Issue #27 Extra!: Archives & Reissues
Fish - “Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors”
Fish - Internal Exile”
Jackhammer Trio - “Sonarchy and Synergy”
King Crimson - “Level Five”
Howard Riley and Keith Tippett - “Interchange”
Tony Scheuren – “Gaining On You”
Jackhammer Trio - “Sonarchy and Synergy”
(HSG 99-026, 2000, CD)
Seattle’s answer to the NY Downtown jazz scene is part fusion and jamming entourage, but also a tight trio too. Rick Wright is the guitarist in these ten mini-work outs and his style reminds me of Devotion era John McLaughlin. The group is steeped in many influences ranging from the early Tony Williams Lifetime (“7th & Pike”) to James Blood Ulmer but a bit more funky (as on “Concrete Spider Surfing”). Wright is the prime soloist on all tracks and gets free range to present his flanged tone in a positive light without many confines. The rhythm section of bassist Tannar Brewer and drummer Simon Grant navigates a wide sound map from stomping grooves (“Perimeter Man”) to outright driving rave-ups as on “Clean Up Your Room”. Thelonius Monk’s standard piece, “Well You Needn’t” gets a bass heavy arrangement spliced with cross cut drumming and wah-wah electric guitar. Their deconstruction of Henry Mancini’s “Pink Panther Theme” is blistering reading on a classic well-known theme and hardly recognizable until the last minute of the track. Probably the best execution on the disc occurs on the album’s closer “Monkey Funk” which could be described as a frantic race down a slippery highway, sirens wailing behind. Overall the trio is in the same genre as city mates Stinkhorn, but less free and more prone to outright blues jams. Highly recommended to fans of Massacre and seventies guitar driven fusion. - Jeff Melton
Howard Riley and Keith Tippett - “Interchange”
(Jazzprint JPVP109CD, 2001, CD)
A rare live duet performance from December 1993 was captured on tape between two of the foremost jazz pianists and improvisers in the world. Riley and Tippett have collaborated twice before, taking into account the full capabilities of the instrument while establishing a vigorous exchange of ideas and an alternative conversation vehicle. The album’s single track was recorded in Bern, Switzerland and is nearly an hour in length. Thus it challenges a novice listener to the combination of two solo performers recalling their previous encounters and updating their aural interactions. It’s not the easiest thing to differentiate the two pianists, as Riley appears to keep close to a chordal center while Tippett finds avenues to pursue around them. Early on in the piece precious silences are held close between the players as each seeks to present walls of sound and light interplay. Riley’s attack is more compressed, working heavily within a short range of a few octaves. Tippett however is unbound and less constricted by keeping to a found motive. His flair for plucking strings inside the piano is well done and is timed well to Riley’s playing. Other percussive effects (including scratching) are used effectively throughout as well. At times the players are much in sync and can establish melodic centers to play off in a seamless manner. Overall, the album is much work and heartfelt play that will only reach a select set of an appreciative audience. But it is a grand achievement worth the journey traveled. - Jeff Melton
King Crimson - “Level Five”
(DGM, Limited Edition # 5436, 2001, CD)
Initially a limited edition live CD, Level Five joins the set of other interim releases prior to The Power to Believe. The process for airing new King Crimson material again is to rehearse a piece for live performance then take the track later into the studio to capture a “best essence” of the piece. Songs that fit this process are “Dangerous Curves” and “Virtuous Circle” which show a heavier and predictable direction for the four-piece line-up since the last studio outing, The Construkction of Light. The pulsing rhythms of the former track create a dire scenario along with the tension building title track and the battered-fly-like guitar solo from Adrian Belew that ends the song. Fripp’s crystalline bells play against Trey Gunn’s ominous bass line to huge consequences. “The Construktion of Light” benefits from a friendlier groove and clearer separation between Fripp and Belew’s cascading guitar lines than the live recording from the 2000 European tour. In contrast, another live version of “The Deception of the Thrush” that shows how the piece is still morphing from the sterile studio version. Mastelotto seems to really be finding his rhythmic niche, as much of his time-keeping anchors, as well as propels the ensemble. It’s curious to note what response the modern hard rock crowd has had when seeing this veteran metal group live. Where live refinement is the standard mode of operation, Crimson clearly prevails. - Jeff Melton
Tony Scheuren – “Gaining On You”
(Wham! 284, 2002, CD)
Scheuren began his recording career back in the late sixties with the band Chamaeleon Church, and was later— along with Ted Myers, one of the principal songwriters in the final edition of Boston based band Ultimate Spinach. In the seventies he was, along with John Belushi and ex-bandmate Chevy Chase, a member of National Lampoon’s off Broadway cast of “Lemmings”; during this time he produced numerous musical parodies, the best known of which are his Neil Young parody “Southern California Brings Me Down”, and his James Taylor parody “Methadone Maintenance Man”. After this fruitful period, Scheuren’s musical career hit the skids, and while he turned to other forms of work for survival, he continued to write, arrange and record songs in his home studio until his untimely death in 1993, leaving hundreds of reel tapes of never released material. Gaining On You is the first installment of this material, released by his family. Scheuren plays all the instruments and sings all the harmonies, in a gentle and heartfelt melodic style reminiscent of many 70s singer/songwriters, seemingly frozen in time; some reference points might be Michael McDonald or James Taylor. Many of the twelve tunes here could have been successful hits in the seventies scene that spawned the careers of Jim Croce, Jackson Browne, Carole King or Carly Simon. – Peter Thelen
[http://www.beaconagency.com/ba-tonymain.htm]
Fish - “Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors”
(Chocolate Frog, CFVP009CD, 1990/2002, CD)
Fish - Internal Exile”
(Chocolate Frog, CFVP10CD, 1991/2002, CD)
Ex-Marillion lead vocalist Fish has spent much time floating from label to label after departing his old band for good. Voiceprint took the singer’s back catalogue and has done a second remastering/bonus-track addition exercise in a fashion which will appeal to hard core fan and neo-progressive acolyte as well. Mickey Simmonds (ex Mike Oldfield and Camel - Dust and Dreams tour) was Mr. Derek Dick’s songwriting partner and I would say that many of these tracks have aged well. The overt approach taken was an extension of the high peak that his old band had achieved with 1987’s Clutching at Straws. In contrast the songwriting duo created something that was hoped to be a more commercial success (Side note: it’s ironic that both Marillion and their ex-singer had taken this path despite commentary otherwise). Vigil is what some fans deem Fish’s best solo work, which I don’t totally agree. The work is mostly refined with many power ballads such as “The Company” where Fish’s narrative vocal is merged with traditional elements (including recorder). But the album does lack unity and an edge that would later be recaptured on subsequent albums. Veteran session bassist John Giblin (Kate Bush, Brand X) is also a well-known contributor on the album.
“Internal Exile” was a track that originated for the tour to support the singer’s first solo album and became the title of his subsequent release on Polydor. The album contains the concert staple, “Credo” which is a self re-affirmation after a long personal struggle where the singer had broken free of legal entanglements. Simmonds together with guitarist Robin Boult shoulder the songwriting on the eleven cuts that may be Fish’s most passionate personal statement. “Tongues” is an outright assault on his old record label where the incisive sarcasm is not necessarily on the artist’s sleeve. Only two bonus tracks grace this effort of which “Poet’s Moon” is the better and has an arrangement that should appeal. The big Scott also provides many long and intimate accounts in the liner notes from a memory that is remarkably intact despite the random drunken brawl. Especially interesting is the man’s struggle to gain financial credibility amidst a complicated financial situation not unlike has happened to George Michael or Andy Latimer. - Jeff Melton