Customer Reviews

All We Are Saying...

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm a huge fan of Frisell, have seen him live numerous times as leader and sideman, and have probably twenty of his recordings. This is not one of his better outings.

I gave this one a chance before writing this review, but in the end what we have is faithful readings of Lennon and not much more. Now, Frisell did say that was his intent, to not change anything up and make the tunes unrecognizable or overtly jazzy. To that end Frisell is to be commended. There's not much worse than hearing a bunch of jazz reharmonizations of Beatles tunes. The problem then is, what do you do? In Frisell's case, the idea is that hearing these tunes come through the unmistakeable sound and approach of Bill Frisell (and this band) is enough. Unfortunately, it's not. The problem is not the band, since these guys have been playing together a long time and sound great as a unit. The problem is two-fold: (1) Hearing the melody of a tune stated over and over without any actual singing doesn't merit repeated listening. Actually, there's a name for music like that: Muzak, or Elevator Music if you prefer. Say what you will, but the very first tune here (Across the Universe) sets the tone, and by the third reading of the verse/chorus I was bored. You either do something, or you sing the tune, or you have Muzak. (2) Some of the selected tunes don't work. One of the obvious ones is "Mother". This is such a powerful Lennon performance that a trio reading of it is doomed from the start. There is nothing that can match Lennon's painful wailing at the end of Mother, and Frisell's take (unfortunately) trivializes it with the standard build, build, get louder, more fills - approach. This is one example, there's others.

There are some nice renditions here, with "Please, Please Me" and "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" being my personal favorites. It's too little though to make this a must-have Frisell recording.

As a side note, it would be nice to hear Frisell retire this band. Of all of Bill Frisell's bands this one is the most like a rock jam band. The improvisations are not particularly exciting, and I never expect the unexpected. There's a live recording of Frisell with Brian Blade and Sam Yahel that showed great potential for a new project, yet nothing official has been done. Too bad. Hearing a musician of Blade's caliber pushing Frisell would be a welcome change of course.

I'd like to set the stage a bit...I "knew of" this album because I'd seen ads announcing its arrival. I heard it by accident. I was in a local bookstore and heard a sort of Windham Hill-ish version of "Across The Universe" being played over the sound system, but it had more teeth than the usual new age fare...some nice pedal steel (REALLY nice), a very dynamic (but not overpowering) presence to the drums (Ringo played a MUCH bigger part in that band than most people realize).

That was followed by a loose, amiable version of "Revolution"...made me think of the Grateful Dead's inclusion of the song in some of their later-period concerts. At this point I'm thinking "OK, it's some kind of Beatles tribute CD." As the song progresses, it ventures off into an almost jazzy western swing kind of vibe. Now I'm thinking "Who IS this?"

As a Beatles purist, in the overwhelming majority of instances, I feel that Beatles music is best left to The Beatles. There have been some admirable spins on the legacy here and there, but more often than not, a cover version of a Beatles song makes me want to pull out the original and have a listen.

You're then almost a minute and a half into the next track before the melody line of "Nowhere Man" reveals itself...the setup is somewhat like "Tomorrow Never Knows" from "Revolver" mixed with more of the pedal steel and a sort of cosmic cowpoke New Riders of the Purple Stage sort of rave-up. Once it kicks into the melody line, it remains a mix of genres, and around the three and a half minute mark, the musicians veer from the strict melody again into a nice improv. Now I'm really paying attention.

"Imagine" is up next, and that's a tough song to cover, especially in light of the many versions (including a nice one by the late, legendary Chet Atkins). It's a little bit slow for my tastes...I'd like to have seen the tempo picked up just a bit.

"Please Please Me" is next...a jump back to the Fab Four days. The version's a bit like tough elevator music...much louder than anything you're ever going to hear between floors, but more of a goof than the previous tracks.

"You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" is up next, and like "Nowhere Man," the song represents a sharp turn in Lennon's songwriting. From the beginning, when he wailed magnificently on cover songs like Arthur Alexander's "Anna" and his own "This Boy," the ache of love ran through many of his best performances. But the Help / Rubber Soul / Revolver era added a bit more alienation, a bit more detachment, a bit more disillusionment. It's a key Lennon track and its inclusion reinforces the taste and judgment that went into the track selection.

"Hold On" is next, one of the many crown jewels of the "Plastic Ono Band" album, and a reminder that Lennon never lost the sweet part of the bittersweet side to his music. The chorus makes you miss the vocals, I think...playing the melody line without them comes off a bit forced, but when the song melts into improv, it's more natural.

What can you say about the next track, "In My Life?" In a career filled with "signature songs," it's almost foolish to call any of them "signature songs." But it's safe to say that if you asked a random sampling of people "What are the ten greatest songs written by John Lennon," this one is going to be on a lot of those lists. The pedal steel is really used to full advantage here, a sweet and mournful cry behind the melody line that just keeps reminding you of what a classic piece of songwriting this was.

"Come Together," like the earlier "Please Please Me," somewhat clears the palate after a course of the moodier, melancholy tracks. This one never really caught fire for me...I felt it dragged a bit and was somewhat forced, like the cover of "Imagine." The musical skills displayed here are impeccable...but at the midpoint, when Frisell does a Larry Carlton take and gets snaky and seductive, it made me think of Larry, but it also made me think that Larry would have handled it with a little more fire.

"Julia" is just as sweet as it should be, Lennon's love song to his mother, just a very relaxed, lighter-than-air track (without being lightweight).

"Woman" has always been the track that hurt the most after John's passing...a majestic, simple, honest yet enigmatic ("Women are the other half of the sky") love song to Yoko, but more importantly, after five years as a self-described "house husband," he proved that he could still write songs with the same power and beauty as his early Beatles hits. Just as the Beatles leaned heavily on "girl group harmonies" in their early songs, the "I loooooove you, yeah yeah...now and forever" refrain was a gut-wrenching throwback to Beatle John...a guy we thought we'd never see again...and as soon as we saw him, he was taken away from us forever. The band does exactly what they should with this track, as they did with "Julia"...they ride the melody and capture the ebb and flow of the original without unnecessary embellishments and especially without "dumbing it down." It's easily one of the strongest tracks on the album.

"Number 9 Dream" is somewhat like "Imagine" and "Come Together"...you can feel the band heading uphill and you want them to shift into second gear but they take the whole ride in first. It's not that it's a bad performance...it's just that when you hear what they did with some of the other tracks, you wish a little of that magic could have spilled over to this track.

"Love" played pretty much the same role as "Hold On" on the Plastic Ono Band album...a light moment between the primal screams and finger-pointing. I'm not convinced that its inclusion here was necessary.

"Beautiful Boy" has long been a critics' favorite from the Double Fantasy album, and obviously a track that meant the most on a personal level to Lennon himself. This one stays close to the melody line but also gets a little claustrophobic and busy in spots. But like I said in the title of my review...the creative forces behind this album were rolling the dice and taking risks, and I'm not going to slam them for that.

"Mother" is the real jaw-dropper of this set, the one that makes you see Frisell as "brave" for even attempting it. There's an effort to mirror Ringo's stark, minimalist drums from the original (pause, WHOMP, pause, WHOMP, etc etc etc). As the song opens, it's much like any other song on the album, following the melody line. But as it opens up, something's gotta replace those primal screams from the original. What we end up with is a sort of Stevie Ray Vaughan rave-up, the Hendrix side of Stevie, letting the rhythm section drive the song, occasionally matching their punches and occasionally kicking back (think "Life Without You" from his Soul To Soul album). THIS was the track that made me finally walk up to the counter and ask "WHO IS THIS," and when I saw that it was Frisell, I smiled and thought "THIS took GUTS."

"Mother" melts into a feedback-laden, sustained version of "Give Peace A Chance," taken at a dirge-like tempo. It works...it's not plodding like the other tracks I described as "too slow." This feels like something Neil Young would whip out at the end of a particularly fierce Crazy Horse set. Tasty indeed.

The album ends with an acoustic and understated "Strawberry Fields Forever"...THIS one would have been right at home on any of the classic, early-period Windham Hill albums, before "new age" became a way to diss music as lightweight and lifeless rather than extol its virtues. At just under three minutes, the song doesn't even come close to wearing out its welcome. It does what it needs to do and it's gone. Think of it as "Her Majesty" at the end of Abbey Road, a sweet little after-dinner mint to send you home happy and filled after a full-course meal.

As I said, I'm a Beatles purist. I had serious doubts about this one. And I've done my best to write an honest, track by track review. My final thought is that it's worth the 71 minutes of your time and the 13 dollars of your money to hear a skilled group of musicians, led by a gifted guitarist, as they settle into the grooves of a flawless, legendary songwriting catalog.

Four rock-solid stars for the reasons mentioned above.

OK -- I know that often my first-listen experiences aren't a true representation of how I'm really going to respond to music in the long run. But I have to admit, I didn't really respond well to my first listen of Frisell's remake of Lennon/Beatle tunes. Firstly -- I want to say that I am a huge Frisell fan and enjoy his past and more recent work. His live performances are fantasic also. His lyrical and melodical guitar work and the sonic and improvisation style is listenable, memorable and enviable. But for some reason it just doesn't seem to work for these Beatles tunes (for me, first listen). I think, in part, these songs are soooo memorable that Frisell's style just doesn't do them justice. Unlike some jazz standards, Dylan tunes, country and R&B reworks, I just didn't find his style to fit the Beatles tunes. I'm sure there's going to be some disagreements with this and it's possible that after a few more listens I might change my mind. If I do -- I'll let you know. But for now, I'd rather listen to East/West again.

The first half of Novemeber 2011 was a particularly reflective period for me. A long-time colleague was killed in a car accident, and on 11th November I went to Ypres to commemorate Armistice on what was the 11th year of the new Millennium.

On the drive home from Ypres, I listened to this CD for the first time. It was wonderful. I should explain that I come to this conclusion (and to the CD for that matter)out of a love of Beatles music and do not have a knowledge of the work of Bill Frisell.

The opening track was "Across The Universe". But as I was driving at the time, I could not read the album information. And so I immediately found myself playing an entertaining game of that "Name That Tune". I was trying to guess which song Bill was playing from the opening bars before the main melody started (sometimes this proved trickier than you might imagine).

The magic of "Across the Universe" came to life in an instant because in addition to the beautiful arrangement and performances, it perfectly captured my mood at that moment. It was understated but hugely enjoyable and brought back memories of the time when I first heard the "Let It Be" album. No need for words as they came flooding back into my mind at once.

And so the album progresses. There are uplifting numbers ("Revolution", "Please Please Me", "Number 9 Dream"). There are reflective numbers ("In My Life", "Hold On", "Beautiful Boy"). And there is pure Lennon ("Mother", "Imagine", "Woman"). All are wonderfully recorded. And for me, at least, they brought back many thoughts and memories/emotions that I would have considered to have been lost had I not listened to this CD.

Perhaps that's where the magic of this recording lies. It's an excellent selection of John Lennon's work. But at one level it makes you listen to the songs again for the first time, triggering the memories of when you first heard John singing the words which are absent from these versions.

If my experience is anything to go by, I would seriously consider giving this CD to someone close to you who has enjoyed the work of John Lennon over the years. I don't think that the recipient of such a gift will be disappointed.

"All We Are Saying..." is a loving celebration of the music of John Lennon. For this project, Bill Frisell plays with long time musical companions Jenny Scheinman (violin), Tony Scherr (bass), Greg Leisz (guitars), and Kenny Wollesen (drums). Together, this instrumental band plays Americana Rock. The song list offers a balance of Beatles and solo work. The eclectic song selection is a strength that includes prerequisites such as 'Give Peace a Chance' and 'Come Together' along with some lesser known tunes such as 'Hold On' and 'Number 9 Dream.' The band works most often with Lennon's slower paced material. Indeed, the group is able to beautifully capture the sentimentality of relaxed songs such as 'Beautiful Boy,' 'In My Life' and 'Woman.' On the other hand, the group can also turn up the heat for rockers such as 'Revolution,' 'Please, Please Me,' and 'You've Got To Hide Your Love Away.' As far as the execution goes, it is solid but straight-forward. The guitar work plays Lennon's vocal parts. Considering what these musicians have done together, the band maintains restraint when it comes to both the performance and arrangements. While there's little innovation, it's still great for what it is. Indeed, when it comes to this material, there's the sense that Frisell and company 'get it.' "All We Are Saying..." is worth listening to for both Frisellians and enthusiasts of Lennon. Bill Frisell plays the music of John Lennon . . . what could be better?

This is not the jazz rendition I was hoping for. Fisell's group never lose sight of the original material, leaning more toward rock & dare I say musak. Dispite my first impression, after a few listenings, I've grown to fully enjoy many of these songs. I loved the Beatles' & Lennon's music 45 years ago, but over time I've rarely put it on (with the exception of Abbey Rd). Now I'm constantly listening to this CD, whistling along, and even woke up the other day with the lyrics of "Nowhere Man" lingering on.

This is awesome! You have to get it if you are interested at all. If you are not familiar with the creative genius of Bill Frissell, this would be a great place to start. If you are already a fan, you have to get it. Listen to it once, then sit and really listen well to it a second time and you will love it! Then you will listen to it a lot.

What would you expect from a great covers album? Pesonally, I expect to relate to the original material, after all I wouldn't want to hear covers of songs I don't love or even like. I don't want to lose the original joy that song had. Secondly, I want to hear something more that's brought in by the artist that's doing the covers. This album does both things. I must admit I was surprised. Frequently covers have the idiosyncracies of talented performer swamping the original tune so that it's totally lost. It might be great muscianship but why call the song by it's original name? We love all these songs and the original melodies are all there to be enjoyed in a new way. A good test for me is that I want to play the album over and over. Nice one.

Bill Frisell is a master. Loved all of these. My favorites: Revolution, Beautiful Boy, and Mother. Production is spot-on, simply played without pyrotecnics, or silliness. Like hearing a group of fine musicians playing in your living room.

I love Bill Frisells music....this cd unfortunately reminds me of a covers band....could be on a cruise ship or a nightclub...beautifully played of course.....but?