Goat "World Music" (2012)

World Music [debut]

release date: Aug. 20, 2012

format: cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]

producer: ?

label: Rocket Recordings - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "Diarabi" - 2. "Goatman" - 3. "Goathead" - 5. "Golden Dawn" (live) - 7. "Run to Your Mama" (live) - 9. "Det som aldrig förändras / Diarabi"

Studio album debut by Swedish music collective Goat [stylised: GOAT] founded in Gothenburg, and according to the band's bandcamp profile originating from the (Swedish!) village of Korpolombolo, thus implying connections to ancient voodoo cult religion. All members have masked their identity and also perform masked - not unlike The Residents. One of the three 'core' members has been identified as Christian Johansson. Track #1 is a cover credited Malian musician Boubacar Traoré (included on his 1990 debut album Mariama), whereas the remaining compositions are all credited the band.

Musically, World Music represents a huge melting pot of stylistic influences, just as the title indicates with inspiration from various parts of the planet, and then you could add that everything is made with psychedelia at the centre of attention. Some tracks are afro-pop-founded, some are more krautrock-inspired, others reek a certain jazz fusion-feel, but you'll also find hard rock bits and everything is nearly naturally experimental and mostly progressive instrumental, although, some tracks are made with clear vocal harmonies. A fitting description is found on the album site explaining: "The band takes in many influences, from the Afro groove that is central to the album, through to head nodding psych, post-punk, turkish rock, kraut repetition and astral folk."

The album has generally been met by positive words from international critics - only Swedish music magazine Gaffa is more reluctant in its review. Imo, it takes a few spins to get accustomised, but if you happen to enjoy early Zappa / The Mothers of Invention and think a cocktail with 1980s The B-52's sounds like an interesting mix, then GOAT may be what you're looking for. Despite the wide stylistic variations, it actually feels like a musical whole, which is a great accomplishment.

Recommended.

[ The Guardian 5 / 5, Clash, musicOMH, PopMatters 4 / 5, Pitchfork 8,1 / 10, Gaffa.se 3 / 6 stars ]

Bill Frisell "Guitar in the Space Age!" (2014)

Guitar in the Space Age!

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 ]

Bill Frisell "The Sweetest Punch" (1999)

The Sweetest Punch
release date: Sep. 21, 1999
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,96]
producer: Lee Townsend
label: Decca - nationality: USA

Studio album by American jazz fusion guitarist Bill Frisell is actually fully titled: The Sweetest Punch - The New Songs of Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach Arranged by Bill Frisell, and as the title suggests all songs (but one) are the songs released by Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach on their '98 collaboration album Painted From Memory. The Costello / Bacharach collaboration work included Costello sending Bacharach his demo takes of his half-finished compositions upon which Bacaharach would contribute with ideas for a music score and the two would then elaborate on the songs, however, Frisell was already introduced to the Costello demos, sent to him by Costello, and Frisell would then use these early sketches to compose / re-arrange them to his very own interpretations, and this albums is the result of that process and therefore not Frisell's arrangements of the finished album.

Costello is featuring vocalist on two tracks (#2 and 10) and Cassandra Wilson also on two (#5 and 10), and apart from these three vocal jazz arrangements all other compositions are held in a subtle big band jazz fusion-style.

Costello / Bacharach harvested critical acclaim for their collaboration album, which is a fine piece of work. This, however, is something entirely different, and I also think it comes out as the slightly better and essentially more well-founded whole. I really enjoyed the live album Deep Dead End (1995) by Costello and Frisell, which is why I was eager to check this one out, and I'm glad that I did 'cause I think that Frisell has made an even stronger album than the original Costello / Bacharach release. And then this release only follows four months after Frisell's fine Good Dog, Happy Man (May 1999).

These compositions are beautifully arranged and Frisell shines with his drops of elegant dozes of subtle jazz notes here and there. As a consequence of the recording process, where Frisell didn't know of the final Costello / Bacharach compositions before finishing his own recordings this album delivers on a different scale, and what a gem it truly is.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Bill Frisell "The Intercontinentals" (2003)

The Intercontinentals

release date: Apr. 15, 2003

format: digital (14 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]

producer: Lee Townsend

label: Nonesuch - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Boubacar" - 2. "Good Old People" - 4. "Baba Drame" - 5. "Listen" - 7. "Procissão" - 8. "The Young Monk" - 10 "Yála" - 11. "Perritos"

Studio album by Bill Frisell following his 2002 album The Willies is like most of his albums on Nonesuch produced by Lee Townsend and the majority of the tracks are composed by Frisell, although, this one also contains four by others and one traditional; however, the biggest change on this is probably the boldest inclusions of world music on any album by Frisell, which is also seen on the list of personnel and then it's also referred to in the album title. Several tracks honour famous musicians of world music, e.g. the first track "Boubacar", a tribute to Malian guitarist Boubacar Traoré, who again is composer of track #4. The album feature Malian percussionist Sidiki Camara, also on djembe, Brazilian guitarist and percussionist Vinicius Cantuária, Greek oud and bouzouki player Christos Govetas, American violinist Jenny Scheinman, and stable Frisell slide and pedal steel guitarist Greg Leisz. Yes, this is indeed an intercontinental fusion, and the title of the album also became the name of this very ensemble, initially formed in 2001.

The album was met by international acclaim and is a perfect example of Frisell's continued journey to explore new musical soil. The album nicely balances African blues, latin grooves and rhythms, world music, and American roots music with ever-present americana.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com, PopMatters 4,5 / 5, The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings 3,5 / 4, Mojo 4 / 5 stars ]

Bill Frisell "Ghost Town" (2000)

Ghost Town

release date: Mar. 7, 2000

format: Digital (16 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,81]

producer: Lee Townsend

label: Elektra Nonesuch - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Tell Your Ma, Tell Your Pa" - 2. "Ghost Town / Poem for Eva)" - 3. "Wildwood Flower" - 5. "Variation on a Theme" - 9. "My Man's Gone Now" - 10. "Outlaw" - 13. "Winter Always Turns to Spring" - 14. "Justice and Honor"

Studio album by Bill Frisell following his fine interpretations The Sweetest Punch (Sep. 1999) with songs by Costello and Bacharach is almost as rule of thumb with producer Lee Townsend, but the album differs from many other Frisell releases by being a solo album with Frisell as only instrumentalist. It's not recorded live but it contains multi-layered tracks with the artist playing a diversity of string instruments and using overdubs. Alas, the album has only been issued in digital formats for cd or download.

Stylewise, it's in the quiet and introspective section of his releases, which in many ways guarantees great compositions. The 16 tracks are mainly by Frisell himself - 5 are covers - with an overall genre touching country, folk, standards, and instrumental jazz as the repertoire, and with a total tunning time beyond 70 minutes it never feels too long.

Ghost Town was met by positive reviews, which I perfectly understand. On this, Frisell excells with great emotional strength, and although he masters all sorts of styles and genres, I really enjoy it when he incorporates americana with a gentle approach. This is the closest I've so far found Frisell approaching the sound of Ry Cooder making a made up soundtrack to a fine forgotten film by Wenders.

Highly recommended.

[ 👍allmusic.com 4 / 5, The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings 3,5 / 4 stars ]

Elvis Costello & Bill Frisell "Deep Dead Blue" (1995) (live)

Deep Dead Blue (Live 25 June 95) (live)
release date: Aug. 14, 1995
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: ?
label: Warner Bros. / Nonesuch - nationality: England, UK

Collaboration live album by Elvis Costello and Bill Frisell recorded live at the Meltdown Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall RFH2, London, Jun. 25, 1995.

The album may be regarded as a Mini-album with its relatively short running time at just less than 27 minutes. It consists of seven tracks of which two are covers and only the title track is credited the duo (track #7).

Stylistically, it's primarily ballads of vocal jazz and jazz fusion, and Costello is alone credited his vocal and Frisell is alone credited his guitar work with no other musicians contributing. The American guitarist is very likely to be capable of playing anything but his primary domain is jazz fusion, and on this it's his touch with bolder melodic instrumental jazz.

Despite being really stripped down arrangements this concept works surprisingly well. Costello 'plays around' with his most intimate vocal with Frisell adding that swirling and appropriate foundation that makes it all sparkle.

[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Bill Frisell "Good Dog, Happy Man" (1999)

Good Dog, Happy Man

release date: May 18, 1999

format: cd

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]

producer: Lee Townsend

label: Nonesuch - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Rain, Rain" - 2. "Roscoe" - 4. "My Buffalo Girl" - 5. "Shenandoah (For Johnny Smith)" - 7. "The Pioneers" - 8. "Cold, Cold Ground" - 11. "Good Dog, Happy Man" - 12. "Poem for Eva"

14th studio album by Bill Frisell following Gone, Just Like a Train (Jan. '98) is Frisell's second of eight consecutive albums with long-time producer Lee Townsend.

Stylewise, Frisell has been on a long and twining progression in shaping that highly personal sound of his, and for me, this is when he first comes out the cleanest. He combines and bonds with other genres and styles and you'll notice elements from jazz, blues, americana, country and folk, and what appeals the most to me, is the absence of jazz fusion or the bold traits of rock fusion of the 1970s and 80s. Many will probably associate Frisell with artists like Pat Metheny, Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea and others belonging to, and keeping alive, the heritage of the innovative Miles Davis and the ingenuity of Thelonius Monk. Exactly that may also be a starting point to his own orginal blend, but what I really enjoy, lies more in his ability to combine roots music - be it blues, jazz, or country folk with bits of americana and a tad more gentle approach that flows into something highly original - and that's basically all found on this one.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com 4 / 5, The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings 3,5 / 4 stars ]

Mark Hollis "Mark Hollis" (1998)

Mark Hollis [debut]
release date: Jan. 26, 1998
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,12]
producer: Mark Hollis
label: Polydor Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "The Colour of Spring" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Watershed" - 4. "The Gift" - 5. "A Life (1895-1915)" - 6. "Westward Bound" - 7. "The Daily Planet" - 8. "A New Jerusalem"

Studio solo debut and only album by Talk Talk front-figure Mark Hollis released seven years after the disbandment of Talk Talk. A record deal for two albums with Polydor before the band's final album may likely be the practical grounds for the initial process in having this album released at all. Hollis never was an artist who sought out or enjoyed time in the limelight before or after releasing albums, and a fundamental reason to the disbandment of Talk Talk appears to have been his personal wish not to live life as a performing artist but to recede to family life - so here's at least one good reason for having record contracts that matter for the fans (!).
Stylistically, the album is quite different from any other album released with Talk Talk. The only common characteristics with the final two studio releases and the presence of a jazz-feel, which had its biggest impact on Laughing Stock but also found way to Spirit of Eden and first introduced on The Colour of Spring. You will also find the sense of progressiveness on this one but the overall tone and style is not that of a post rock-release as much as a minimalist and almost ambient jazz pop-sensation, which could be measured as one-third chamber pop, one-third art pop, and one third focussing on jazz; however, produced with minimal arrangements, and in a way, it could also be labelled as sheer minimalism if not that style also hinted at repetitious elements, often made with classical or electronic instrumentation, which is not the case here. If not touching on silent, this is just extremely delicate. The Hollis and Frise-Greene partnership, a remarkable songwriter / composer duo had come to an end with the final Talk Talk album, but several familiar musicians contribute on the album. Mark Feltham on harmonica, Martin Ditcham on drums and percussion, and Robbie McIntosh on guitar, and they have all played on several albums by Talk Talk before, but it's really remarkable how many additional musicians Hollis enlists on this near-quiet album 'cause what you really end up hearing on the majority of the tracks, is basically only the voice of Mark Hollis, some piano parts by Lawrence Pendrous, the double-bass by classical and jazz bassist Chris Laurence alongside Mark Ditcham's percussion sounds. On top of that, parts of other instruments are layered briefly to ensure a sensation of a warm, spacious room of beauty.
I purchased the album on its release without having heard one single tone from it 'cause I knew it had to be good. Not that it was what I expected, but it just didn't disappoint. Perhaps my only regret is its short total running time clocking in just below 47 mins.
The album was met by positive reviews but (naturally) it wasn't followed by live performances or anything such as a promotion tour. Although, Hollis produced and arranged two tracks on the album Smiling & Waving from 2001 by Norwegian Anja Garbarek (daughter of Jan Garbarek), he only returned to his private life and regrettably seems to have abandoned music from hereon for good.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, The Guardian, Uncut and NME 4 / 5 stars ]

1998 Favourite releases: 1. Grant Lee Buffalo Jubilee - 2. Mark Hollis Mark Hollis - 3. Fatboy Slim You've Come a Long Way, Baby

David Sylvian "Camphor" (2002)

Camphor (compilation)
release date: May 27, 2002
format: 2 cd (LTD.)
[album rate: 2,5 / 5]
producer: David Sylvian
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Compilation album by David Sylvian. This is rather different from the compilation album Everything and Nothing from 2000 as this is concentrating on Sylvian's more experimental instrumental compositions only and not trying to include all of his many projects into one. The album was released as a single-disc album and a Limited Deluxe Edition with three long bonus tracks. The 'normal' edition feature two tracks from Dead Bees on a Cake (1999), three from the album Rain Tree Crow (1991) with former Japan members, and one track from the solo album Alchemy: An Index of Possibilities (1986).
I don't think, Sylvian's best work is in his instrumental compositions, which explains the 2,5 stars, but the album works fine as a whole, and in that way the music is listenable in one long take.
[ allmusic.com 1,5 / 5 stars, Pitchfork Media 66 / 100 ]

Esperanza Spalding "Emily's D+Evolution" (2016)

Emily's D+Evolution
release date: Mar. 4, 2016
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,92]
producer: Esperanza Spalding and Tony Visconti
label: Concord Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Good Lava" - 2. "Unconditional Love" (3,5 / 5) - 4. "Earth to Heaven"

5th studio album by Spalding now with legendary (Bowie-)producer Tony Visconti. Emily is Spalding's middle name, and the album is according to herself about going in the right direction. Well, she really experiments with influences on this one, which is hard to categorize in terms of specific style. It's 'fusion' no doubt about that, but it's not really jazz, although, several tracks have plenty of jazz-feel. It's also art pop and jazz rock build on r&b and funk. The first track "Good Lava" and "Earth to Heaven" both sounds inspired by St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) without too much jazz being more straight-forward, pointing to art rock, but that's not the impression throughout an album, I find staggering forward without a navigator. "One" is more like Kate Bush / Tori Amos with its low and high-pitched vocal performance. The album has it moments, surely, Spalding has a fine and warm vocal, but the music does not really unfold.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Jan Garbarek "Visible World" (1996)

Visible World
release date: Mar. 26, 1996
format: cd (ECM 1585)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Manfred Eicher
label: ECM Records - nationality: Norway

Track highlights: 1. "Red Wind" - 2. "The Creek" (4 / 5) - 3. "The Survivor" - 9. "Giulietta" - 12. "The Quest"

Studio album by Jan Garbarek released as a solo release, although, it features more or less the same musicians who are part of Jan Garbarek Group and who released Twelve Moons (1993) and comprises Rainer Brüninghaus on keyboards, Eberhard Weber on bass, Manu Katché on drums, and Marilyn Mazur on percussion. Also, the music is very much like that specific release. The style is more on the fusion side than on the traditional folk, which is the downside of the album. Imho, the fusion and free jazz elements do not suit his playing style nor reflect his originality the best. There are enough artists and releases from the '70s who have experimented with jazz fusion with large orchestral compositions, and I'm not a big fan of that. This release closes in on the smooth jazz and jazz fusion of Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Al Jarreau, Al Di Meola, Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, and many more that I just don't appreciate. Yes, they are undoubtedly great instrumentalists, and they have huge crowds lauding their music - I'm just not one of them. However, this is also a turning point in Garbarek's music. At this point he has returned to his earliest releases of more free jazz but he has expanded it with percussion-based fusion jazz and moved away from the ambient style and traditional folk, and that's an area he dwells in and explores in the following many releases that I find are less interesting compared to his music of the 1980s and earliest 1990s.
Garbarek is not just one of Norway's or Scandinavia's - he's one of the world's finest contemporary jazz musicians, and despite not being one of my favourites by his hands, the album still offers fine music.

Palle Mikkelborg "Anything But Grey" (1992)

Anything But Grey

release date: Apr. 9, 1992

format: vinyl (COL 471614 1) / cd (COL 471614 2)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]

producer: Òli Poulsen

label: Columbia - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Prince of Peace" (4 / 5) - 2. "Glass Painting" - 3. "Queen of the Night" - 4. "A Time to Keep" - 5. "The Naked Facts" - 7. "Concrete Muse" - 8. "Capricorn" - 9. "Smile"

Studio solo album by Palle Mikkelborg following the collaboration album Hommage - Once Upon a Time (1990) made with N.H.Ø.P. All compositions are by Mikkelborg except "Smile" by Charles Chaplin. The album consists of nine tracks with a total running time just exceeding 51 minutes.

Stylewise, the album follows Mikkelborg's late 80s and 90s style of airy fusion / avant-garde jazz with focus on melody.

The album doesn't appear to have been met by great enthusiasm, but for me, it's a most wonderful and warm contemporary jazz album - perhaps much treasured because I actually purchased the album on its release. I have played the cd so many times that it ended up being impossible to play without tracks skipping or forcing my cd player to call it quits. Luckily, I managed to copy the content to FLAC format and thereby saving this splendid album.

Mikkelborg both dwells on near-ambient compositions and more fusion-like songs, e.g. "Glass Painting" with an ever-present influence from Miles Davis and his 80s albums: You're Under Arrest (Apr. 1985), Tutu (Sep. 1986), and Amandla (May 1989), but the overall sensation is still one of strong original coherency thanks to Mikkelborg's characteristic flugelhorn.

Highly recommended.

Best of 2016:Tindersticks "The Waiting Room" (2016)

The Waiting Room
relase date: Jan. 22, 2016
format: cd / vinyl (clear vinyl) (180g) (gatefold)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,14]
producer: Stuart A. Staples
label: Lucky Dog / City Slang - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "Second Chance Man" - 3. "Were We Once Lovers?" (4 / 5) - 5. "Hey Lucinda" (feat. Lhasa de Sela) - 7. "How He Entered" (4,5 / 5) (live) - 8. "The Waiting Room" (4 / 5) - 10. "We Are Dreamers!" - 11. "Like Only Lovers Can" (4,5 / 5)

11th studio album by Tindersticks is much to the usual formula produced by the band's frontman, main songwriter and composer Stuart Staples. In addition to lead vocalist Staples, the band here consists of Neil Fraser on guitars, David Boulter on piano, Dan McKinna on bass, and with Earl Harvin on drums and percussion - the same quintet who stood behind the two most recent albums: Across Six Leap Years (Oct. 2013) and The Something Rain (Feb. 2012), which both present the simple and yet complex combo of chamber pop mixed with a strong inspiration from jazz.

The Waiting Room is yet another very fine studio release from a band who have really understood how to reinvent themselves after a few years of searching for past greatness.

The song "Hey Lucinda" is said to be a song begun a decade earlier that has had many takes on final versions. During a visit to Montreal, Staples recorded a vocal version with Mexican-American singer Lhasa de Sela, who appears here on the final version [de Sela died in 2010].

My first impression of the album was good, but after another six months of constantly playing the album, tracks as well as the whole album only kept growing on me, and I have to admit that these Brits have done it again and simply made Album Of The Year. The Waiting Room is no less than one of the band's absolute best and can only be recommended.

[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars ]

2016 Favourite releases: 1. Tindersticks The Waiting Room - 2. Ukendt Kunstner Den anden side - 3. Bob Mould Patch the Sky

   

inlay photos by Richard Dumas

<  show lyrics >

~ ~ ~
"How He Entered"

"This is how he entered
How he came in
With an open heart and his eyes wide
A rubber in his pocket
Without socks, and a skip in his step
In an ill-fitting suit with something up his sleeve
A slither of a dream, a last gem
And the fear in his eyes of how dear it was held

This is how he entered
How he came in
Falling from the back of a transit van
Crumpled, desperate for relief from the humdrum
Each step a story, a song in the making
Each step cemented the living
The broken hearts left behind
They were just material to him
And how they would come to pursue him
How they would eventually come to drag him back in

This is how he entered
How he came in
With his hair cold he stood in the doorway
Like a lost dog holding his missing poster
Just to be sure - to be sure everyone knew just how lost he was
Telling his story he broke onions and sang songs
The street walkers carol
Soft tissue
The fear of emptiness
Planting holes to grow some money
These were his songs
And this was how he came in

This was how he entered
How he came in
With chips in his pocket
Just waiting for the chance to get into the game
With his head combed and the checks on his shirt just right
He sang of it but knew nothing of it
The house of cards by an open window
Pack of frazzles
An unsolvable puzzle
He knew nothing of what you needed from him
He knew nothing of giving
He only knew of his desires
He only knew of that woman

This is how he entered
This is how he came in

This is how he entered
How he came in"

~ ~ ~

Bill Frisell "Have a Little Faith" (1993)

Have a Little Faith

release date: Apr. 1993
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]
producer: Wayne Horvitz
label: Elektra Nonesuch - nationality: USA

Studio album by jazz fusion guitarist Bill Frisell following Where in the World? (1991) and Frisell's third consecutive album with producer Howvitz. Two members from The Bill Frisell Quartet contribute on this: bassist Kermit Driscoll and drummer Joey Baron - both are near stable instrumentalists on Frisell albums.
Normally, a new Frisell album means new original compositions by Frisell, however, in this case it's the selection of music based on what has inspired the artist himself. So, what you'll find here are new arrangements of American popular music ranging from classical music by Charles Yves, Stephen Foster and Aaron Copland to a list of music by modern popular songwriters and composers from a broad palette of styles and genres including Sonny Rollins, Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, John Hiatt, Madonna - all highly varied originals and all modernised in Frisell's jazz fusion-like arrangements.
I like it, it's really goood.
[ allmusic.com 5 / 5, The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings 4 / 4 stars ]

David Sylvian "Everything and Nothing" (2000)

Everything and Nothing (compilation)
release date: Oct. 2000
format: 2 cd
[album rate: 3 / 5]
producer: David Sylvian, Steve Nye
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

2-disc compilation album by David Sylvian. The album covers most of his vast repertoire from his days with Japan, various collaboration works and recent solo works.
I don't think it's as good as it could've been. First thing that bothers me is the way the tracks in chronological order are randomly put together, or so it seems. Another difficult thing is that the album offers room for all Sylvian's various musical styles and experiments, which makes it more of a document than a digestible album; however, the quality of the single compositions do not justify my rating of the album.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Jan Garbarek Group "Twelve Moons" (1993)

Twelve Moons
release date: 1993
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

Track highlight: 1. "Twelve Moons - Pt.1: Winter - Summer; Pt.2: Summer - Winter" - 3. "Brother Wind March" - 10. "Witchi-Tai-To"

Released as 'Jan Garbarek Group' (Jan Garbarek - saxophones, Rainer Brüninghaus - keyboards, Eberhard Weber - bass, Manu Katché - drums, Marilyn Mazur - percussion, Agnes Buen Garnås - vocal, Mari Boine - vocal). This album is from his best period, from early 1980s to late 1990s, I think. It's beautiful modern jazz, jazz fusion and free jazz. Often, I don't find jazz fusion that great but that's mostly really when jazz has been fusioned with rock. On this album there's absolutely no rock styles present but it's really difficult to place in a genre because of the stylistic inputs from normally far apart genres like jazz and traditional folk in an ambient universe that sometimes almost becomes new age. On other Garbarek albums this style is too much present but here it only emphasizes the ambient feel.

David Sylvian "Dead Bees on a Cake" (1999)

Dead Bees on a Cake
release date: Mar. 29, 1999
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
producer: David Sylvian
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "I Surrender" - 2. "Dobro #1" - 3. "Midnight Sun" - 4. "Thalhiem" - 5. "God Man" - 8. "The Shining of Things" - 12. "Wanderlust" - 14. "Darkest Dreaming"

5th studio album by David Sylvian is his first solo album in 12 years, thus following his acclaimed Secrets of the Beehive from 1987. The style is as usual somewhere centered around art pop with elements from jazz fusion and sophisti-pop. Most tracks are written solely by Sylvian and a few co-written with others. The album feature several prominent guest artists including Bill Frisell, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Kenny Wheeler, Chris Minh Doky, and much as usual older brother Steve Jansen on percussion. It's really a fine and laid-back album with a singer / songwriter profile, which is nice for a change after several collaboration works with focus on the instrumental side. In a fine way this is like a synthesis of his abilities: cool crooning vocal, and soul-shaped music with a bold touch of jazz and experimental art pop. It's the kind of music I enjoy in solitude and as background carpet for a nice evening in good company. It's one of those albums that make you wish he'd make more music on his own.
[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5 stars, Pitchfork Media 73 / 100 ]

Miles Davis "The Collection" (1990)

The Collection (compilation)
release date: 1990
format: vinyl 2 lp (gatefold - CCSLP 243)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]
producer: various
label: Castle Communications - nationality: USA

Compilation album by Miles Davis released on Castle Communications in "The Collector Series".

Terence Trent D'arby "Vibrator" (1995)

Vibrator
release date: Jun. 1, 1995
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,27]
producer: Terence Trent D'Arby
label: Columbia Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 3. "Holding on to You" (3,5 / 5) - 6. "We Don't Have That Much Time Together" - 8. "If You Go Before Me"

4th studio album by Terence Trent D'Arby continue its style from Symphony or Damn (1993), only it doesn't contain compositions on the same high level. It sounds and feels much like leftovers from his previous work. Together with Neither Fish Nor Flesh from '89, I find this his least interesting album, and the one that makes me think of Prince the most, and I'm not a fan of his. This is only just mediocre. This is one huge blend of styles: funk, soul , pop / rock, r&b, well even jazz is represented here making it fusion jazz rock. It seems he's almost trying to embrace all styles and genres, which can only lead to the style of... confusion [!].
[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5, Select 1 / 5 stars ]

Sting "... Nothing Like the Sun" (1987)

... Nothing Like the Sun
release date: Oct. 5, 1987
format: 2 lp vinyl (393912-1) / cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
producer: Sting, Hugh Padgham, Bryan Loren, Neil Dorfsman
label: A&M Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "The Lazarus Heart" - 2. "Be Still My Beating Heart" - 3. "Englishman in New York" (4 / 5) - 4. "History Will Teach Us Nothing" - 6. "Fragile" - 8. "Straight to My Heart" - 10. "Sister Moon" - 11. "Little Wing"

2nd solo studio album by Sting is like his first two album releases a double vinyl album, although, the playing time at approx. 55 mins. really doesn't opt for the necessity of two discs. The album is a slight move away from the jazz tone on the debut towards a more traditional pop / rock styled album.
At first, I found it a lesser album with the lack of great compositions, but in a way I think it's a more successful release than his solo debut as it's more of a whole, and the lyrical side is clearly bettering his first. After a few years I then considered this his best solo release. Some tracks, however, tend to linger in the same mood and seem like built on more or less the same matrix, which makes it appear as having a long playing time. Still, this is a solid good album, and imho, it's his last really good album as a solo artist.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 4,5 / 5 stars ]