Cryptic Says Goodbye
by Thomas Schulte
NEWS AND VIEWS **************************
CRYPTIC SAYS GOODBYE TO ESD
After over fifteen years of working together, The Cryptic Corporation announced
that RYKO Disc-distributed Eastside Digital in Minneapolis will no longer be
marketing titles by The Residents. ESD will focus on the Scandinavian neo-folk
that it currently markets under the Northside Digital label. In a time of shrinking
retail opportunity, The Cryptic Corporation will examine the extensive catalog
of titles by The Residents and make decisions about which titles should remain
in print, which should go into occasional limited pressings, and which should
be eliminated entirely. As of this moment there is no USA label for any Residents
products, but look for a future announcement as talks with other labels continue.
This should pave the way for the release of an album of new music in late 2003
or early 2004. ESD CD’s will start disappearing from shops immediately. ESD
will no longer be manufacturing any Residents titles, and have already stopped
making a lot of them. Fill in the gaps in your collection now, which you can
also do at Ralph
America</a>…
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p align=”center”> Listen
to or Buy at Amazon.com</a>
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FRONT 242
Two new CDs from this long-lived Belgian electronic group are out on Metropolis.
Pulse is the first album of new material from the group in nearly a decade.
The album is a near seamless flow of electronic beat music quoting every dance
dialect of the genre: trance, techno, EBM, drum ‘n bass and more…Six tracks
from this recording that did not make it to the album are compiled onto the
CD EP Still & Raw… Both albums show an interesting and effective synthesis
of the early, post-disco New Wave sound that gave rise to this band and others
in the early ’80s with the new, efficient utilitarian, urban beat
approach… </font></p>
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Listen to or Buy Pulse at Amazon.com</a>
to or Buy Still & Raw at Amazon.com</a>
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JAZZ
The album Melodic Miner’s Daughter (A to Z Music) from the Abby And Norm
Group strives to be all things. In this ambitious goal, the mostly instrumental
CD succeeds very well. The album opens with the light, acoustic jazz homage
to Canada. This is mostly guitar-based with prominent sax on four tracks by
George Garzone… On Hada Hada (Libra Records) trumpeter Natsuki Tamura
breaks from his acoustic free jazz past by playing with an electric quartet.
The music is still unpredictable and experimental, but not too often challenging
the listener. The stormy album is monstrous in sound, demanding to be played
at full volume and can be downright scary… The Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra
is a large ensemble based in Boston. On the Darrel Katz CD The Death of Simone
Weil</i> the group backs Rebecca Shrimpton singing a setting of the poetry of
Paula Tatarunis. The group hearkens back to a Big Band sound while incorporating
contemporary styles. An added track, “Like a Wind” is Shrimpton backed by the Abby
And Norm Group singing passages from Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio…
Niacin keeps the jazz fusion flame alive through great albums and significant
touring. A long-awaited live album is out; Live – Blood, Sweat and Beers
(Magna Carta). The potent trio charges through a dozen live tracks and two previously
unreleased studio tracks… William Parker’s new album Scrapbook (Thirsty
Ear) shines with the exemplary and spirited playing of dynamic jazz violinist
Billy Bang. Parker (bass) melds with Hamid Drake (drums) to provide a solid
rhythm section to showcase Bang’s precise and fiery talent… The next best thing
to being there can be hearing what you missed. This is the angle of Vision:
Live from the Vision Festival</i> (Thirsty Ear). The highpoints on this CD and
DVD release include a Billy Bang performance. Other exceptional instrumentalists
captured here include Peter Kowald (bass, now deceased), Dave Burrell (piano),
Douglas Ewart (reeds), Matthew Shipp (piano) and more… </font></p>
<
Listen to or Buy Melodic Miner’s Daughter at Amazon.com</a>
to or Buy Death of Simone Weil at Amazon.com</a>
to or Buy Live – Blood, Sweat and Beers at Amazon.com</a>
</font></p>
HEAVY MUSIC
The members of The Exploited have mostly shaved their hair. The group removed
much of the “hair” from its music, too. The new album Fuck the System
(Spitfire)
is violently anti-establishment with a tight, focused metalcore/speed punk sound…The
high-octane new album Straight til Morning from The Midnight Evils on
Estrus is a Tim Kerr-produced slab that
embodies the excitement of driving big cars at high speeds…Also on Estrus is
Get Knifed, the revved up alt-blues album with a sociopathic soul from
Fatal Flying Guilloteens. Also produced by Kerr, this is for those that think
Jon Spencer is too soft… From Smallstone
Records</a> comes It’s Not the Heat, It’s the Humanity by Puny Human.
This band has a muscular, serpentine hard rock that recalls White Zombie. (J.
Yuenger produced the record.) However, the vocals are thin and seem artificially
in front of the music. Is that the puny part to this record? … Sonny Vincent
has experience creating heavy music, beginning with his two-guitar punk group
The Testors (1976). He started making waves than and has not looked back since.
The Good The Bad The Ugly (Acetate)
includes many guests. Everyone from Wayne Kramer to Streetwalking Cheetahs’ Frank Meyer are
on the record. The album excellently synthesizes fast rock with an unpretentious
use of melody, as on “Trans-Love”…Not only is Gallery of Mites heavy music,
it is heavy to move the band’s equipment around. The 10-member group boasts
five guitarists. Gallery of Mites artfully uses these guitarists on Bugs
on the Bluefish</i> (Meteor City) for
a surprisingly articulate and cohesive hard rock album from what one may think
would just be a volume-over-structure wall of sound ensemble… </font></p>
<
p align=”center”>Listen
to or Buy Fuck the System at Amazon.com</a>
to or Buy Straight til Morning at Amazon.com</a>
to or Buy Get Knifed at Amazon.com</a>
to or Buy Good Bad Ugly at Amazon.com</a>
to or Buy Bugs ont eh Bluefish at Amazon.com</a>
</font></p>
A WORLD OF MUSIC
Canorous queen of ecstatic song Alessandra Belloni takes through Italian folk-song
of magico-religious nature on Tarantelle & Canti d’Amore: The Songs of Alessandra
Belloni</i> (Naxos World). The mood ranges from the spirited, passionate tarantellas
to gentle lullabies… For reflective, New Age acoustic sounds of Japan, Riley
Lee and Satsuki Odamura teamed on Picture Dreams (New World Music). Australian
Lee evidences his mastery of subtle shakuhachi impressions while accompanied
by koto in these instrumental duet settings…Wimme continues to update the Finnish
Sami vocal style known as joik by mating it with increasingly dance-like electronic
beats. Bárru (Northside) is the most techno-styled yet presenting an
interesting contrast between the far-away vocals of frozen Finland with the
warm, pulsing beats… Of course this wasn’t the first fusion of a sub-genre with
world sounds. Punks were mixing up dub and punk since the beginning, arising
as it was out of the fertile southeast England scene. All this is documented
in beat-driven detail on the compilation Wild Dub Dread Meets Punk Rocker
Downtown</i> (Select Cuts). Featured artists include The Clash, Generation X,
Killing Joke and Grace Jones… Amadou & Mariam have an album called Wati on Circular
Moves. This is a fun blend of traditional African vocals with bright electric
blues and rock guitar. This is amped up Afro-pop sung in French with an early
R&B delivery…When it is all over take it to la-la land with the compilation
Dreamland: World Lullabies & Soothing Songs from Putumayo.
Ideal for nighty-night, meditation, yoga and other relaxing activities, this
compendium draws from Australia, Scotland, Argentina and more… </font></p>
<
p align=”center”>Listen
to or Buy Alessandra Belloni at Amazon.com</a>
to or Buy Picture Dreams at Amazon.com</a>
to or Buy Wimme at Amazon.com</a>
to or Buy Dreamland at Amazon.com</a>
</font></p>
GOT BLUES IF YOU WANT IT
Nick Curran and the Nitelifes cranks it up on the swinging, upbeat Doctor
Velvet</i> (Blind Pig Records).
His large, jump blues ensemble includes piano and a horn section… To hear a
master of electric guitar blues, check out Talkin’ Blues, the new album
from Albert King (Thirsty Ear). The live album is from a 1978 Chicago performance
and includes “Born Under a Bad Sign”, “Blues at Sunrise” and more. Excellent
production could make this a classic. However, Thirsty Ear chose to interweave
interview portions between the tracks. While these are entertaining and illuminating
exchanges, they disrupt the pace of the album… George Thorogood rose to prominence
as a rocking blues musician in the late ’70s. This and the fact that he is perhaps
more popular with rock fans than blues fans make it seem odd that Rounder chose
to do a Thorogood album as part of its esteemed Heritage Series. However,
the album Who Do You Love? proves Thorogood to be a rooted player with
an impressive body of material. This album concludes with the title track that
is a previously unreleased live version of the title song… Savoy
Brown</a> has slimmed down its sound since the heady, bombastic days of the
hard rock boogie sound. The group’s new album on Blind Pig Records is Strange
Dreams</i> and shows Kim Simmonds and company delivering a tight, focused
electric blues-rock… Mostly instrumental is I Feel Like Goin’ On from
Ronnie Earl on Stony
Plain</a>. This is an exquisite blues guitar album that focuses on Earl’s fretwork
ability and style like none other in his discography… Another upbeat, blues
player on Stony Plain is David K. Wilcox. Rockin’ the Boogie: Best Blues
Boogie</i> is a collection spanning his quarter-century career in boogie and
blues and includes three new tracks… Another fine Canadian blues label is NorthernBlues
Music</a>. It is also an adventurous label, proving that again with the world-influenced
acoustic blues of James Cohen on High Side of Lowdown. Approaching gypsy
jazz, this is the intersection of flamenco and blues… Also acoustic, but getting
real traditional is Doc Watson on Trouble in Mind: The Country Blues Collection
(Sugar Hill). This album compiles
material from Watson’s past albums for an all-blues release and includes such
tracks as “Stackolee”, “Lost John” and the Jimmie Rodgers songs “Anniversary
Blues (Blue Yodel #7)”. This banjo-blues retrospective gets to the heart of
the matter quick and is 17 tracks or pure, unadulterated blues of the southern
Appalachia… </font></p>
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p align=”center”>
to or Buy Nick Curran at Amazon.com</a>
to or Buy George Thorogood at Amazon.com</a>
to or Buy Savoy Brown at Amazon.com</a>
to or Buy Ronnie Earl at Amazon.com</a>
to or Buy Trouble in Mind: The Country Blues at Amazon.com</a>
</font></p>
DVD REVIEWS ****************************
Early Exposure: Raw Meat and Rare Treats
Video Service Corp./Eclectic
DVD</a>
Endangered Feces
Video Service Corp./Eclectic
DVD</a>
These two videos make up over two hours of Tom Green’s outrageous video stunts,
pranks and ridiculous harassment of ordinary people. Sometimes Green’s antics
are out-and-out hilarious but even when the humor value is lacking the fascinating
thing becomes how far Green will go to get a reaction. These past episodes of
The Tom Green Show include handling roadkill, playing with roadkill,
blatant Lesbian airbrush art, men French kissing, garbage picking, silly songs
and more. Endangered Feces includes extra features covering Green making
a scene on other people’s show as their guests. Green’s confrontational comedy
is a cross between RE/Search Publications’ “Pranks!” and Coyle & Sharpe. (4)
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p align=”center”>More
on Early Exposure from Amazon.com</a>
on Endangered Feces from Amazon.com</a> </font></p>
Mike Gordon
Cactus Unlimited/MVD
This is a new release of the film by Mike Gordon of Phish, released with enhanced
sound and picture. Outside Out was the SXSW 2000 Audience Award Winner.
Gordon appears in the film as leader of the band Ramble Dove with a Gram Parsons’
“High Fashion Queen” wardrobe. However, this is a merely supporting role as
the story is built around the original Outside Out guitarist, Col. Bruce Hampton
(Fiji Mariners, Aquarium Rescue Unit). Hampton offers crazy wisdom and magical
communications through a guitar instructional video to a teen confused about
life. Hampton’s message that guitar advancement can come through nonconformist
philosophy and unlearning accepted technique finds fertile ground in the mind
of the teen looking at the guitar as a glamorous career, but lacking discipline.
Anyone that is going through or has ever gone through such a phase can relate
to this story, The quirky character played by Hampton and his weird digs adds
to the entertainment value of this offbeat tale about coming of age that is an expressionist
rock version of Herman Hesse’s “Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair’s Youth”.
This is because a highly unlikely series of events turns to verify the alternate
route the teen seeks for his school day aspirations. (4)
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p align=”center”>More
on the DVD from Amazon.com</a></font></p>
CD REVIEWS ****************************
Ursa Minor
Silent Moving Picture
In a time when experimental music is about dramatic effect, Michelle Casillas
experiments with subtlety and sounds unusual as they are understated on this
song-oriented after-hours album gem. Much of the texture here derives from the
juxtaposition of Casillas’ gently rolling piano and Fender Rhodes organ against
the low-level but wildly distorted guitars of Tony Scherr (Sex Mob, Lounge Lizards,
Bill Frisell). Another Lounge Lizard is on hard: cellist Jane Scarpantoni, as
well as other one-song appearances by Yuri Lemishev (accordion) and Chris Brown
(clavinet). Another feature of this album is the group’s take on the songs “Summertime
Rolls” from Jane’s Addiction. (4)
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Lines and Grooves
Fans of Bill Evans and Paul Desmond will appreciate this instrumental, basically
acoustic jazz album done in a classic style. The quartet built around journeyman
acoustic bassist Joshua Bayer includes Marty Nau on saxophone as well as Bob
Sykes on piano and Rhodes organ with Luther Gray holding down the bottom on
drums. Other than “Prelude” by George Gershwin, this album is all original material.
This is a subtle, exquisite album that never seeks to jar the listener, but
instead gently entertains. The point here is melody, not might; mood not majesty.
Lines and Grooves goes with dim lights and fine wine, romantic moments
and quiet times. (4.5)
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Zen Gardens
Clean Cuts
This is an album of impressionistic synth compositions, “music inspired by the
temples and gardens of Kyoto.” Fans of Steven Reich, later Tangerine Dream and
Kitaro will appreciate these compositions of Wall Matthews. Several duotones
decorating the CD picture render the well-tended gardens, picturesque brooks and stylistically
furrowed sand that should come to mind when listening. Multi-instrumentalist
Wall Matthews is known for his abilities in African percussion, as well as guitar
and piano. While the mood here is distinctly Oriental and not African, there
is a gently percussive quality that imbues a sense of rolling motion to the
pieces. Matthews also composed dance scores for ballet companies and these pieces
are evocative of the stage motions that make for effective choreography. (4)
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Edison Rocket Train
Yes! Yes!! Yes!!!
Edison Rocket Train is an alt-blues root-punk band in the tradition of Jon Spencer
Blues Explosion and Delta ‘72. The revved up rock album includes covers of ancient
blues numbers as “Samson and Delilah” and “Your Dice Won’t Pass”. Even the original
includes lyrical nods to country blues and early R&B, as in the title track
and the “dust my broom” phrase in “Party Man Special”. The band gets its drive
and energy from rocking guitarist Mike Edison, but a lot of the style here comes
from the saxophones and harp of Pete Linzell. Journeyman Linzell’s horns and
harps have graced albums by The Fleshtones, New Bomb Turks, Raunch Hands and
more. (3.5) </font></p>
Vic Bondi / Articles of Faith
Fortunate Son
Vic Bondi started as a protest singer and then formed Articles of Faith and
other bands. His reaction to Operation: Iraqi Freedom was to go back to where
he began and release new, rocking protest songs. Two appear on this split CDEP,
one being a driving, over the top take on John Fogerty’s “Fortunate Son”. The
two tracks by Articles of Faith actually were written 20 years ago, but are
examples of politicized hardcore that still resonate today: “Buy this War” and
“American Dreams”. (3) </font></p>
First, Worst & Cursed
Dionysus
This is not the punk group that featured one-time Misfit Bobby Steele. This
punk group sports the same B-movie styled punk with a greater sense of humor
and preceded the later Steele ensemble by a decade. The group began releasing
singles in 1977 and this compendium draws from the prolific period. Past of
the Masque scene, this album is not only interesting as the groups earliest
material, but as a window into the one of the manifold faces of West Coast punk
during the fertile period of the late ’70s when such varied and dedicated groups
sprouted up. The thin recordings roll past in short songs of varying levels
but each horror-schlock ditty is simple, catchy and stylized to fit the quartet
of Sid Terror, Bond Cobby, Elmer Dud and Joe Dirt. (3.5)
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A Momentary Lapse
Andrew Drury is the composer and drummer behind this jazz quintet in every
way. The music tends to be a frantic and perilous seesaw battle between violinist
Eyvind Kang and the saxophones (Chris Speed and Briggan Kraus). Also figuring
in prominently is Myra Melford in the piano. This avant-jazz supergroup is held
to the ground by the bass playing of Mark Dresser. The instrumental, eruptive
jazz pieces feature rock-like energy and attack. All this energy flows from
a very hard-working acoustic ensemble. A Momentary Lapse is a significant and
energetic recording that will appeal to fans of free jazz, Rock In Opposition,
prog rock as well as creative music in general.
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Ani DiFranco
Evolve
Here is an excellent assemblage of a dozen new studio tracks from DiFranco’s 5-piece
band. She began working in this setting a few years back and focused on fusing
melodic songwriting with attributes of funk. Evolve appears to be the culminating
synthesis of these disparate approaches to music with ample similarity to her successful neo-folk sound of the ’90s to satisfy purist fans. Ani
DiFranco returned to performing solo, but fortunately for us she captured in
the studio on new material the musicians she has melded with as a touring unit
over recent years: Julie Wolf (keyboards), Hans Teuber (reeds), Jason Mercer (bass)
and Daren Hahn (drums) as well as a three-piece horn section. (4.5)
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Todd Snider
Near Truths and Hotel Rooms
On this live album, Todd Snider proves himself not only to be the court jester
representative of “no depression” alternative country but an able performer
of very solid material. “D.B. Cooper” is a triumphant ballad to the high-altitude-thief-as-folk-hero
and “Lonely Girl” is a touching ballad. The album also features such down home
howlers as the spelling lesson “Beer Run”. Most songs are introduced with Snider’s
drawled patter, which seems to never grow old on this entertaining disc. (4)
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Burn Piano Island, Burn
They are calling this new generation of aggro “screamo” and The Blood Brothers
are riding that wave for all it is worth. Already prolific, the group in 2003
has a five-title discography starting with the attention-getting 2001 release
March on Electric Children. It is obvious from this output and the explosive,
frenetic tracks of this album that the guys in this band are full of energy.
Two dedicated vocalists screaming and carrying on unfettered by even so much
as maracas are the main weapon in the arsenal of The Blood Brothers. Old school
fans of post-punk aggro will see this noisy group, which features a lot of swing
in their clamorous grooves, as a cross between Laughing Hyenas and Alice Donut.
This is a sophisticated, intelligent take on hardcore that should not go unnoticed.
(4)
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Bob Marley and The Wailers
Greatest Hits at Studio One
Perhaps no other group did more to popularize reggae music than The Wailers.
This mighty force in reggae had its starts as a trio produced by Clement Dodd
in Jamaica’s legendary Studio One. This collection takes us back to those seminal
days when the group was a vocal trio: Marley, Peter Tosh and Neville Livingston.
It was at this time the group recorded early versions of “One Love” and “Simmer
Down”, heard on this release. There is a proto-ska sound to these recording
that includes backing musicians who later figured heavily in the ska movement:
Tommy McCook, Lloyd Brevett, Roland Alphonso, etc. This is the sound influenced
by American radio that emerged out of Jamaica and later diverged down two paths:
ska and reggae. (4.5)
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Gravity of Crow
Monkey Holding Peach Records
Gravity of Crow is a very well produced album of great pop songs that
will resonate with fans of Elvis Costello and Leonard Cohen. There is also a
very Midwestern feel to tunes by this Chicago singer-songwriter, as can be heard
on “Open Wide”. Subtle backing and harmony vocals from Laura Blye adds a warm
style to this exquisite collection of exquisite gems. Rose’s band The Transcendoes
always finds the correct balance between vocal and instrumental expression on
these songs. This is especially true when Steve Doyle waxes melodic on the Dobro.
The lyrics are included in the booklet, as they always should be when they are
this good. (4) </font></p>
I’m Back in Therapy and it’s all Your Fault
Thirteenth Note Records
Pianist and composer Roberta Piket steps out of her successful acoustic form
with the electric project Alternating Current on I’m Back in Therapy and it’s
all Your Fault</i>. Her combination of a vintage Wurlitzer electric piano with an
array of effects pedals makes for a warm, personal sound on this instrumental
album. (3.5)
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