Music Reviews
Orb
Orb Live 93
(Island Red Label)
Can a keyboard-based ambient band play live? As this sprawling two-disc set indicates, British neo-slackers the Orb have peddled their technical hijinks to devoted fans from Tokyo to Copenhagen. Alex Paterson, former A&R rep for Brian Eno's EG Records, and engineer wunderkind Kristian Weston (aka Thrash), are the Orb. In July of 1990, after the Orb's original duo of Paterson and Jimmy Cauty had split, Alex enlisted the aid of 18-year-old Weston to remix his third single, "Little Fluffy Clouds." The two joined forces as the Orb in 1991.
From their debut LP Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld, to the epic 40-minute single "Blue Room" and follow-up album UFOrb (which topped the UK charts), the Orb have turned a melange of musical styles into their own signature art form. Paterson and Weston and an ever-changing roster of friends/collaborators mix television, radio, film, animal noises, and natural sounds into complex soundscapes. This is pop culture recontextualized, made music. These are masters of modern collage.
Dappled with hilarious samples, aural experimentation, and a smattering of laid-back beats, Orb Live 93 is a subtle and cerebral experience. "Star 6 & 7 8 9," the high point of the gorgeous Disc A, combines roars of obnoxious engines with arias of angelic voices. Disc B has its moments (notably the eerie beauty of "Spanish Castles In Space"), but does not measure up to the first disc. Despite the inclusion of two new tracks ("Plateau" and "Valley"), Live 93 is mainly a collection of previously released material; no matter - it's an essential Orb purchase anyway. Yes, they can play live.
- Stephen Reese
Glenn Gould Beethoven/Liszt; Piano Transcriptions;
Symphony No. 6 in F major; "Pastoral"
(Sony Classical SMK 52637)
This first release of a 1968 recording is a major addition to Gould's catalog. Transcriptions often cast the familiar in a new light, and - together with Gould's knack for finding something new in every piece - this makes for an astonishing performance, unquestionably Beethoven. Gould's unequaled clarity pays off in the Liszt transcription, which attempts to replicate all the notes of the orchestration wherever possible. Excellent recorded sound - Gould's ever-present singing is reduced to a minimum by well-placed microphones.
- Bryan Higgins
The Bobs
Shut Up and Sing! (Rounder)
An a cappella quartet, The Bobs (Talking Heads meets Manhattan Transfer?) are utterly unique. Their music is smart and engaging, with odd but clever harmonic twists and inventive, memorable melodies. The lyrics are always humorous if not outrageously hilarious. (Imagine a song called "Spontaneous Human Combustion.") In "Mr. Duality," Matthew "Bob" Stull intones, "They call me Mr. Duality (two guys...one bod)." The Bobs couldn't be more low-tech: There's no electronic gear, but the sparks fly. After a hard day in the techno-world, plug in by turning off the juice with The Bobs.
- Dean Suzuki
Garrison Fewell
A Blue Deeper Than Blue
(Accurate Records)
Fewell's reluctance to record this outstanding debut was a matter of principle: "Years ago, when I was really struggling, [bassist] Buster Williams told me, 'Just perfect your craft.'" Fewell plays for the sake of art, not recognition, and covers a broad range of standards in the process. His beautiful tone and effortless, fluid lines draw the listener in as only a select few have done. An optimal rhythm section backs this fine guitarist, who appeals on the sublime, emotional level of a Bill Evans or a Jim Hall.
- James Rozzi
D'Cuckoo
Umoja
(RGB Records)
This cyber-percussion all-female trio performs on electronic marimbas and drum controllers designed and built by D'Cuckoo members. Their music is both up-to-the-minute and timeless by virtue of its influences, which include world music, rock, funk, pop, and dance music. Ambient techno-tribal ballads are juxtaposed against funky, hip-hop dance numbers and postmodern polyrhythmic Third Worldisms. The sophisticated and rich vocal arrangements include African chants, which add an exotic touch to the already multicultural stew.
- Dean Suzuki
Turtle Creek Chorale
Rutter Requiem + Five Anthems
(Reference Recordings)
Requiem is a complex and compelling piece - pastoral, atmospheric, and ominous, as befits a mass for the dead. The soaring sound of 300 voices is stunning whether or not you care for the liturgical text. The accompanying instruments - pipe organ, harp, cello, winds, and percussion - balances the power of the massed voices and heightens the intensity of this choral work. The anthems are smaller compositions of varying musical depth; the Requiem will rivet you.
- Peter L. Herb
Sali Sadibe
Wassoulou Foli
(Stern's Africa)
Sali is the outstanding Malian vocalist whose track on the recent Women of Wassoulou compilation sounded like early Velvet Underground, complete with sawing fiddle and juggernaut percussion. Her new solo release fulfills the promise implicit in that one cut. Culled from a batch of recent Malian-issued cassettes (with the obligatory rap track to thrust us into the '90s and nearly ruin everything), this is a melodic album with rhythmic backing tracks, enough to scare the spirits out of the forests.
- Dr. Rhythm
Throneberry
Sangria
(Alias)
Sangria seems like a party where everyone's cooler than you: a members-only club of obscure place references and inside jokes, with singer Jason Arbenz longwindedly pondering everything from geography and masturbation to What Women Want. Right - phone me a cab. But get this debut alone in a corner with a couple of drinks, and you'll discover a dark, shy one, worth getting to know. Lonely guitar melodies, ingenious similes, and masterful sad-songwriting make Throneberry's intellect palatable, even intriguing. And, like most Cincinnati bands, they wear the nicest clothes....
- Colin Berry
Trumans Water
Godspeed the Punchline
(Homestead)
Trumans Water learned a long time ago that if you trust your mistakes, you can live forever. They've retained the kernel of their oeuvre through three LPs - a goofy, schizo-rock racket, cresting the wave of jerky angular sound lately seeping from down San Diego way. But the giddiness of discovery fades. You can't make mistakes on purpose. Trumans Water is at the dawn of a new space-pop sensibility, shaping their foundering style into a lasting imprint. Now if they can only forget how to play.
- Patrick Barber
Microwave O' The Month
Keiji Haino
Execration That Accept to Acknowledge
(Nervous Records)
yyyyyyyyyeah. And once, I got to play around with a broken guitar and a bad amp, too. But not for 40 minutes. We appreciate experimental music around here, but this is bad experimental music. Baaaaad. Perfect for 'waving - watch it crackle. - KS
