Well, you found it more interesting than I did. "Transformative" is hardly the word I'd use. I thought it meandered, and could really have used, if not editing, re-sequencing. The player who did the most to keep things interesting, as far as I was concerned, was Drake. Murray was just okay, and his delight in overplaying and overblowing were all over the disc. Grimes - yeah, he can play, and it's nice to have him back. But I know I'm not gonna be pulling this disc out very often. (The upcoming set of Ayler material featuring Grimes, Marc Ribot, Roy Campbell, and Chad Taylor, on Pi, holds a lot more promise, as far as I'm concerned anyway.)

My take on this is closer to Phil’s. I dug it, but it wasn’t the revelatory experience I was hoping for. The weak point in the triangle (relatively speaking) is the leader IMO. At various points, especially in the second half of set, he sounds fatigued & a shade flustered, leaning a bit too heavily on stiff stock patterns [man, I hate it when Uncle Walto’s right!]. Still, given his decades spent in seclusion away from the scene, some lingering rust in the joints is understandable. And I’m definitely looking forward to hearing the upcoming projects he’s got in the pipeline.

Oh I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I hadn't thought of comparing Grimes to Mahler though! Yeah, OK, so Murray's delight in overplaying & overblowing is all over, but when was it ever any different? Point me in the direction of a really understated Murray disc, willya? I'm also looking forward to "Spiritual Unity", which is sitting looking at me & just waiting for some free time to be properly heard, especially since the band were in town last night & I couldn't get a ticket.. sold out! (Guess that's Ribot's pulling power..)

"Point me in the direction of a really understated Murray disc, willya?"

I think much of One World Family on CIMP w/ Kahil El'Zabar fits that bill. The tenor/thumb piano duet on "Ryan's Groove" gives me the mesmerizing tingles something fierce.

Nobody else hears Grimes' slipping in spots on this one like I do? Maybe I need to check my ears...

I think he slips up all over the place - and it's a moot point whether he's listening to what's going on half the time (that's even more apparent on Spiritual Unity, which I checked out yesterday for the first time, and was disappointed with), but the all in all I think the set is carried off very well - thank Hamid for that, I guess. Flowers For Albert rocks. (OK Derek One World Family's a good call; you win the white carnation.) The point about a lot of free jazz stuff isn't whether the cats can actually play (the old criticism), but whether they can actually listen at the same time. That's why I'll go for Marion Brown, Noah Howard and Sonny Simmons every time in preference to Frank Wright, Frank Lowe & Kidd Jordan. (Nothing to do with preferring altos to tenors, hasten to add.)

Damn, I always get to these discussions late! For what it's worth, if Mahler comparisons don't float the proverbial boat, how bout Schnabel's Beethoven of the 1930s? OK, so Grimes fucks up a bit, who doesn't? I'd like to think I'm just irreverent enough to approach his and Schnabel's work (another master slipper) with healthy caution. I stand by my take on this one--I wanted so much to hate it, to be able to place Grimes on the past master shelf, but I can't do it in good conscience, and as I go back to those old scratchy often slipshod but irrepressibly vibrant Beethoven sonatas, I'll listen to Grimes again for wisdom if not for flawless execution

I would be curious to know exactly what you consider a "slip" that would detract from your enjoyment of this wonderful record. I imagine it amounts to nothing worth talking about. Put down your microscope and take in the beauty. This recording is a gift.

It is - I agree with you. I can't say the same of Spiritual Unity though.

Hey, Dan Warburton, didn't you write this recently for "Paris Transatlantic"?: "This album is the first to appear under Henry Grimes's name since his phoenix-like return, and it's a scorcher. He couldn't have found better company either, in the form of tenor saxophonist / bass clarinettist David Murray and drummer Hamid Drake, who perhaps more than any other horn player and percussionist have managed to do what Grimes did so spectacularly on the bass before his disappearance back in 1967, i.e. play with consummate virtuosity and astounding musicianship in all styles, in and out from bop to free. Those who doubted whether Grimes, the man who Denis Charles once said could make a bandstand shake ('I thought the bass was going to explode') could regain the strength, the tough skin and sheer muscular coordination, let alone the awesomely swift musical creativity, are invited to check this out at their earliest convenience. Not only can the man still walk - nay, run - all over the instrument, but the melodic inventiveness that drove Rollins' 'Our Man In Jazz' forward is as bright and alert as ever. He nails Murray's 'Flowers for Albert,' spurring the saxophonist on to what I'm tempted to describe as one of his most inspired performances of recent times..." Keep the faith, please, Dan! You were right the first time.

As per Scrapwell's insightful directive I just smashed my 10x-30x Stereo Boom Trinocluar with a lug wrench and am now basking blissfully in the beautiful imperfections of Grimes' pizzicato.

Welcome, Ms. Davis. Please stop by often!

Well Margaret, I think we can say with a smile that you're a little biased here! No, I stand by the PT review and enjoy the album very much, which should be clear from the comments above. More, I'd hazard a guess, than Bags' own Phil Freeman, judging from his review of the trio in Wire 253. With reference to the slip ups mentioned above, the history of recorded popular / jazz / rock music is full of great performances with celebrated cockups, things that most modern mixdowns would now edit out with the squiggle of a mouse. My own preference for music that takes risks has been expressed on many occasions, especially in the liner notes I wrote to my own release on Ayler two years ago. On the other hand, the reservations I have about the Ribot disc are more wide-ranging and will be discussed in a forthcoming review. Meanwhile, I've seen Henry's punishing tour schedule for the next couple of months - phew! You take good care of yourself & the man now.

Thanks for your tolerance, guys. One more cavil to add to the cavalcade, if I may: Dan Warburton wrote that he couldn't get a ticket to the Spiritual Unity concert -- "Sold out! (Guess that's Ribot's pulling power..)" Henry has led his own groups on tour in Europe as follows since Dec. of 'O3: his trio with David Murray & Hamid Drake (in one case Sunny Murray); his trio w/ Perry Robinson & Andrew Cyrille (in some cases John Betsch); his quartet w/ Jemeel Moondoc, Khan Jamal, & Hamid Drake (in one case John Betsch); and a couple of other groups; they played concerts in (listed sort of chronologically) Milan, Bologna, Venice, Ljubljana, Vicenza, Rome, Ascoli Piceno, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Eindhoven, Rimini, Piedmont, Florence, Kerava, Dulcamara, Padova, Bolzano, Vienna (twice), Verona, Paris (twice), La Seyne-sur-Mer, Foix, Torre del Greco, Caltanissetta, Foggia, Rome, Tampere, Gothenburg, Stockholm, Sardinia, and Hasselt (Belgium). That's around 33 concerts. Tickets were sold out for virtually all of 'em.

I have to say that I was really looking forward to this record too. I suppose I got caught up in the hype of Grimes' return. Actually it was Dan's review on Paris Transatlantic that made me go by the record - it was such a glowing review. However, I don't care much for Grimes' performance on the record either. He may not be "slipping up" but he sure is a busy player and he tries to fill the space with so many notes that it often sounds pretty sloppy to me. I felt the same way when I saw him live at the Hothouse in Chicago. I thought it was a good show (how could it not have been with Fred Anderson, Marshall Allen, Avreeayl Ra & Grimes) but nothing too spectacular. It was interesting to see Grimes though. He has the appearance of someone who has been deeply shocked. His face is nearly expressionless and he speaks in a rapid monotone - the only time he broke that was when he smiled for a very brief moment near the end of the show when Marshall Allen started chanting "Henry's back"!. The only thing that really blew me away was Allen's energy - he bounces around like a six year old kid.

Well, some of you are going to get it and some of you are not, that's all, and I think I'll step off after this. But I do think criticizing Henry Grimes's appearance is way out of line. All of you who haven't seen him in person yet can go to www.HenryGrimes.com and click on "photos" and draw your own conclusions. Each photo enlarges if you click on it, so you can get a really close look. Henry's eyes are other-worldly, and maybe he's from another planet ("Spaceship on the Highway," you know), and he's certainly been through a lot (more than any of you will ever know), and he's certainly different, as Ornette Coleman is different, as Anthony Braxton is different, as Sun Ra was different... Vive la difference! Would you like them all to look and speak like George Bush, Joel?

I've recently seen & heard Spiritual Unity live in Ljubljana. Althou the show didn't exactly set fire to flames and didn't reach the heights that listening to Ayler records can i thought that Grimes playing was the closest to the spirit of Alyer's music. Roy Campbell was too clean for my taste, but maybe that's becuz i've always enjoy Don Ayler's work on trumpet ...
And talking bout spirits, i've recently witnessed Oliver Lake playing Eric Dolphy's tunes. For european tour he sadly assembled just average jazz quintet w austian musicians that didn't quite match with his playing. But the contrast between a phenomenal alto playing of Lake (older listeners said that they didn't see him play like that in years)and nothing more than average reading of Dolphy's material by the rest of the quintet provided a nice contrast between the creative and museumlike aspect of jazz ...

Thanks again for the promo Margaret (though from what you've told us about the sellout tour it doesn't look like there'll be any problems with the hitcount on HenryGrimes.com :) but I do think your George Bush line is missing the point, to put it rather politely. The issue isn't what Henry looks like either, Joel (though your remarks remind me forcibly of the impression I got when I saw him with Parker & Rob Brown in February), but what he SOUNDS like. With Drake behind him and Murray flying high, Grimes' prolix style doesn't bother me on this album (and I do like his solo on "Spin" very much). However, with Brown and Parker and on the disc with Ribot I was seriously led to wonder not whether he was listening to the others around him (I would hope he is) but exactly WHAT he was listening to or HOW he was listening, in his inner ear. On "Spiritual Unity" with Chad Taylor's drumming behind him (nice, but not a patch on Drake, sorry), not to mention Campbell's competent but rather uninspired trumpet playing and Ribot's smarty pants let's-quote-the-Marseillaise-too solos, Henry seems to be off in a world of self-created information overload of his own. That's not necessarily a putdown: I freely admit I have serious problems listening to a lot of Braxton for the same reasons, and it doesn't in any way remove the enormous respect I have for his music, but, if I compare Henry's recent work to another acclaimed "busy" bassist - Dominic Duval - I find there's a sense of line and logic to Duval's playing that I find hard to trace in Henry's. But I'm sure there'll soon be a slew of new Grimes recordings out there to prove me wrong, right Margaret?

And in the spirit of ''reworkings'' of some ''free jazz classics'' like Spiritual Unity, Lake's constant returning to Eric Dolphy, recent V5 playing of Roland Kirk and Monk's Casino project by Schlippenbach & co i wonder will there ever be a case that american (free) jazz community (especially black one) would pay tribute to european fellas from 60 onwards like Brötzi, etc ...?

I kind of hate to go into this again, (I took considerable shit for it), but can't seem to help but repeat that when a good musician puts down his instrument for 20+ years and lives "on the streets" in harrowing conditions for that time with little or no access at all to music of any kind, then is discovered, receives a bass as a present and is, literally within days, hailed as playing great bass again, there is as much demeaning of the instrument and general musicianship as there is canonizing of a particular musician. When I saw Grimes at Vision with Crispell he wasn't really playing bass at all--just rapidly wiggling fingers on both hands on an absurdly amplified ax. Not only was there no coordination with the other musicians, but there was none between his two hands. Still, some people apparently "got it"--they understood, that is, if you play a lot of notes loudly, you're playing free jazz bass and should clap. Thing is, if that's what good bass playing is, Grimes himself didn't really "get it" when he was younger--because that's not what he played like back then. Was this a new maturity? An other-worldly engagement resulting from his horrid living conditions? Well, maybe. But why couldn't it also be that he was out of practice? Don't musicians ever need to practice? Is it so easy to play bass that you can drop it for 25 years and still be fine the next day?

Anyhow, people I believe (that is, those who wouldn't be completely wowed just by seeing someone loudly wiggle while holding a bass in front of an audience or hearing one do so on record) have told me that he is improving and now can play fairly well again. I believe them. I think the many concerts he's playing now are probably a good thing for him. He was quite an interesting player many years ago, I don't see why he couldn't be again.

But this indignant reverence and "getting it," etc. and are not only silly and obnoxious, IMHO, they are also disrespectful to working musicians (and their instruments.

Sorry if my rush to get off to work (along with my bile) made the above post almost unintelligible. There's some nasty grammar there.

Yes, thanks for clarifying that Margaret. That's EXACTLY what I was trying to say.

Seriously though, I wasn't criticizing his appearance. I was just describing it.

Margaret, it seems you're having a bit of trouble with people having their own perspectives and opinions here. You say "vive la difference", then jump all over someone for having a different view of Henry's playing than you. It actually seems that you would like everyone to think alike here (a la George Bush).

I did say I was stepping off and should have kept to that, but just before we leave for Europe again, I stopped to take another look at this discussion. O dear. I think Marilyn Crispell and Andrew Cyrille, who should know, would be much disheartened to learn that when someone called Walto "saw [but didn't hear] Grimes at Vision with Crispell, he wasn't really playing bass at all--just rapidly wiggling fingers on both hands on an absurdly amplified ax. Not only was there no coordination with the other musicians, but there was none between his two hands. Still, some people apparently 'got it'--they understood, that is, if you play a lot of notes loudly, you're playing free jazz bass and [they] should clap." Marilyn Crispell and Andrew Cyrille now gladly rejoin the Henry Grimes Trio for the tour in Europe that starts on May 4th in Belgium. Now, wouldn't you think they'd have noticed if Henry played so badly? And if amplification at the Vision Festival wasn't ideal, that should be taken up with the Vision Festival sound crew.

Oh, I heard him alright. Everybody heard him.

As I said, I think it's great that Grimes is getting lots of gigs, and I understand he's improving. More power to him and his bandmates. But, let me ask you this, how would Cyrille and Crispell have expressed their dissatisfaction at Vision, if they did agree with my take on Grimes's playing that night? Stormed off the stage in a huff? Told him to shut the fuck up and get off the stage himself? Finally, you blame the sound guys for bad balance. Was there no soundcheck? Anyhow, I take from these remark of yours that you're not a performing musician yourself.

Finally, my goal was not to "dishearten Crispell or Cyrille" who likely don't care much more whether "Walto" (Walter Horn) enjoyed Grimes's playing that night than I care myself whether they are disheartened by my comments. No, my post was made simply to point out that YOUR remarks on this thread have been hagiographic, silly, and disdainful of musicianship. You can hide behind these other talented players, I suppose, but such cowering doesn't provide any evidence to me that you have any idea what you are talking about. I'm a conservatory trained musician myself as well as a listener fairly well acquainted with Grimes's chosen genre. And when I hear (and see) loud, uncoordinated finger wiggling, I know it.

(In best Pacino voice): HOO-AAAAAAH

This is becoming quite the Zing Fest. I dig it.

I want to make a couple of other points. My posts seem ill-willed, and that's not the case. I think the Grimes re-discovery story is lovely, heartwarming: I certainly wish him the best. I'm not at all cynical about either the horror of the years away or the wonder of the re-emergence. I'm cheering.

But, and this is the main point, I have no ax to grind on the matter of Grimes's current (or fairly recent) playing. I have neither a financial nor personal attachment to the man, nor any personal or professional antipathy. I'm not his partner, friend, business manager, or agent, but neither am I his enemy, antagonist, competitor, or anything like that. I'm a "disinterested listener," and, I believe, a fairly sophisticated one. I'm not only a (very part-time) musician myself, but I've also reviewed hundreds of free jazz records for several leading publications for nearly a decade (though I've now given up the game). So, I don't like it when somebody who certainly DOES have a personal as well as a professional interest suggests that I--someone who very much enjoyed Grimes's playing in his youth--must not "get it." What I GET here is not critical acumen, but boosterism. That's fine in it's place, (and may well be deserved because of Grimes's harrowing history), but let's not mistake it for something else and get all indignant when somebody simply points out that he played very poorly on one occasion or another. Maybe he can play again now: I have no way of knowing (though, as I've said, I believe a couple of knowledgeable people who tell me he can). But he couldn't at Vision--and it wasn't the fault of the sound guys.

Bon voyage.

I think Walter's points, particularly in this last post, are very well considered.

My point (which I thought was obvious) was that if Henry Grimes, who last led the trio with Marilyn Crispell and Andrew Cyrille at the Vision Festival concert that the person calling "Walto" is complaining about, had actually played badly, Marilyn Crispell and Andrew Cyrille would not be going out on tour under Henry's leadership this week by their own choice. They certainly would not have "expressed their dissatisfaction at Vision" by "storming off the stage in a huff" or telling Henry to "shut the f**k up and get off the stage himself," for heaven's sake, but they certainly wouldn't have gotten on a bandstand with him again either. In fact, Andrew Cyrille has toured with Henry quite often since his return to the music world, and the Vision Festival concert was Marilyn's second concert with Henry (the first was a duo concert), and I know for a fact that Marilyn and Andrew both love Henry's playing, as well as the man himself, as they will surely tell you themselves if you ask them. If Henry had actually been "loudly wiggling while holding a bass in front of an audience, just rapidly wiggling fingers on both hands with no coordination with the other musicians and none between his two hands," as "Walto" claims, Marilyn and Andrew, consummate professional musicians, would surely have been painfully aware of it. "Walto" complains that I'm not a professional musician and throws a lot of personal insults and nasty language around, but if he questions Marilyn Crispell and Andrew Cyrille's hearing or professional judgment, he's just not rational. All this reminds me that everyone is free to write anything in cyberspace, true or false, misogynist, racist, enlightening, hateful, sick, brilliant, moronic, truth or drivel, no limits or restrictions, depending on the condition your condition is in, and I wish you well and really must leave you all to it. Enjoy yourselves! And maybe someone should start a new topic, since none of this is about Henry's CD with David Murray and Hamid Drake.

1) Nonsense, there are copious instances of excellent musicians playing with dodgy ones for various reasons, some valid reasons some not.

2) Walto = Walter Horn.

everyone is free to write anything in cyberspace, true or false, misogynist, racist, enlightening, hateful, sick, brilliant, moronic, truth or drivel, no limits or restrictions, depending on the condition your condition is in

Well said: your posts are wonderful demonstrations of exactly that point. However, I'd probably add "biased," "hagiographic," "ill-informed," "insensitive," "repetitious," "demeaning," "self-serving" and "pig-headed" to your list if I wanted to attempt to represent your contributions to this thread to date.

Let me repeat what I said above, however (your unidimensional, over-the-top boosterism notwithstanding):
"I think the Grimes re-discovery story is lovely, heartwarming: I certainly wish him the best. I'm not at all cynical about either the horror of the years away or the wonder of the re-emergence. I'm cheering."

"Nonsense, there are copious instances of excellent musicians playing with dodgy ones for various reasons, some valid reasons some not." (ND) - I fully agree, don't know who wouldn't. Automatically inferring that the reasons behind Crispell and Cyrille's continuing their association with Grimes are exclusively based on Grimes's music making is either naive or agende driven.

And not that it takes a lot to come to this conclusion - and not that anyone cares what I think but this post serves somewhat to say, I'm here and reading and find this entertaining - but Walter's points make sense and at least portray his own experience, reasoning, and judgment.

On the other hand, Walter does make these comments every now and then, no? I remember him saying similar things about how Peter Janson couldn't play to save his life (no he didn't!).

Well, at this point I think it’s safe to say that Walt won’t be receiving a gratis hand-crafted Sonny Sharrock button in the mail & and neither will Margaret be receiving a complimentary copy of Screwdriver!.

[Anyhow, I take from these remark of yours that you're not a performing musician yourself....such cowering doesn't provide any evidence to me that you have any idea what you are talking about. I'm a conservatory trained musician myself.... And when I hear (and see) loud, uncoordinated finger wiggling, I know it.]

Nice to hear (and see) that you seem to know when to pull rank.

Yeah, but while I may be good, I've never claimed to be 'best.'

Man, this Bagatellen is full of some mean spirited people! Suffice it to say that I think the bile of Walter Horn says more about Walter Horn's misery than the subject of this post.

Would you care to indicate where and how this alleged bile was expressed? What I have done is complain about self-serving advertisements disguised as information--and give my opinion about the quality of a single concert.

As indicated, numerous times now, I have nothing against Grimes: I have several of his recordings, I wish him the best!

Who are you, btw? And how do you have such insight into my pain? You have seen into the very depths of my soul!

I'm afraid that Walto is close to the truth.
I've just saw the Brussels concert few hours ago and, if it's quoite obvious that Grimes has find back some of his chop, his playing wasn't much interesting: something like a long and over amplified solo without any direction from the start to the end. And listening to his partners wasn't his first quality either, at least in the context of this concert where Crispell and Cyrille was also drifting their own way.
All together, a strange thing to wathch and to hear.
But, yes, of course, the man is sweet and when you speak to him, even briefly, you can feel that life has been heavy on him.
Not sure, anyway that he will ever be again the musician that he was once.

I've been listening to the Spiritual Unity disc over the past few days, and I like it a lot. It kinda reminds me a little bit of Sonny Sharrock's Black Woman, and a little bit (the first track only) of Carlos Santana's Illuminations, with Alice Coltrane. It's a good disc, and well worth hearing. Ayler's melodies work in a rock-ish context (and Ribot's guitar playing definitely has some "rock" to it).

We saw the trio performing here in Belgium tonight & they were superb; two encores were demanded. The uncoordinated finger waggling was exceptional. I've never seen anyone who can do it that good. I love it when someone can slip the beat, coordination is for exams. Few things are more boring than playing with the super coordinated. Anythings valid if the sound is right and this sounded sensitive, dynamic and highly responsive. The ears were definitely working.
G

Well, there's non-coordination and non-coordination. I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing. But, anyhow, I'm glad to hear that, as LeMo also confirms, Grimes is getting his chops back. While I'm comfortable taking both of your words for this, I don't put much stock in standing O's or encores. Been to too many concerts over too many years to mention....

Mwanji's got an account of (the same?) concert here if anyone's curious.

sorry I should have been more specific; the concert I'm refering to was in Antwerp in a theatre; the concert Mwanji is refering to was in a cafe in Brussels.
G

I've just been away for a holiday for a week and it was really nice. No email for a start, and no anonymous posts on Bags. Quite apart from discovering the distinctly fluid produce of Haute Savoie :) I also had the chance to listen to Spiritual Unity five or six times, and found it more uneven at each successive listening. PDF's right when s/he says it's worth hearing (Ribot's always worth hearing), but there's no way I'd put it up there with Black Woman. Oh yes, and EVERYONE deserved a copy of Screwdriver.

>PDF's right when s/he says

PDF stands for Philip David Freeman.

Thanks, Dan. I think one of the occupational hazards of occasionally saying out loud not just that you don't like something but that you don't think it's much good, is that people (who may be hurt or insulted at this judgment) will respond by insisting that you just don't GET IT. (I'm taking a bit more of exactly that on another current thread.) Of course, it's possible that the naysayer really doesn't get it. But it's important to remember that it's equally possible that he/she DOES understand what is being aimed at and that it's the supporters who are missing something awkward or untoward or inelegant, or too elegant, or not-awkward-enough, etc. about the music being lauded by his adversary.

How can we test who's right? Obviously, there's no perfect way. The best we can do is specify a batch of other things both parties like or dislike to see if there's much common ground, and try to specify the similarities/differences between the item in controversy and the agreed-upon batch.

Uncle Walto, always the unrepentant empiricist at heart.

Gee, sorry Phil. I'm having a hard time keeping up with all the pseudos & aliases here. I'm trying to think of something we do actually agree upon (Mike Patton perhaps, or Tomboy Waits). Cuz (wrong thread mea culpa) I think The Getaway kicks ass! For me though there's only one Spiritual Unity, and it's the ESP album of the same name. And that's awesome.

I'm sure we agree on some things - just not subjects that have come up. My comparison to Black Woman has more to do with the sound of trumpet vs. guitar blast than anything else; I don't think Ribot was after anything like the Sharrock disc's energetic crudity (those drums on "Portrait Of Linda" always crack me up; sounds like Graves has taken off his shoes and is thumping cardboard boxes with 'em).

Yeah! Milford's on top form on that disc for sure! (Though my fave Milford madness is that live set from Newport in the Ayler box.. fuckin awesome..) Maybe that's what I missed on "Spiritual Unity", a bit of percussion madness to kick Grimes & Ribot up the ass a bit. Taylor's playing is cool with the Chicago Undies but he seems to be a bit overwhelmed by the others on this disc. Anyway if you'll excuse me I'm going to get back to the James Finn disc - it's a corker. Got that one yet Phil?

Got it, but I've got a few assignments that are keeping me from listening to it. This week, I'm listening to a lot of Earth, preparing a piece for the Seattle Weekly.

Yep I've got to get into that stuff, it seems. OK so which Earth should I begin with?

Well, let's see. Most people swear by their first full-length CD, Earth 2, but I find it pretty tiresome, to be honest; sludgy riffs, no rhythm instruments, goes nowhere for 73 minutes at high volume and low frequencies. Will move small objects off your bookshelves, but won't stimulate your mind much. Their fourth album, Pentastar: In The Style Of Demons, is weirder and more traditionally "rock" at the same time (features drums, solo piano tracks and a cover of Hendrix's "Peace In Mississippi"). Lots of people don't like it, but I do. Their new one, Living In The Gleam Of An Unsheathed Sword, is pretty good, if you're patient. It's got two tracks: a 14-minute solo guitar scrapefest ("Dissolution III") and a 54-minute guitar-drums duo (the title track). The remix album, Legacy Of Dissolution, features reworkings from Autechre, Jim O'Rourke, Mogwai, Sunn O))), Russell Haswell and Justin Broadrick, and it's intriguing if you're already a fan - otherwise, it's just okay. Their best disc, to my mind, is 070796 Live, which is a little troubling, because it was put out under ethically dubious circumstances and I doubt the band will ever see a dime from it. It features three live tracks, one of which is the same solo piece that's on Living In The Gleam..., and a remix of one track by James Plotkin.

So start with Pentastar, move on to Living In The Gleam... and 070796 Live if you can find it. Get Earth 2 if you're won over by the others.

"Taylor's playing is cool with the Chicago Undies but he seems to be a bit overwhelmed by the others on this disc."

I have not heard this record but frankly, that would astonish me a bit. I have enjoyed Chad Taylor in many contexts and never had the feeling that he was overwhelmed by the likes of Cooper_Moore, Tom Abbs, Steve Swell, Fred Anderson and many more.

Well listen to SU Uli & let me know what you think. Thanks Phil for the mini primer! A-shopping we will go :)

dan, i'm in the EARTH 2 camp. unlike phil i think it is very stimulating for one's mind. get it!!
there best album however wasn't even mentioned here. it's called "broelosa" and is a classic, imho.

anyone else here think Sunn O))) is just a lame rip off?! they suck.

oops, wrong thread, aren't we...

The cracker jack perfection of one man’s ceiling is another boy’s (or woman’s) eyeball. In some aesthetic realm, process and ritual are only beautifully crude and you have to kind of really want to be there. In the extreme a tenacious analysis boxes itself in because it doesn’t include life itself. I think that’s the most valuable (and universal) aspect of deconstruction: a theory.

The completely authoritative makes me more than a little nervous and I think it had the same affect on Ayler. It’s a very good thing (if it’s at all as I perceive or imagine it is, and I’d say that it both is and isn’t) Grimes no longer hears you in exactly that way. My opinion is that writing about technique can be executed in an objective, but non-objectifying tone. The language of humanity and presence are beyond validity and a certain kind of permanence (or at least the idea of such things) and have lots of mysterious credentials.

The appearance and reappearance of Grimes and his greenish gift bass working and working it with whatever he’s got and whatever he hears, putting on his walking (bass) shoes and tying up the bows—does it for me and always will. From what I understand Billie Holiday believed Lady In Satin to be her greatest work. Sometimes when hearing or seeing something for what it is not you miss what it is. Something about putting down our guns and ammunition and being wherever it is we are fortunate enough to be for whatever it is, is there and embracing the beginning. I’m not saying I personally have accomplished this, but when I see it and really see it nothing else matters.

Ben Ratliff in today's NY Times:

Marc Ribot

"Spiritual Unity" is the self-titled album by the guitarist's new group, which plays nothing but Albert Ayler music. Mr. Ribot dealt with Ayler on his solo albums "Don't Blame Me" and "Saints," and, with just the right quantity of original cussedness, showed him to be a skilled composer, not only a gnashing abstract improviser. The band, as heard on its first album, "Bells," (Pi Recordings) includes the trumpeter Roy Campbell Jr. and the drummer Chad Taylor, as well as the bassist Henry Grimes, who performed with Ayler during the 1960's. It's pretty good, although for some questionable reason of aesthetics, Mr. Grimes sounds as if he's playing through an electric shaver. The exception is a live recording of the band playing "Bells," with Mr. Ribot's filthiest solo, a proper-sounding bass and a feeling of spontaneous arrangement.

"Mr. Grimes sounds as if he's playing through an electric shaver."

And that's a bad thing!!

The reviewer, Mr. Ratliff, appreciates cussedness and filth — but not electric shavers. Uncanny. Otherwise, a perfect summary, but I highly suspect him of trying to create a buzz.

We in New York will have to return for another round of evaluations when the group plays again at the end of June. See you then in the school yard of musical analysis.

I hate electric shavers too, they do a lousy job.

If they do a lousy job, then how, or why is it you used them long enough to build a hate relationship?!

Who are the brain police?

Gillette Sensor is my brand.

An unexplained shaver, a jealous temperament, and

Farewell the tranquil mind, farewell content, / Farewell...

C'mon folks, post some new threads to this blog before it devolves into a disquisition on electric shavers....

Who are the brain police?

ALABAMA THUNDER PUSSY OG BRAIN POLICE Á GRAND ROKK

Alabama Thunderpussy er af mörgum talin ein af fremstu stoner-rokk hljómsveitum veraldar, enda eru þeir á mála hjá hinni virtu Relapse útgáfu bandarísku, heimili hljómsveita eins og

Mastodon,
Neurosis og
Dillenger Escape Plan.

Með fimm breiðskífur undir farteskinu, þar af hina nýju Fulton Hill, mun þessi sveit sýna Íslendingum hvernig menn spila stoner.

Sveitin spilar hérna á tvennum tónleikum á Grand Rokk, þriðjudaginn 26. og miðvikudaginn 27. apríl og munu stoner-stolt okkar Íslendinga, hinir mögnuðu Brain Police, hita upp. Húsið opnar 21:00 bæði kvöldin og tónleikarnir hefjast kl 22:00