The Album Review Club - End of Round #9 Break (page 1904)

FogBlueInSanFran said:
I feel badly, as I encouraged Bill to nominate some jazz, but I guess this isn’t really what I had in mind. I was thinking darker, more bluesy, with sprightlier brass and less guitar up front (though I mean it’s Pat Metheny, what should I have expected, right?) Songform and structure has place in jazz like it does a lot of music, but here I feel like themes are lost in a sea of aimless noodling, as good as the noodling can be (dig the piano in the opener, or the harmonica on The Past In Us for example, or the guitar on Everything Explained). This takes sound-not-songs to a whole new level. That there are putative lyrics on From This Place come as almost a jarring shock. There were certainly part are enjoyed — I agree with those who thought parts of America Undefined were a bit special — but as an addition to doing something else (mostly working). As sheer aural pleasure, I found this exceedingly difficult to concentrate on. Maybe it’s just because my brain expects to return to a chord or a chorus I enjoy but with this music we basically never do. It’s always going somewhere different and new and unexpected, which is great in concept, but the problem is it’s also fucking exhausting, which isn’t the effect I assume jazz artists are going for. Maybe this music just tries to use that 90% of the brain humans never use so I am out of practice. Anyhow, I can’t claim I can’t rate this unlike opera, but I have to go 3/10 because I had no visceral connection here on any level, but can appreciate talented musicians, even when not playing hooks. Maybe I’m not limber enough to appreciate this on the whole, though I’m glad I tried — stretching is always good. Also as I said before — megaprops for the cover; I wish the music had lived up.
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Fair enough Fog, I appreciate Jazz is a strange animal. If you don't get it, it doesn't appeal.
To me ,it's beautiful, but I know the majority of music lovers just don't see the attraction, and don't "hear" the melodies.
It was probably a mistake to nominate a Jazz album and I'm sorry it wasn't a slow smokey bluesy type of Jazz that you were expecting.
My thinking was to nominate a more modern take on Jazz that just may appeal to Rock fans.
3 is better than 2 :)
 
Bill Walker said:
Fair enough Fog, I appreciate Jazz is a strange animal. If you don't get it, it doesn't appeal.
To me ,it's beautiful, but I know the majority of music lovers just don't see the attraction, and don't "hear" the melodies.
It was probably a mistake to nominate a Jazz album and I'm sorry it wasn't a slow smokey bluesy type of Jazz that you were expecting.
My thinking was to nominate a more modern take on Jazz that just may appeal to Rock fans.
3 is better than 2 :)
Click to expand...

Definitely wasn't a mistake Bill, I'm glad you nominated it and that I listened to it. A few othera here seem to be too. And if not, if is only 3 odd hours of a week, so what.
 
"You're listening to jazz" my wife said, not in a mocking way, nor accusatory. In fact did I detect a hint of reverence, certainly incredulity. We're pretty much in tune musically, rarely do I have something on that she demands be taken off and when it comes music to relax to it's usually an easy choice. Not that any of that matters.

I know next to nothing about jazz. I think my brother might have been into it. I once saw Courtney Pine in concert but that wasn't my doing. My preconceptions are all about doodling nothingness and slightly discordant something or other.

To this, when I started my search on the Sonos app Pat Methane came up as a suggestion and I could have got distracted, being reminded of an old Macclesfield performer called Mr Methane who apparently used to fart at will in a musical way. I'm sure he's on YouTube if anyone's interest is piqued. Thankfully, I think, Pat Methane didn't actually have any recorded works available on Spotify...

The first 8 minutes of this pretty much fulfilled my notions of what jazz is. Several instruments all sounding like they were jostling for position, showing what they can do, preening a bit like lots of wannabes behind the scenes of auditions. And then, yes as others have mentioned suddenly a tune took over and the last five minutes or so of America Undefined is very good indeed, the faint sound of train bells (I think) adding to the effect.

The story of this album for me is of "tunes" battling to be heard above the distraction of competing sounds. The same criticism of jazz can be made about classical music but in that genre too it's tunes, recognisable riffs and motifs that draw me and I want to feel there is substance to the slower reflective movements.

I liked the sound, it wasn't unbearable, it wasn't murky but only occasionally did it feel like what was beneath the surface could be heard, by me anyway. Repeated listens bring more clarity. I often wonder how often a music critic will listen to a new album before passing judgement on it, I suspect they get to hear it well in advance of release date and have more than a week and a few listens to really get to know it.

One week in though and more than a few listens I can't get past that it's jazz and it's not really my genre. It puts me in mind, unreasonably no doubt, of cliches and cheesiness. This is of course more noise. As I write Same River is on in the background and you know what, that is also a fine piece of music. I'll let it continue to play while I have my breakfast but I don't think it's going to go above a 6 for me.
 
Before this the only thing I’d heard by Pat Metheny was his collaboration with Bowie ‘This is not America’ which I liked.
I’m not a big Jazz fan however I liked a lot of Michael Franks back in the day and Marc Jordan’s Jazz albums but they were vocal albums.
This is different as mainly instrumental, I don’t actually like the vocals on the track’From this place’ it’s sounds like a hymn.
As others have said ‘America Undefined’ is a great piece of music and could easily be film soundtrack.My favourite track is ‘Same River’ which sounds more familiar to the Jazz I’ve listened to before.

My main problem is I listen to a lot of music whilst driving and this is
definitely not driving music, so I haven’t give it the time it probably deserves.
Great musicianship but sadly a lot washed over me.

In the words of Louis Balfour it was ‘nice’ but in my mind not great.

5/10
 
Bill Walker said:
Fair enough Fog, I appreciate Jazz is a strange animal. If you don't get it, it doesn't appeal.
To me ,it's beautiful, but I know the majority of music lovers just don't see the attraction, and don't "hear" the melodies.
It was probably a mistake to nominate a Jazz album and I'm sorry it wasn't a slow smokey bluesy type of Jazz that you were expecting.
My thinking was to nominate a more modern take on Jazz that just may appeal to Rock fans.
3 is better than 2 :)
Click to expand...

Absolutely not a mistake. The only thing I actually didn't like on it was the vocals / title track.

In fact, no pick should be considered a mistake as far as I am concerened; it might be awful, but that's another matter...
 
A couple of hours left to score this one - only 8 votes so far.

Maybe 75 minutes of modern jazz is some people's breaking point!
 
Tough crowd for @Bill Walker this week - just the 8 voters with an average of 5.75 for Pat Metheny's From This Place.

Still a great pick though and as several people have noted, they like being challenged! I think we've all come to appreciate that being "forced" to listen to an album in the same short time frame is the 21st century equivalent of all those shared moments before video recorders, DVD players and streaming!

That's it for round #3 and by popular demand, I'll be kicking off round #4 very soon. Let's see if you're all still saying that when you've heard what I've got up my sleeve.

Remember that this nomination runs for 2 weeks (until 7th September).
 
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