Sparks - "The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman" Box Set, LP, Album, 4 x Vinyl, CD, Limited Edition, 2009 (Lil' Beethoven Records ‎)

It's always been my opinion that Sparks music or roots don't necessarily go back to rock but to theater music.   Ron Mael and Russell Mael are in the same school as the Gershwin brothers, Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hart and Stephen Sondheim.  Although their medium can be considered, and more likely pop or rock, but I have always thought of them as the American brothers of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weil.  "The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman" is very much in line with something similar to Brecht/Weil's "Three-Penny Opera." 

The narration of this radio and stage musical (and hopefully film) is about Bergman being trapped in Hollywood and dealing with the nightmare of working in a film factory of not his choice or temperament.  Isolated from his world, he plots his escape, but can one flee from a living nightmare? This is the first theater project that came to fruition by the Mael brothers, and it's an essential Sparks' recording.   The album is truly a soundtrack to the entire production, including some dialogue.   Still, the music is excellent, and of great wit and beauty.   The melodies are perfectly beautiful, but it also serves as a critique or commentary on the nature of an artist dealing with an industry that seems supportive, but in actuality, it's restricting the filmmaker's vision.  

Ron Mael who is usually silent sings lead as the Limo Driver, but the rest is sung by Russell, as well as actors singing various roles, such as Jonas Malmsjö as Bergman, and a beautiful vocal from Elin Klinga as the ghost of Greta Garbo singing the heart-stopping "Garbo Sings."  Superb brilliance. 

John Zorn - "The Song Project" Vinyl, Box Set of Six 45 rpm Singles, Colored Vinyl, Limited Edition (Tzadik)

Photographs cannot express or expose the beauty of this beautifully designed package from the world of John Zorn.  "The Song Project" is a box set of six 45 rpm colored vinyl singles, that comes with a booklet with photos as well as lyrics/introduction by one of the key figures in this project, Jesse Harris.   Zorn commissioned or asked Mike Patton, Harris, and Sofia Rei, to not only sing but also write lyrics to music written and recorded by Zorn and from his vast catalog of goodies.  I'm not clear if Zorn chose the songs, or if the singers went through the catalog to choose the music pieces to collaborate on, nevertheless an interesting and well-developed project.

Zorn strikes me as a community.  Which sounds egotistical, but the way it works is that Zorn carefully picks his artists to work with.  None of them are 'studio' musicians, many of them are composers/artists in their own right, but also are willing to collaborate with Zorn and whatever system he puts in place.  Zorn is the producer/composer/arranger.  Still, I feel each singer/lyricist and musician stamps their own identity to the project.  Zorn's aesthetic is not to close down the world, but to open it up to new possibilities and adventures.  It's impossible to pigeon-hole Zorn musically because he is all over the map, and that is very much part of his appeal/aesthetic.  For one to discover him, the listener will have to really put time into it, because his landscape is huge.  Which again, is part of the Zorn aesthetic. 

"The Song Project" is twelve songs, which could easily be one vinyl 12" album, but there is something special about getting up and down toward the turntable to turn the record over, or go to the next 45 rpm disc.  When I hear this box set, I'm hearing an album, not separate twelve songs.   I played all the vinyl in order, but if one chooses to (of course) they can mix it up - but for me, it's a consistent piece from the first single to the last.  There are three singers, and sometimes the other sings harmony or backup to the other.  Same musicians are on all the tracks, and Zorn is set as the conductor/arranger as well as the composer of the music.  The singers are responsible for the lyrics and in most cases sing their own work along with Zorn's music.  Sean Lennon wrote one of the lyrics, and that is sung by Patton and Rei.  There are traces of thrash/noise/rock, but the majority of the pieces are melodic and beautiful.  It's pop music made by adults and a great band of musicians.  

Oddly enough, this box set reminds me of my dad's (Wallace Berman) Radio Either series, which was also a box set of his verox collages.   One can look at them separately as pieces of work, but in actuality, it is one work in separate pieces.  For me, the singles, although separately issued in the box (with each one with a Zorn artwork cover) can be apart from the box set.  It's one work of art, and I think the format of putting them out as singles in a set that's in a box is very much of an object as well as how one approaches the material on this project.   Heung-Heung Chin did the design work, and the backing band is pretty much The Dreamers, who I wrote about before on this blog.  

Steve Reich - "Drumming/Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices & Organ/Six Pianos" 3XVinyl Box Set, 1974 (Deutsche Grammophon)

The ultimate recording from Steve Reich.  Three albums of minimal persuasion and keyboard work that is maximum in scope and sound.   Reich's work is not meditative music, but one where the listener has to sit in front of the speakers and let this aural wash come and take you over. I have to presume that these three albums were released separately, but due to some marketing genius on the label has decided to make it into a Box-Set.  Going through all three albums in one sitting may be tough, not because of the work itself, but each piece is a demanding presence in one's life. For me, it has an exotic appeal, because I think of mallets coming from a foreign island in the Pacific.  Again, what do I know, but that is the visual image I get while listening to "Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices & Organ." 

All pieces by Reich strike me as a pattern.  When I hear this music, I see structures or things being attached to each other.  There is an architectural quality to Reich's compositions.  There's a foundation built, and then he adds textures on top of that landscape, and I feel he's building from the ground and then up to the sky.   I'm sure there is a spiritual aspect to Reich, but for me, it is more about the mechanics of life, as if it was a cycle.  The Four Seasons, Sunday through Saturday, the 24-hour day, I feel all of that is very much part of Reich's aesthetic.  So when you go into Reich's world, you have to surrender 'your' sense of time and be merged into the Reich world. 

Pablo Cassals -"Pablo Casals Conducts Bach: The Six Brandenburg Concertos; Orchestral Suites Nos. 2 and 3" 3 x Vinyl, LP, Album, 1965 (Columbia)

When I listen to this box set of Pablo Casals' recordings of the Six Brandenburg Concertos; Orchestral Suites Nos. 2 & 3, I think not of pictures, but shapes.  Bach's music is very circular, and one can enter and exit from that circle.  What I hear is not passion but an obsession of mathematical systems and the organized culture that is an orchestra or string section.  A perfect balance between the musicians and the give and take at a particular point in the music.

It's shocking to hear someone breathing or even singing along (Glenn Gould style) with the piano.  It's the series of moments where the human essence is felt and not the concept. This is the beauty of Bach's music performed.  It's a chemistry formula that has been tested through the ages and played well.   The other thing that comes to mind is that Bach's music is truly timeless. As I listen, I don't think of a specific age.  To me, it could have been written in the 21st century.   The precision of the idea and the practice of that craft makes Bach an essential experience.

Buddy Holly - "The Complete Buddy Holly" 6 X Vinyl, LP Box Set, Compilation, 1979 (MCA)

The first album I purchased when I got a turntable in the 21st century was Buddy Holly's "The Complete Buddy Holly."  Six vinyl albums that start off at the very beginning of Buddy with the influence of Country and Rockabilly to the recordings he did in New York City, right before his plane accident.  For me, Holly was the essence of modernity.   When I listen to him, I don't connect to a given moment or even place.  There was something futuristic about his vision and songs that I don't think was thought out to a great degree.  He just had that essential genius approach to music.  Also, the Crickets were an amazing band, so he had that fantastic backing to wander the music landscape of his time.  

"The Complete Buddy Holly" is a museum piece, and unlikely a package one is going to listen to in one sitting.  Well, you can, but I think mentally it may be healthier to take it bit-by-bit.   There are even interviews with the great man on the last disc.  I may have miscounted, but I think there are 119 songs in this box set.  That's a lot of work from a young man who died way too young.   If Buddy lived, I suspect that he would be making exciting music until he was an old man.  There were reports that he frequent the jazz clubs in New York during the 1950s, and god knows what sort of influence would have shown up in his music of the 1960s if he lived.   

Strangely, I see Holly as the less-eccentric brother of Moondog.  Both had a sense of minimalism in their work, that's driven by rhythm.  Also, Holly was interested in the recording process, and I think he would have used the recording studio as a separate instrument, in a similar fashion as Eno (but not...).   He was an artist that explored the cultural landscape, and his death took away a talent that I feel was much needed in our world.  "The Complete Buddy Holly" is a collection that I keep going back to, due that it's endless and nothing but beauty left on its grooves. 

Elvis Presley - "The Other Sides: Worldwide Gold Award Hits - Vol 2" 4 x Vinyl, Compilation, Mono, 1971 (RCA)

Since I own and play Elvis Worldwide Gold Award Hits Volume 1, I clearly need to have the four disk box set of Elvis' B-sides as well.  My theory is that the A-side is the conscious side of the music, but the B-sides express the inner workings of an artist.  Both sets are in Mono, which is a must for me regarding songs in the 1950s and 1960s.  There are famous Elvis cuts here, such as "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame" (wasn't this an A-side) and (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care" but it's the songs I don't know that's the fun treasure hunt here. Oddly enough I don't think there is such a thing as a bad Elvis record.   Of course, there are the masterpieces, and then there are the 'others,' but in truth, he never gave a bad performance in a recording.   As mentioned playing the entire 4 album set is a trip to the artist's subconscious. There is always that feeling of regret that Elvis should have worked with David Bowie, or other producers and arrangers.  Alas, that obviously didn't happen.  Still, this is a very impressive collection of music.  Another highlight of the packaging is the inner sleeves show all the Elvis releases on RCA at the time of 1971, the release of this box set. 

Fred Astaire - "The Astaire Story, With The Stars of Jazz at the Philharmonic" 3xVinyl, LP, Reissue, 1953 (DRG Records)

A superb box set of three discs plus booklet.  A recording made in Los Angeles, December 1952, with Jazz musicians Oscar Peterson, Barney Kessel, Charlie Shavers, Flip Phillips, Ray Brown, and Alvin Stoller.   And our Fred Astaire as lead vocalist and tap dancer (or percussion for this album).  Astaire is an iconic dancer of films made from the Depression 1950s to the atomic age 1950s.  He is also an incredible vocalist, and in fact, Cole Porter has commented that Fred is his favorite singer of his songs.   This album exposes that sentiment as well as his role in modern Jazz.   

Astaire sings the classics that he's known for through his various film work, but for the first time, the setting is him being surrounded by Jazz players.  "The Astaire Story" is very much a jazz vocalist album with the additional highlights of him tap dancing as a percussionist of sorts.  What one would think this would have been an alien landscape for Astaire is actually a natural playground for him.  He sings like a great jazz vocalist, who due to his sense of rhythm, totally makes him one with the arrangements on this album.   The gentleman in hand is a sophisticated figure, and this album reeks of sophistication and style.  Brilliant package with an excellent booklet of photos and drawings done at the time of the session.  

Brian Eno - "2: Vocal" 3 x CD Box Set

Brian Eno -  2: Vocal

3 x CD, Compilation, Box Set, UK, 1993

Virgin

This is a very good compilation of Eno’s vocal recordings in one package.  The essential aspect of the box set are the singles that never made it onto the official albums released by Eno.  “Seven Deadly Finns” and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” are important early Eno recordings.  As well as the record he made with Snatch “R.A.F.   The rest of the songs  are pretty much available on his other albums, but I think the key thing here is the packaging.  One who is a fan will want the box set of his vocals as well as the Instrumentals package.  It is sort of like owning and controlling the yin & yang.   So this, basically is a great present for the one who doesn’t have Eno’s recordings.  But I think for the hardcore fan, they would be happy to have the original albums as well as trying to locate the 45 singles.  

If one is on a strict budget, I would settle for the instrumental set, because I think there is a great deal of unreleased or hard-to-find tracks in that package.  The Vocal box set is not that obscure with respect to finding the original albums and recordings. 

Also keep in mind that at first look one would presume that his package would represent the entire early albums, but this is not the case.   Getting the original albums are much more of a desire, because those albums are nearly perfect.  Including the sequencing of the songs, which flows beautifully as an album.  

So in the nutshell, good gift item for the person who needs to hear Eno, but for the fan, I would settle for the original albums.

Brian Eno - "1: Instrumental" 3 x CD Box Set, UK

Brian Eno - 1: Instrumental

3 x CD, Compilation Box Set, UK, 1993

Virgin

The completest that is in my DNA core needs this box set of instrumental cuts from Eno.  Even though I have some strong doubts about his instrumental work in the long run.  Discreet Music and the instrumental parts of Another Green World are masterpieces, but everyone has their peaks and valleys, and although Eno’s work in general is very successful with the music world, I find it a tad conservative. 

It is hard to criticize his work, because it is alway well-made and brilliantly played, but I find the concept or thinking behind the pieces not that strong or consistent.  Although not spoken, and perhaps this is totally from my perspective, I just don’t think he is challenging himself in the long run.  Which is a weird thought when you look at his career on a piece of paper or computer screen, but the first two Roxy albums, and of course the first four solo albums were such a great force, almost a kick in the stomach feeling - where things can never be the same anymore.   But alas, Eno has been dishing out the same material at least in style for a long time now.  There is no doubt that he is border-line genius and often hysterical in his work as well in interviews, but as an avant-garde artist he’s not out there like Christian Marclay or Rutherford Chang and I think someone in his field of interest should be really cutting-edge.  

Of course as an artist he should listen to his inner-voice, but as a listener I am often disappointed with the later results.   Especially the signs of his brilliance from the first Roxy Music to the Obscure record label releases, and now he produces Coldplay…

But still, this instrumental box set which came out in 1993 is an impressive package.   If you are a hardcore Eno fan you would need to own this.