Free City [Explicit Lyrics]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Only in hip-hop could a heretofore unknown from St. Louis have enough clout to get his boys put on. Of course, if the recently anonymous individual is six-times-platinum-and-counting rapper Nelly, it's easy to understand why his longtime crew the St. Lunatics warrants some buzz. Like Country Grammar, Free City brims with bass-driven, relatively sample-free, syncopated shake and a set of songs that celebrate cars, girls, partying, and making (and spending) cash. And, like Country Grammar, they make a point of celebrating their local lifestyle, with songs like "Midwest Swing," in which Nelly declares "What you think we live on the farm? N**** be for real / We got Benz, Rovers and Jags, Hummers and Devilles." Granted, the Lunatics aren't deep lyrical thinkers, but for the hazy hot days of summer, there is a real appeal to their bounce-heavy beats and drawling down-home vibe. --Amy Linden

Free City,St. Lunatics,Universal,Gangsta Rap,Hip-Hop,Pop,Rap,Rap & Hip-Hop

Free City [Explicit Lyrics]

Free City [Explicit Lyrics]

Bad Blood in the City: The Piety Street Sessions
Average customer rating:

Vernon, leave your guitar at home.

Good,but just a little overproduced

Bad Blood in the City: The Piety Street Sessions
James Blood Ulmer
Manufacturer: Hyena
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Blues | Styles | Music
Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
General | Jazz | Styles | Music
General | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music
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Birthright

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ASIN: B000NVL4S8
Release Date: 2007-05-08

Tracks:

Survivors of the Hurricane
Sad Days, Lonely Nights
Katrina
Let's Talk About Jesus
This Land Is Nobody's Land
Dead Presidents
Commit A Crime
Grinnin' In Your Face
There Is Power In The Blues
Backwater Blues
Old Slave Master

Album Description

Bad Blood In The City: The Piety Street Sessions is James Blood Ulmer's most recent collaboration with Vernon Reid and The Memphis Blood Blues Band. It's built around a cycle of original Ulmer songs which directly address Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. With this album, Ulmer has delivered one of the most stirring and emotionally powerful recordings of his career. There are also a handful of classic blues interpretations that serve to further explore Katrina's sub-plot of race, poverty and struggle, including readings of Son House's "Grinnin' In Your Face," Junior Kimbrough's "Sad Days, Lonely Nights," John Lee Hooker's "This Land Is No One's Land," Bessie Smith's "Backwater Blues," Howlin Wolf's "Commit A Crime" and Willie Dixon's "Dead Presidents."

Customer Reviews:

Vernon, leave your guitar at home........2007-06-06

I'm a Huge Blood fan, and love all of his music, but this record is a slight let-down. It's in no part due to James Ulmer's performance, but rather Vernon Reid's presence.
James Ulmer's strength is his droning, moody A-tuned guitar with his strong and slightly-garged voice. If you've heard "Birthright" that's Ulmer at his best.
Vernon Reid should remember to leave his guitar at home when producing Ulmer. Reid's 1,000 note-a-minute style just walks all over Ulmer. He is no blues player in the style that Ulmer is. Ulmer can play ONE note and weave it into a feeling. Vernon Reid is always in a race with himself. Combine that with the loud, overly-full production, and James Ulmer is drowned out and lost in the mix. Underneath it all is a great performance by Ulmer. But trying to listen to it through all of that noise is annoying.

Good,but just a little overproduced.......2007-05-29

Don't get me wrong! I Am a Big Fan of James Blood Ulmer. I feel he has found his calling as a 21th century bluesman;but on this record ,which has a great concept and sound,I feel is a little overproduced;too much studio and not enough of that angular,Ornette Coleman sounding Blood Ulmer guitar(unlike his last disc "Birthright" which was brilliant!)Vernon Reid should have made the production a little more sparce sounding so more of that Blood Ulmer guitar would have come thru. That being said; the compositions on this CD are great and have an important message, I hope commerically, this CD is a success for Blood;because For my ears it's his most popular sounding,blues CD. Just wish it was a little more hardcore Blood Ulmer.

The Essential Leontyne Price: Spirituals, Hymns & Sacred Songs

Average customer rating:

The Price Club
A living legend
not your daddy's old timey spiritual
Immaculate Vocals of Leontyne Price
Great Gospel Stuff

The Essential Leontyne Price: Spirituals, Hymns & Sacred Songs

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Noels | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Price, Leontyne | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General Christmas | Holiday | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

General Christmas | Holiday Music | Special Features | Music

Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
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Leontyne Price: The Ultimate Collection
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Spirituals

ASIN: B000003FWE
Release Date: 1997-01-14

Tracks:

Ev'ry Time I Feel The Spirit - Various Artists
Let Us Break Bread Together On Our Knees - Various Artists
His Name So Sweet - Various Artists
'Roun' About The Mountain - Various Artists
Swing Low , Sweet Chariot - Various Artists
Sit Down, Servant - Various Artists
Were You There - Various Artists
He's Got The Whole World In His Hands - Various Artists
Deep River - Various Artists
Honor! Honor! - Various Artists
My Soul's Been Anchored In De Lord - Various Artists
On Ma Journey - Various Artists
A City Called Heaven - Various Artists
Ride On, King Jesus - Various Artists
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free - Various Artists
Sinner, Please Don't Let This Harvest Pass - Various Artists
Sweet Little Jesus Boy - Various Artists
There Is A Balm In Gilead - Various Artists
Let Us Cheer The Weary Traveler - Various Artists
Ev'ry Time I Feel The Spirit - Various Artists
My Way Is Cloudy - Various Artists
Nobody Knows The Touble I've Seen - Various Artists
I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray - Various Artists

Tracks:

Holy, Holy, Holy - Leontyne Price
Lead, Kindly Light - Leontyne Price
Blessed Assurance - Leontyne Price
Ave Maria - Leontyne Price
What A Friend We Have In Jesus - Leontyne Price
Amazing Grace - Leontyne Price
The Lord's Prayer - Leontyne Price
Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior - Leontyne Price
The Church's One Foundation - Leontyne Price
Bless This House - Leontyne Price
I Need Thee Every Hour - Leontyne Price
Schlesische Volkslieder: Fairest Lord Jesus - Leontyne Price
I Wonder As I Wander - Leontyne Price
Ave Maria - Leontyne Price
Porgy And Bess: Summertime - Leontyne Price
America The Beautiful - Leontyne Price
Lift Ev'ry Voice And Sing - Leontyne Price
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God - Leontyne Price
Battle Hymn Of The Republic - Leontyne Price

Customer Reviews:

The Price Club.......2005-04-28

"I am here," said Leontyne Price when interviewed as she opened the new Metropolitan Opera with Samuel Barber's underrated ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, "and you will know that I am the best and will hear me. The color of my skin or the kink of my hair or the spread of my mouth has nothing to do with what you are listening to." Back in the 1960s Price was one of the greatest divas in all of opera, and it wasn't just her voice but her magnificent stage presence, combined with her social activism. All of the above come into play in this collection of secular songs and ditties, some of them traditional plantation chanties and others, art songs and a scattering of pop music. And some of them, like Gershwin's "Summertime," cross the ever-permeable boundaries between Broadway and classical. These recordings were made at different times in Price's career, and her voice, while always angelic, has different shadings and reaches a different range of timbre in each separate recording date, but there is no question that, as time goes by, she is able to impart a richness of life experience noticeably absent from some of her earlier work.

"Ave Maria" sounds heavenly no matter which way you slice it, and as for "I Wonder As I Wander," it brings tears to your eyes. If you have a heart that's beating you will be moved by this rendition. "Ein feste Burg" is pretty strong, but Price seems more comfortable with the traditional spirituals, though perhaps it is the slightly off-kilter sounds of the Ambrosian Singers (what a name) who back her up on many of these tracks, that detract slightly from the experience. Compare "Lead Kindly Light" for a clear sense of what constitutes authority vs. what is a wee bit overproduced. If you had this compilation, and perhaps one of Leontyne Price's Christmas albums, you could attain nirvana any time you wanted to, just flip a switch and close your eyes, let her lift you up on wings of song.

A living legend.......2005-03-10

Leontyne Price (still alive) and already passing into immortality amongst vocal artists, both classical and popular. Leontyne Price stands at the pinnacle of her classical art, but those who only know her work in La Forza del destino or the Verdi Requiem are in for a heart rending treat with this album where Leontyne Price goes home to her roots in Mississippi and gives an unabashed account of the classic spirituals she sang as a young woman. Like John Mc Cormacks rendering of Irish songs there is a personal longing and devotion expressed here that reveals a side of the artist not known in the bulk of their "classical" repetoire. A sense of going home like Citizen Kane's rosebud, or as Dorothy Gale observes at the end of the Wizard of Oz "everything I could ever have wanted was right in my own backyard "

not your daddy's old timey spiritual.......2004-06-23

Agreed this is a good cd for a beautiful voice, but this is not, repeat not, for someone who wants to hear that old-timey religious fervor that you think of when you've been to a Black Baptist hand-clapping, standing, swaying, and singing service.

Immaculate Vocals of Leontyne Price.......2003-12-31

IMMACULATE, SUPERB vocal range and style! There's no other words that can complement Miss Leontyne Price's vocal arrangements. Miss Price's voice is strong, and shrills very nicely to the instruments played on many songs listed on this double CD which is a joy to treasure; every song listed are songs I was raised to hearing and singing. Miss Price is the reason why many of these songs remain in popularity and presently used. Miss Leontyne Price has been incredible in many of her past performances. This is my fourth CD of Miss Price and I am glad to own this particular CD forever and ever. Many thanks to the executors who found this remarkable album and upgraded it to a CD format! **Angi**

Great Gospel Stuff.......2001-04-12

This is a great CD. The only problem I have with it is that on some of the selections there is a boy's choir screaming in the background, and this takes away (a bit) from her performance. That said, her best selections are those that are either unaccompanied or those where her voice is not buried. Songs that strike me are - His Name So Sweet, He's Got The Whole World, Were You There, I Wonder as I Wander, Lift Every Voice and Sing, and my all time favourite Summertime. Enough said.

Average customer rating:

Varèse Sarabande à son meilleur!
A copy in every household . . .
A sampler feat. some of the greatest film scores in history.
"the man behind Varese Sarabande ~ Robert Townson"

In Session: Film Music Celebration
Robert Townson , Joel McNeely Jerry Goldsmith , and Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Star Wars | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00005ABOI
Release Date: 2001-03-27

Tracks:

2001
Rebecca
Citizen Kane
That Hamilton Woman
Anna and the King of Siam
Captain From Castille
A Streetcar Named Desire
Viva Zapata!
The Trouble With Harry
Peyton Place
Vertigo
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
The Twilight Zone
Psycho
The 3 Worlds of Gulliver
Breakfast At Tiffany's
To Kill A Mockingbird
Marnie
Hamlet

Tracks:

The Agony and the Ecstasy
The Sand Pebbles
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Born Free
Fahrenheit 451
Patton
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Jaws
Midway
Superman: The Movie
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Somewhere In Time
Body Heat
Out of Africa
Platoon
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Taras Bulba
Agony and the Ecstacy (Main Title) - Jerry Goldsmith, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Sand Pebbles (Overture) - Jerry Goldsmith, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Moon and Main Title) - Jerry Goldsmith, National Philharmonic Orchestra
Playtime [Born Free Dub Mix II] - Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Frederic Talgorn
Road [From Fahrenheit 451] - Joel McNeely, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra
Patton (Entr'acte) - Jerry Goldsmith, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Tora! Tora! Tora! (Main Title) - Jerry Goldsmith, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Man Against Beast - Joel McNeely, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Midway (Main Title and End Title) - Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Rick Wentworth
Superman The Movie (Love Theme) - John Debney, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Enterprise [Star Trek: The Motion Picture] - Jerry Goldsmith, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Somewhere in Time (Theme) - John Debney, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Body Heat (Main Title) - The London Symphony Orchestra, Joel McNeely
Out of Africa (Main Title) - Joel McNeely, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Platoon (Theme) - Georges Delerue
Shadows of the Empire (Xizor's Theme) [Star Wars] - Joel McNeely, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Ride of the Cossacks [Taras Bulba] - Cliff Eidelman, Seattle Symphony Orchestra

Customer Reviews:

Varèse Sarabande à son meilleur!.......2003-04-17

Robert Townson célèbre ici le 500ème cd à être édité par Varèse Sarabande en créant une compilation receuillant les nombreux réengistrements que Varèse Sarabande sut faire au travers des dernières années. Regroupant du matériel de Jerry Goldsmith, Bernard Herrmann, John Williams, Alex North et plusieurs autres, In Session propose un parcours éclectique au travers des années de compositions de chacune des bandes sonores présentées au sein de la compilation. Le voyage commence à avec la musique rejetée de 2001 d'Alex North, pour faire un parcours passant par Rebecca, Citizen Kane (Félicitons ici le FABULEUSE voix de la soprano Janice Watson et la direction impécable de Joel McNeely), Viva Zapata!, Psycho, The Sand Pebbles, Patton, Jaws, Platoon (Autre musique rejetée du regreté Georges Delerue, pastiche du célèbre Adagio pour cordes de Samuel Barber), Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (Musique composée par Joel McNeely pour le livre se déroulant entre The Empire Stricke Back et The Return of the Jedi) pour finalement clore avec Tara's Bulba. Il s'agit ici d'une sélection très riche, des morceaux d'une durée appréciable et d'une direction et d'une sonorité incroyable. Il s'agit ici d'un merveilleux cadeau de Robert Townson et Varèse Sarabande (Label qui célèbre en 2003 son 25ème anniversaire. Surveillez aussi la compilation de Varèse Sarabande (4 cds pour le prix de un!) qui verra le jour le 22 avril 2003) et c'est une compilation que toute personne sensible à la musique doit posséder! Chapeau Varèse!

A copy in every household . . ........2003-02-09

This disc is so chock-full of classic scores from classic films that every movie-and-music lover should own a copy. Thanks to Robert Townson for producing this collection and the entire Varese film score catalog. My favorite tracks from this disc are "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf"; "Star Trek: The Motion Picture"; and "Midway".

A sampler feat. some of the greatest film scores in history........2001-09-06

Words cannot convey what a collection like this means to a film music collector such as myself. Varese Saraband has been releasing quality film scores and music for the last 20 plus years. My vinyl and CD collections burst with so much great stuff from Varese. One day I was looking in the bins of my local record store and noticed this little gem of a collection. I looked at it and saw a virtual cornucopia of the great film score cues for only $ (and 2 discs). So I purchased it and opened it up. Much to my surprise, the booklet is chock full of information about each scoring session and pictures to boot. I also learned more about some of these wonderful pieces as well. Well thanks to Mr. Townson and this nice collection, I plan to purchase some of the recordings these cues were released on since I don't own classics like Viva Zapata, Alex North's 2001, Superman (not the Varese version, I do have the other release), and Patton. Guess I will have to save a few pennies, but it will be worth it. I recommend this collection to anybody who wants to discover and learn about the history of film music. I also think it's a great listen from the first song to the last on both discs. My compliments to Varese on a great collection of classics (and keeping it under $).

"the man behind Varese Sarabande ~ Robert Townson".......2001-04-06

The music that this label releases is without a doubt in a class by themselves, always perfection. Here we have the 500th CD release from ~ "The Man Behind The Music" ~ Mr. Robert Townson. So much care is taken with each album, that you feel you are witnessing the birth of a newborn baby, and that may be just what it is.

For those of us who buy each album ~ people who work to create them ~ the artwork ~ musicians ~ and a list of some of the most talented composers and conductors ~ John Barry, Elmer Bernstein, John Debney, Georges Delerue, Cliff Eidelman, Jerry Goldsmith, Bernard Herrmann, Michael Lang, Henry Mancini, Joel McNeely, Alfred Newman, Alex North, Miklos Rozsa, Dimitri Shostakovich, Frederic Talgorn, Franz Waxman, Rick Wentworth and John Williams ~ and as always the sound quality and performances by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and National Philharmonic Orchestra is dynamically flawless and simply superb.

This economically priced 2-CD-Set ~ pure film score sampling ~ is worth it's weight in gold. One should not have a favorite from this vast collection, but if asked ~ it would be "TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD" (1962) composer Elmer Bernstein took it to the limit and beyond, the story-line, cast and score was the perfect marriage.

A big, big thank you to ~ Matthew Joseph Peak (cover/session photography) ~ Jonathan Allen, Geoff Foster, Bernie Kirsh, Mike Ross, Mike Sheady and Al Swanson (recording engineers) ~ Rich Breen (mastering engineer) ~ and for the extensive 28 page liner-note booklet featuring "behind the scenes" memories of these past 500 albums, may we look forward to future classics on the next 500 CD's from producer...ROBERT TOWNSON!

Tracks:

The 224th Day
Troubled Son
Dead Fingers Talking
Pixelated Birds
Quiet Place
The Tape
England
Over
So
Innocence
Home
Fallout
Forever
High Tree

Customer Reviews:

Nuclear Free City of funnnnnnnnn.......2006-12-20

If you're a fan of synth pop or electronic meandering that reminds you of New Order or the Happy Mondays, then this might be a fun reminder. Nothing offensive... and quite Nuclear Free. This isn't explosive, but it is enjoyable.

Average customer rating:

Cool Beat
Nelly sucks, and so do his friends.
2.5 stars from STL
WACK
st lunatics

Free City
St. Lunatics
Manufacturer: Umvd Labels
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Gangsta & Hardcore | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

Pop Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Country Grammar
Murphy's Law
Nellyville
Da Derrty Versions: The Reinvention
Heavy Starch

ASIN: B00005K9QW
Release Date: 2001-06-05

Tracks:

Just For You (The Introductory Poem)
S.T.L.
Okay
Summer In The City
Mad Baby Daddy Skit Part1
Boom D Boom
Midwest Swing
Show Em What They Won
Let Me In Now
Dis Iz Da Life
MBD Skit Part2
Scandalous
Groovin Tonight
Jang A Lang
MBD Skit Part3
Real N****z
Here We Come
Love You So
MBD Skit Part4
Batter Up - Nelly

Amazon.com

Only in hip-hop could a heretofore unknown from St. Louis have enough clout to get his boys put on. Of course, if the recently anonymous individual is six-times-platinum-and-counting rapper Nelly, it's easy to understand why his longtime crew the St. Lunatics warrants some buzz. Like Country Grammar, Free City brims with bass-driven, relatively sample-free, syncopated shake and a set of songs that celebrate cars, girls, partying, and making (and spending) cash. And, like Country Grammar, they make a point of celebrating their local lifestyle, with songs like "Midwest Swing," in which Nelly declares "What you think we live on the farm? N**** be for real / We got Benz, Rovers and Jags, Hummers and Devilles." Granted, the Lunatics aren't deep lyrical thinkers, but for the hazy hot days of summer, there is a real appeal to their bounce-heavy beats and drawling down-home vibe. --Amy Linden

Customer Reviews:

Cool Beat.......2007-08-06

I really am not a big fan of rap music, but this CD's beat and lyrics are just amazing. This is one of the greatest CD's out there, rap or not.

Nelly sucks, and so do his friends........2006-01-03

Just when you thought it couldn't get worse, Nelly decides to hook up his untalented friends, priceless. I saw these guys on mtv and they look retarded, I mean, for crying out loud one of the guys was wearing a phantom of the opera mask, is he deformed or just ignorant? Well, back to what we're supposed to be talking about, the music, if that's what you want to call it, this one is another earache waiting to happen. If listening to untalented people talk about all their money and bling bling and how cool they are gets you off than this album is just for you, if you like good hip hop than you already know not to touch this album with a 1000000 foot pole.

The Zapper

2.5 stars from STL.......2005-09-06

I admit I liked Nelly when he first came out, it was something new and original, but there's a reason he blew up and the rest of his crew didn't and it's evident on this album, they're wack (and I can't stand Nelly anymore since every little 7 and 8 year old is on his %&#%). Of the 14 songs on here, 4 are good, 3 or 4 are ok, and the rest are $h!+. Production is ok, Jason Epeprson does 10 songs, Wally Yaghnam does 3 and City Spud does 1. The lyrics are nothing special at all and get old after the 2nd songs, and the flow of them all is bad as well. If your a little kid or like that gay radio crap then pick thi sup otherwise please pass it by, this is one of the reasons why hip-hop is in a bad state now.

#2 - 7 (kyjuan, nelly, murphy lee & ali)
#3 - 6.5 (ali, murphy lee, kyjuan)
#4 - 6 (nelly, ali, murphy lee, kyjuan)
#6 - 3 (ali)
#7 - 8.5 (nelly, murphy lee, kyjuan, ali - nice beat)
#8 - 5 (ali, nelly, kyjuan, murphy lee)
#9 - 5 (ali, nelly, kyjuan, murphy lee)
#10 - 4 (murphy lee, kyjuan, nelly)
#12 - 4 (murphy lee)
#13 - 8 (ali, city spud, nelly, brian Mcknight -- nice beat)
#14 - 5.5 (penelope, murphy lee, nelly, kyjuan)
#16 - 5 (kyjuan, nelly, ali, murphy lee)
#17 - 8.5 (nelly -- also on Funk Flex's Volume IV)
#18 - 8 (cardan, ali, murphy lee)

Nelly -- Cornell Haynes Jr. -- b. 11/2/74 -- b. Austin, TX moved to St. Louis, MO
Murphy Lee -- Torhi Harper -- b. 1982 -- St. Louis, MO
Ali -- St. Louis, MO
Kyjuan -- St. Louis, MO

check all my reviews

WACK.......2005-07-30

I won't front I was actually feelin a midwest swing at one point, not at all lyrically and not enough to cop the album, just the beat was hot and that's about it. Other than that this is frisbee material.

st lunatics.......2005-03-12

This album is an example of poorly put together music. Nelly is good but the rest of them suck really bad. I could rap better than some of the St. Lunatics. Production sucks and the lyrics are wack. Don't buy this album.

Average customer rating:

ESSENTIAL Sun Ra
Some Truly Great 20th Century Music: Too Good To Ignore
Otherworldly
I can't believe nobody's reviewed this CD before!

The Magic City
Sun Ra
Manufacturer: Evidence
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Contemporary Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Avant-Garde | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Space Is the Place
Heliocentric Worlds, Vols. 1-2
For Alto
Conquistador
Jazz Advance

ASIN: B0000014KK
Release Date: 1993-11-25

Tracks:

The Magic City
The Shadow World
Abstract Eye
Abstract 'I'

Amazon.com

By the mid-1960s, bandleader and composer Sun Ra was delving deeply into extended, improvisation-heavy suites like The Magic City. Reckoned to be a tribute to his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, this long, circuitous piece comes in two different takes on the CD reissue, and both takes are rambunctiously keeled on Ra's core band members, tenor saxophonist John Gilmore and alto saxophonist Marshall Allen, who each offer scouring, ear-pinning interludes. Even so, the music here is huge, with sprawling collective improvisatons that burst with wholehearted high energy, suggesting a latent power that Sun Ra often channeled through both his own intricate scores and reams of cover tunes elsewhere in his several decades as jazz's chief outer-space renegade. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

ESSENTIAL Sun Ra.......2003-01-19

This (IMHO) is one of the finest releases from Sun Ra and the Arkestra. Accessable to the neophyte and satisfying to those familiar with Ra's music. Strong composition and execution. RECOMMENDED!

Some Truly Great 20th Century Music: Too Good To Ignore.......2001-11-15

I'm not going to compare "Magic City" to other jazz albums of the 60's, because it deserves a wider audience than only Sun Ra fans or free jazz afficionados. This album is distinct and amazing even in Sun Ra's eccentric ouevre, and it is without peer. If you appreciate the myriad attempts of 20th Century composers to reach the musical outer limits, such as those of Webern, Berg, Stravinsky, Varese, Bartok, Messiaen, Boulez, Zappa, etc., this is an album you will want to hear. Its textures, sonorities, and extremes of mood, from humor to terror and dread, put it in the august company of every musician who has put a soundtrack to consciousness and creation, to science and synthesis, to form generating itself in pure music. Get it!

Otherworldly.......1999-12-28

This is not the place to start in avant garde jazz. In fact, I suspect that plenty of perfectly reasonable, open-minded jazz fans will never get into this album. Unlike more accessible albums in the genre (Eric Dolphy's _Out to Lunch_, Ornette Coleman's early albums, John Coltrane's recordings between '61-'65) there's not much for most listeners to touch base with here. Harmony, rhythm, and melody are fleeting; the second half of the epic title track, which features extremely discordant horn blowing, will scare off 99% of the reasonable people.

If you're not completely scared off by this, I strongly recommend buying this album; the title suite is an incredibly intense collective improvisation: Sun Ra plays his eerie clavioline while Marshall Allen manically toots his piccolo and Ronnie Boykins does some killer bowing. Finally the rest of the band joins in to what may be some of the most intense and challenging fifteen minutes ever recorded. It truly is from outer space. The second half of the CD is full of shorter pieces that aren't quite as mind blowing but are still remarkable.

Get it if you dare.

I can't believe nobody's reviewed this CD before!.......1999-12-18

This CD is amazing and while I see 13 reviews for Eric Dolphy's "Out to Lunch," I see no reviews for this cd. This seems to show that people just buy those other albums because they're considered so good (and controversial), but never bothered to delve deep into the vein of free jazz, and this album is one of the greatest in that vein. Sounding harsh at times, this album ebbs and flows like no other. The continuously playing clavioline gives the album a constant theme of eerie unknown, like space, or another world. Yet it always manages to come back to sounding earthly. While Eric Dolphy was amazing and monumental in the same area, he never seemed to have the drive that Sun Ra did, who constantly made his musicians rehearse. This album is amazing and I highly recommend buying it for anyone who seriously listens to jazz, or any kind of music (if you want to have a better life, listen to a wide variety of music, that way you find out what you like.) The Magic City engulfs you and causes you to see things you wouldn't normally see. The songs not only are monumental in their sound, but monumental in their ability to represent visual themes, such as outer space and "the Magic City" itself, Birmingham Alabama. Listen to this CD at your local store, then buy it if you like it.

Average customer rating:

This is it
great music, flawed sound quality
Naked City was amazing
This Is A Fantastic Box Set! Don't listen to the negative reviews!
Not perfect, but you can't please everyone anyway...

The Complete Studio Recordings
Naked City
Manufacturer: Tzadik
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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At the Mountains of Madness
Collected Works (The Complete Studio Recordings 1991-1994)
The Big Gundown: John Zorn Plays the Music of Ennio Morricone
Bar Kokhba
Naked City Live, Vol. 1: Knitting Factory 1989

ASIN: B0006UYOMO
Release Date: 2005-03-22

Tracks:

Batman
The Sicilian Clan
You Will Be Shot
Latin Quarter
A Shot In The Dark
Reanimator
Snagglepuss
I Want To Live
Lonely Woman
Igneous Ejaculation
Blood Duster
Hammerhead
Demon Sanctuary
Obeah Man
Ujaku
Fuck The Facts
Speedball
Chinatown
Punk China Doll
N.Y. Flat Top Box
Saigon Pickup
The James Bond Theme
Den Of Sins
Contempt
Graveyard Shift
Inside Straight

Tracks:

Grand Guignol
Blood Is Thin
Thrash Jazz Assassin
Dead Spot
Bonehead
Piledriver
Shangkuan Lin-Feng
Numbskull
Perfume Of A Critic's Burning Flesh
Jazz Snob: Eat Shit
The Prestidigitator
No Reason To Believe
Hellraiser
Torture Garden
Slan
The Ways Of Pain
Slan
Sack Of Shit
Blunt Instrument
Osaka Bondage
Shallow Grave
Kaoru
Dead Dread
Billy Liar
Victims Of Torture
Speedfreaks
New Jersey Scum Swamp
S/M Sniper
Pigfucker
Cairo Chop Shop
Facelifter
Whiplash
The Blade
Gob Of Spit
La Cathedrale Engloutie
Three Preludes Op. 74: Douloureux, Dechirant
Three Preludes Op. 74: Tres Lent, Contemplatif
Three Preludes Op. 74: Allegro Drammatico
Prophetiae Sybillarum
The Cage
The Cage
Grand Guignol (Version Vocale)

Tracks:

Main Titles
Sex Games
The Brood
Sweat, Sperm + Blood
Vliet
Heretic 1
Submission
Heretic 2
Catacombs
Heretic 3
My Master, My Slave
Saint Jude
The Conqueror Worm
Dominatrix 2B
Back Through The Looking Glass
Here Come The 7,000 Frogs
Slaughterhouse/Chase Sequence
Castle Keep
Mantra Of Resurrected Shit
Trypsicore
Fire And Ice (Club Scene)
Crosstalk
Copraphagist Rituals
Labyrinth

Tracks:

Asylum
Sunset Surfer
Party Girl
The Outsider
Triggerfingers
Terkmani Teepee
Sex Friend
Razorwire
The Bitter And The Sweet
Krazy Kat
The Vault
Metalov
Poisonhead
Bone Orchard
I Die Screaming
Pistol Whipping
Skatekey
Shock Corridor
American Psycho

Tracks:

Val De Travers
Une Correspondance
La Fee Verte
Fleurs Du Mal
Artemisia Absinthium
Notre Dame De L'Oubli (For Olvier Messiaen)
Verlaine: Part One - Un Midi Moins Dix
Verlaine: Part Two - La Bleue
...Rend Fou
Leng Tch'e

Customer Reviews:

This is it.......2006-10-08

The remastered music sounds a little better than the originals, but even if it didn't, this would be a required purchase: The complete studio albums of one of the best bands of all time.

It includes the most experimental, noisy album (Heretic), the ambient album (Absinthe), and the trio of hardcore/soundtrack/genre-bending albums (Naked City, Grand Guignol, Radio).

Packaged beautifully, with a scrapbook of photographs and short testimonials from a dozen musicians. The music sounds incredible the first time, but it takes a few months to absorb it all.

great music, flawed sound quality.......2006-07-03

This beautiful set has been described at length elsewhere, but I want to confirm what others have said about the occasional distortion. I've discovered it in many places - basically all the same as have been listed in other reviews. What a shame! I thought the whole idea of this set was to REMASTER the records - usually a process designed to make the music sound better, not worse. Oh well! If you're new to Naked City, it's still probably cheaper than hunting down the original imports on Avant.

It IS an amazing collection and even though I already owned all the originals, I still bought this set for the amazing book that comes with it. Just be sure that you understand that there will be some distortion before you spend $100+ on it.

Naked City was amazing.......2006-02-14

I bought this set of Naked City's studio recordings on the strength of their reputation, without having heard any Naked City music. It's all great stuff. Every album of theirs has a different approach. They covered a huge amount of ground in their career.

For people who don't know a thing about what this is (unlikely if they're on this page), Naked City was a highly experimental group of jazz musicians playing music that wasn't exactly jazz. This music is some of the most original material I've heard in my life. Only Mike Patton has come close to replicating what Naked City accomplished. Composer John Zorn on alto sax, Bill Frisell on guitar, Joey Baron on drums, Wayne Horvitz on keys, and Fred Frith on bass. Their sound was often augmented by a lot of other instrumentation. Vocals in their music was provided by 'Eye', who created a whole lot of wordless noise in manic and creative fashion. All the musicians are top notch, and the music is expertly composed and requires virtuosity to play.

The packaging is awesome. Conveniently sized and easy to file, good quality cases and liner notes. The CDs have a uniform but still interesting look to them... each album's case is a different color and the colors seem to fit the albums well. The Naked City s/t is magenta, Grand Guignol is tan, Heretic is black, etc. The 100 page booklet is full of interesting stuff.

The music and artwork of Naked City was of an over-the-top, surreal, violent and dark nature. As a warning to potential buyers- much of the artwork contained in this box is gory (animated and otherwise), sexually explicit and sadomasochistic. However, nothing serves these albums better. At their darkest Naked City reminds me of finding enjoyment in killing, deformity and strange perversions.

"Naked City", the first album, is one of the 2 'fun' releases. This album is a mix of what's now called 'jump-cut' (played by bands like Patton's Fantomas) and twisted covers of older songs by Morricone and Coleman among others. It's enjoyable and fits in with my impressions of the city of NY, reminds me of night clubs. The band takes Jazz to extremes, playing occasionally at grindcore speed and adding squealing free solos to the mix. Other reviewers have given more complete descriptions of this style.

"Grand Guignol" is the first plunge into utterly disgusting blackness. Named after the French theater of horror, the title track is a disturbing ambient mindtrip. Some more jump-cut tracks are included (from the same sessions as the first album) but the 'fun' element of them is almost entirely sucked out, leaving only nihilistic craziness. The final tracks of the album are covers of various composers (I haven't heard the originals) that are actually quite beautiful while remaining dark and alien.

On "Heretic", it seems like the band is trying to imitate the sound of certain situations which the song titles represent... not the notes, mind you, the SOUNDS. The instruments are used to create ambient sound effects, occasionally little melodies or ideas, but the band rarely plays in time or to a tempo. Some of these are really quite effective, but I think which ones depends on the listener. Pretty out there. Not unlike Patton's 'Oltrazista', on which Zorn also plays sax.

"Radio" is similar in feel to the first album. Naked City plays songs in the styles of their influences, which include everything from Jazz musicians to Napalm Death to SPK. Thus, the album has minimalist grindcore songs, more traditional jazz, experiments, and a few jump-cut songs like "Krazy Kat".

"Absinthe" is a mind-bendingly dark ambient masterpiece. Patton tried his hand at this idea on Fantomas' Delirium Cordia, which is more unified than this album due to being one song. Every composition on Absinthe is beautifully insane and black in feeling, but they don't flow into each other as much as the aforementioned Delirium.

"Leng Tch'e" is also included on the "Absinthe" disk. It's 30 minutes of droning low guitar chords and screaming. Unorganized and very very loud. It's supposedly an imitation of a Chinese torture/execution method. Eye's vocals are beyond human. One of the most intense, violent recordings ever, but there's little to no musical value here. Some may love it, some may hate it.

All of these albums have a lot of depth and I have yet to totally absorb them.

I am a fan of Patton's reworked version of "Grand Guignol". True, it's not as dark, and Patton adds a bit too much, but he transforms the atmosphere into a more Fantomas-like feeling. Different but still great.

I think there IS a bit of distortion on the left channel at times, or at least a bit of static (I don't know if the actual sounds were clipped or degraded). The music is so revolutionary though that I can't in good conscience give it less than 5 stars. Everything is perfectly audible and the sound is EXCELLENT, perfect mixing. Also, 4 of these albums are no longer available at all.

People with any interest in Naked City should make this investment. Fans of Patton's stranger projects will almost surely enjoy it. Fans of noisy metal may enjoy it. Jazz listeners looking for something experimental may like this. It's a shame so much of this has gone unheard for so long.

This Is A Fantastic Box Set! Don't listen to the negative reviews!.......2006-01-06

Naked City's music isn't my cup of tea, but I will admitt that this is some crazy music. The reason I got this box set was because of Bill Frisell. This is his most insane guitar work to date. He's never done anything like this before and never will. This set should be a lesson for those who are huge fans of Bill's, that he is fully capable of playing ANYTHING!!!

Naked City is the brainchild of the enigmatic alto sax player John Zorn, whose work is very well documented since his album "The Big Gundown," which is a great album and one of my favorite of his. Naked City's music is brutal, aggressive, in-your-face, no holds bard, painful, screaming, earth-shaking, and at times it can be beautiful and cerebral. All of these albums are remastered and they sound fantastic, despite what some people may say. I'm an audiophile, along with my Dad, and I think these albums sound better than the originals.

Another reason to buy this box set is because of the obvious it's for John Zorn fans and maybe one day it's not going to be around and the albums "Radio," "Heretic," "Grand Guignol," and "Absinthe" have been long out-of-print, so not only are you buying something that's contents are rare finds, but you're getting something that will never be done again.

Sure, I don't like all this music, but that doesn't mean that I can't appreciate what John Zorn and Naked City were doing and how innovative of a group they were. This box set is a good investment not just from a money standpoint, but also from a purely artistic one.

Naked City are the following:

Bill Frisell - guitar
John Zorn - alto sax
Joey Baron - drums
Fred Frith - bass
Wayne Horvitz - keyboards

Not perfect, but you can't please everyone anyway..........2005-09-06

First of all, for all the writers here asking where Torture Garden is, why don't you read the booklet. It explains that Torture Garden was released as a special package compliling the hardcore pieces from Naked City and Grand Guignol. Nuff said.

As another reviewer mentioned, Joey Baron is not credited at all on the Heretic notes, which I too thought was really odd.

Other than that, I have no complaints about the remasters. Sounds fine on my stereo and through my headphones. I mean, I don't have a very expensive elaborate stereo system, but to these ears, everything sounds wicked. Even if there WAS a bit of overload, I wouldn't have a nervous breakdown over it. I can see why some people would get edgy over it, after shelling out 100 bucks though.

The new Grand Guignol mix with Mike's vocals is a bit disappointing. Even though I'm a big Patton fan, I think he overdid it on this one. There's vocals where they're not needed in too many places. I don't really think it needs vocals, the piece seems to be darker and more luminous without them. Adding a few vocal bits in certain sections might have added a new dimension to the mood, but Patton just blew off too much. (Sorry Mike) Still, it is an interesting treat to hear and it makes me wonder how all these albums would've turned out if Patton would've been the lead screamer.

Anyway, I think overall, the set is great. Is it worth buying if you have all the originals? Yes, I think so. The only thing I wish Zorn would've included is more history in the booklet, and perhaps another disc of outtakes or unreleased tunes. I'm sure there's tons of stuff sitting in the vaults that Zorn is keeping secret until he feels lile releasing another boxset. Maybe we'll even get the Miles Davis treatment with his work someday, like a 7-disc set of "The Complete Grand Guignol" sessions, with one disc full of EYE doing nothing but farting and belching.

Average customer rating:

Rocket
Working for a Nuclear Free City
Manufacturer: Melodic UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000NA2AUU
Release Date: 2007-06-05

Album Description

Following their critically-acclaimed, eponymously titled debut album, the ever-prolific Working For A Nuclear Free City release four brand new tracks with the Rocket EP. Their debut album found favor with fans of dance music, electronica and indie for its wide-ranging musical styles and textures. Rocket looks set to do the same, encompassing loose, Beta Band-style grooves, neat Krautrock touches and even a spoken word intro (Shangri-Las, eat your heart out). Working For A Nuclear Free City began as a studio project involving Gary McClure and Phil Kay (keys/production). In 2004, they took to the stage, recruiting Phil's brother Jon on drums and Ed Hulme on bass. The impetus was simple: they were sick of seeing terrible bands on the local circuit and they thought they could do better. WFANFC's confidence isn't borne of arrogance -- it comes from a desire to find something new in music, to push boundaries back and to never, ever stop thinking about the way songs, sounds and music take shape. It's an approach that's found favor with many bands -- like-minded or otherwise -- who have called on the band for remixes. The Rakes, Polytechnic, Shitdisco, Archie Bronson Outfit, The Whip and Starsailor have all received the WFANFC treatment, although the finished product often sounds more like the work of the remixer than the remixee. With plaudits for the album across the board and a reputation as an intense, heads-down live band, it seems WFANFC have begun to achieve what they set out to do. Sampled acoustic guitar, spacey piano refrains and far-away vocals all blend to create a completely new Mancunian sound.

Average customer rating:

Great sophmore effor from Zorn & co.
Dark Serenity Turns to Darker Violence
Not the best, but some very good stuff here
Ultimately, just a more expensive Torture Garden.
Dark and chaotic

Grand Guignol
Naked City
Manufacturer: Avant Japan
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Avant-Garde | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0000058V5
Release Date: 1998-01-20

Tracks:

Grand Guignol
La Cathedrale Engloutie
Three Preludes op.74: Douloureus, Dechirant
Three Preludes op.74: Tres Lent, Contemplatif
Three Preludes op.74: Allegro Drammatico
Prophetiae Sybillarum
The Cage
Louange A L'eternite De Jesus
Blood Is Thin
Thrash Jazz Assassin
Dead Spot
Bonehead
Piledriver
Shangkuan Ling-Feng
Numbskull
Perfume Of A Critic's Burning Flesh
Jazz Snob: Eat Shit
The Prestidigitator
No Reason To Believe
Hellraiser
Torture Garden
Slan
The Ways Of Pain
The Noose
Sack Of Shit
Blunt Intrument
Osaka Bondage
Shallow Grave
Kaoru
Dead Dread
Billy Liar
Victims Of Torture
Speedfreaks
New Jersey Scum Swamp
S-M Sniper
Pigfucker
Cairo Chop Shop
Facelifter
Whiplash
The Blade
Gob Of Spit

Amazon.com

This is John Zorn's tribute to Grand Guignol, a theater and a theatrical form that thrived in Paris in the early decades of the 20th century. It created a style that depended on realistic makeup and grotesque violence to depict murder, rape, mutilation, and torture, to the delighted horror of its audience. A decidedly low form of public entertainment, it enjoyed its greatest popularity at the same time that France was home to the creation of modernist culture and the subtle beauties of French impressionism in music. That's a cultural contradiction--or perhaps an entranceway--that Zorn walks right into and explores on this CD with Naked City, a band that includes guitarist Bill Frisell, drummer Joey Baron, bassist Fred Frith, and keyboardist Wayne Horvitz--veterans of numerous projects in common--and the vocals of Yamatsuka Eye (of the acclaimed Boredoms).

Grand Guignol parallels the influence of cartoon composer Tex Avery on Zorn, whose penchant for oversized, exaggerated, even campy gestures is here given greater focus and intensity by Yamatsuka's curdling screams. Zorn joins this with his arrangements of a series of high modernist works by Debussy, Scriabin, Ives, and Messiaen, using an instrumentation of electric keyboards and guitars that lends them, among many other things, a low-budget, soundtrack quality. In a world where musicians often strive to be different in the same way, Zorn is a genuine original. The CD also includes 33 of the 42 tracks of Torture Garden--micropieces that fuse a host of genres from free jazz to ancient dance music by sheer violence. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

Great sophmore effor from Zorn & co........2005-03-25

In case anyone were to think Zorn's Naked City project would even attempt to repeat their previous album, Zorn and company produced something wholly other. The album essentially comes in three sections-- the title track, ranging at 17 minutes, a series of covers of works by Debussy, Scriabin, Di Lascus, Ives and Messiaen, and 33 "hardcore miniatures", none of which are longer than 1:18 and most of which hover around 30 seconds. I'll tackle the album in its sections.

The first part, "Grand Guignol", is stunning. Drums over ambient haze open the piece which moves through dark, chruning, delicate, quiet, sensual moods, building to something only to explode about ten minutes in, but just when you think its fired in intensity, it collapses back to its structure, only now more prodding, more urgent. This exchanges with the aggressive sections for the rest of the piece. What is compelling is that Zorn manages musically to portray something dark and horrible, the fear and horror the theatre sought to portray is clearly illustrated in this music. And Zorn's crying sax towards the end (around 12 minutes) of the piece is among the most anguished any performance on the instrument has ever been given.

The second part is quite unexpected, given the context of the other Naked City material-- the pieces performed are rendered with a stunning beauty, almost orchestral in many cases, there's no genre bending to speak of, the performances are pretty straight. The Debussy piece in particular is startling for its orchestral beauty, and Bob Dorough guest appearance and eccentric vocal style does great things for "The Cage" (Ives).

The third part is really kind of hard to describe-- in each of these pieces, the challenge appears to be to make a coherent statement in a genre or six in a brief time. Remarkably, this works a whole lot better than you would anticipate-- several of the tracks are standout, but really its all quite stunning, in both its intensity and its ability to BE coherent in such a short amount of time, and even more remarkable is that the only time I lose interest listening to this form is when the pieces stretch slightly longer, it seems to be a genre built for 30 seconds. While much of it is remarkable ("Thrash Jazz Assassin", "Bonehead", "Billy Liar"), its really "Speedfreaks" that qualifies of note. It somehow manages to change roughly every two and a half seconds, quoting literally a couple dozen songs in the act, and yet, somehow, unbelievably, it sounds coherent.

This one is a bit less accessible (if that makes sense) than and doesn't hold together quite as well as the Naked City debut, but its quite interesting, and it has a nice range of material on it. Recommended.

Dark Serenity Turns to Darker Violence.......2004-06-06

"Grand Guignol" is John Zorn's tribute to the infamous Parisian Museum of the macabre and to the darker side of us all. It begins with renditions of selected (roundabouts) 20th Century classical pieces, including Debussy's impressionst, "The Sunken Cathedral." I love Zorn's interpretations of these pieces, especially the Debussy. I have heard criticism of Zorn's interpretive abilities before, regarding this record as well as "Spy Vs. Spy," "The Big Gundown," and others. Well, I see it differently. Even on the rare occasion that he makes a choice that I don't agree with, I still appreciate where he is coming from. He is very specific in his intent as an interpreter and he does not, as detractors have stated, simply eliminate or replace the original emotion of the piece, but rather, magnifies certain aspects, modifies others; he uses his imagination and filters the music through his own very strong personality and paradigm. In short, he does what an interpreter/arranger should do. It is what any composer does when he assumes this role. I digress.

Suddenly, Grand Guignol changes directions severely and assaults the listener with the most cynical, brutal music imaginable. The cacaphony is interspersed with snippets of cliched, calculted insincerity. This music is heartless, but it is this heartlessness that gives it its heart. It is that strange post-modern phenomenon when irony turns back in on itself and becomes sincerity. In a chaotic world that is only becoming more and more so, truly nihilistic art can strike a sentimental chord.

You cannot escape the grotesque, detatched, ugliness of this record. If you let it, it will take you places. Great performances from the whole band.

Not the best, but some very good stuff here.......2004-04-27

I've got about 30 Zorn albums, and love his many different sides. Grand Guignol comprises two collections--the Torture Garden sections (the later, short pieces) don't generally do much for me; too much grindcore and not enough of the more interesting pieces a la the first awesome Naked City album.

However, the first part of the disk, with the slower and dark pieces, is very nice.

All in all, this isn't on my must-have Zorn list, but if you're into the hardcore short punk stuff as well as the darker softer stuff, go for it.

Ultimately, just a more expensive Torture Garden........2003-06-14

Torture Garden (included here in its entirety) is probably my favorite John Zorn offering. The amazing compositions, coupled with the stunning musicianship of Naked City, make for one of the greatest listening experiences of our time.

Unfortunately, the extra tracks you get on Grand Guignol don't really offer too much. To begin with, the title track just sounds like a more boring, watered-down version of Leng T'Che - and where the latter feels like it's over too soon at ~35 minutes, Grand Guignol feels aggravatingly too long despite clocking in at about half that length.

The subsequent classical arrangements are somewhat interesting, but you have to really, really like this sort of proto-avant-classical thing that Zorn does. I suppose if you like Messiaen then you'll love the selections here; personally, he drives me nuts, so I'd rather pass. Likewise, the Debussy arrangement is creative, but ultimately much less satisfying than the original.

So... I waffled a little bit about how to rate this, and I decided that since Torture Garden is already its own disc, the rating here should be for the extra material unique to Grand Guignol - which is unessential at best. Get the Black Box version instead.

Dark and chaotic.......2003-01-01

Chances are, if you are looking at this right now you are pretty familiar with Naked City and their quirky, multi-genre songs.....this album is no different. Track 1 "Grand Guignol" is 17 minutes long and full of suitably distrubing sounds. Tracks 2-8 are all cover songs; Naked City versions of songs by Debussy, Scriabin and others. Tracks 9-41 are where the real adventure begins. The songs are fast and brutal, the longest being "Osaka Bondage" which clocks in at 1:14. Put rock/jazz/grindcore/noise into a blender and mix thoroughly and viola, you have Naked City. There is no way to describe the sound that Naked City creates, these guys are just too good!

Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City: Live at Iridium

Average customer rating:

AEOC Continues On in Grand Fashion
Roscoe and friends continue to amaze

Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City: Live at Iridium
The Art Ensemble of Chicago
Manufacturer: Pi Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Streaming
Sound Grammar
Political Blues
Beyond the Wall
Sonny Please

ASIN: B000FVQYS6
Release Date: 2006-07-25

Tracks:

Song For My Sister
The Morning Mist
Song For Charles
On The Mountain
Big Red Peaches
Odwalla

Tracks:

Erika
Malachi
The J Song
Red Sand Green Water
Slow Tenor And Bass
Odwalla

Amazon.com

Since first declaring themselves the Art Ensemble of Chicago in Paris, 1969, the AEC have combined ritual, free jazz, and funk into an intense and irresistible whole, influencing generations of jazz and soul performers. Recorded in 2004 at New York's Iridium, this two-CD set marks a rebirth of the group, restoring it to the combustible quintet dimensions that marked its greatest accomplishments. Multi-reedist Roscoe Mitchell and drummer Don Moye are the mainstays, joined here by returning saxophonist Joseph Jarman, with bassist Jaribu Shahid and trumpeter Corey Wilkes filling the vacancies left by the deaths of Malachi Favors and Lester Bowie. There's a rare emotional fire and collective energy here, from the restored spirit of Mitchell's early "Erika," a melody of soaring lyricism and longing, to the exploratory sound improvisation of "Red Sand Green Water." Mitchell and Jarman propel one another to their limits, while Wilkes brings an authentic new trumpet voice to the group. --Stuart Broomer

Album Description

"This is perhaps the most sublime of the Art Ensemble of Chicago's three albums since their troubled regrouping a couple of years ago." - BOSTON PHOENIX

"Here they emerge in duos, trios, and collective scenes ... with their own particular majesty, often something quite simple, a cryptic slice of musical wisdom." - DOWN BEAT

"Roscoe Mitchell and Joseph Jarman finish each others' sentences - the lines seem to share a single provenance, as if they were played by the right and left hands of a single eccentric keyboardist ... indeed, the AEOC's group sound is luminous." - JAZZTIMES

A live recording by the Art Ensemble of Chicago provides the listener with an opportunity to relive the experience that helped etch the band's name in history three and a half decades ago. This 2XCD set captures the quintet in the midst of a five-day stretch at the Iridium in New York. Made up of music from the weekend sets, the CD documents the band performing as a quintet for the first time since the early nineties. With chanted vocals by Joseph Jarman, funky vamps, classic material, hard-bop, open explorations, and a dedication to a past comrade, this disc continues Pi Recordings' documentation of one of America's greatest treasures.

With the front line once again filled out as it was in the beginning, the band stretches out, interacts, and enlivens the music in the manner that has influenced everyone from Vandermark 5 and John Zorn to Antipop Consortium. More space can be heard in the music, the band's interaction seems closer, and the focus moves to the moment in a way that is not always heard in a studio recording. Another focus here is the induction of Corey Wilkes and Jaribu Shahid as new members. Both Wilkes and Shahid have been performing with Roscoe Mitchell for some time now. Wilkes in particular has been a frequent collaborator of Mitchell's since 2003, but becoming a regular working member of the AEOC brings with it a certain raised expectation level.

This 2XCD set captures the quintet in the midst of a five-day stretch at the Iridium in New York. Made up of music from the weekend sets, the CD documents the band performing as a quintet for the first time since the early nineties and focuses on the induction of Corey Wilkes and Jaribu Shahid as new members.

Customer Reviews:

AEOC Continues On in Grand Fashion.......2007-01-28

The Art Ensemble of Chicago's 'Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City,' on Pi Recordings, is a double-CD that was recorded live in '04 at the fabled Iridium in NYC during a six-night engagement just two months after the passing of bassist and founding member Malachi Favors.

Featuring longtime members -- drummer/percussionist Don Moye and multi-instrumentalists Roscoe Mitchell and Joseph Jarman -- the group is rounded out with newcomers Jaribu Shahid on bass and Corey Wilkes on trumpet (the group had performed without a trumpeter since the death of founding member Lester Bowie in 1999).

With each disc presenting a complete set, the grandeur of the AEOC experience is in full-regale as the half-dozen tunes on each find the group ushering in a new era while simultaneously presenting an overview of their more than three-decades of pioneering music.

Three new compositions are credited to the current ensemble, the expansive 19-minute opus 'On the Mountain,' 'Red Sand Green Water,' and 'The Morning Mist,' all of which are vintage AEOC and fit perfectly alongside established favorites, such as 'Song For Charles' and the band's theme 'Odwalla' which closes both sets.

Masters of mood and dynamics the group fashions a tapestry of varied textures. 'Erika' features Jarman's poetry, 'Song For My Sister' puts an AEOC spin on hardbop, 'Big Red Peaches' saunters along a funky backbeat, 'J Song' opens with everyone on bells and assorted percussion, and 'Slow Tenor and Bass' chills things down before the second set closes.

Long-hailed as champions of the avant-garde, 'Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City' finds the AEOC retaining its edge, yet tempering it in such a way that old fans will continue to revel in and marvel at the band's adventurous spirit, while the next generation of listeners beckoned by the call will be supremely pleased that they've answered it at last.

Roscoe and friends continue to amaze.......2006-09-19

If you've heard Roscoe Mitchell's recent 3-CD set, you'll get an idea of Live at Iridium. Not sure why the Boston Phoenix referred to a "troubled reunion," as everything they've done in the 21st century has been equal to their best work, though the successive deaths of Lester Bowie and Malachi Favors sure are troubling. But the new double-disc catches a fuller band and exciting band, with performances that may not be as diverse as the range in [sirius calling], but are surely some of most vibrant of late.

Soul Music:

Soul Music

soul music

Recommended Music:

Dark Horse

Ignace Jan Paderewski

Just My Imagination [CD-single] [Import] [Live]

Swing for Bop

Burning Love: Best [Original recording remastered] [Import]

Is This My World

Lee Lessack

Karajan Edition - Mozart, R. Strauss, Strauss II, Smetana

Hits of the 90's [Import]

Haydn: Klaviersonaten 19 & 46

Fun and Games

Epoca de Oro

En España

Belcea Quartet ~ Debussy Â· Dutilleux Â· Ravel

Promenade with Duke