The Jazz Project - Album 84: Anthony Braxton - "For Alto"

                To further my understanding of Jazz, I'm listening through Jazzwise Magazine's "The 100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World". Each album is presented with my stream-of-consciousness thoughts for each track, my general thoughts of the album as a whole, and any relevant information I can capture about the album. Also included is my drink of choice while taking the album in. Thank you for joining me on my journey to [partial] Jazz enlightenment.

Album 84
Antony Braxton - For Alto
Drinking: No beverage

Photo credit: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71MdsgavhOL._SL1200_.jpg

1. "Dedicated To Multi-Instrumentalist Jack Gell": While incredibly short, this song was a somber, clear tune. Braxton is a skilled player, though I wonder who Jack Gell is. 
   
   
2. "To Composer John Cage": Right out of the gate my brain is telling me this is going to be a weird one as John Cage has some pretty bizarre things to say in the music world. That being said, the intro to this song doesn't disappoint. I think that featuring the saxophone as the only instrument on this album is a bold statement. You can tell he's giving his all from the frantic breaths peppered in and around each lick. While the Cagian freestyle is beyond my musical comprehension, I enjoy the sound of the solo saxophone. The breathing acts like percussion and creates a very human experience. Say what you will about the listenable nature of the music, this musician has chops. Strangely, it sounds like he's trying to capture the sounds of a child's imagination as it runs rampant from each idea to the next with wild abandon. I must then wonder what John Cage thought of this track, especially those wild sax screams. 
   
   
3. "To Artist Murray dePillars": This track opens with a somber, melodic open which serves as a nice reprieve from the wild nature of the previous tracks. I love that you can hear the tapping of the keys over the music as there's no band to hide it. It continues to create this intimate experience between the listener and Braxton. My mind takes me to the cosmos, where all the wild trills are planets, stars, and comets sailing by my starship piloted by Braxton. 
   
   
4. "To Pianist Cecil Taylor": There's a sense of strut to this song. I wonder if this improvisation is in any way supposed to mimic a piano player. This song does a great job of walking that line between a jazz solo and free jazz, even if it favors the free jazz side of the path. My brain initially wants to discount free jazz because it's not a tune, which is what my brain is used to, but I immediately look back and realize I could never play this music. Still, I do find this to be a challenge to listen to. 
   
   
5. "Dedicated To Ann and Peter Allen": I find it interesting that some songs are "To ____" and others are "Dedicated To ____", why the difference? That said, I do enjoy the naming conventions. Such a sad intro to a song. Had these people left the world before this song was composed? Or perhaps this song reflects a strained relationship. This song is a mammoth, with a running time of 12 minutes and 54 seconds. I love Braxton's use of silence in this composition. It pulls my attention in and makes each note that much more satisfying. The moments of breathing are captivating, creating a beautiful piece. At times his breaths act like a stirred snare. Using the keys to subtly tap out a line. I'd almost call this piece an experiment of playing around with interesting silence. This piece just speaks to me. 
   
   
6. "Dedicated To Susan Axelrod": Another slow and somber intro. I'm surprised this is how he chose to order these tracks. But, I suppose I'm not in line with his vision as I struggle with this type of music. I dig that you can hear his tongue and breath technique in the microphones. I know I've said it before but it creates this intimate experience. where you're almost in the room with him. It almost sounds like he's fighting with the saxophone, which is quite evocative. I'd love to know what his brain was thinking about while he was writing this album. Was it written moment to moment, or was a meditation on an idea? The arpeggios in this song are beautiful, yet extremely wild. 
   
   
7. "To My Friend Kenny McKenny": This song returns to the wild side of town. I get the sense that Kenny is someone who has explosive opinions on things. It emulates the sound of a piano scraping across the floor as you try to move it from one side of the room to the other. Or perhaps it's a heavy metal table. This track sounds incredibly violent as the sounds created sound far outside of the instrument's normal range. I think this has been the most challenging song on the record for me. The weird humming/feedback at the end was pretty cool. 
   
   
8. "Dedicated To Multi-Instrumentalist Leroy Jenkins": A mono note opening, which is quite interesting. It builds into an explosive crescendo of random honks of alto saxophone. Another track that is difficult to sink my teeth into. I've read some articles espousing the groundbreaking importance of this album, but I must say it's lost on me. Where this movement found footing amazes me, but as mentioned before, I don't think I have the skills and experience to understand it either. It makes sense to me that it's a journey through the possibilities of sound, but I still feel lost. 

Overall Thoughts: Free Jazz is largely lost on me. I don't yet understand the value of the movement, though I recognize that it is there and has a serious following. I hope that one day it will click into place in my mind. All that being said, I have to give Braxton some serious props for pursuing this album, especially as a solo album without overdubs. It found ways to bring humanity into the music and fully exploring what an instrument could offer on the sonic canvas while bringing the listener into the room. It's a wild record, and I'm glad I experienced it. 

Info: This album was recorded in February of 1969 at Delmark Records in Chicago. Solely performed by Anthony Braxton on Alto Saxophone. 

If you liked the album you can stream it at the YouTube link above, and you can pick up a copy of the record here! 

Cheers! 

Spirit Adrift - "Battle High"

Photo credit: https://www.spiritadrift.com/

         Spirit Adrift dropped another track yesterday, and it's holding up quite nicely with their most recent offerings. "Battle High" debuted on the Century Media Records YouTube channel in support of Spirit Adrift's new album Enlightened Eternity which was released October 16th, 2020. Definitely not new to us here at Mainly Tuning Out, we highly suggest you check this band out. "Battle High" starts off with a heavy blues riff before jumping into some classic heavy metal tones. Dynamically this song works well, and feels both traditional and also fresh. The vocal performances and solos are excellent as well! If you dig this track you can stream it here! 

        

        Happy Friday everyone! Be well! 

The Jazz Project - Album 85: Krzysztof Komeda - "Astigmatic"

               To further my understanding of Jazz, I'm listening through Jazzwise Magazine's "The 100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World". Each album is presented with my stream-of-consciousness thoughts for each track, my general thoughts of the album as a whole, and any relevant information I can capture about the album. Also included is my drink of choice while taking the album in. Thank you for joining me on my journey to [partial] Jazz enlightenment.

Album 85
Krzysztof Komeda - Astigmatic
Drinking: PBR

https://img.discogs.com/B0wEucLgfu_22a3yQvcpNFz_yKg=/fit-in/600x598/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-2841202-1303486755.jpeg.jpg

1. "Astigmatic": The song opens with a jilted opening. Clean trumpets play over an eerie piano. The piano is almost manic in sound. I like how it's all starting to pull together with the drums and bass, falls away, and then comes back. The staccato rhythm is gripping. As the trumpets continue to perform I catch a mild glimpse of Miles Davis. Musically this feels like a relationship, starting with a fight, but about three minutes in it starts cooling off into a calm moment. Still, it feels like the piano, drums, and bass is operating independently of each other leaving me feeling disoriented. About six minutes in there is an odd trumpet solo that feels like it's trying to display fragility, but gently or gracefully but in a manic, crazy way. It's like looking for your keys in the house when you're already 20 minutes late, this crazed frenetic mindset builds inside until it almost fully takes control of you. This crazed piece segues to a duet between the trumpet and bass. I wonder what this studio session was like. I want to believe they were all on the same page as they performed this music, but how would you recreate these moments? It feels like a stream of consciousness that is freely flowing through these musicians. At ~11 minutes in we get a familiar Jazz moment with free soloing and one hell of a walking bass line. I know it can't last, but it's a nice change of pace from the journey this album has taken me on. At ~13 minutes the saxophone takes the spotlight for a sporadic and clustered solo. Regardless of how it sounds, this player has some serious chops. The bass takes over with a sliding and bend heavy, yet quiet solo. A feeling takes over that the music is mimicking a bad dreamscape. The entity is trapped and hysterical, yet free. A drum solo pops up around the 18-minute mark, which was a highlight, it's arguably my favorite part of this track. The band comes back together around the 19-minute mark to close out this track. These moments are very similar to the opening of the album. As an equally eerie ending comes closing in, I find myself wondering if this was a one-take performance. 
2. "Kattorna": This is the shortest track on the album by far. It features a much more conventional opening to a track, and I find the riffs to be quite pleasing. It sounds like the chase scene in a late-night gangster movie. Or perhaps watching beat cops rolling his way through the night. Highlights for me are the bass work on this track and the drum work. This band likes flirting with varying levels of tension, and we only leave the tension for brief moments. It's almost exhausting to listen to. 
3. "Sventetic": I love what the bass offers up during this intro, it's very vocal! It sounds like a cold and misty morning, and the sun is struggling to break through and burn off the mist. Suddenly, the sun breaks through and at two minutes in it's painfully hot, making the world feel sluggish. This song could be a soundscape, painting pictures with these tight, jabbing lines in black and white. Six minutes in we get a break with some classic jazz noodling. I hate to say it, but my lack of theory knowledge might be impeding my ability to follow along on this track. I want to see it as a song instead of a sonic experiment, but I can't really find the narrative in the song. Perhaps it's because there isn't one, but I'd be surprised if that was the case. With five minutes left on the clock, we make a return to the moments from the intro. That appears to be the formula for this album, passage, intro, repeat passage. 

Overall Thoughts: This album was largely beyond my comprehension. I certainly tried to follow along but I struggled with the lack of melodic structure. I agree with the quote from Jazzwise magazine, "Stanko himself said that this is an album that could never have been made in America". It's not something that would have survived American culture. I'm glad it found its place though, and I want to come back in the distant future and see if I have a better experience with this album.

Info: This album was recorded over two days in December of 1965, and the album was released in 1966 on the Muza Label. It was produced by Wojciech Piętowski, and features Krzysztof Komeda as the bandleader and on piano, Rune Carlsson on drums, Günter Lenz on double bass, Zbigniew Namys∤owski on alto saxophone, and Tomasz Stańko on trumpet.

If you want to purchase this album, you can do so here! 

Cheers! 

Boris with Merzbow - "Away From You"

Photo credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9llVjM149U

         Today's track is a bizarre yet oddly calming track created as a collaboration between Japanese Doom Metal/experimental music giants Boris and Japanese noise artist Merzbow. Of the two, I'm only familiar with Boris, and only through friends from college who are huge fans. This was never out of dislike, I just haven't had the time to do the deep dive on them given their massive catalog. Boris has been making music since 1992, with an impressive discography of 26 studio albums, and 14 EPs. Merzbow has been creating music and art since 1979 and has released 342 studio albums and 33 EPs. Needless to say, both institutions are prolific. This track is from the upcoming release 2R012P0 which is expected to drop on December 11th, 2020. 

        

        "Away From You" opens with some percussive noises that sound like clinking cans, clutter being moved around a table or a wind chime made of old food cans. It also closely imitates the sound of several clocks clinking in and out of time with each other. Synth sounds pepper this sound, as do some echoing guitar notes, creating and very organic sound, similar to the sound of the world waking up with the sunrise. A calming bass line starts at ~0:52, and it gives the song an ebb and flow to it. The noise track gets a little more out of sync with the music and more and more sounds are folded in as others start to drop out. 

        As it continues the music continues to grow in depth and complexity while still maintaining this organic, living environment. It's truly captivating. The vocals are gripping and haunting as the lace themselves through all these layers. The music takes a darker turn at ~2:57, and the synth noises grow pointed and unsettling. In this din beautiful tension blossoms in the soundscape adding dynamic moments to this track. The instruments settle back into the calm sounds from earlier, but the synth and noise tracks continue to grow more dissonant and abrasive. While not always the most pleasant thing to listen to, it creates a strong juxtaposition of ideas and sounds that, in this baffling way, works quite well. These two extremes continue to ride out, nearly to the end of the song until the final moment where the clock-like cluttering cans briefly return. 

        This was a truly beautiful track, and worth a listen or two at the very least. I'm not sure if this is a good representation of Boris and Merzbow, but I'm certainly more inclined to listen through their other stuff and their previous collaborations having experienced "Away From You". If you enjoyed what you heard, you can preorder this album here. You can find more info on Boris here, and more info on Merzbow here. 

        Cheers! 

Amon Amarth? Full Access to Their Discography? Hell Yes!

Photo credit: https://www.metalblade.com/us/tourpics/amon-amarth.jpg

         It's a good time to be a fan Amon Amarth, the Melodic Death Metal band hailing from Sweden. Metal Blade Records has posted all of the major Amon Amarth albums to their YouTube channel! Commonly known as Viking Metal, this band has embraced their heritage with a fervor dropping albums such as Twilight Of The Thunder Gods, With Odin On Our Side, and Jomsviking. 

        It's refreshing to see a band that has been kicking around so long (started in 1992 as a Grindcore band called Scum) to gain the recognition they deserve. It wasn't until their 2008 album Twilight Of The Thunder Gods did this band become a household name (at least, in the area I'm from). It takes a herculean effort to push through 16 years before really finding success. If you're not familiar with Amon Amarth, you should do yourself a favor and check out Twilight Of The Thunder Gods linked below. If it's your jam, check out their other ten albums at the Medal Blades Records YouTube Channel. You can find more info about the band on their web page. You won't be disappointed.  

The Jazz Project - Album 86: Steps Ahead - "Steps Ahead"

              To further my understanding of Jazz, I'm listening through Jazzwise Magazine's "The 100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World". Each album is presented with my stream-of-consciousness thoughts for each track, my general thoughts of the album as a whole, and any relevant information I can capture about the album. Also included is my drink of choice while taking the album in. Thank you for joining me on my journey to [partial] Jazz enlightenment.

Album 86
Steps Ahead - Steps Ahead
Drinking: Budweiser Copper Lager with Jim Beam

Photo credit: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Pq1wy0kdL.jpg

1. "Pools": This song has a very mellow opening. One of the things that immediately jumps out to me is the layers of tone contained on this track. Everyone is operating in their own space like they're occupying their own layers. In my head, I see a bird's eye view of traffic, or a big restaurant opening up and prepping for the day. While my brain is painting this picture I dial into the bass-tone, it's very reminiscent of Jaco Pastorius, or perhaps it should be the other way around. The saxophone in one of these sections is super slick! It's greasy almost, with these lines and runs, it's amazing how he pulls it off. The bass solo starting ~2:56 is very conversational, which is something I love in any solo. It's like if you zone out while listening to your friend talk and you're just registering the noise and notes of their voice. After a vibraphone solo, it pops into my brain that this song is like Bebop, and Funk was put into a blender and given a good frothy mix. I'm now focusing on the drums and piano, just how time mixes in. Hot damn, they're holding this groove down so it doesn't fly away, while still letting it strut around feeling good. I get the feeling that I'm looking inside the brains of a jazz performer when I listen to this. Each movement and moment is a different synapse firing off with an idea. It's crazy but contained, like a daydream. An excellent track to start the album. 
   
   
2. "Islands": I'm loving this intro, it's got a great rhythm, though I wish it kept this moment for longer instead of switching to this flowing passage. This particular part is a little too easy-listening for my tastes. As of ~1:08, it takes on a cool twist that is more in line with my taste. The music certainly achieves an island feel to it. I feel like they're capturing the sound of a soul sailing quickly by an island taking in the sights and sounds. I found my ear honing in mostly on the bass performance. It's tight, and a strong backbone to the songs. Soon, my focus also starts taking in the drums. Together they're deep in the pocket and holding this track down. Regardless, I'm not in love with this track, even though it returns to the beginning passage, which does salvage it a bit. 
   
   
3. "Loxodrome": I love the name of this track. the solemn opening is pretty great. It's like the opening to a Bogart film if it was made in the '80s. It sounds like a biopic following the life of an entry-level mobster going about his daily life with all the hustle and bustle that would come with that lifestyle. The piano solo is sharp and cutting, love it! The following bass solo is just as excellent. My only wish is that the solo didn't slow the pace of the song. Still, this person's chops are hard to critique. The section starting at ~4:25 is simply awesome! It's like beautiful chaos, the tension is heated. It clears the five-minute mark just in time for the song to come to a close. 
   
   
4. "Both Sides Of The Coin": This track has a little sass to it. The saxophone brings a sense of welcome to the song as well. I'm enjoying the intro quite a bit. At ~0:50 there is a weird trilling section that confuses me, but what do I really know? I'm lost that's for sure. This song is one of my least favorite tracks on this album. This song seems saxophone focused. Ultimately, "Both Sides Of the Coin" didn't do much for me. 
   
   
5. "Skyward Bound": An excellent open and delightful intro. Loving the bass work happening behind these moments. Something is happening on this track, and I can't quite put my finger on it. All I know is I'm getting goose-pimples listening to this song. The vibraphone solo at ~2:04 is captivating. It's slaying me with how good it is. I wonder if this was a song to remember someone, like a memorial song, as I'm getting that feeling. This track is a strong contender for my favorite song on this album. 
   
   
6. "Northern Cross": An interesting opening, it's quite busy. Sounds like a busy intersection in a city. Something is at a rolling boil and is about to hot-break all over the place. Stormy is a good word for it. I'm feeling lost trying to follow everyone as they play, though, it's holding my attention. I'm loving the bass-line at ~3:50, it's got some funky qualities to it. I do wish I had more to say about this track, I think I want to go back and give it a few more listens to wrap my brain around it. 
   
   
7. "Trio (An Improvisation)": This track features a somber opening by the saxophone. I thoroughly enjoy the bowed bass, it's a sound I greatly enjoy. I love how everyone slowly joins in by ~1:20. It sounds like a forest, or a town starting to wake up. The bass takes on a quiet menacing tone at ~2:50 which brings us to a moment I quite enjoy at ~3:13, it's so dark! There are moments where I'm taken back to Holtz's The Planets, strangely. Perhaps it's not a town or a forest that inspires this piece but the brilliance, darkness, and vastness of our cosmos. The bowed bass at ~5:04 melts my heart with its beauty. I also see in my mind this grand conference between the philosophers of the ages, a long-held debate about humanity while they all struggle to get their words in. Truly a strange yet inspiring piece, and an excellent choice to end the album. 

Overall Thoughts: I quite enjoyed this album, although some tracks lost me periodically. I blame my ear more than anything. The highs were really high, and I loved the journey getting there. Cohesively, I'm thoroughly impressed with how this band performs. 

Info: This album was released in 1983 through the Elektra/Musician record label, and was produced by Don Grolnick. Steps Ahead, at this point, was helmed by the following musicians: Michael Brecker on tenor saxophone, Mike Mainieri on vibraphone, synthesizer vibes, marimba, synthesizer, and percussion, Elaine Elias on piano, Eddie Gomez on bass, and Peter Erskine on drums. 

If you liked this album, you can pick it up here! 

Unleash The Archers - "Legacy"

Photo credit: https://www.facebook.com/UnleashTheArchers/

         Canadian band Unleash The Archers has dropped another track from their new album Abyss which was released through Napalm Records on August 21st, 2020. Unleash The Archers walk a fine line between Progressive Metal, Power Metal, moments of Black Metal and Death Metal, and standard Heavy Metal fare, and they do it skillfully. Forming in 2007, this band hails from Victoria, British Columbia.  The new track is titled "Legacy" and they debuted it with a lyric video through Napalm Record's YouTube channel. 

        "Legacy" opens with this delightful and subdued clean Prog opening with some clean vocal melodies before kicking in the door with a crushing Black Metal-like moment at ~0:29. Shortly after there is some wickedly enjoyable solo full of sweep picking, or an arpeggio synth part. Either way, it's quite excellent. We enter the meat of the song at ~1:14 as the verse/vocals rejoin the music. The mix is excellent, and the dynamic range of the moments leading up to here is impressive. The pre-chorus/chorus moments remind me of moments of mid-career/Retinal Circus Devin Townsend, while still feeling very original to this band. 

        The interlude at ~3:52 takes us back to the opening and provides a nice break from the pummeling pace of this song. Just as quickly, the Black Metal moment returns with a searing solo over it. What's surprising is their ability to switch through these styles without feeling gimmicky, or cut-and-paste in their approach. We return to the standard verse and chorus moments and they bring the song to a close. 

        I do find that I'm pulled out of the musical narrative with the line "No more hiding away in your apex again. Not when your spending your days as a slave is near an end."  It feels weird to hear as a combination of words, and doesn't make much sense as an apex is, according to Merriam-Webster, "the uppermost point, or the highest culminating point." Why would the end of your days as a slave require you to step away from the uppermost point of your life, or your residence, or whatever the term "apex" is supposed to mean here. This, however, is me just being nitpicky. 

Photo credit: https://www.facebook.com/UnleashTheArchers/photos/10156263231301710

        That aside, I think this is a great track. The vocal performance is excellent, the instrumentation is masterful, the mix is honestly great. I think they knocked it out of the park and I look forward to listening to more of their music. If you're stoked about what you hear, you should pick up their album here! If you want to find more of their music, you should hit up your favorite streaming service or check out the Napalm Records YouTube channel found here! 

        Thank you for stopping by, and have a great rest of your Monday folks! 

Four Stroke Baron - "Cyborg Pt. II: The City

Photo credit: https://www.prostheticrecords.com/img/000252890009.jpg

         Having just finished the Django Reinhardt write up, I took to the internet to see what's new out there in the world. It didn't take long to find something that grabbed my attention! Scanning through the Prosthetic Records digital catalog I saw a trio called Four Stroke Baron with a new music video out. I had to check out what this band sounded like considering the bizarre name. I wasn't disappointed, and I look forward to their offerings coming down the line. 

        

        "Cyborg Pt. II: The City" is a groove machine that pairs some prog based tight, crunchy riffs, with 80's pop vocals. I know, this sounds weird, but it's like Tears For Fears was singing over some groovy tech riffs. And I love it! It gives it this weird juxtaposition of intensity and sensitivity that pops, even if it shouldn't on paper. The music video is footage from a bad/low budget sci-fi movie, which makes the experience that much better. The drums are locked in, and the guitars are dialed into some excellent tone. There's even a passage that uses a Vocoder/Talk-box to spice up the experience.

        The moral of the story is that you should check this track out. Will it be my new favorite band? Probably not, but it's catchy and novel, and the riffs are punchy and fun. Even if you're only into the cheese factor of the music video, I doubt you'll leave disappointed. If you liked the tunes you can pick up the 2018 album Planet Silver Screen here, and you can also pick up their new offering Monoqueen Split EP here. Additionally, there's a great bio of the band on the Prosthetic Records page located here. Lastly, if you want to check out more music, there's a live performance that opens with "Cyborg Pt. II: The City" located below. 

The Jazz Project - Album 87.5: Danjo Reinhardt - "The Best Of Django Reinhardt Vol. 1"

             To further my understanding of Jazz, I'm listening through Jazzwise Magazine's "The 100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World". Each album is presented with my stream-of-consciousness thoughts for each track, my general thoughts of the album as a whole, and any relevant information I can capture about the album. Also included is my drink of choice while taking the album in. Thank you for joining me on my journey to [partial] Jazz enlightenment.

Album 87.5
Django Reinhardt - The Best of Django Reinhardt Vol. 1
Drinking: Seltzer

Photo credit: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71sg9h9fmYL._SS500_.jpg

        I need to make a quick note in this particular entry. I couldn't track down the actual 87th album, Django Reinhardt: Retrospective 1934-53, which was unfortunate. After some research, the closest I could get with the resources available was The Best Of Django Reinhardt Vol. 1". Being 35 tracks in length, I truly believe this is an acceptable substitute, and I hope you enjoy my track-by-track look at this record. 

1. "Griserie": To start, I'm a tad shocked to hear an accordion at the start of a volume of music dedicated to a famous guitar player. That aside, the music sounds good. It's a shame Reinhardt wasn't around for modern recording practices to capture his playing, more fidelity would only enhance the experience. I suspect he's playing in the back behind the accordion as there are some tasty licks peppered in. 
2. "Si j'aime Suzy": A cute, romantic song. Django is holding the rhythm incredibly well, and his ability to knock out these hammer-on and pull-off licks is incredible. Additionally, I'm floored by his tremolo picking technique. This was a fun track! 
3. "Blue Moon": I love the big band sound this song provides. Django has a cool swagger in his playing on this track. Again, I wish he was more in the center of the music and the overall track. 
4. "What A Difference A Day Made": A classic song, and classic performance. Over these few tracks, Reinhardt shows a very particular playing technique while playing behind the band. A great track!
5. "Rosetta": This has got that Django sound I was hearing about! Those chord changes are smoking! The little flourishes here and there are amazing! That picking hand is a beast! A great track, and a memorable one. 
6. "The Object Of My Affection": I love the swing of this track. Django's percussive playing provides a great shuffle that keeps this song toe-tapping. The piano playing has some great flavor as well! The solo featured in this song has a great amount of attitude, though the following trumpet solo isn't my favorite. Right at the end, we get a moment of Reinhardt flair that is excellent! 
7. "I Can't Give You Anything But Love": The guitar playing is incredible! This is what I've been waiting for this whole album. I love how it switches from vibrato filled soloing to blisteringly fast shred. I wish his playing was more forward in the mix because it's just so good. The singer in this track is also great, especially her scatting technique, it doesn't throw all these syllables in your face all the time. The violin solo was a delightful surprise. 
8. "After You Gone": This song features the best violin solo over a jazz intro that this listener has ever heard. Django holds the track up with this rhythmic backbone like a beast! The song definitely has swing to it. Another great guitar solo on this track. Reinhardt's playing complements violins so well. 
9. "Limehouse Blues": First, I love the name of this track. This has a real Roma vibe to it. I really like what this song provides. Why it took so long on this album to get to this type of playing is beyond me. His picking technique is out of this world!
10. "Swing Guitars": The title of this song excited me, and there is a swing to this song. The violin is laying some stuff down in a delightful way, and it reminds me of an announcer at a fight. The first solo has lots of class behind it, and then the song gets funkier and weirder as it goes on. I dig this track a lot. With what seems like a key change, the violin carries the song out. 
11. "Shine": After 11 tracks, I still cannot wrap my brain around how he plays at this pace so consistently, it's insane. That aside, I was not wowed by this track, but it does contain some great virtuosity. 
12. "Sweet Chorus": I like how off-kilter the intro is. The tempo allows Django to let that guitar work wail! I'll be revisiting this song later as this song just swings in all the right ways. 
13. "Charleston": Given the sound of the song, I can only guess this is about the dance, not the city. With seemingly little effort, Django gets this song to pop with that shuffle strumming pattern he utilizes. A smoking track. 
14. "Solitude": This intro spoke to me, all these little flairs from Django grabs your ear and holds the attention. It sounds like someone trying to capture all the sounds one experiences living a quiet life. Birds singing, houses creaking, and the sadness of living alone. 
15. "Hot Lips": "Hot Lips" has some swing to it! This track has attitude! I'd say given what little knowledge I have Django Reinhardt, this would currently be the track I'd pass to someone so they could get a taste of what he offers. 
16. "Rose Room": Out of the gate, this song feels quite blah. I'd want to know why "Rose Room" was added to this list as it doesn't pop like some others I've heard. Even the solo seems quite blasé. Bland is the word I associate with this track. 
17. "When Day Is Done": That intro! WOW! I loved it. The somber feeling of his tone as the song progresses past the intro is incredible. I'm utterly in awe of his ability. Sadly, when the whole band joins in, this atmosphere the intro has created dissipates into something less dramatic. Oh well, I guess it makes sense in the way that coming home from work would help you ease up and be happier. It's a shame though because the beginning was an enrapturing moment.  
18. "Chicago": I found this shuffle to be quite attractive. A good head-bobbing track. Not much else to say about this song. 
19. "Miss Annabelle Lee": I'm discovering I prefer the endpoints of the Django spectrum, fast and slow. The tempo and pace of this song are excellent! The mid-tempo offerings so far have been bland, even dull to me. Thankfully, this song has some spunk to it. Loved it. 
20. "Mistery Pacific": The intro is pretty great, almost tribal! How he can hold that ferocious pace so consistently is beyond me. The offset beat this one possesses is inspiring. How one couldn't dance where you stand while listening to this song is beyond me.  
21. "The Sheik of Araby": Another mid-tempo song that leaves me feeling bored. There is a blistering solo in the middle that's redeeming and worth hearing. Don't skip to the solo, the rest is skip-worthy. 
22. "Parfum": A touching intro. His vibrato technique is so good. I need more soloing Django in my life. On top of that, his understanding of rhythm is amazing. We find Django blending jazz and more traditional styles very successfully on this track. This currently lives in the top three favorite Reinhardt songs. 
23. "Alabamy Bound": Not a bad track in this giant spread of songs. It doesn't wow me after "Parfum," but we all be a "Parfum" all the time now can we? The violin solo is excellent (this is a trend in the Django catalog it appears). About midway through the tempo picks up and takes off. Stick around for that middle section, it's very worth it. 
24. "Crazy Rhythm": This song has some great flavor to it. The brass section swings and feels fresh. I'd play this music at a dinner party. I'd love to hear Django and the sax player solo-dual, I bet it'd get heated. 
25. "Out Of Nowhere": "Out Of Nowhere" only reaffirms my suspicion that I'm only into slow and fast Django. This feels like a cool autumn day for me. The sax solo is excellent. I'm loving this song. 
26. "Sweet Georgia Brown": The intro features a great percussion part. I'm not loving this track, but it has a great party aspect to it. There are a lot of voices holding the floor for a brief moment and exchanging turns right up to the sax solo. I do feel the trumpet is too muted and doesn't shine in its moment. 
27. "Sweet Sue": I love the trombone solo, we need more trombone solos as a people. These songs have been moving away from Django's virtuosity and it saddens me, though his chord work is impeccable. 
28. "Japanese Sandman": This is a strutting song! Django's guitar playing has tons of attitude and I'm loving it. More slide trombone too, what a treat! It isn't my favorite Django solo, but it kept my attention. Don't skip this one. 
29. "Saint Louis Blues": I feel like I should be sipping a mint julep on a porch in the south when I hear this song. It transports me to a life I don't get to live, which is pretty cool. I liked the solo best, but the rest of this song was alright too. 
30. "Bouncin' Around": I liked this song right out from the get-go. It's got swagger and it feels like you're following someone around who's up to no good. Django's playing at the end has a lot of sass to it, and I enjoyed this one. 
31. "Lady Be Good": Django's playing here feels very conversational. It works for the song, perhaps the guitar is begging the violin to be good. Ultimately the song didn't wow me. 
32. "Daphne": The song starts with the violins saying Daphne with the way they play, very cool. This song has some pluck to it. I dig it. the pace feels right for what the violin is playing. It's more musical than the last piece. Django's solo feels perfect for this song. Surprisingly enjoyable song. 
33. "I've Found A New Baby": I think that was the most metal intro yet! That dissonance! It wowed me. This song has some good tone to it. The drama helps it stick out! I think this is some of my favorite chord work. 
34. "Baby Won't You Please Come Home": I can imagine having this is an old-time bar as it's just starting to open. It's daylight and you can still smell the sweat from the night before. 
35. "Avalon": This must be an old recording or a live recording. Everything bleeds together. The music is good, but the product is meh at best. You can barely hear Django in the back of the mix over the bass. I would have dropped this track from the list. 

Photo credit: https://live.staticflickr.com/5675/21434160825_546cc8cb6d_b.jpg

 Overall Thoughts: I wanted to love this more than I did because of Reinhardt's status in the music scene. Hell, he influenced one of my favorite guitar players, Tony Iommi. Unfortunately, a lot of it was his being part of a band and forgoing the guitar as the focus of the piece, given that he was a bandleader though, this makes sense. I'll come back to many of these tracks, but not the album as a whole. 

Info: It makes sense why there is so much violin player considering he spent a good chunk of his career playing violinist Stephane Grappelli. Django was born on January 23rd, 1910 in Belgium and died of a stroke on May 16th, 1953 at the age of 43 in France. His recording career was immense, and his impact on the world is inescapable. Part of his legacy is due to the fact that he performed all this music with two functioning fingers on his fretting hand after an accident rendered his ring and pinky fingers paralyzed. 

If you want to listen to some Django Reinhardt, you can check on out another compilation featuring many of these songs here. Additionally, if this sounds like your jam, you can pick up the above album here!

RIP - Eddie Van Halen

Photo credit: https://live.staticflickr.com/7458/15899288693_866f53de68_b.jpg

        I wanted to take a quick minute and share my deepest condolences the family and Friends of Eddie Van Halen, who passed away today from a battle with cancer at the age of 65. It's truly a great loss for the community. Rest in Peace Eddie, you changed the world, we will never forget you. 

Kurt Vile - "Speed, Sound, Lonely KV (ep)"

Photo credit: https://store.matadorrecords.com/pub/media/catalog/product/cache/efacd7ae70ea5536df7d34da21510682/s/p/speedsoundslonelykv.jpg

        Departing from some of the usual fare found here on Mainly Tuning Out, I wanted to spend some time talking about Kurt Vile's new extended play. I'm relatively new to the Kurt Vile scene having gotten on the train with his album Bottle It In and a few live projects performed on NPR's Tiny Desk series. At first, I was a little put-off by his loose performance approach and his general musical aesthetics, but something about it kept drawing me back into the mix. Now I'm a pretty big fan.

        I'm currently working through Neil Young's discography (which has been a bit of a journey, holy smokes does he have a lot of albums), and there's something very similar to Kurt's offerings, yet, it still sounds wholly like Kurt's own music. I'm sure I'm not the first person to draw those two together in such a way, but there's a beautiful honesty to their musical and lyrical approach that is magnetic, even if off-kilter now and again. 

        Vile digitally dropped Speed, Sound, Lonely KV (ep) on October 2nd, 2020, and it features five songs with a total runtime of ~22 minutes. The biggest surprise on this album is the duet on the song "How Lucky" that features the late John Prine (RIP), which was a delightful and perfect track. The album was released on Matador Records, and physical copies are available for pre-order now, slated to arrive around mid-January, 2021. 

        What about the music? Well, that's the meat of this place of business, isn't it? Super short story: It's great. Fear not, we'll be going track by track like we always do here, but honestly "It's great," is the moral of the story and you should go listen to this EP right now. I'll be here when you get back. 

        

        The album starts with the song "Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness." It sounds like classic Kurt Vile, picked rock/country chords, backed by some piano that interplay with the guitar in a cheery way. Vile sings in his best early Neil Young inspired voice bouncing between contrary ideas, "You come home late, and you come home early. You come home big when you're feeling small. You come home straight and you come home curly, sometimes you just don't come at all." It moves right into the chorus, "What in the world has come over you? What in heaven's name have you done? You've broken the speed of the sound of loneliness, you're out there running just to be on the run." The chorus and the next verse are bridged by a delightful mandolin lick. The lyrics continue painting a relationship that's on the rocks in an odd calm self-reflective moment, "How can a love that'll last forever get left so far behind?" What a great way to set the mood for the album, reflecting on life, with some classic Americana music backing these moments of awareness.  

        Next up is the song "Gone Girl". This track opens with a country vibe with that classic one-two, one-two bass line holding the beat, and finger-picked guitars. The solo after the chorus sounds like it's being played on a resonator guitar which I thoroughly enjoy, but it could also be an electric guitar through some effect-pedals. Lyrically, this song is about lost love, "she's deliciously tall, sort of long girl. She's delightfully small, sort of song girl... That's nothing compared to the fact that she's a gone girl, gone like a knock on the door, gone with yesterday and before, gone with the wind forevermore." A pleasant-sounding song, which is a great juxtaposition to the lyrics. 

        The third track is my least favorite song on this EP, and it happens to be the longest one at six minutes and thirty-four seconds. It feels like a leftover track from Bottle It In, especially in the basic song structure and vocal performance. It's still a good song though. It's a dreamy sounding song, very well layered. One of the verses resonated with me as far as the topic matter of the song, " I like the feeling of being sentimental, and also a little mental. I don't mind crying, but I prefer them be tears of joy over rage. Anything over rage, anything over mind, and everything over age, I'm over that." If you enjoyed Bottle It In, especially the single "Bassackwards," You'll enjoy this track. 

        Next is "How Lucky." John Prine's performance was an enrapturing treat on this song. Originally by John Prine, it feels like the torch being handed off from one generation to another, though I'm sure that's not the intent. It feels natural, and the two vocalists mix together will. How lucky can one man get? For Kurt, quite, and honestly, if we all think about how amazing it is that we managed to get a chance at life in this world, I think we are all pretty lucky. This track is a gem. The only bad thing I have to say about it is that I wish it was longer than three minutes and twenty-three seconds. 

        The track finishes up with a song titled "Pearl." The chord that is picked that starts off this song is a great choice, and Vile's vocals are hit with a touch of reverb that layers nicely with the music. The lyrics feel like they're talking about some of the challenges and reflections of a parent watching their child start exploring the world, "where you been now, little girl? Where you been now, little girl? Why'd you come back looking stoned? ... I can see your eyes all filled with sand, I can see you in there up to your chin, tell me girl, now where you been?" This is a close second as far as favorite tracks. The guitar licks and overall vibe of this song really strikes a chord with me (no pun intended). 

        This EP was a delightful surprise to see come down the pipeline, and I will probably spin it two or three more times before the day is out. Check it out, and send me your thoughts! You can listen to the album here, and you can pre-order a physical copy here. 

Dark Tranquility - "Phantom Days"

Photo credit: https://www.facebook.com/dtofficial/photos/a.420686500747/10157231912075748/?type=3&theater

         Dark Tranquility dropped a new track titled "Phantom Days" through Century Media Records on Friday, September 11th, 2020. This new track comes from a new album that's set to drop on November 20th, 2020, titled Moment. This will be their first release since 2016's Atoma. If you're into heavy metal than this name shouldn't be unfamiliar as they've been writing since 1989, and are an integral part of the Gothenburg metal scene. If you're new to this band and/or this genre than you're in for a treat! Melodic Death Metal is a subgenre built on a foundation of melodic riffs while still working with the general structure of standard Death Metal. It's fast, it's got amazing melodies, and some of the best-growled vocals in the Metal genre. 

        Honestly, after all is said and done, it's a pretty great track. It starts with a faded in ambiance before kicking in with a harmonized lick that transitions into the chorus riff which is quite catchy. Mikael Stanne's infamous vocals kick in with the line "It doesn't make it any less real once you feel it, rage with the fire of insight, these are the days that favor the emotional, an amplified belief." It segues to a pre-chorus moment that feels quite like power metal before kicking into the chorus riff again. The solo is pretty great too. I greatly enjoy how the verse/chorus lines blend in and out of each other, though I have to counter that statement with my dislike for how little variety there is in the lyrics. Over 50% of the lyrics are the ones written above, and the song comes in just under four minutes in length. 

        I have my issues with the lyrics, but I've just concluded my sixth and seventh time through the track while writing this piece and will be going in for an 8th once I'm done writing, and honestly, the music sounds so good that the lyrics don't much matter. My gut tells me the lyrics in this song will have more importance in the context of the larger album, but time will have to tell on that one. If you are interested in pre-ordering the album, you can do so here! 

The Jazz Project - Album 88: Joe Harriott - John Mayer Double Quintet - "Indo-Jazz Suite"

            To further my understanding of Jazz, I'm listening through Jazzwise Magazine's "The 100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World". Each album is presented with my stream-of-consciousness thoughts for each track, my general thoughts of the album as a whole, and any relevant information I can capture about the album. Also included is my drink of choice while taking the album in. Thank you for joining me on my journey to [partial] Jazz enlightenment.

Album 88
Joe Harriott - John Mayer Double Quintet - Indo-Jazz Suite
Drinking: Ardbeg 10

Photo credit: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61Ycf2gn8-L._SL1280_.jpg

1. "Overture": This song starts with some pleasing sitar music and traditional drums. Another instrument I don't recognize jumps in and immediately starts this fun interplay with the sitar and percussion. Soon after, traditional jazz instruments stop by and start riffing over the original instruments and it's awesome! It's got this intoxicating groove. About a minute and a half in the music jumps over to a more stereotypical jazz rhythm section while keeping the original percussion around. I can't keep my head from bobbing while these changes happen. I'm imagining a bustling town on a hot and muggy night. The muted trumpets provide this searing sound that keeps the track popping. A cool flute solo cuts in, like the narrative of the song jump-cuts to a jazz club and Sarah Vaughan was performing, but with a small hint of that Indian flavor added in. The band keeps riffing around each other as the song starts thinking about closing, and in the last minute and three quarters, the traditional instruments return, backboned with that upright bass. What a tantalizing track!
   
   
2. "Contrasts": A cool percussion piece works under a solid walking bass line. A piano starts to riff in and around the bass and percussion. Soon the flutes and trumpets square off for the melody. Something about this track is quite conversational in it's feeling. I get a slight Vince Guaraldi vibe to the piano at times. The bass goes into a solo right before the Indian instruments return. After it's solo the bass slicks right back in to keep the groove going. The sitar adds some welcomed atmosphere to the track as the flute solo in this section kicks in. It reminds me of Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull fame. It wouldn't surprise me if he was influenced by this album in some way (Anderson that is). With four minutes left on the clock, the muted trumpet surgically slices its way into the song to provide a sharp solo. The sitar/flute interplay returns though the transition is not as sharp as the previous track. However, a saxophone solo comes out of nowhere, similarly to the earlier trumpet solo, it's an excellent solo though. The syncopated drums are very pleasant as they bring the track to a close. I'm shocked at how easily the flute fits in with the Indian instruments.  
   
   
3. "Raga Megha": I'm loving this instrumental. This track is very soothing. I found burning some Palo Santo wood really brought something to this experience, especially with the smokey scotch. A few minutes into the song there is this weird, jarring solo, but it quickly is replaced with a great section focusing on the traditional Indian instruments. A pair of flutes join in and make the section pop. The two groups interweave with each other so well in this song, I'm amazed two rather different styles could mesh so well. It's interesting though, I didn't get sucked into this track as much as the previous ones, but I found it the most pleasant to listen to thus far. 
   
   
4. "Raga Gaud-Saranga": This has the most serene opening. It sounds like a misty sunrise over the ocean. It almost has a Celtic vibe to it before the sitar joins in the mix. Very pleasing. The sitar solo is amazing. It's so easy to get lost in the moment. It's followed by a ripping flute solo that just blew me away! The shred is strong on this track. Out of nowhere the muted trumpet announces its existence and suddenly we're transported into a swinging jazz tune. It gets even better when the mute comes off the trumpet and you can hear it's full glory. At about four minutes and fifty seconds, we start hearing both worlds start crashing into each other, each vying for attention before the piano comes in to calm everyone down. The interplay continues as the song finishes. I'm saddened and disappointed that we didn't get to go back to that amazing intro. 

Overall Thoughts: It was the fastest 35 minutes I think an album has ever been. It was really cool to see every instrument get a turn in this mad experiment gone so totally right. It's not in my top 10 favorite albums, but I'd buy it if it had a semi-good deal on it. What kept it from being truly blowing me away was the fact that both styles were dancing back and forth. There wasn't any true blending of styles into something new, and I was hoping the album would go there. 

Info: This album was released in 1966 via EMI Columbia. It was one of the first successful blends of Jazz and Indian  music. Jazzswise Magazine's blurb says it was "not as successfully integrated as their subsequent Indo-Jazz Fusions I and II," which I will seek out on my own time. It features Joe Harriott on alto saxophone, Coleridge Goode on bass, Allan Ganley on drums, Chris Taylor on flute, Pat Smythe on piano, Diwan Motihar on sitar, Keshan Sathe on tabla, Chandrahas Paiganka on tambura, Kenny Wheeler on trumpet, and John Mayer on violin and harpsichord. 

Listen to the album here! 

If you loved the album, you can buy it here! 

The Ocean - "Pleistocene"

Photo credit: https://pelagic-records.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/pel150_cover_digital_medium.jpg

        It's a good time to be a fan of The Ocean, not only is there a new album coming out, the track releases leading up to it have been beyond delightful. On Friday, September 11th, 2020, The Ocean dropped a new track titled "Pleistocene" from their forthcoming album Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic which is due to release on September 25th. We've featured two of their previous track releases from this album here at Mainly Tuning Out, and if you like what you're hearing today you should check out "Oligocene" and "Jurassic | Cretaceous". 

        "Pleistocene" begins with a different vibe from the previous tracks. It's a little jarring at first but it doesn't take long to wrap you up in the moment. It begins with a single pulsing synth note that feels like an alarm going off. A few second later bass, synths, and what sounds like a piano join in and reinforce that note while the drums play in the space between. Shortly vocals join, backboned by strings; the pair adding a slight middle eastern vibe to the mix. The singer is singing with clean vocals, and the recipe works as he sings the opening line: "we all can only take so much, some more than others. And our individual tolerance for stress, for loneliness, is so subjected. But there's no tolerance at all for hopelessness." As this passage progresses the strings start joining the drums and interplay among the vocals, creating a truly gripping moment. 

         After the first lyric the music begins to swell into a more traditional sound for The Ocean, with growling vocals, and that crushing guitar tone. It's a great moment. At ~2:07 the music returns to the verse, but it's a more intense version. There are weird guttural, whispered, and menacing vocals just under the singer's vocals, and it feels like the volume on the instruments are dialed up a few notches. Then it's back to the chorus at ~3:02. The strings are louder and like the second chorus, this moment just feels more intense than the previous one. 

        The music transitions to a new moment at ~3:34 to a slower chord change before transitioning again to a stripped-down version of the music featuring just guitars, bass, drums, and growling vocals singing, "And no one could tell the moment when you disassembled, when your restless heart froze, and you sank below the ice eyes wide open." Crushing vocals backed by a crushing moment. This moment continues on before it switches to one of my favorite moments in the current set of releases at ~4:56 where it speeds up to a killer Black Metal moment complete with that wailing gasping black metal vocal style. It truly creates a climactic moment, and this moment is sucked away into a breakdown-like moment at ~5:50 that the band rides on until the song ends. The riffing is so heavy here, and you'll catch yourself headbanging right along with each beat. 

        "Pleistocene" is a heavy-hitting track that transitions in and out of each section effortlessly, creating a sonic landscape that you can experience several times and still discover something new. It holds its own with the other releases and only gets me more excited to take in this album once it drops. If you haven't heard this track yet, you should get on that, you're missing out. 

If this is your jam can pre-order Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic here.

Finntroll - "Mask"

Photo credit: https://www.centurymedia.com/media/artist/banner/637286855312882520.jpg

        If you're into Folk Metal, Finntroll should not be a foreign group to you. If you haven't dabbled into Folk Metal, it's a wildly good time. The origin of the band/name come from, to quote their Facebook:

"It is a troubled tale that has been told many times before… Anno 1997: during a night of alcoholic carnage in Finland Teemu "Somnium" Raimoranta (guitar) and Jan "Katla" Jämsen (vocals) conceived of a band that fused the darkness and grandeur of black metal with the traditional Finnish hoedown-music. The resultant sound was FINNTROLL. The namesake came from an old Finnish legend where Swedish priests coming to Finland had an encounter with a wild-looking man who killed most of their party. The survivors came back bearing the tale of the FINNTROLL. Anno 1998: A year later Skrymer, Tundra, Trollhorn and the mighty Beast Dominator joined the band that soon became the biggest name in the rising Folk/Pagan Metal scene – even if they never aimed for sitting at the head of that table."

They also frequently are made up to look like trolls, which is pretty awesome too.

        

        On September 4th, 2020, they dropped a new track titled "Mask" from their forthcoming album Vredesvävd, which is due to be released September 18th, 2020 via Century Media Records. It is some classic Finntroll! It begins with an epic opening backed by synths before descending into a ripping riff over their singer's growls. The music video is quite enjoyable as it is a shaky-cam tromp through the woods following the band as they appear to track down a druid resurrecting the dead. The chorus is equally delightful as the string synths rejoin the mix to give the speedy guitars a traditional folk flair. The track may only be a tad over three minutes, but it's definitely worth checking it out. It's speedy, epic, and everything there is to love about folk metal. 

        Want to pre-order the album? You can do so here! 

The Jazz Project - Album 89: Jackie McLean - "Let Freedom Ring"

           To further my understanding of Jazz, I'm listening through Jazzwise Magazine's "The 100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World". Each album is presented with my stream-of-consciousness thoughts for each track, my general thoughts of the album as a whole, and any relevant information I can capture about the album. Also included is my drink of choice while taking the album in. Thank you for joining me on my journey to [partial] Jazz enlightenment.

Album 89
Jackie McLean - Let Freedom Ring
Drinking: Yorkshire Gold Tea

Photo credit: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41SMBDMB70L.jpg

1. "Melody For Melonae": The track begins with an ominous piano intro, with excellent descending melodies with the piano and saxophone. McLean's tone is clear and cutting, and creates an excellent listening experience. I'm seeing rainy days and the feeling of not wanting to go to work. It also stirs feelings of being aware of the daily grind. This combo is incredible! The fill in the spaces around each other very well. This track has a certain heart to it that feels very pleasing to listen to. As the song progresses I get more of a feeling of the wonder and imagination of a child, at every turn, there is something new and exciting. The high register screams are like a crazy tea kettle of boiling jazz that can really wail. We go back to a little bit more of  that walking-to-work-in-the-rain vibe as the piano goes into its solo. The bass is walking underneath this section while maintaining this balance of being present without overtaking the stage. What a hard balance it must be to hit. I'm not in love with the later parts of the piano solo, though those big open chords it switches to in the last few minutes are beautiful. I wish there were more of those throughout the track. The licks at the end are just as sharp as the beginning of the song. Truly, an excellent piece of music. 
   
   
2. "I'll Keep Loving You": This song is a cover of Bud Powell's work. It opens with a classic piano sound, timeless. Additionally, the bass tone is amazing. This music is like seeing your wife in a beautiful dress and falling in love all over again. I love the stirred snare sound in this song. this track holds the balance between technical skill and delicate melodies so well. I'm not sure I would have chosen to put those wailing saxophone squeals in, as it felt quite jarring, but something must have inspired him to perform them. At the start of the last two minutes, there seems to be this tension building. Perhaps another lover has appeared? During the last minute, the tension passes as Jackie starts performing some licks to close out the track. 
   
   
3. " Rene": Once the band gets going, this track has some sizzle to it which I thoroughly enjoyed. Part of this enjoyment comes from the use of space created by the non-rhythm based portions of the band. Nothing is jumping out in my imagination for this song, but it's certainly great music. I'd put this on while cooking for sure. 
   
   
4. "Omega": This song starts with some tasty interplay riffs from the band that works as a foundation for some even tastier soloing from McLean. It's excellent stuff. This might be my favorite track on the album. It's almost like Progressive Rock/Meal in nature. It keeps bouncing from this cool mellow part to these great standard jazz phrases. It's a non-traditional song structure and I'm loving it. To me, this sounds like a sound-wave, and as it descends into the valley we get a cool melodic experiment, and as it rises to the peak we get this high voltage combo riffing together. It keeps rising and falling between these two points and it is truly captivating. This could go on forever and I would listen to it gladly. 
   

Overall Thoughts: This album feels like the perfect combination of a lot of different styles, especially the popular ones in play during this era. The way the band plays and explores each avenue feels very authentic, and very skillfully. Truthfully, it left me feeling quite speechless. 

Info: This album was released in May of 1963 via Blue Note records. It was produced by Alfred Lion at Van Gelder Studios in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. It features Jackie McLean on alto saxophone, Walter Davis, Jr. on piano, Herbie Lewis on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums. Fun fact, allegedly "Rene" is named after his son, and "Melody for Melonae" is named after his daughter. 

You can listen to the album here, and you can purchase the album here.

The Devil's Trade - "The Call Of The Iron Peak"

Photo credit: https://www.season-of-mist.com/release/the-call-of-the-iron-peak/

        The Devil's Trade dropped their new album The Call Of The Iron Peak as of August 28th, 2020. They've been featured here on Mainly Tuning Out as various track releases have been dropped, and we're big fans of what we've been hearing. As such, we're going to be looking at the whole album! With a run time of ~46 minutes across 11 tracks, it looks like a solid lineup of music.

        The Devil's Trade is a Doom Folk solo outfit hailing from Budapest, Hungary,  and helmed by Dávid Makó. The music swings from cold winds blasting through empty mountain tops, to soul-crushing wails calling into the night. Featuring guitars, banjos, and some excellent vocal harmonies, this release oozes with bleak emotions.

        

        Track one is titled "The Iron Peak", and it begins with these string-like notes that hang in the air for a brief moment before giving way to a somber and slow electric guitar. With a slight hint of delay on the guitars, the tone is set for this journey and further solidified as Makó's voice starts singing. At ~1:52 the music takes a dissonant turn as Makó sings a dark harmony and then returns to the guitars in the beginning. It's truly amazing how successfully Makó's performance paints an image of a cold mountain, standing against a dark sky, cold, and uncaring. 

        Track two is titled "Dead Sister" and was featured here on a previous post. The added context of the intro carries on the idea that "Dead Sister" is a catalyst moment in the character's journey, a horrible life event that sparks a descent into darkness. It's still hauntingly beautiful. 

        The third track is titled "III" and has a runtime of ~0:44. It's an odd little track, featuring some guitar work in the background. If feels like a memory trying to take root in one's brain. It segues right into the next track, "No Arrival"

        "No Arrival" has one of my favorite riffs on the album layered with muddy bass notes and a great clean guitar lick. It's sinister and cold, and I love it. Makó starts singing at ~0:33, and the music cuts back to just the clean guitar behind an excellent vocal performance. Honestly, Makó's vocals shine on this track, with a brilliant little moment over skilled guitar work at ~2:18 - 2:48, where it segues into that gripping chorus. This track is a heavy hitter and is definitely worth a listen. 

        Next up is "Expelling Of The Crafty Ape", which is an odd name compared to the rest of the track line up. The vibe created in the first minute is one of mysticism. It's not quite sad, it's not quite evil or dark, it just feels very introspective. What stands out is the power behind Makó's vocals as he belts out the chorus, or highlights portions of the verses. His grasp on dynamic performance is clear on this track, and it's used powerfully. This is not my favorite track on the album, but I doubt I would skip it on a drive while listening to this album. 

        Track six is titled "IIIIIIIIIIII" and appears to be another transitional track, running ~0:35 in length. Coming off the tension of "Expelling Of The Crafty Ape", this feels like waking up from an awful dream, or to a horrible hangover. 

        The next track is "Három Árva" which also has been featured here previously. Három Árva feels more sinister and forlorn within the contest of the full album. Coming off "Expelling Of The Crafty Ape" makes me feel like this story of a man who's lost everything, walking up to the Iron Peak to reckon with his maker, and his memories are haunting him every step of the way. 

        Track eight is titled "Eyes In The Fire". It starts with a fade-in that has a nice change in flavor from the bleak and dire palate of this album, and the verse flirts with this major toned moment now and again which changes up the feeling of this release. It's hard to describe the tone of this track, but it's surprisingly enjoyable. It's echoing and washed in reverb, with an 80's rock vibe, like Tears For Fears meets Simple Minds, but with no synths and a much bleaker tone. "Eyes In The Fire" is a captivating track and paints a really interesting sonic picture especially in the last minute and a half it crescendos into this amazing moment at ~4:26 that's dripping with anger and frustration as Makó yells into the air "eyes in the fire," over and over again. Perhaps these are the eyes of the character's demons facing him as sits on the Iron Peak. 

         There's another transitional track titled "IIIIII" that's more ethereal than it's companions, with some really interesting harmonic choices made. I really like it. This track runs ~1:03 in length. Sonically it's very different than the previous tracks on the album. 

        Track ten is titled "Dreams From The Rot", and it begins quite slowly. It's grim, somber, but in a different way from the previous album. It's hard to pull the exact emotion out. Makó's vocals are different, almost self-reflective, or talking something out even though there's no one there. Suddenly the music jumps up in intensity at ~2:47, and the vocals take on an equally dire intensity before returning to the dreamy stillness of the beginning at ~3:30. We ride this reflective stillness through to the next bout of dire intensity at ~5:40. The music cuts out at ~6:22, and there is silence. Music comes back at ~6:29, but it's quieter, more in the background of the sonic landscape. This was a big narrative moment, the climax of the story, though Makó has done an excellent job of keeping the story just obscure enough to be quite open-ended. This is the longest song on the album with a runtime of 7:41.

        The album ends on track 11, which is the title track of the album, "The Call Of The Iron Peak." This song begins with a bleak banjo melody paired with dark bass notes, and Makó's vocals hanging over them. The banjo work is incredible, painting this grey landscape along which Makó's melodies can bluster against, like the wind trailing around the Iron Peak. This moment is cold and forlorn. Drums join the mix at ~3:25, and Makó's wails slowly fade away into the back of the mix, creating quite a cinematic closing to this album in a truly magical way. 

Photo credit: https://www.facebook.com/TheDevilsTrade/photos/a.711034722301127/4318871671517396/?type=3&theater

        This album is a great example of when the whole is greater than the sum of each part. The tracks we looked at earlier in the year were great on their own, but together, "The Call Of The Iron Peak" paints a rich landscape of woe and sorrow that is truly enjoyable. If you're looking for a unique album to take in, I cannot recommend this one enough, and you can check it out here or at The Devil's Trade's Bandcamp which you can find here.