Albert Ayler - Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe (6 tracks) +Album Reviews

I dont see what the big deal is

edcerc | 05/09/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I recently picked up this album even after hearing the overwhelming amount of bad press. All i can say is that i dont see what everyone is so worked up about. Aside from the hightend production value provided by impulse this cd is just another link in the progession of a true genius. I happen to think that mary maria complements this album pretty damn well. I think that she does a good job of imitating the vibrato of ayler and blends in with the spirit and texture of the album. I have heard some people compare her performance to yoko ono and that shows where people are comming from. If your attempting to compare albert ayler to the beatles your point is flawed from the start. No matter how "out there" the beatles got, how can you compare a catchy rock band to a free jazz spiritual powerhouse like ayler. The thing that surprised me was that allthough his music at times goes in a slightly diferent direction than classics like spiritual unity and others, was that the majority of this record is high energy free jams. Just cause it has vocals people seem to miss the merit of this recording. How could any one say that he sold out? Just cause the last song has a blusey feel to it? Ayler sounds great on every song and his tone is as expressive and honest as it ever was. This might not be his best work but it is still a highly moving stop in his musical and spiritual development. If you already have gems like spiritual unity, spirits, etc i dont see why you wouldnt pick up this enjoyable record. It may have a slightly diferent feel but it is not at all out of character."

Putting musicians in bags...

nadav haber | jerusalem Israel | 08/31/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It is for the listener's convenience to have the artists he loves repeat themselves endlessly ? If you loved Kind Of Blue, why did Miles have to play Bitches Brew ?

Ayler created a sensation with his Spiritual Unity, Albert Smiles type of recordings - indeed they are great. But after he had done them, why couldn't he experiment with new directions ? Ayler's attempt to be more relevant in his community is understandable, and the music that resulted is interesting - blending his huge sound with different backgrounds - testing the effects of these new combinations... If I had to choose one or two Ayler albums this would not be the one, but I am happy to have this other side of Ayler to listen to and learn from."

The 'Yoko Ono' analogy is dead; let's drop it and enjoy thes

Sambson | North Carolina | 04/28/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Anyone who compares Mary Maria Parks' vocals to Yoko Ono is absolutely tone deaf! Get real people! This woman carries a tune just fine, where Yoko Ono doesn't carry a tune in her luggage (or at least she CHOOSES not to)! If you want to hear some "out there" jazz with truly difficult vocals you need to listen to Sonny Sharrock's wife Linda belt it out on MONKEY-POCKIE-BOO or BLACK WOMAN, from the same year as HEALING FORCE. Now THAT's controversial vocals! Undoubtedly, "Drudgery" is the highlight here, but "A Man is Like a Tree" sounds like a revisitation to "Dancing Flowers" territory with vocals; and what's wrong with that? "Masonic Inborn" is interesting for sure, but 12 minutes of double Free Jazz bagpipes could be considered trying for some; though the end is quite nice. "Island Harvest" is a little twee, with it's poignant lyric of "Is all your work in vain? Is life a losing game? You only reap just what you sow" it definitely feels spookily apt on the final recording before Ayler's death. "Oh, Love Of Life" is an intruiging departing shot, that leaves us to wonder where Albert might have gone had he lived; Mary sings better than Albert on this session (while he sings better on NEW GRASS) but it's refreshing to hear his voice. The title track is a great beginning to an album of fledgling experiments, yet this is not a masterpiece for first-timers to taste, but a buffet for die-hards, of all the directions Ayler might have continued to refine and explore. By the way, why is it EVERY time a musician has a new relationship with a woman, SHE gets blamed when he changes direction? How short-sighted, demonizing and stereotyped can you get? You're not giving any of these women a realistic chance AND your implying some fairly rude things about these men's supposedly infantile character and their creative process. The list of women who've supposedly 'derailed' careers is getting absurdly long at this point; Yoko Ono, Alice Coltrane, Mary Parks, Betty Davis... The 'Yoko Ono' analogy is dead people; let's drop it and enjoy these fledgling experiments.

"

Marred by Mary Maria

Jessamine | Free, USA | 03/03/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Recorded in late August of 1969, "Music is the healing force of the universe" is quite a mixed bag.

The first song on the album is the title track, and the music itself is fantastic. Bobby Few's distinctive style provides waves of tinkling piano and Albert's playing is emotionally moving and at times raw. He takes several trips into the upper register. Muhammad Ali provides a spectacular underpinning for the music. However, that said, Mary Maria's vocals nearly ruin the piece. What was Albert thinking? Blinded by love? I just can't find anything enjoyable about her singing.

Some singers are really good at taking relatively shallow lyrics and make them sound important. Take for example, the somewhat vacuous lyrics of "Tupelo Honey" by Van Morrison: "You can take all the tea in China. Put it in a big brown bag for me. Sail it right around the seven oceans. Drop it smack dab in the middle of the deep blue sea. Because she's as sweet as Tupelo honey. She's an angel of the first degree. She's as sweet as Tupelo honey. Just like honey from the bee." Just like honey from the bee? Seriously? Yet when Van Morrison sings this stuff, he somehow makes it seem profound. Mary Maria on the other hand, manages to take relatively shallow lyrics and make them even more empty.

Of the songs where Mary Maria sings, the title track is actually the most appealing; in fact, I can enjoy it if I tune her out (which is hard at first, but gets easier after repeated listening). The two other tracks she sings on, "A man is like a tree," and "Island Harvest" are downright awful. On "Oh! Love of Life" Albert himself provides the vocals, and although I don't find his undulating, wide vibrato, saxophone-like vocals offensive, I don't find this song interesting or compelling either.

The second track, "Masonic Inborn Part 1" is perhaps the reason that this album is worth owning. "Masonic Inborn" finds Albert Ayler on bagpipe (!) (actually two bagpipes, overdubbed) with the ethereal accompaniment of Bobby Few's piano and the free drumming of Muhammad Ali. This is fantastic stuff - I would have been happy with a whole album of free-jazz bagpipe songs!!

The final track on the album, "Drudgery" features a straight-ahead blues chord progression and a steady rock beat. Although it is fun to hear Albert play in this context, and he is quite competent in this setting and even stretches it out a bit toward the end of piece, I can't get very excited about the music. Coming after three downright miserable tracks, the piece doesn't have to be very good to exceed expectations - and it does manage this. However, after repeated listening it becomes increasingly tiresome."

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