Music

Average customer rating:

His father would be proud,,,,,
Mature muscianship plus immagination
great saxophone
Simply Delicious. You'll Appreciate the Influence AND the
He's better than his dad!

In Flux
Ravi Coltrane
Manufacturer: Savoy Jazz
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall
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12 Songs

ASIN: B0007GP6AG
Release Date: 2005-02-22

Tracks:

The Message Part I
Coincide
Variations III
Away
Leaving Avignon
Blending Times
Dear Alice
Angular Realms
Scram Vamp
Variations I
United
For Zo

Album Description

Ravi Coltrane's Savoy Jazz debut captures the artist confronting change and transition. In turn lyrical and probing, this music is the most profound statement yet from one of jazz's most fascinating contemporary stars.

Customer Reviews:

His father would be proud,,,,,.......2007-02-19

I essentially agree with the previous 2 or 3 reviewers. Can't add much if only to say i was very impressed by the compositions and the
beautiful execution by the group...not overcooked in the least, but just very COOL stuff. Have also seen them recently in concert, which really perked my interest in Ravi.

Mature muscianship plus immagination.......2006-06-14

Ravi Coltrane -- like each of the artist with him on this project -- are the result of years of hard work and growth and this CD really shows each and every one of them at their best. It is difficult to find a studio album in Jazz that demonstrates as much maturity, immagination and collective brilliance as this one does.

Gress has not sounded as good live when I've heard him and the sound and mastering on this CD really helps bring out a nice sound! Despite a slightly out of tune piano, Perdomo is relaxed and inventive in all that he does. Strickland even reminds me a bit of Victor Lewis in Strickland's ability to drive and sustain the entire group without sticking out as if it were *his* album. Lastly, it is an injustice to compare Ravi with his father since Ravi has his own voice in the music and though there is some influence from the elder, it never becomes contrived or blatant. Like the NY Times reviewer said, this is a good example of how the better players are thinking nowadays.

Clearly, there is some great playing and writing going on here and this would have to be one of my picks for this last year (2005). Better late than never I guess.

great saxophone.......2006-02-02

Old bebop style jazz in a 2005 jacket from an all-composing Quartet. A beautiful production of Savoy Records! (FJB/O! 2005)

Ravi Coltrane plays Tenor en soprano saxophone with a sharp but elegant ring to it. Ashly Kahn says in the linernotes that Ravi Coltrane is evolving still and he wonders where it will lead to. I don't know about the evolving bit. This is my first Ravi Coltrane experience. I find it to be more then average. It's melodic with out overdoing. There's a beautiful build up with layer over layer. This craftsmanship leads to the composing depth of an album that keeps on giving. I just stay intrigued by it. The only negative point I can think of is that this album will probably never do as background music.

Niels-Henning once said to me that the great jazzmen are a dying species. I hope Ravi Coltrane is one of the new guys that will prove Niels-Henning Orsted Pederson wrong. A. Kahn has a good point in wondering where it will lead. We have to follow this guy and his excellent quartet!

Simply Delicious. You'll Appreciate the Influence AND the.......2005-11-23

ORIGINALITY of Ravi Coltrane and his quartet. I got this CD after seeing the Ravi Coltrane Quartet live...Oh.MY! It was the first time I'd ever seen them, or heard the music. It is an experience to be had! Please avail yourselves of the opportunity whenever possible...you'll zing the whole way through! Now, about this CD--which is playing right now--It is evident that John's influence is there, without a doubt...And it is EQUALLY evident that Ravi is a Master in his Time, influenced by a variety of music as he came of age [after all, he is named after Master musician Ravi Shankar!]...Wait, I'm delighting in the way Ravi is playing the close to Track 7...it is especially tantalizing to the ear, hearing the alchemy of instrumental response and breathy intent...Ahh Yes! You will appreciate the many innovations, migrations and visionary departures on this CD. It is ripe and rich with flourish in all the right places...A blissful accompaniment morning, noon, night...beyond. Bless the memory of John. Welcome the experience of Ravi...there is ONLY compliment here...no need or desire to compare! Ravi sets a standard all his own.

Treat yourself! Smile why don't you...I can't help it--everytime!

Enjoy,
Bead

He's better than his dad!.......2005-10-09

Longboard Jazzer asks, will he ever top his dad. The answer is yes. To me he's much better. Especially when you consider he's not recorded by the likes of Rudy Van Gelder whose catalogue almost never ceases to disappoint from an audiophile point of view. This record features Drew Gress on bass also. John Coltrane never had a bassist of his talent to play with and the recording engineers from the 50s and 60s obviously were at a loss as how to record a bass instrument. The recording quality is great and the music is hip. I'm a jazz fan but I don't like a lot of jazz, probably not even most jazz. I like this kind of jazz - contemporary jazz. In fact it reminds me of a very good disc called Contemporary Jazz by Branford Marsalis. One difference is that this disc is recorded well, Contemporary Jazz is not. I haven't heard Ravi's other recordings so I can't compare. I like this music and it gets better the more I listen. It's complicated, sophisticated, and not too "out there", but just enough for me.

Average customer rating:

Great player!!!
The Best Current Voice In Jazz Guitar
Nice Trip
The best guitar trio cd of the nineties
Challenging but Rewarding Music

Flux
Ben Monder
Manufacturer: Songlines
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Oceana
Dust
East Coast Love Affair
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No Boat

ASIN: B000005IF3
Release Date: 1997-06-24

Tracks:

Muvseevum
Flux
Food For The Moon
Red Shifts
Jello Throne
Don't Look Down
Orbits
O.K. Chorale
Lactophobia
Propane Dream

Customer Reviews:

Great player!!!.......2007-06-11

I really enjoy Bens playing and writing.

I want to mention one most obvious influence that nobody else has. He sounds to me to be heavily influenced by Allan Holdsworth. That's where those chords come from. Pick up a copy of "The Sixteen Men of Tain".

Cheers,
Matt Zito

The Best Current Voice In Jazz Guitar.......2005-04-22

The guitar has always had its limitations in the context of improvised music, and especially in jazz. Ben Monder, like his predecessors and mentors Joe Pass, George Van Eps, Pat Metheny, and Bill Frisell, seems determined to expand the possibilities of the guitar in all improvised contexts.

As a young person listening to this recording and watching Monder perform live, I'm privileged to experience what it must have been like for Wes Montgomery to have heard Charlie Christian, or for Pat Metheny to have heard Wes Montgomery a few decades later. That's the potential that is waiting for listeners to discover on this record.

Ben Monder combines the chordal fluency of Van Eps with the single-note facility of Metheny and the adventurous texturalism of Frisell. It's an extremely exciting synthesis with something to offer all jazz listeners and musicians.

His non-traditional chord voicings are completely fresh. His single-note soloing is deft and articulate, with long, arcing phrases executed perfectly. He dazzles guitarists by using familiar vocabulary and tricks in unfamiliar harmonic settings. His attention to string muting and tonal balance are very rare in jazz guitar. And his impressive, through-composed pieces are long, but never meandering. He has clearly spent quite a lot of time studying classical composition and technique. I should also add that guitarists and engineers should study this recording (and "Dust") closely, as Monder coaxes, in my opinion, the FINEST clean electric guitar tone ever committed to tape. I mean this sincerely. His clean tone, unadorned by effects, colored only by his fingers, heart, and soul, is beautiful and bell-like. And as I mentioned before, he controls it with such precision and grace.

Plus, he just rocks! Jimmy Page is just as much of an influence upon Monder as Jimmy Raney. I think "Flux" and "Dust" have great potential to initiate non-jazz listeners into the world of improvised music. Considering how young Monder is and how much he has already accomplished, jazz guitar is in quite capable hands.

Nice Trip.......2004-07-16

I don't normally write reviews but I thought in this case, having read the previous two, I could add something not completely meaningless, and help to promote this disc.

I'm really struck by this music. The music, for the most part, is darkly dreamy. The cover displays a painting called "space jazz" and it looks like a picture of space (stars, galaxies, gasses etc), and it pretty much reflects the overall tone of the music. Dark, dreamy, mysterious, beautiful. The song titles also: "Food for the Moon", "Orbits", "Propane Dream", "Don't Look Down", evoke a kind of spacey feel. But, as the title suggests, there is a lot of movement too. After all, this is "jazz." The rhythm section here (Jim Black and Drew Gress) are amazingly fluid, aggressively propulsive, graceful on slower tunes, and really play a huge role in defining the music. Their roles are definetely collaborative rather than suppportive, which adds tremendous richness to the music. This isn't just about guitar, its about guitar, bass and drums.

What moves me most about music are the intangibles, the psychographic effects of melodies, rhythms and sounds that can't really be explained in words, but have the power to move us, so the listening becomes more of an experience and less an appreciation. And I guess what makes this music so special is that combination of spaciness and virtuosity (Ben has incredible tecnique), that combination of amazing guitar with equally amazing drums and base, which allows you to listen to the music a lot, love it, and never tire of it.

The best guitar trio cd of the nineties.......2004-01-11

This cd is a must have for every serious guitarist. Ben Monder takes electric guitar playing to heights that have never been reached before. His modern language and technique - both in composing and improvising -, although sometimes resemblant to Frisell's, (combined with his pristine sound) can be defined as the most advanced in the world. Guitarists have always been poor in language, compared to the pianists, so, listening to this cd, every guitarist will learn how to fill the gap.
Guitar is a polyphonic instrument, but electric guitarist worldwide seem not to know it. Monder shows how to use the guitar in a polyphonic way, using musical material which belongs to our times, the XX century music.
Monder's compositions are beautiful and complex, his solo pieces are wonderful.
The other members of the trio, bassist Drew Gress and drummer Jim Black are wonderful musicians, and add a lot to Monder's music.

Challenging but Rewarding Music.......2002-04-09

Okay, for you guitarists out there, this music may be an affront to your ideas about what is technically possible on the guitar. For the more jaded among us, it may be an affront to what you consider to be desirable guitar sounds. If you enjoy technically amazing guitar playing (esp. the solo pieces) and can sit comfortably through two hours of John Cage, you will enjoy this fine album. Not to say that this music is never melodic or open. There are many menorable tunes and the texture is tastefully varied. This is possibly Ben's most challenging (to listen to) album. Most of us come to Ben through jazz; however this music is [mostly] not jazz. It is very composed, and one hates to make demeaning generalizations, but I hear Bela Bartok here just as much as, say, Pat Metheny. I think Ben is one of our most talented guitarists now. Very rewarding for the patient.

Average customer rating:

Two classic Steppenwolf Albums in one!!!!
The Legacy Of Steppenwolf Goes On

Slow Flux/Hour of the Wolf
Steppenwolf
Manufacturer: Acadia Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000G1SZZK
Release Date: 2006-07-03

Tracks:

Gang War Blues
Children of Night
Justice Don't Be Slow
Get into the Wind
Jereboah
Straight Shootin' Woman
Smokey Factory Blues
Morning Blue
Fool's Fantasy
Fishin' in the Dark

Tracks:

Caroline
Annie, Annie Over
Two for the Love of One
Just for Tonight
Hard Rock Road
Someone Told a Lie
Another's Lifetime
Mr. Penny Pincher

Album Description

Digitally remastered two-on-one from John Kay and his gang of road warriors. Slow Flux was originally released in 1974 while Hour Of The Wolf was released a year later. 18 tracks total including 'Gang War Blues', 'Children Of The Night', 'Fishin' In The Dark', 'Hard Rock Road' and more. Evangeline

Album Details

Reissue of the their Two Albums They Released for Columbia after the Dunhill Years. Both Albums Are Not Available in their Complete Form on One Single Disc.

Customer Reviews:

Two classic Steppenwolf Albums in one!!!!.......2007-07-14

I just ordered this and cannot wait to hear it again! I had both albums and I wore out my vinyl copies years ago, and have been waiting for the cd! I have been a fan of Steppenwolf since the olden days, and their music is as fresh today as it was then.

The Legacy Of Steppenwolf Goes On.......2007-01-24

Here you get two great Steppenwolf albums back to back. Both of these are extremely rare and some of best Stepppenwolf tracks ever made. A must for all serious collectors.

Strive To Survive Causing Least Suffering Possible/Neu Smell

Average customer rating:

Probably the best album from the Flux
Great!
ANARCORE !!!!!
crass punk inspiration not so bad

Strive To Survive Causing Least Suffering Possible/Neu Smell
Flux of Pink Indians
Manufacturer: One Little Indian Us
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Hardcore | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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The Fucking Cunts Treat Us Like Pricks/Taking a Liberty
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Total Doom

ASIN: B0001XAQ3M
Release Date: 2004-04-20

Tracks:

Song for Them
Charity Hilarity
Some of Us Scream, Some of Us Shout
Take Heed
T.V. Dinners
Tapioca Sunrise
Progress
They Lie We Die
Blinded by Science
Myxomatosis
Is There Anybody There?
Fun Is Over
Neu Smell
Tube Disaster
Poem: Sick Butchers
Background of Malfunction

Product Description

1. Song for Them
2. Charity Hilarity
3. Some of Us Scream, Some of Us Shout
4. Take Heed
5. T.V. Dinners
6. Tapioca Sunrisev
7. Progress
8. They Lie Like We Die
9. Blinded by Science
10. Myxomatosis
11. Is There Anybody There?
12. The Fun is Over

1. Neu Smell
2. Tube Disaster
3. Poem: Sick Butchers
4. Background of Malfunction

Format: CD

Customer Reviews:

Probably the best album from the Flux.......2006-11-28

A fierce Anarcho Punk Band, Flux of Pink Indians were a great band but not that great. this band, Rudimentary Peni, Conflict, Crass, etc. were all in the crass label and I consider these guys to be part of the "Crass Team." Flux sounds like Crass except with a different lead singer. Tube Disaster, Some of us scream some of us shout, and Take Heed are the best songs on this disc.

Great!.......2006-08-01

Bought this CD when it first came out. I love it. Flux of Pink Indians really take you back musically to the ages of Rudimentary Peni and Crass. This is the ideal FoPI album to get if you're trying to decide which one to buy. Favorite song is Sick Butchers.

ANARCORE !!!!!.......2005-03-21

This is one of the greatest,rawest,in your face anarcho-political albums of all times.It combines Crass-like
topics-in a little less emphatical way -with corrosive hardcore punk,
full of guitar feedback and shouting ,characteristic of this style.There are,nonetheless,some twisted melodic lines
along,which gives this band their unique and peculiar sound.I really can't reccomend this highly enough,and if you
can put up with some less than perfect sound,¨Live Statement¨features all of these songs at a live performance in Nottingham,versions being even rawer,especially the singing.Bear in mind,though,Strive...has a rather uneven tonal quality to it,so an equalizer is mandatory to unleash the astonishingly authoritative drumming delivered by the
drummer,it does'nt get better than this,mind you

crass punk inspiration not so bad.......2005-01-24

This cd took a few good listens to get into it. But i did notice all the feedback they put in there songs get annoying as hell. They have a unique sound..its worth a listen to what the bands of today were influenced by. I enjoy this way more then all them punkcore record (...).

Average customer rating:

Incredible
Awesome! Awesome!!! Show BUT the
Will Blow Your Mind.......
diving energy
IAmazing.!?!

Private/Public
Flux Information Sciences
Manufacturer: Young God Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000589BX
Release Date: 2001-01-16

Tracks:

Appealing
Adaptech
Details
Sit Down, Silly!
Love Me Love Me
Demise
Liposuction
The Shocking Truth
Accessories
Jewelry
Love
Parking/Shopping
World Class
Model Man
Supermarket
Dollar Days
She's A Fox
Van Services
Seamen/Soldier

Customer Reviews:

Incredible.......2006-09-14

Most of these reviews are dead on, with the exception of the reviewer who saw the band live in Texas after the band was a shadow of it's former self. By that time their drummer Derek Ethridge had left the band and even Michael Gira himself by that point knew the band had lost steam. But in their day they were amazing.

I remember seeing them play in New York and just being blown away. Reviews at the time mentioned their destructive live act and each member of the band were incredible to watch, especially front man Tristan Bechet and drummer Derek Ethridge. This CD is by far the band's best and Michael Gira's production work on it is flawless.

[...]

Words truly can not describe this recording. It's absolutely incredible. I highly recommend it. Good job Flux, we'll miss you.

Awesome! Awesome!!! Show BUT the .......2005-08-22

I purchased this cd based on their live performance I saw at Mabel Peabody's Denton, TX. There Live show was unbelievable it was the only thing I could think about for months after the show. I would of bought the cd at the show but I didn't bring any extra cash. The drummer was dead on that night she drove that ship into uncharted territory it was a wild ride. The pulse coming from her base drum was in perfect time and rumbled the whole room. It was as if GOD and SATIN were at battle right there in the room. The rest of the band followed suit and road that wave of pulses from her drum kit. Tristan the devil himself lead vocalist and keyboardist was their master driving his chariot whipping his horses (the band) to go faster. Their performance was on the edge it was has if one wrong move the show could come crashing down into violent bloody brawl. The energy coming off the room was the same. However, when I purchased the cd after a 3-month search I was greatly disappointed. The energy was gone from the cd that I got from the live show now it is just watered down noise that I so hardly appreciated at the club.

Will Blow Your Mind..............2003-02-11

From start to finish, Private/Public is totally different from anything else you will hear that's come out recently. If you are a fan of early Neubauten, Swans, etc., you will value this record and put it high up on your stack of cds. Flux is easily one of the best I feel lucky enough to have discovered in the past five years...

diving energy.......2002-10-11

This is a classic example of a band that does not get the attention deserved. If you happen to stumble onto this page you are probably looking for something different. Private/Public is uniquely different without alienating your average listener. Their primal electrified beats are magnetic and the vocals border on chaotic but well placed. It has captured the attention of everybody that I have played it for. Unless you are a New Yorker, you will have to pick this up here or at young god records because, unfortunately, you will not find it at you local record store.

IAmazing.!?!.......2001-11-19

Mr. Gira, His is a history to follow and understand. Too much history to offer in this review. To see them live is beyond compare.

Average customer rating:

Electronic Flux
the guy looking for song that sounds like evanscence
nice CD
Song question
I like this soundtrack

Aeon Flux
Graeme Revell
Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
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Underworld
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ASIN: B000C4BB2A
Release Date: 2005-12-13

Tracks:

Bregna 2415
The Panopticon
Una Flux
Torture Garden
Monican Mission
âÂ€ÂœGood BoysâÂ€Â
The Kiss
The Relical and Keeper
Cloning Discovery
Grenade! / Monorail Chase
âÂ€ÂœI RememberâÂ€Â
The Cherry Orchard
Oren Goodchild Dies
Destroying the Memories
Aeon Flux

Album Description

Based on the hit MTV animated series, Aeon Flux is one of the most anticipated films of the holiday season. The exciting and evocative score for the film was composed by Graeme Revell, a master at exploring the dark side of such film worlds as Sin City and The Crow.

Set 400 years in the future, disease has wiped out the majority of Earth's population except for one walled, protected city-state, Bregna, ruled by a congress of scientists. The story centers on Aeon Flux (Charlize Theron), the top operative in the underground "Monican" rebellion, led by the Handler (Frances McDormand). When Aeon is sent on a mission to kill a government leader, she uncovers a world of secrets.

Customer Reviews:

Electronic Flux.......2007-03-28

I'm a super huge Aeon Flux fan; the cartoon, the movie, and now the album. The songs pay hommage to the electronia influenced TV series by Drew Neumann without sounding like rip-offs or forgotten tracks. If you haven't seen the film (or heaven forbid didn't like it) then preview the clips to get a sense of what this album has to offer. The strings mix well with the electronic gurlges only adding to the dramatic effect these compositions hold. Enjoy.

the guy looking for song that sounds like evanscence.......2006-06-22

hey, i found the song you have been looking for it. the band is called Jem and the song is called 24. i hope this helped. im not really under 13 i just do this because i cant figure out how to write a review when i put im over 13 years old. so i figure this is the only way. i guess. if anyone can tell me how please let me know.

nice CD.......2006-06-18

First of all, to the previous reviewer: I never heard an Evanescence song on the previews, but they did put Headstrong by Trapt on the DVD commercials. Second, I really did like this CD. Graeme Revell did a superb job on the instrumental songs, just like he did on the Daredevil soundtrack. My fav track is the last one, Aeon Flux. Loved the movie, loved the soundtrack.

Now, just for your pure pleasure, click the "yes" button to the proceeding question.

Song question.......2006-06-16

Looking at the titles I'm assuming it's not on here, so I was wondering if anyone knew who did the song that was used in the commercials to promote the film? It sounds a little like Evanescence but I wasn't sure.

I like this soundtrack.......2006-01-27

When I first listened to the soundtrack, several others came to mind. One was Graeme Revell's score for Daredevil. I'm happy to say that, while that one was terrifically boring, this one is very different. Much more rhythm, much more movement. But it's not just electronic noise, either. There are real instruments, and even melody at times.

This score also shared some similarities with Christophe Beck's score for Elektra. Both are orchestras fed through electronics. ("Beds of sound" has been used to describe both.) But Æon Flux is a better score, because there is more instruments and less percussion just for its own sake, which bored me after a while on the Elektra score.

Finally, this score really reminded me of a slightly softer version of the score for Batman Beyond, if anyone remembers that release.

On its own, I enjoy listening to this score, but I have to admit that I also liked the movie. Neither is perfect. But if you liked the movie, or are a fan of Graeme Revell's work, this may be worth a listen.

Average customer rating:

Drones
where's Laswell?
Subharmonic Quality
Keep a night-light on for this one....

Somnific Flux
M.J. Harris & Bill Laswell
Manufacturer: Subharmonic
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Cold Summer
Web
Continue
Mosquito Dream
Cymatic Scan

ASIN: B000003ZNO
Release Date: 1995-03-21

Tracks:

Distal Sonority
Capacious

Customer Reviews:

Drones.......2006-02-27

If you enjoy drones (i.e. Jessamine/E.A.R./Spectrum's more experimental outings, "Harmony of the Spheres," Eastern world musics, etc.) you will most assuredly enjoy this.

where's Laswell?.......2004-11-01

I know Laswell is a experimentalist but this one is a little to boring. I would not recommend this to anyone unless you would like to own every Laswell album every recorded. It is basically a constant hum, with some fluxuation.

Subharmonic Quality.......2003-01-05

I had heard this one before and it didn't sound like much. However I like both Laswell's and Harris' stuff so when I found it cheap I picked it up. What a pleasant surprise, it was much better than I recalled. The songs don't have a lot of beat or melody, some might not even recognize it as music, but give it time. This is one of those 'growers'. If you are not afraid of the words dark and ambient, try it yourself.

Keep a night-light on for this one...........1999-02-07

Quite possibly the most "ambient" album I own (and that says something right there). There are no beats, very little changes throughout all two tracks, and it's very, very dark. Highly recomrnded.

Average customer rating:

6 Hours, 7 Minutes and 7 Seconds of pure bliss
An amazing performance
Drive, he said.....
Long day's journey into night (and back again)
a work that exists outside itself

String Quartet 2
Morton Feldman , and Flux Quartet
Manufacturer: Mode
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
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Morton Feldman: For Philip Guston

ASIN: B00006SF9I
Release Date: 2002-11-26

Tracks:

String Quartet No. 2

Album Description

In the 1970s Feldman took up the study and collecting of antique Turkish rugs, a highly evolved and exquisite folk art. The rugs are intricately patterned, symmetrical in basic design but with constant variation and displacement in the detailed execution of that design; strikingly and subtly colored, including fine variegations of principal colors resulting from the dyeing process. Analogies are clear to Feldman's music as it takes up large-scale patterning, partly working with his familiar subtle gradations of rhythm and instrumental color and ostinati, loops or extended repetitions of a sounds, partly - and especially in this second string quartet - continually finding new and surprising qualities of color. There are a number of sounds in this piece unlike anything one has heard from a string quartet. Lasting more than six continuous hours, it is "a disorienting, transfixing experience that repeatedly approached and touched the sublime." - Alex Ross, in his review of the FLUX Quartet's New York City performance in The New Yorker. String Quartet 2's score is 124 pages, at one tempo marking of 63-66 beats per minute - as such, a slow tempo. Feldman idiosyncratically sets the bars, so one page may last as little as about half a minute or as much as nearly seven minutes. "A very exciting quartet composed of four young men...who have lots of ideas and clearly enjoy making music together," - Anthony Tommasini, NY Times, the FLUX Quartet has performed to rave reviews at many music centers around the world. FLUX have performed Quartet 2 in concert numerous times and know the score intimately. The FLUX Quartet's repertoire consists of notable pioneers as well as visionaries of tomorrow - from "classics" by Nancarrow, Ligeti, and Cage, to works by John Zorn, Ornette Coleman, Oliver Lake, and tenor balloonist Judy Dunaway. This deluxe set features liner notes by Feldman's colleague Christian Wolff, mixing personal experiences and recollections with analysis; and by FLUX founder Tom Chiu who writes of the "experience" of performing such a large-scale work.

Customer Reviews:

6 Hours, 7 Minutes and 7 Seconds of pure bliss.......2007-02-22

Morton Feldman took quite a chance writing a six hour piece. The length makes it awfully hard to perfrom and a trying experience for the listener. The Flux Quartet has produced a brilliant recording of it and any fan of Morton Feldman or contemporary classical music should have this recording in their library. While it's not fo the faint of heart, the patient listener will feel truly enlightened after finishing this marathon piece.

Now I know what one of the questions you may be asking yourself could be: How can a piece stay interesting for over six hours? I can answer that question with four words: "Feldman's Second String Quartet." Feldman takes you on a surreal journey of color, texture and sound that will take you straight to your happy place. Using minimalist style composition Feldman takes the listener to places they've never been before. The piece just breathes. The length can be trying but any lover of minimalism will truly enjoy this piece. You will recognize recaped themes and really get a sense of form even though it may be a full hour before you hear a theme recalled.

It may be more valuable to pick up the DVD instead of the CDs as the DVD plays uninterupted. Even if you rip the CDs to a digital device, the transisitons aren't as smooth as some may like.

However this piece is not for the faint of heart. The length is just as definitive of the piece as it is hindering the piece from being universally enjoyed. I don't like to think of it as a piece, but a journey. So if your ears are up for a listening challenge, there's none more challenging than Feldman 2.

An amazing performance.......2006-07-24

If you're reading a review of this CD, you probably know what you're getting into. This is definitely one of Feldman's most intriguing works not only because of its incredible length, but also because of the way Feldman engages the listener in a very active way for such a long time. A personal critique would be superfluous - you can decide for yourself whether the work has artistic merit, whether or not its length is justified, and the amount of aesthetic pleasure contained within. Regardless of personal feelings, the work exists and, thanks to a brave performance by the Flux Quartet, is now available on CD and DVD (but, good luck finding the Audio DVD!).

I tried in vain to find a copy of the DVD Audio version of this recording as five CDs in definitely an inferior way to experience this piece. It would be much better to press play and let the world drift away. The performance is quite remarkable. Flux maintain an intense interpretation throughout. The listener may break up the experience over time and revisit certain sections with fresh ears. Flux had one marathon chance to get it right - no edits, no stopping for a break. They treat SQ2 with respect, not as some sort of endurance/novelty challenge. At this point, a few string quartets have performed this work, but I would definitely place this performance among the top.

The one unfortunate aspect other than the 5 CD treatment is the packaging. The CDs come in paper sleeves housed in a flimsy cardboard container. We're lucky to have a performance of this caliber, but it's still unfortunate that the box is so worthless. The liner notes aren't bad, but a nice analysis of the work would have been helpful, but there is an interesting account of the preparation that went into the performance.

Overall, the CDs are worth the fairly high price. If you're familiar with Feldman, this will definitely interest you. If you're new, there are better places to start such as "Piano and String Quartet", "Crippled Symmetry", and "Triadic Memories". This is a wonderful document of an amazing performance.

Drive, he said............2005-03-06

You may play this recording on your car's CD player (shuffle mode is permitted), start driving, continue driving until all the CDs have played through once. At that point you will pull over & stop the car. Look around. If you like where you are, that is the place you will live. If you don't like where you are, get back in the car, start Morton Feldman's String Quartet No. 2 over again, drive until the entire composition has been played, & pull the car over. Repeat until the end of the Quartet corresponds to a place you want to live. When stopping for gas, food or call-of-nature, turn off the CD player if you turn off the car's motor. If you have memorized the score & are capable of performing it in your mind, you may eliminate the CDs.

This brilliant music suggests you listen to it with a sense of humor. Feldman was after all part of John Cage's circle, & Cage smiled a lot.

Long day's journey into night (and back again).......2005-01-15

At first it seemed impossible: prior to 1999 (or so) the only known ensemble to perform it was the Kronos Quartet in 1983-4 (at least twice, in Toronto and Darmstadt, Germany). They were going to perform it a Feldman mini-festival in New York in 1996, but had to withdraw due to possible fatigue. Since 1999 there have been at least a few baker's dozens of performances (although there still has yet to be a performance in the San Francisco Bay area). Frequent enough to almost remove the word "rarely" from its performance description, but still quite a long way from reaching, say, Shostakovitch's Eighth String Quartet proportions (thankfully (not that there's anything wrong with Shosty 8 (there isn't) but its overplaying and many players' ignorance of his other fourteen quartets can almost be frustrating and annoying)).

This is Morton Feldman's curriculum vitae. An assemblage of "found objects", examined and re-examined. Those familiar with Feldman's other works will find bits and pieces from works composed immediately prior to this, including "For John Cage", "Patterns in a Chromatic Field" (aka, the untitled composition for `cello & piano), "Three Voices", and his first string quartet, as well as the other, shorter string quartet pieces that he wrote in the 1950's. Feldman also loved his Schubert, insisting that the musicians play portions of it like [presumably, the beginning of the slow movement of] the "Death and the Maiden" string quartet. At six hours, this piece could resemble a road trip when taken in full: you're looking out the window, the scenery changes, some of the buildings are the same with often subtle differences, things return, unexpected things appear. In the first 2½ hours there's a short progression of a rising four note figure followed by a falling four note figure cushioned by `cello harmonic drone that springs up now and again, acting like a segue, a divider, a curtain, a wipe of the slate, a slice of pickled ginger after a great piece of sushi, a gasp of air before diving back into the pool, a pause for station identification. (The opening "Deal Music" from Stravinsky's Jeu de Cartes also came to mind.) Nothing announces its final appearance and before you know it, it has vanished. Occasionally there are some loud moments, just to keep you on your toes, but then the delicate moments return and order is restored. Some things return, sometimes verbatim with slight alterations, other times cleverly disguised but still maintaining its identity. Other things are tried out and abandoned in favor of other ideas. There is a progression of nine measures introduced part way through the third disc that gets shuffled upon its next go-around but it's not like you are comparing one version to another. ABCDE later becomes BDCEA, then CABED (or is it the other way around, or another?). Come midway through the fourth hour, things have slowed down to a comfortable crawl, like an exhaustion was built right in, with occasional spurts of "second wind". The four penultimate pages seem like an eternity, a summing up. Then comes the sunlight of the last page ("...the darkness has past and it's daylight at last." -Gilbert & Sullivan, Iolanthe). It's morning, afternoon, night and dawn.

Another important aspect of the Second String Quartet is time. Time does not become a factor to listening here. Like a baseball game (also with an absence of a clock), it is an escape from thinking about anything else. And something from John Cage also came to mind: I think it was from his "Lecture on Nothing" (see Silence); something like, "If anyone feels they should leave, they should go now." But there is nothing wrong with taking this in smaller portions as well (the index points allow you to do so). It's like looking at a selection of photographs. Or, sampling your favorite parts from a box of chocolates (no references to Forest Gump, OK?). Or., catching the highlights of a ballgame on the news: removed from its context, but substantial nevertheless (like Barry Bonds hitting a three run homer, but you don't bother to see how the two runners before him got on base (and no cynical references to that BALCO brouhaha)). In other words, one should have a little sense of what is happening before diving in; most expectations should be well enough abandoned. But that is not hard and fast essential: again, this may sound clichéd but this more like a journey rather than a novel.

The last thing (at least for now) that comes to mind about this Second String Quartet is the sense of tradition. The institution of the string quartet has now been in existence for over 250 years. It's the kind of institution where one can take liberties with, and usually succeed, that other chamber formats could not pull off (if you can find it in a library, Paul Griffiths' book, The String Quartet, A History, is an excellent tome on the subject; see the portion about Mauricio Kagel's quartet). A work of this magnitude could never get written for, say, a string quintet (Feldman's "Violin & String Quartet" does not really count; it is a technically a string quintet, true, but it is really more like a violin concerto accompanied by a low budget orchestra (I thank Frank Zappa for that designation)), although a string trio might receive something comparable (see LaMonte Young; and when in the heck will his string trio ever get commercially produced, or even his "Chronos Kristala" for string quartet? (sorry for the digressing and usual grousing...)). Anyway, this is the best I can talk about this Second String Quartet for now. I have listened to this many, many times, sometimes in full (a long work day can allow that), others in random pieces; I even chose to have a page of this played at my wedding in 2003 (for those wondering, page 22, the page we used, is at 8:39 on the fifth track of the first disc). A piece of this enormous stature requires a different kind of listening "strategy". There are no rules as how to properly listen to this piece, just a sense of acceptance.

a work that exists outside itself.......2004-11-30

Feldman thought his String Quartet #1 was a masterpiece, that is one with objectively defined proportions, moments, gestures, that all somehow amount and accrete to something that is beyond themselves, itself. I have a problem with the First Quartet in the over-abundance of extended techniques, Am Steg, tremoli, snapped pizzicati, all this materials wears one down if the creator decides to adopt a long durational length. A masterpiece needs to fit the durational frame it adopts.

The 'Second Quartet' however doesn't need such categroical values to place itslef on the globe, in the lifeworld of the aesthetic. It is simply there. The string quartet genre is unlike the piano. My personal conviction is that the piano solo genres offers a purer focused state for all this late music Feldman found a new innovative voice.(i.e. "Triadic Memories", "For Bunita Marcus")
The Second Quartet here works quite well because it doesn't drain or irretreivably spend one's listening constitution, it admirably inhabits(haunts at times) the durational frame it adopts.

So then we have a conceptual problem, for how does one experience this work.?Feldman naturally intended it for the concert hall, subverting (so he thinks) that genre. But I would never sit(nor many hardcore new music afficianados) six hours in a concert hall to experience this work.Sorry! Long durational music works on the body as well as the mind,the intellect.Our own life rhythms interface with a work like this. ((And this might be the orientation for some doctorial candidate,to discover how we listen to a work of this length,mind and body))
So again where does this work reside conceptually?, well as a recording seems to be its purest state,somewhat convincing,for we needed interrupt our lives,we can amble about walking between rooms,with hopfully minimal motion; for we are simply speaking about the experience of timbre, there is no description of this work or analysis(although I venture to guess ones will be submitted to doctoral programs). The 'Second Quartet' is an assemblage, materials simply inhabiting a durational space.

Incredible the FLUX Quartet who sustain themselves in this voyage to the timbral stars and galaxies, the timbral/performative concentration was wonderful, the gently plucked strings,high on the string(second or third position) sometimes to get more a percussive un-resonant pluck, beautiful.I could listen to that repeatedly in and of itself. The sustain sound(non-vibrato) as well is difficult for the waverings are immediatly revealing to the ear. The intention here is to listen more,as with a microscope in our ears. So all these performative subtleties will come to the surface now. But there are ugly timbres here as well, suggestive as well from the literature,It's impossible to avoid these cliques music ideas,Stravinsky I'd say(the more haunting obvious moments of the 'Rite') they are always with us. Anton Webern still held a formative influence for the late Feldman here hovers above this voyage and the threadbare,pencil-thin shapes, fragments and moments of beauty is apprarent almost in each moment. But then I'm listening wrong if all these historical musical associations come to the surface of my mind. I just need to listen.You really loose concentration, I found myself idly looking over my library,thumbing through a magazine,sdeeply absorbed in the timbral manifestations goings on. Again the materials here does not overly tax one's listening lifeworld.But again the work does have a narrative at work, even if it is an unintended one. Our internal dramatic "workings" do begin to make associations,For we do need to travel forward with this work.And Feldman does coach it along with again obvious clique-ish at times music materials. We cannot go backwards.Out memory for listening purposes is linear, not para-tactical. There is no point in remembering what we heard. It is like flotsam in the water of a wreck of a clipper ship,or moments from Tarkovski.Move forward onwards.

There is a question of selecting the correct tempi, for which none are indicated. So FLUX intends the work to be played as slow as possible, where a friend informed me the work should in fact be only 5-Hours in length. But I don't know now. Faster would have made the obvious materials even more graphic,needlessly boring and pronounced(within the Feldman aesthetic). A dangerous business playing Feldman.

This is really not a "string quartet" for the four parts has no function anymore, another genre to throw on the scrapheap of history. This is one large string sound we hear, and we really don't care who is playing what, again a Western academic prejudice. So then why did Feldman not write a string "quintet"?, well he wanted to sustain a threadbare beauty,too many strings would suggest something larger, uncontrollable perhaps. Four is enough.

Average customer rating:

Flux
Masquerade
Manufacturer: Metal Blade
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Surface of Pain

ASIN: B000050L37
Release Date: 2001-01-23

Tracks:

A Me And An I
Incomplete
Freedom
Back On Earth
Flux
Infinite Am I
Faith
Connection
Wisah
In A Day
My Dying Days

Album Description

Sophomore release from Sweden's Masquerade. Outstanding musicianship and vocal talents from singer Tony Johansson to create an album that falls somewhere between Soundgarden and King's X. Standard jewel case. 2001 release.

Average customer rating:

Great
The fine art of evocation...
floating mind
Yang
enjoy a different space

Flux + Mutability
David Sylvian , and Holger Czukay
Manufacturer: Venture / Caroline
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Plight and Premonition
Approaching Silence
Alchemy: An Index of Possibilities
Everything and Nothing
World Citizen

ASIN: B000000HSM
Release Date: 1992-09-23

Tracks:

Flux: A Big, Bright, Colourful World
Mutability (A New Beginning Is in the Offing)

Customer Reviews:

Great.......2006-08-06

I personally preferred Plight and Premonition. First of all the surprise effect is no longer as great in my opinion. But it is still a very beautiful piece of work that is the fruit of a unique collaboration.

The fine art of evocation..........2005-05-23

...is on display here, as Sylvian and Czukay carry the listener on another aural journey of remarkable proportions. "Flux" is the musical equivalent of a still life - a sonic space where nothing much happens but everything moves. As other reviewers have quite rightly said, "Flux" evokes a summer's day, passersby and a bright hot sun that the listeners can see but need not venture out into, warm and comfortable as they are in the shade...
"Mutability" is simply remarkable, a gently susurrating helix of sounds - keyboard/guitar sounds that shimmer drift at glacier speed, fragments of flute that are hints of melody - that spiral up and out and spread into a wide surging that creates an eternity - in the somewhat surprising time of 21 minutes (it doesn't seem that long, whilst simultaneously seeming longer). This is aural mysticism at a very high level of expression - perfect for meditating or just chilling.

floating mind.......2003-12-04

Consciousness-expanding, and soothing smokin' music.

It's so hard to slight this work in any way, so I'll give it a resounding five.

Yang.......2002-09-10

A warm, colorful and enchanting piece of work, Flux & Mutability is a complete contrast to its predecessor (Plight & Premonition). Where that album was chilly, forbidding and almost devoid of actual music, this one overflows with dreamy synth tones and pleasant atmospheres. It's a radiant ambience that still doesn't captivate all your attention, but creeps into your consciousness before you realize what's happened. Sylvian starts building some comfy clouds which are gradually added to as "Flux" progresses; some aimless stray notes here, some toned-down percussion there, some faint unintelligible voice snippets here, some breezy winds there. It suggests sitting on a porch some sunny spring day. The outside world makes its presence felt as it comes and goes, but never really intrudes.

The slightly longer "Mutability" consists only of David's keyboards and some airy barely-there flute, and it almost makes the first half seem busy and active by comparison. Again there's no real melody, but an easy-flowing atmosphere of warm and pleasant sounds. It meanders in the ether for a good 20 minutes, not really going anywhere but not intending to. Ambient fans should find a lot to enjoy, and Sylvian fans should just be warned that it's a far cry from Secrets of the Beehive. Excuse me while I drift off...

enjoy a different space.......2002-05-06

This CD and the accompanying "Plight and Premonition" are excellent backdrops for your imaginings. Like a painting that one sits and contemplates, after a period of time, the viewer or in this case the listener of this music will find him or herself in the midsts of the work. Some may find this haunting, to others releasing, to still others it creates a space that is simply not the day to day. Buy these, and Harold Budd's "the Pearl" and the "White Arcades," sit back, close your eyes, relax and drop into another reality.

Music:

Music