Record Reviews

JOANNA DUDA ~ KEEN ALPAKA 008 (Barcode: 193428487826) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Electronic Recorded: 2018 Released: 2019 This is the second album by Polish keyboardist / composer / electronic music artist Joanna DudaFind albums by this artist, this time recorded solo. It features a collage of sounds created using acoustic piano and prepared piano, electronically generated sounds and human voices. The album presents nine tracks, all played, composed and produced by Duda. Although Duda can play "conventional" music, for example when she plays with Wojtek MazolewskiFind albums by this artist´s ensemble, this album is dedicated to her more experimental / Avant-Garde side, which offers little melody based music and exposes the listener to her intimate inner world of sounds, which resembles imaginary soundtracks of Science Fiction movies or sound vistas by early electronic composers like Charles IvesFind albums by this artist or Edgar VareseFind albums by this artist and later Pierre SchaefferFind albums by this artist or Pierre HenryFind albums by this artist. With just fragmented tones or short phrases, repeated by loops and other electronic devices, these collages are more about stimulating the listener´s cerebral cortex than his heart, and for the Avant-Garde prone brave hearted listeners can be a marvelous experience. Duda should be admired for her uncompromising and unconventional approach to music and her courage to pursue her heart rather than seeking easy solutions and mainstream recognition. This album is an example of her determination to follow the path less travelled, inviting open-minded listeners to share her world with them. Personally I find this music fascinating and engaging, but obviously it is not destined to reach a wide circle of listeners, which is the price Avant-Garde Artists are ready to accept in return for their independence and personal fulfillment. Definitely highly recommended to people with wide horizons!

Updated: 03/01/2020Posted: 03/01/2020

CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend

SPOOKY TOOTH ~ CEREMONY ESOTERIC 2133 (Barcode: 5013929723320) ~ UK ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1969 Released: 2009 3rd album by the excellent British band Spooky ToothFind albums by this artist and definitely one of the boldest and daring experiments in Rock music not only at the time, but since, when the band decided to cooperate on this project with French Avant-Garde electronic music composer Pierre HenryFind albums by this artist, whose "musique concrete" was at the forefront of contemporary Classical music´s quest for new areas of development. The band´s main composer, vocalist and keyboardist Gary WrightFind albums by this artist wrote six new compositions, which together formed a sort of religious Rock Mass, which the group recorded in UK, shortly after replacing the original bassist Greg RidleyFind albums by this artist (who went to form Humble PieFind albums by this artist) with Andy LeighFind albums by this artist. Considering the group was in top form, following the recording of their excellent second album, the music they recorded is absolutely stunning and the level of musicianship is truly astounding. After the recording was completed, the tape was sent to France, where Henry overdubbed the group´s music with his electronic contributions. The resulting amalgam turned out to be one of the most controversial recordings of the era, tearing the band apart as a result and invoking heated discussions amongst the critics and fans alike. If one might speculate a bit, probably the group´s music released without Henry´s overdubs would have been considered as their greatest achievement, but since that never happened, we might never know. In fact I´m still hoping that such version of the album will be available one day, at least in the form of bonus material. Still, this is definitely an intriguing piece of music, which deserves to be listened to and studied, not only by the band´s hard-core fans but by any music fan with broad horizons.

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted:

CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend

SPOOKY TOOTH ~ THE LAST PUFF REPERTOIRE 1073 (Barcode: 4009910107324) ~ UK ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1970 Released: 2005 4th album by superb British Rock band Spooky ToothFind albums by this artist, led by vocalist / pianist Mike HarrisonFind albums by this artist, which was the last recording by the original lineup of the band, soon to be disbanded. Following the recording of the band´s previous album, the bold and ground-breaking "CeremonyFind albums with this title", a Rock Mass recorded with French Electronic Music composer Pierre HenryFind albums by this artist, which turned out to be a source of major controversy among the band´s members, the original superb lineup of the band started to break up, with bassist Greg RidleyFind albums by this artist leaving to join another epic British band Humble PieFind albums by this artist and vocalist / organist Gary WrightFind albums by this artist (who was the band´s main songwriter) leaving to start a solo career. Harrison brought aboard three excellent British musicians, who were previously the core of Joe CockerFind albums by this artist´s support band The Grease BandFind albums by this artist: multi-instrumentalist Chris StaintonFind albums by this artist, guitarist Henry McCulloughFind albums by this artist and bassist Alan SpencerFind albums by this artist in order to expand the lineup, and these musicians participated in the recording sessions that resulted in this release. Since there was no resident songwriter aboard, Harrison decided to record a series of arrangements / adaptations of existing Rock repertoire. His choice of material is impeccable and the bands interpretations truly inspired, resulting in an excellent piece of music, different from the original incarnation of Spooky Tooth, but nevertheless highly satisfactory and worth listening to. The overall sound is quite similar to the band´s previous incarnation and any Spooky Tooth fan will find this album most enjoyable. Warmly recommended!

CD 1 Digipak Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend