New York Noise, vol. 2: Music from the New York Underground 1977-1984 (Soul Jazz)
Volume 1 was amazing enough; this new one’s even cooler because it goes even deeper into the scene -almost half of the bands are new to me. This is the stuff that inspires the current generation of beat-heavy alt-rockers, but few have the freshness and imagination of the originals! There’s the guitar-heavy post-minimalism of Rhys Chatham and Glenn Branca (the latter in his group The Static) and disciples Sonic Youth; there’s the punk-funk of Ut and Vortex; there’s the warped disco of Arthur Russell/Nicky Siano and Pulsallama; there’s the unclassifiable oddity of the toy piano-powered “Favorite Sweater” by Y Pants. There’s the sense that all these people were listening to each other, cross-pollinating, producing a beautifully ugly sound allied to angular beats that epitomizes what New York was like before it was yuppified and cleaned up.
Gastr del Sol – The Harp Factory on Lake Street (Table of the Elements)
This reissue of a 1995 EP is David Grubbs at his most experimental. Its single 17-minute track opens with strings, horns, dissonant tone clusters, and abrupt disjunctions in a throbbing, blaring attack on the senses, followed by Grubbs singing over piano, then a quiet, pensive close of piano and an electronic buzz. Mysterious but intriguing!
Nine Horses – Snow Borne Sorrow (Samadhisound)
In his new group, David Sylvian and his brother (and fellow Japan member) Steve Jansen collaborate with electronic composer/remixer Burnt Friedman. In some aspects it’s a return to the sound of Rain Tree Crow, but with some edgy sax and trumpet adding new textures to Sylvian’s brooding music. Lyrically, he gets more political than in the past, but retains the skewed poetry of his best work. All in all, quite a comeback.
Sviatoslav Richter – Rediscovered: Carnegie Hall Recital December 26, 1960 (RCA)
Many concert recordings of this legendary classical pianist have been released, some authorized and many not. This, recorded officially and approved by Richter, is one of the most spectacular, mostly unheard for over four decades. Highlights include delicately poised Ravel, Prokofiev full of wit and tension, evanescent Debussy, and poetic Chopin. This is pianism at its finest.
Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk – s/t (Atlantic)
Though the group is nominally the drummer’s, this is basically a Monk album – and it ranks very high in his discography. Five of the six tunes on this 1957 session are by Monk, who temporarily assumes the piano chair in a quintet including tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin, Monk’s opposite in his voracious dashes through chord progressions yet a soulful player who’s ultimately a most complementary foil – so Monk hired Griffin for his own quartet.
Neil Young – Harvest (Reprise)
When I was in high school, I had all the songs on this 1972 LP memorized. On one level, Harvest continues in the vein of its predecessor, After the Gold Rush, but with even more production variety (including two orchestra-accompanied tracks). The mainstream favorites included “Heart of Gold,” which reached No. 1 on the pop singles chart, and “Old Man” (No. 31), but the true classic turned out to be “The Needle and the Damage Done.”
Tom Lehrer – Songs & More Songs by Tom Lehrer (Rhino)
Harvard mathematician Lehrer’s short music career established him as the supreme musical satirist. In 1953 he spent $15 to record Songs by Tom Lehrer, singing with biting hilarity and playing witty pianistic send-ups of various musical styles. No major label picked it up due to controversial topics: “The Old Dope Peddler”; “I Hold Your Hand in Mine” (a gruesome love ballad from a murderer’s perspective); “I Wanna Go Back to Dixie” (detailing racial injustices of the South in mock-nostalgic terms). Six years later More Songs by Tom Lehrer included “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park” and “The Masochism Tango.”
Van Morrison – It’s Too Late to Stop Now (Warner Bros.)
This 1974 two-LP release mixes passionate Van masterpieces, blues/soul covers matching the sources’ intensity, occasional string quintet arrangements that fit perfectly, and excellent sideman (especially saxophonist Jack Schroer and pianist/organist Jef Labes). Morrison achieves transcendence on “Caravan.”
Brian Eno – Another Green World (EG)
The most perfectly realized of Eno’s pop-leaning albums. Tracks with prog-rock icons (Genesis drummer Phil Collins, King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp, Brand X bassist Percy Jones, Velvet Underground violist John Cale) include the abrasive “Sky Saw,” the darkly percolating “Over Fire Island,” the catchy, nostalgic “St. Elmo’s Fire” (with a bubbling, buzzing Fripp solo), and the like. Elsewhere Eno sometimes plays everything himself, highly atmospheric (yet still rhythmic) instrumental ditties with moods so specific they can practically be tasted and smelled.
John Coltrane – Blue Train (Blue Note)
Though Coltrane’s early albums for Prestige showed what a fine player he was becoming, it was this 1957 Blue Note album, made with more rehearsal than Prestige tended to favor, that announced to the world that he was also a distinctive composer and arranger. The sidemen are trumpeter Lee Morgan, trombonist Curtis Fuller, pianist Kenny Drew, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones, who get a richer sound than any of the Prestige bands.
