2009-01-24
The Bad Plus took a chance, going in a different direction with this one and some fans (including myself) don't care for the disparate sound. What's so different? Well, they've added the vocals of Wendy Lewis (Minneapolis alt-band, Redstart). I think her decision to do the vocals in such a straightforward manner was a good one, I would just rather they weren't there at all. As far as the production itself, it seems to have been mastered "hot" (that is with the needles far into the red). Everything is a bit muffled and even the bass sounds tinny and over-worked. The best songs here are the older classical pieces, such as Igor Stravinsky's "Variation d'Apollon", Gyorgy Legeti's "Fem Etude No.8", and the Babbit/Freed piece, "Semi-Simple Variations". Reviewed by Rebecca RuthWYNTON MARSALIS & MARCUS ROBERTS
TOGETHER AGAIN
ABBEY LINCOLN
Abbey Sings Abbey
Dr. Ed Calle
Mamblue
SHAWN LEE'S PING PONG ORCHESTRA
Reel To Reel
CLIFTON ANDERSON
AND SO WE CARRY ON
RACHEL ZAMSTEEN
Bouquet
The opinions expressed in these reviews are those of the individual volunteers that submitted the article and do not necessarily reflect the views of WYCE or GRCMC; nor its staff, donors, or affiliates.