release date: Oct. 6, 2014
format: digital (14 x File, FLAC)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]
producer: Lee Townsend
label: Okeh Records - nationality: USA
Studio album by Bill Frisell - his 29th, 30th, 31st, or 32nd, give or take - is in the category of cover albums. It follows the strings-album (violin, viola, cello) Big Sur (Jun. 2013) and it contains fourteen instrumentals, two original Frisell compositions (tracks #6 & #13) and twelve interpretations of popular compositions stemming from the late 1950s to the mid-60s. Several of these were originally surf rock, rock & roll, folk rock, or pop / rock tunes but in Frisell's rearranged versions they have all become jazz-influenced modern standards.
The album is almost naturally critically acclaimed - that's just the way a new Frisell album is met - and it's hard not to understand why Frisell is one of the most valued instrumentalists over the most recent four decades or so. He plays his instrument with an original voice, so to speak. That said, I immediately thought of The Raybeats, who released the album Guitar Beat back in '81, an almost peculiar release at the time with its modernised surf rock instrumentals, completely out of sync with contemporary stylistic waves but at the same time: extremely timeless. And with a selection of popular tunes, Frisell almost replicates that effort. The tunes are very much intact - perhaps a bit too much to my liking, but they still uphold a freshness and universality that cannot be denied. I only wish Frisell would've improvised more on the originals - something that works nicely on his rendition of Ray Davies' "Tired of Waiting for You" - where he gives us that extra layer he often adds to other people's songs 'cause here they mostly shine in their own rights. On the one hand, it makes it perfectly uncomplicated and then it reminds us of what great tunes the originals are. I'm not always in the mood to fully appreciate this collection, but I still find that Frisell just show us, not only what an exquisite instrumentalist he is but also what a fabulous interpretor he also is. I know most of the originals and mostly just think Frisell wants to remind us about these wonders - it's his tribute to that forgotten era of his own youth.
[ allmusic.com, The Guardian 4 / 5, 👍PopMatters 3 / 5 stars ]
