Stereolab on "The Tales of Las Negras" and it's stunning. Compared to previous MP work we have less bossanova influences and more rock elements. Fuzz-toned guitars sit alongside acoustic instruments and the drums have a more overdriven sound than ever. It is tempting to consider this eponymous nine-song 35 minute album as Pierce's singer-songwriter albums. The songs he sings and writes, however, are still more multi-layered and nuanced than one would expect from such classifications. Nonetheless, this is another effort of interest from the eclectic Mice Parade.

This review was published in Estonian journal called Eesti Ekspress. Here's the English review.

Magma - 1001 Centigrades

After the first album, Magma underwent changes in line-up as well as sonic approach. First, two thirds of the horn section was revamped, with only reeds player Teddy Lasry retained. The new second reed player, Jeff (born Yochk'o) Seffer, brought bass clarinet to Magma's sound. Lasry also plays a soprano clarinet, blending in well with Seffer. There's less flute from Lasry though, which is a shame. Alas, Magma also lost the guitar player, who was not replaced. Pianist Francois Cahen adds electric piano to the mix. The result is that the band's sound on this album is closer to electric jazz/fusion, as opposed to the avant-jazz/psych-rock amalgam on their debut. At times the mix of ominous clarinets, cool electric piano and the driving rhythm section captures some sort of dark mystique, whereas some moments veer close to standard jazz-rock with typical electric piano and sax parts.

Where Magma reaches most of its transcendence on this album is Vander's epic opener "Riah Sahiltaahk". Originally occupying side one of the album, in the space of 22 minutes there are many sectional changes with shifting textural emphasis (brass, woodwinds, acoustic and electric piano) and alternating tempos and time signatures, carrying the operatic, at times chant-like ominous vocals. This composition is challenging, diverting and fairly inventive, while only hinting at the future Magma sound.

The other two pieces that occupied side two on the original vinyl, are more standard jazz-fusion compositions. Out of these, my favorite is "Iss Lansei Doia" (Teddy Lasry)which has all the elements you'd expect from a late sixties, early seventies jazz fusion music: nimble bass lines, electric piano backing and a theme carried by horns, all underpinned by open-ended drumming from Vander. But there's more: three minutes in the horns shift into freeform dialogue emulating traffic jam snarls, followed by a calm, almost classical sounding section with just unaccompanied reeds. Five minutes in, a fairly memorable Kobaian vocal section emerges, where Klaus Blasquiz employs his voice's lower register to a creepy effect. After that, a furious section in 5/4 follows, until the piece winds down.

"Ki Iahl O Liahk", Cahen's composition closes the album. Starts off fine, with a polyrhythmic workout with more sinister clarinet work and with more bizarre singing. Two minutes in, the piece shifts into a calm, melodic section with horns doubling the vocal melody and Vander providing some Elvin Jones like support along with unique syncopation. The sinister riff with clarinets returns, which then speeds up leading to a dissonant piano section with bizarre (and possibly electronically treated?) brass on top of it. And then? All the weirdness ends and the last four minutes are essentially just standard electric jazz jam showcasing electric piano and soprano sax. Not terrible, but too generic or mundane in comparison to Vander's vision. It's not surprising that after Cahen and Seffer left the band to form Zao, most of the jazz-fusion elements vanished from Magma's sound.

When it comes to the first two Magma albums, I largely prefer the debut. Although Vander's "Riah Sahiltaahk" easily rivals everything on the debut. Even though occasionally such criticism was valid, it is safe to say that early pre-MDK Magma was not merely "non-descript jazz-rock" as they're made out to be, but actually brought something uniquely Kobaian to the jazz-fusion table. But the total uniqueness was yet to arrive.

Fennesz - Endless Summer

A common criticism to the music that may not appear blatantly song-oriented sounds like: "That's not music, that's just noise". Such a simple dichotomy serves to arbitrarily divide everything to palatable and unpalatable collection of sounds. I think it's a shame, because there's a whole big universe between listenability and unlistenability, accessibility and inaccessibility. Moreover, noise can be musical as well. Anyone can take a laptop, a fancy FX-processor, maybe an instrument (most likely guitar or synthesizer) and make weird sounds with it all. It takes a real compositional talent to organize sounds in a manner that sounds musical and has purpose or direction. Laptop musician Christian Fennesz certainly excels at making melodic compositions out of tricky sound manipulations and various odd micro-glitches. Melodic elements you'd otherwise expect to be on display in conventional song structures appear buried in the warbly, gurgling and buzzing sand. The eight minute title track is clearly a guitar based composition, yet the guitars in this song are mangled, downsampled, altered past the usual recognition. Likewise, "Before I Leave" uses micro-sound sampling and editing techniques to create a chord progression of usually seventh-chords. Fennesz even offers his own twist on the kind of music that already suspended with traditional songwriting approach: "Happy Audio" is a gradually evolving, buzzing, hypnotic 11 minute piece that sounds like a microsound take on Kraut-rock a la Neu! or Harmonia.

What makes this record so oddly compelling is that despite the abrasive frontier, the undercurrent is made up of warm and inviting harmonies, that evoke summer-like moods. As such, "Endless Summer" serves as an excellent treatise on contrast and contradictory juxtaposition between the harsh exterior and the beautiful interior.

Magma - Magma (1970)

Wot's this? Kobaian jazz? Proto-Zeuhl? Avant-garde jazz rock from another planet? However you might classify the overall style of the debut, it's remarkable that Christian Vander and co were already a kicking unit when they released their debut in 1970. What makes this stand out compared to other albums is the presence of a horn section (including flute, lots of it!), along with the combination of acoustic piano and electric guitars (with a bit of acoustic thrown in too), which makes the overall sound seem like that of an avant-jazz combo (or even big band, given the combination of seven instrumentalists backing the vocals), with a bit of rock'n'roll audacity thrown in for a good measure. Throw in the dynamic Klaus Blasquiz on lead vocals with his strong, operatic voice alternating between creepy basso profundo and manic wailing, interacting with Vander's own distinctive screeching; and you have a jazz fusion sort of album that not only works with vocals, but kind of benefits from their presence. That they sing in their own constructed language, makes it all sound even more eccentric.

The music itself is swell as well, all tracks have something to offer, whether it's the awesome riff and groove of "Kobaia", the haunting flutes of wind player Teddy Lasry's composition "Sohia", the insane vocal operatics with free-jazz backdrop on "Stoah" or the eclecticism of the multi-part "Naü Ektila", where they move from pastoral chamber music like parts to rocky grooves to folky melancholy with acoustic guitar and flutes to jazz-rock jamming with awesome horn riffage and great piano soloing. There's even an awesome Pharoah Sanders like section with shimmering percussion and jovial flute in the final composition "Müh". The music can sound alternately intense and mellow, beautiful and ugly, melodic and dissonant. For every gentle flute passage you'll get to hear strident and dangerous horn blasts. Meeting of jazz and rock implies some sort of duality co-existing and Magma's music here is a challenging array of juxtapositions. All held together by Christian Vander's kick-butt drumming. While it's all more jazz-infused and very different from Magma's later work, it's still remarkable that they pulled off a double album this compelling.

Frank Zappa - Hot Rats

After Mother Superior Frank Zappa, fed up with various stressful aspects about being the leader of the zany avant-rock collective Mothers of Invention, had decided to break up the original MOI lineup in August 1969, he first went on to produce an album on his own. The sessions in August-September 1969 with several LA studio cats along with the former Mother, talented multi-instrumental genius Ian Underwood, who FZ retained for his virtuosity on keyboards and several woodwind instruments; proved to be fruitful and shortly thereafter, Hot Rats was unleashed to the wider public.

While the original Mothers already had shown signs of serious jazz-rock innovation that rivalled what other big acts in the field had done (check out "King Kong" on Uncle Meat album, which the MOI performed onstage as early as 1967), Zappa on his own took it even further on this album with added finesse (especially thanks to the fine rhythm section work and the absence of the overbearing weirdness characterizing earlier Mothers albums) and the textural polish, as the 16-track recording technology allowed to add multiple layered overdubs in the mix. Ian Underwood adds many sax, clarinet and keyboard overdubs, at times sounding like a small one man orchestra backed by a jazzy rhythm section. Zappa himself adds electronically treated, often sped up percussion overdubs. The result is a timeless classic that embodies two disparate aspects of jazz fusion: the elaborate arrangements and orchestration; and grittier improvisational side.

The orchestrated side shows up right on the album opener, "Peaches En Regalia". It's a multi-layered, concise and colorful composition with several memorable melodic sections along with shifting textural focus, from the classic sped-up bass guitar intro to tight horn riffs to guitar-and-flute led section and so on. Three minutes of prime Zappa melodicism. "Willie The Pimp", with Captain Beefheart cameo along with a lengthy guitar solo shows the gritty, blues-infused approach. "Son of Mr Green Genes", a reprise of "Mr Green Genes" off Uncle Meat, combines the colorful orchestration with guitar-based improvisation. Zappa's guitar is entirely absent from "Little Umbrellas", an under-rated jazz ballad with haunting melodies, complex keyboard layers in the middle section and that larger than life sounding one-man-big-band-horns finale. This is Ian Underwood's showcase all the way, as he's only backed up by the rhythm section. 17-minute (13 minute edit was heard on the original vinyl, CD version restores the full version) "Gumbo Variations" offers long tenor sax, violin (from Don Sugarcane Harris) and guitar solos over a funky one-chord vamp. "It Must Be A Camel" might not be as instantly memorable as the previous compositions, but it's still a rewarding listen on its own right with its sax, clarinet, keyboard and guitar parts. Jean Luc Ponty (who would join a later Mothers conglomeration in 1973) makes a cameo on violin.

In 1969, this album was a true landmark. While jazz influences would continue to inform his sound later on (and he would return to Hot Rats type instrumentation and compositional approach on Waka/Jawaka and Grand Wazoo in 1972), Hot Rats is an island on its own in the vast discographic landscape of Frank Zappa, with or without the Mothers.

Robert Wyatt - Comicopera

British progressive music veteran (known for his drumming and vocals in Soft Machine and Matching Mole, along his prolific solo career) Robert Wyatt's new album "Comicopera" is divided in three acts. First act, "Lost In Noise" is where Wyatt sings about personal topics and relationships with others. "Just As You Are", the second song from the act, is about betrayed love. This particular song is also Wyatt's melodicism at its best. The second act, "The Here and The Now" takes on the more political topic, in which Wyatt's disillusionment with the Anglo-American culture is blatantly apparent. Particularly alienating is the warmongering politics, which have planted all his everlasting hatred in Wyatt's heart, as he sings in the eerie "Out of the Blue". In protest to all the stupidity of British culture, the final act "Away With The Fairies" is sung in Spanish and Italian, rather than English.

As for the music itself, Comicopera is easily more accessible than the previous Wyatt albums. As with the two previous records, this album is defined by colorful instrumentation, personnel that is no less colorful (including his friends and other musicians from various countries) and eclectic brew of jazz, folk, pop and experimental music. It all sounds warmer and livelier than before. Easily up there with Wyatt's other masterpieces like "Rock Bottom".

*This review was published in Estonian in a journal called Postimees. This is the English translation

Caribou - Andorra

Canadian Dan Snaith's one-man project, originally known as Manitoba, but later renamed as Caribou after Snaith was threatened with a law-suit; has been one of the most remarkable indietronic acts of the current decade. Fusing the psychedelic spirit of the sixties with the technological possibilities of electronica, multi-instrumentalist and laptop-musician Snaith has created the kind of human electronica, that can be as mind-bending and colorful as the vintage psych rock from several decades ago. While the work of Manitoba/Caribou (or Caritoba, if you will) can be traced to certain influences like Silver Apples, Neu! or the Byrds, it is safe to say that Dan Snaith does possess a signature sound.

On the new album, titled Andorra, his signature sound is even more refined than ever, also more accessible with clearly discernible pop influences. The opener "Melody Day", also released as a single, is worth its title for its melodic and sunny approach, being one of the memorable songs in Snaith's canon. Sounds and textures still make up a multi-faceted and multi-layered blend, but it all sounds more live than ever, even in the case of sampled instruments. Percussive attack, another aspect defining the Caribou sound, is also more focused. "Andorra" on the whole is musically more cohesive of an effort than the more abstract and meandering previous album "The Milk Of Human Kindness".

*This review was published today in an Estonian journal called Eesti Ekspress. This is the English translation.