B.L.U.E. - Bruford Levin Upper Extremities
Martin Harper | Italy | 12/06/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Recorded in a variety of locations ranging from David Torn's studio to Bill Bruford's house and Tony Levin's garage, this CD contains about 30 minutes of excellent music plus a similar amount of material that is either experimental or self-indulgent depending on your point of view. The band certainly takes risks, though, and nobody rests on their laurels. BILL BRUFORD (drums) and TONY LEVIN (Chapman stick, basses) both play with their usual skill and inventiveness, while CHRIS BOTTI's haunting trumpet supplies the warm emotional heart of the CD, providing some of its finest moments on tracks such as "Deeper Blue", "President's Day" and "A Palace of Pearls". Time and again, though, it is DAVID TORN (guitars/guitar-synth/loops)who takes the band to the edge with his trademark guitar-solos-from-Mars, and ultimately makes it a worthy addition to your CD collection. Given the dismal reputation of Jazz-Rock as a genre, it seems almost misleading to label this album as such. But that's what it is. Jazz, Rock and the downright avant-garde are on collision course throughout and the result is uncompromising and challenging music that commands your attention. Clearly a descendant of "Cloud About Mercury", David Torn's ECM masterpiece, - it is not for the faint-hearted. Highlight of the entire set, for me, is "Original Sin" - a Bill Bruford composition which begins like a Miles Davis/Marcus Miller number before descending into mayhem courtesy of an extremely bad-tempered sounding David Torn. A great album to punish the neighbours with."
Martin Harper + 1
Robert Carlberg | Seattle | 05/19/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Martin Harper's excellent review (below) is complete, accurate and cannot be improved upon --except for one additional star."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1