Where’s the CD Review?

G – R

i8u: b Bake Records 047 2002

i8u has been a guest on WtB? twice and is an important figure on the Montreal new music scene. She deserves it. She has a clear grasp of sound and her manipulations of deep sonic material are outstanding. i8u is changing over time, and this latest offering gives us a glimpse into her new style. Bass pulses and granular, near distorted sounds throb away as i8u slowly performs some sonic tricks. I like the disc, but there’s something a bit “incomplete” about it all. As if i8u hasn’t quite got it all sorted out yet. I’m looking forward to seeing where she’s headed. I’d pick it up if you haven’t heard anything else, otherwise, hold out for what’s to come.

(Reviewed October 7, 2002)

Michel Legrand: Michel Legrand by Michel Legrand Decca (2002) 4685122

Oh my goodness. Why do I like this music so much? Could it be that I’m reviewing this on Valentine’s Day and the sheer romantic gushiness is too much for me? Or is it that Legrand’s writing is so brilliant, so quietly eloquent that you can’t help love it? Well for the sake of professionalism I’ll go for the latter! To say that Legrand is a legend would be a really stupid understatement. I mean, you can sing with every track on this disc (at least at the beginning)! Legrand’s playing is beautiful though shows some shakiness at times. Simple and expressive he doesn’t push the envelope but that’s okay here. It simply works quite well. Legrand’s “French jazz” sound here is just lovely. “What are you Doing the Rest of Your Life” strikes me as the highlight of the disc in terms of jazz performance. And of course the first track, “Je Ne Pourrai Jamais Vivre Sans Toi” is a classic melody.

Putting my love for the music aside, the recording quality is poor. I was surprised that Decca did such a bad job. There is a lack of presence in the piano sound. There’s no excuse for this, it’s just shoddy work. But this is a classic album, a first solo disc from a legendary jazz figure who has recorded with the likes of Stephane Grappeli, Miles Davis and John Coltrane and whose works have been performed by among so many others including Johnny Mathis, Nana Mouskouri, Sarah Vaughan and Kiri Te Kanawa. Not without its faults but just based on who’s playing and the format it’s an important disc.

(Reviewed Feb. 15, 2002)

Francisco López: untitled #123 (2002) Alien 8 CD31

Francisco Lopez has become quite legendary in Montréal and this concert recording shows why. Using the silophone (an installation in one of the largest grain elevators in the world) Lopez creates stunning and disturbing music. With a great deal of silence, the CD is an exercise in patience but once the sounds begin to emerge it becomes shocking and devastating. It is a difficult listen, but well worth it. I think that López’s ability to build upon simple sounds is just astounding. Well worth a listen.

(Reviewed March 11, 2002)

Christ Martin: (This is my) Ampbuzz Strange-Attractors SAAH009 2002

Sort of ambient hums and drones with minimalist underpinnings. A completely “ho hum” sort of disc I’m sorry to say. Note to people: there’s a lot of music out there. Most of it is not very good. You might make nice music, and it might be pretty interesting, but I wade through so much *%&^ that when I get to yours it’s got to be pretty interesting to grab my attention. Sorry. But that’s just the truth.

Where was I? Oh, nice chaotic sounds at time, but there was a lot of high tape hiss which was quite distracting. Not a bomb, but certainly not a standout.

(Reviewed October 7, 2002)

John McGuire: Pulse Music III… Sargasso SCD28043 2002

Yeah sure, it sounds dated, but there’s a freshness here. Crunchy sounds. The earliest piece (of the three on the disc) dates from 1978, but sounds really fresh. Such clear and beautifully articulated crystalline electronic sounds. Entitled “Pulse Music III,” expect a beat, but also try to find the small individual pulses within. It’s very simple, but very rewarding. At nearly 25 minutes, the piece keeps with the one idea, but that’s okay in this case. The second composition, Vanishing Points, keeps with the same sonic material, but just doesn’t quite capture that perfect simplicity of the first composition. Nice, but when you think it was composed 12 years after “Pulse Music III” it’s a bit disappointing. The final offering, “A Cappela” for soprano and tape, departs from the percussive electronic tones and adopts more lyrical lines in unison with the singer. This track struck me as totally unimaginative. McGuire is walking a fine line between easy listening and EA. Later listening at your own risk. Worth getting just to hear “Pulse Music III” but a descent from there.

(Reviewed October 7, 2002)

Marcelo Radulovich: Hello Accretions alp029 2002

Marcelo Radulovich’s last offering, (case of the missing) Thumb is a rare treat from south of the border. Radulovich displays some acoustic wings seldom seen in the states, no doubt the fact he was born in Chile has something to do with this. Radulovich has a noisy style that displays full and rich sonic gatherings. He is not afraid of using the computer effects and he jumps from one great idea to the next. Supposedly he is a “deep ambient” composer, but there is nothing deeply ambient about this release. The music is sheer chaos at times and beautifully elegant the next instance. The disc is based on the Book of Titicaca and is meant to represent the legend of Titicacaman. Be prepared to identify the sources at times, to live without knowing the next. Radulovich’s music switches from near soundscape to electronica to electroacoustics at the drop of a hat. A neat disc. Highly recommended.

(Reviewed October 7, 2002)