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Post by maarts on Sept 15, 2007 20:18:14 GMT -5
WARNING- THIS POST WILL ONLY MAKE SENSE TO MELONIUS THUNK! DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU CANNOT MAKE SENSE OF RAMBLINGS, RANDOM MINDWARPS AND UNINTELLIGIBLE THOUGHTS!
Melons shorts: Breakdown track by track.
Now dammit, I had a list of tracks. So I'll have to guess now as well as describe.
OK- starting off- I never have eaten cornflakes but I'll have my coffee to this. Bacon and eggs perhaps later? Now why don't I ever have hash-browns in my place? Here we go- music coming up!
This must be your mate Dave? Doesn't anybody in his place ever shut up?
Winners' Blues! Experimental JetSet has little gems like that.
Reggae- song is Freedom Cry? They Might Be Honkies? Bit weak around the gills.
I'll make a shoehorn out of your skin? Recognize the voice from somewhere. Pretty nice. Why kazoo?
Little fucking around- more like Oddity than Odyssey....
Hahahaha! Scratching my dandruff! Like a Prince-goofaround doing a Zappa-number. Sounds like a send up- The Roots or sommun' like that?
Nice little instrumental- Chillis? Could be Frusciante.
White Stripes! This represents what i like about them- simple song, nice little hook.
Dave fucks around with Hendrix again. Can't the woman get him a beer or something? Rock on dude!
OK, Beasties I recognize- funny bastards doin' their little puink send ups! Kind of song i used to pogo like mad too. Mindless but good to relieve the stress to. Sometimes I think that the less serious the BB take themselves the better they are.
What the fuck is this? Great reverse piano a la the Cure. What is a glycerine clown? Sounds like something out of the Lips-freakbook.
Is this a Lips/Muse send up? Don't recognise this but that singer sounds like David Coverdale crossed with Plant who just had a giant stick of dynamite rammed up his ass.
Aaaaah! This is the way I like my Chillies even though the album which it is from is one of the ones leading to their interest decline (for me). These little funked out things are prime stuff. Now why those damn bollocksy stadium rockers? They really are been a band that laet me down.
Hmm, bit overfuzzed but awright. Mudhoney?
I think I smell Jack White. Hmmyeah.
These guys i heard earlier. Just guessing here because of your musical interest- Blind Melon? I remember hearing similar little tracks on Soup. OK but not long enough to make an impression.
This guy has been listening to Roy Harper in the way he starts off this number! Wanna throttle him with that whiny voice. I never can work out why artists want to fuck up a nice little interplay between guitars with dumb screaming. Blood on my neck eh?
Beasties. I can imagining them playing together with Bad Brains! Shredding it up one side, go dub/rap next up.
Another punky send up. Melon, you like a lot of this stuff? thought you were a bit more mellow yellow.
This is like the sun crashing through the darkened clouds. This is one of those artists that just evaporate all those modern singer/songwriters who believe that they can make a song more interesting by being oddball about it. I'm talking to you, yes, YOU, Bright Eyes, Banhart! Take some classes and listen to Cash. Better, take a listen and resign on the spot. Go make shinbones out of skin!
Elliott Smith knew that. Why did he want to die?
One off my fave tracks of Green Mind. Still don't like the vocal but those guitars sound oh so sweet!
Aaah, I think I might have solved a previous puzzle here too- the one about the Prince-rip off. Is this Outkast? This must be the song they recorded with Snorah Jones! She sounds so much like Janis Ian on this track!
'nother weird-ass instrumental. Bit pointless.
Now this is more like it! Clintonesque (George, not Bill!), 'funky drummer' and the Booker T-organ. Could go on forever but has a BIG FUCKING FADE-OUT! Noooooooooo! I hate fade-outs on tracks like these with a passion! What were they thinking? As if a band has lost interest half-way through and can't be arsed to finish off the song PROPERLY! Double demerit points! Is this Dr. Teeth?
More instrumentals: this rock dirge is going nowhere!
Wow, this sounds like Mark Isham jamming with Frusciante. This is good, like it when that open drum kicks in but it's too short!
Must be Melon-time again? I'm getting more convinced this is Blind Melon (that's what you get if you rage on about a band for so long!) But I will pick up Nico and Soup tomorrow and relisten! This band has influenced more of those alt.country bands than they get credit for.
This is one of my all-time favourite Elliott Smith-songs. The Mellotron makes me trip like nothing else! This is absolute bliss and, again, wayy too short!
LOL! This track reminds me of my music classes- there's one or two people that can play an instrument and the rest manages to hold one note on a recorder or a trumpet (which was what i learned to play). This is exactly what my rant around Johnny Cash's track is about. This is so 'art for art's sake'.
Haven't heard that U2-track for ages! Collected their singles for a while and flogged this one (Stay) as one of the more interesting ones (I never really cared for the endless remixes they did, the B-sides are pretty good fun though). Is this your mate again? Buy him a beer from me if his woman won't get him one!
Elliott Smith- The Morning After. What a track!
A gentle wah-wahing piece of fun(k). Like the drumroll at the end.
Crap, I know this- this sounds like a missing Pink Floyd-track. Loved the atmosphere build-up by the guitars, don't know what the narration was all about, waffling on about a cup of mercury (again in that 'oh so arty'-vein! Couldn't the band get rid of the singer and record a full album of this shit? I'd be the first to buy it!)....can't think of what this is.
And the finish- glorious! Chris Isaak! One of the best torch song singers (and guitarists) of the modern aera.
Like the sequencing a lot here, some of this really emphasises how bad some of the rest of modern music sounds. Nicely eclectic mix- cheerypicking the more traditional stuff (Isaak, Cash, Smith) I like the best but then again, I'm getting to be an old fart.
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Post by upinkzeppelin2 on Sept 16, 2007 15:04:43 GMT -5
Bravo, bravo! Great review, maarts. Although you're right. Without the tracklist, I'm probably the only one who knows what the hell yer talkin' about. But it was a grand review nonetheless. I guess I'm the most surprised that you weren't taken with Scaterd Few at all, especially the reggae track.
That 2nd to last song was Smashing Pumpkins' last song on Pisces Iscariot - "Spaced".
Nice little instrumental- Chillis? Could be Frusciante.
Yep, Frusciante it is.
What the fuck is this? Great reverse piano a la the Cure. What is a glycerine clown? Sounds like something out of the Lips-freakbook.
Frusciante again. Weird, I know. Very weird.
Is this a Lips/Muse send up? Don't recognise this but that singer sounds like David Coverdale crossed with Plant who just had a giant stick of dynamite rammed up his ass.
LOL! This is Scaterd Few, my friend. I thought of putting the Cornflake lady right before this tune as a joke. Good description of his voice, but for some reason I dig this song.
Aaaaah! This is the way I like my Chillies even though the album which it is from is one of the ones leading to their interest decline (for me). These little funked out things are prime stuff. Now why those damn bollocksy stadium rockers? They really are been a band that laet me down.
You described word for word exactly how I feel about this song AND the Peppers too. Well said.
Hmm, bit overfuzzed but awright. Mudhoney?
Unwound.
These guys i heard earlier. Just guessing here because of your musical interest- Blind Melon?
Yep, a little tune called "Hell" that I remember Rocky digging quite a bit on a mix I made for him.
This guy has been listening to Roy Harper in the way he starts off this number! Wanna throttle him with that whiny voice. I never can work out why artists want to fuck up a nice little interplay between guitars with dumb screaming. Blood on my neck eh?
Ok, I'll admit that this is a Frusciante tune that I only put on here for comedic reasons. I always get a good laugh out of the screams here.
A gentle wah-wahing piece of fun(k). Like the drumroll at the end.
The Beasties again. Last track on I'll Communication: "Transitions".
And you're right in calling "Forever Blue" by Chris Isaak "glorious". That's without question the best tune on this disc if you ask me. Thanks again for the review, maarts. Peace.
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Post by maarts on Sept 17, 2007 5:44:11 GMT -5
That 2nd to last song was Smashing Pumpkins' last song on Pisces Iscariot - "Spaced".
Duuuuuuude! I got that here! Of course!
Scater'd Few may have a few more arrows up on the bow but what I heard was more fillah, not killah.
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Post by Ayinger on Dec 12, 2007 21:25:06 GMT -5
this is a quick rundown on my 3rd play or so of recently rec'd gifts from our Melon friend:
MR THUNK'S PIX - DISC 1
1 - BAND OF HORSES "The First Song" --- and this isn't My Morning Jacket ?? -- wow! effin' great tune and effin' great lead off...makes me want to go out and get the disc! Nicely paced and put together...A+ in my book.
2 - ANNUALS "Bleary-Eyed" --- follow up lighter but fits in fine --- nicely done....a bit like a slighter Flaming Lips at times,,,,at least in spirit perhaps.
3 - YO LA TENGO "Moby Octopad" --- this slinks right in,,,,got a nice flow going here. Like the intertwining vocals...seductive but you got that almost "Peter Gunn" thing in the background. In fact this has a bit of a 60's touch to it. ooo,,,nice little break with the tacky piano against the squeaky guitar.
4 - SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE "100 Million" --- matches the previous song but more upbeat. Like this too!
5 - STARS "Your Ex-Love Is Dead" --- opening cello (?) strings sound like they're almost lifted off of Lou Reed's "Street Hassle". There's like a similar tone with most of these songs so far....structure too. I like the 2nd vocalist kicking in.
7- THE 77'S "God Sends Quails" --- yeah! this is breaking the mold of the prior stretch of tunes and the intro is just plain baddddd. drums mixing it up with almost jazzy kicks, bass just here in the b/g and very cool guitar surfing over it all.
8 - THE DEARS "We Want It" --- okay,,,,again reminds me some of the previous songs; the slower begining and end portions just make me not want to care...
9 - BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE "KC Accidental" --- I really thought I'd like something from this band better....this cut isn't convincing to me....I think I'm od'ing from snappy drums and stretched out jingly guitars
10 - BLUR '1992" --- noise and drama that sounds cool but I'm not sure if it's going anywhere....oh well, the ride's a bit fun!
12 - JOHN FRUSCIANTE "untitled #5" --- ha! lovingly sloppy in a sight way...sounds like speghetti trying to keep from slipping off the plate.
13 - SCATTERED FEW "A Freedom Cry" --- good change of pace with the reggae beat and segues nicely out of the Frusciante. jah, I can dig!
14 - A.C. NEWMAN "Miracle Drug" --- good god this guy sounds like Ray Davis of The Kinks voice-wise. Punchy shorty tune!
15 - LADYBUG TRANSISTOR "Six Times" --- sounds like something I've heard earlier here....meaning not bad at all but I could switch it out with [ fill-in-the-blank ] . I really think I'm going to have to let this disc sink into me more.....
16- SILVERSUN PICKUPS "Three Seed" --- good in a low-key sense
17 - PASSENGERS "Your Blue Room" --- damn, I swear I know this singer....almost Bono-esque background vocals,,,but....
18 - BLUR "No Distance Left To Run" --- decent ender,,,really!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On a whole, this disc strikes me first and foremost as well put-together as everything flows well and goes together....but that is also it's only bit of a downfall too, at least to my ears. There's somewhat repitition in the sound/pacing of the songs there towards the middle of the disc. Like I get a feel of listening to some and it's a real good "dessert" but now & then I want to stick my fork into some "meat & potatoes",,,,it you know what I mean. (prob not....I should maybe get back to ya....)
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Post by upinkzeppelin2 on Dec 13, 2007 18:43:19 GMT -5
Thanks for the review, Ayinger! Tracks 4 & 5 stand head and shoulders above the rest of the songs on here to me. Concerning your longing for "meat and potatoes", well it's possible that I could be a bit too much into mellow, emotionally grabbing tunes. I've been told that before. But anyway is was quite kewl to read your review. Thanks again.
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Post by Ayinger on Dec 14, 2007 21:10:23 GMT -5
next: MR THUNK'S PIX - DISC 2
1 - SUPERCHUNK "Like A Fool" --- I think a co-worker burnt this CD for me last year; was decent sounding enough but didn't totally bowl me over.
2 - PHIL KEAGGY "Count Down" --- fuckinA GORGEOUS!!!! 110% signed-sealed-delivered construction on this tune with nary a note out of place.
3 / 4 - "THE MIGHTY MELON MANIACS" --- laughed my ass off at this (and envied at y'er chops).... I loved the days I'd screw around making cassettes with 'special' inserts..... really, this was cool
6 - WOLF PARADE "We Built Another World" --- didn't click with me...strikes me of something aped off of a band from the 80's.
7 / 8 - JOHN FRUSCIANTE "My Smile Is My Rifle" / "Big Takeover" --- see, I always suspected his solo stuff would sound somewhat like this, making me imagine him screwing off in some dark, dank motel room. There's all kinds of mess ups and whackedout free-for-all-ness going on. I just like it because it's like he doesn't care.
9 - 'suprise' --- I'm saying this is Curtis Mayfield or are you gonna tell me Lenny Kravitz????
10 - LEE MORGAN "Totem Pole" --- nniiiiiiccccce kicked back jazz! I'm sure I know this tune but I can't recall having it or anything by Morgan at all. I'll have to look into this guy more deeply -- thanks!
11 - THE REDWALLS "Hung Up On The Way I'm Feeling" --- 1st impression is latter day Beatles....like almost lost Abbey Road track. They still make it their own -- good score here too.
12 - MT. EGYPT "Strange Sad Air" --- is this a cover? Almost sounds like it could be,,,,or it borrows a music line near something I've heard before. Alright tune for bridging things here....
13 / 14 - WEEN "I Don't Want It" / "A Tear For Eddie" --- nice opening tune,,,sways realllll gently into that guitar solo. 2nd tune,,,loved the liquid guitar sound here too. Good, really good touches put into the playing on these. Might have to check out more on Ween.......
15 - YO LA TENGO "The Lie And How We Told It" --- dreamy too but not with the depth of the above cuts.
16 - ANNUALS "Brother" --- ok,,,,sounds too much like they're trying to 'make' "something" here and, well, it shows.....
17 - M83 "Gone" --- always had interest in this band and have nearly an album by them. Different hearing a stand-alone track as they strike me as better heard surging from one song to another so that you capture the entire mental-motion picture they're showin'.
18 - GILLIAN WELCH "Elvis Presley Blues" --- always a good tune. Example of an exceptional voice backed just rightly so!
19 - CAMERA OBSCURA "Dory Previn" --- nice pairing with the Welch....goes down easy.
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Post by upinkzeppelin2 on Dec 14, 2007 23:18:54 GMT -5
Wow, it's amazing how brains differ. "Like A Fool" is the best frickin' track on this disc to me, but I'm so pleased you are so taken aback by Phil Keaggy and Lee Morgan. I've been meaning to ask around here if it really is true that Hendrix said Keaggy was the best when asked if he himself was. Keaggy's a Christian rocker, I guess you know, or did you? Anyhoo, he's a top notch guitarist as you can see. I've heard him rock out before but "County Down" is the most beautiful and perfect thing he's ever put together IMO. Concering Superchunk, I feel the same way about them mostly with the exception of that track....it blows me away.
Oh, and yeah, you got it right, the 2nd time that is.......Kravitz.......no shit, man.
Glad you enjoyed and I was so doubtful that you would dig the Frusciante stuff. Proved me wrong and I'm glad.
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Post by upinkzeppelin2 on Dec 14, 2007 23:22:42 GMT -5
Oh yeah, and I forgot to ask if you liked the Mitch Hedberg stuff.
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Post by upinkzeppelin2 on Dec 15, 2007 0:21:26 GMT -5
And I forgot to add that Frusciante's "The Big Takeover" is a Bad Brains song.
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Post by Ayinger on Dec 18, 2007 21:58:10 GMT -5
Mr. Thunk's Four More On The Floor
SHINS:
"Sleeping Lessons"
"Gone For Good"
"New Slang"
"St. Simon"
Don't know if they'll grow on me or not.....strikes me as polished and packaged somewhat. It's funny, but to my ears what is classified as "Indie Rock" all seems to be folded up upon the same page --- the bands just run altogether IMO. But on the other hand, I DO pick up on some nuances with these guys. "New Slang" has this bit of innocence in its sound that's appealing to me. Funny but they almost have an English sound to 'em.... Really, really not bad but just not moving enough in any certain direction for me.
BUILT TO SPILL:
"Kicked It In The Sun"
"Untrustable, Pt 2"
"You Were Right"
I dunno,,,,maybe it's the context here. I've got the band's last album You In Reverse (and dig it) but this trio here seem to lack some punch or something in comparison. VERY suprised in my reaction here as I was all ready to go with them. Mind you there's a lot going on within each tune but I was expecting a tiny, tiny bit more *crunch* or something. I know these guys can pump up more (fer k'rist sake they stretched out "Cortez The Killer" once) but also know they spill into more poppier cuts too. "You Were Right" has some nice moments in the mid-break.
ELLIOT SMITH
"No Name #3"
"Needle In The Hay"
"Ballad Of Big Nothing"
"Waltz #2"
"Let's Get Lost"
I like the drift of honesty & simplicity Smith throws out without being too EMO-ridden. Sorry, as cold as this sounds, but you can believe that this IS a guy who'd cut his own throat. He gets his craft across in a manner that rises above the other whinny I-just-wet-my-panties-over-you crap that tries to pass as soooo sincere and full of angst. And gee, he seems to be a musician to boot! yeah,,,,I like this guy. Crown him the Nick Drake of the turn of the century.
URGE OVERKILL:
"The Candidate"
"Emmalene"
"Heaven 90210"
"Theme From Navojo"
ALL HAIL THE POWER POP! This is a band I would have loved to have seen live at 1AM in a small, drunk, crowded bar....you KNOW they'd just kill. Their version of "Emma" captures the 70's wah-wah dark funk-rock to a 't'! "Theme From Navojo" get to be a bit draggy for an ender --- like these guys when they're up 'n doin' IT. Their drummer really drives the machine to a nice edge.
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Post by upinkzeppelin2 on Dec 18, 2007 22:50:20 GMT -5
Kewl: another review. Yeah, I'm seeing (mainly in the BTS review) that my mellowness is perhaps showing a bit too much here. As much as I consider my self a rocker, usually my favorite song from a band is a really emotionally grabbing mellow tune. For instance:
My favorite Pearl Jam song: Indifference
My favorite Beastie Boys song: Namaste
My favorite Led Zeppelin song: Ten Years Gone
My favorite Radiohead song: Pyramid Song
My favorite Muse song: Ruled By Secrecy
My favorite Dinosaur Jr. song: Not the Same (although I would much rather hear some lady like Alison Krauss sing this'n)
You get the point. I love hard, heavy or groovin' jams at least as much as most other people, but when I pick out my favorites, they're usually more serious and toned down. So I guess I never thought of the fact that a song like "Kicked It In the Sun" doesn't really have much "punch" to it, but it's a perfectly written song in my book. Glad you liked most of the stuff, though.
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Post by Ryosuke on Dec 20, 2007 6:42:34 GMT -5
I bet my mix CDs were even better though.
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Post by Ayinger on Dec 20, 2007 16:27:00 GMT -5
I bet my mix CDs were even better though. Ryo, I can't believe you posted that! I swear to god that I was meaning to put a postscript in my last post on this board that I still owed reviews on your discs and even last night placed them all out by the stereo equipment as a reminder!!! The music is "apples & oranges" here --- Thunk's first disc sounded seamless right on its initial play. As I noted in the review, I think the chosen songs pretty well match one another in tone/tempo and such and that's why it works. Your discs were each like a train ride through exotic landscapes....songs blended from one to another, shifting to different heights. oh yeah,,,,I've got to get on to these again for you AND me! KEEP AN EYE OUT HERE. |
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Post by Ryosuke on Dec 21, 2007 7:51:58 GMT -5
Your discs were each like a train ride through exotic landscapes....songs blended from one to another, shifting to different heights. Haha, a part of me is going "what the hell is this guy on?" while another knows exactly what you're talking about. I think I do get it though - the discs skip across genres like there's no tomorrow (rock, jazz, reggae, house, indie pop, post-rock, and whatever the hell Rovo is supposed to be), and for the non-instrumental tracks, I can see how the Japanese vocals seem exotic to the Western ear. Really, you had such great words for the discs when you first got them, so I was quite chuffed. Look forward to hearing whatever you have to say about them! |
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Post by Ayinger on Jan 2, 2008 21:30:38 GMT -5
Your discs were each like a train ride through exotic landscapes....songs blended from one to another, shifting to different heights. Haha, a part of me is going "what the hell is this guy on?" while another knows exactly what you're talking about. I think I do get it though - the discs skip across genres like there's no tomorrow (rock, jazz, reggae, house, indie pop, post-rock, and whatever the hell Rovo is supposed to be), and for the non-instrumental tracks, I can see how the Japanese vocals seem exotic to the Western ear. Really, you had such great words for the discs when you first got them, so I was quite chuffed. Look forward to hearing whatever you have to say about them! 1 Special Others - "Idol" I could just stop right HERE. The rest of this disc could be 70-some minutes blank and I wouldn't care. This is musical magic right here and instantly became one of my favorite songs EVER. Period. I will never forget the first time I heard it. End of story. (am I gushing enough?? don't fucking care!) Insanely driven, yet pure in tone and execution so that it's never ever overthetop. An instrumental that gallops one through a brilliant journey that is almost sad when it reaches its end. ...yeah, THIS is the sort of "train ride" I was speaking of! 2 Inushiki "Ichiban-boshi Kuruu" And now the follow up, and how would you pull that off after the opening tune? By going almost ( almost) downshifting into chill/lounge/club territory, but see this is where your genius or knack in formatting a disc already comes into play. A blend of electronica with real acoustic & electrified instruments that play off each other superbly like signs of life poking through a fog machine haze. 3 Sunny Day Service "Parade" Shades of a southern American love song complete with slide guitar and go-to-church organ. Could call it The Black Crowes but with any touches of sleeze or grime left out by the curb. Lets out with upward jubulant proclamation with horns &piano that puts the music curve back on the upswing. See: only 3 tunes in and already feels like several REAL big waves have been riden upon --- each song has been different in attack, instruments used, etc. but yet there's they still connect to one another --- LOVELY! 4 Sleep Walker "Kaze" And now we fall into an instrumental jazzy trip, intro'ing with piano tinkles, breathless flute, and snap-at-the-wrist drum patter. Things get busy soon enough but this heat is concise too -- every note is in its place! We're 180 degrees away from where the last song left us off and we've not taken off in a direction of the same plane but one that jutts outward on some new upwards angle. Only to have.... 5 Spangle Call Lilli Line " E" ....pull us back sharply to the left. or is it the right? perhaps back through the eye-of-the-needle to the dark club at sometime past the mark of Midnight.... Gone is the jazz freedom and in comes an icy march intoned by a songbird through wet purpleblue lipstick. Somewhat heartbroken but hardly vulnerable,,, 6 A Hundred Birds "Georgia" Now we're almost have circled back to the club lounginess of the 2nd track and it almost feels centering in a way as the cut lopes along on almost wordless vocals (my Japanese is, well non-existant anyhow, LOL). The bridge is created to take us into the next tune.... 7 Fishmans "Walking In The Rhythm" ...which brings us clubby reggae with a touch of chill. 8 Ajico "Hadou" Starts anthmn with singing that at first brings to mind Sinead O'Conner for some reason....I wouldn't even swear it's female but there's this freedom of how the words are coming forth. The instrument meltdown that builds and comes outward in the last half brings a fitting conclusion to the disc. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I'm afraid my thoughts go all over the place while I listen to this --- but then that can also be credited to the music selection! ALL of these songs are played very, very, very well --- the musicianship is plain killer thoughout be it a simple mellow line to the complex jazz webs. Hell,,,,I don't even want to try and stick to labels and types --- just boils at 100% no matter WHAT the ingrediants are cooking up to be. I'm sure I'm not giving the best descriptive review..... Can I be allowed to bring it down to one sincere BRAVO ? |
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