Customer Reviews

Before We Were Born

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

 

 

I first got into Bill Frisell in the early 90's, when he was touted as the new Jimi Hendrix who played jazz with the sensitivity of Jim Hall. So I bought this album almost 10 years ago, expecting to hear what Hendrix might sound like 'now' had he lived.

I was not disappointed.

If you're looking for some avante garde ripping, this is a great place to be. An excellent example of the 'downtown' scene in Manhattan at the time...eerie & mysterious one minute, free jamming out the window the next, then bouncing along like a Saturday morning cartoon...exciting stuff.

This effect is demonstrated most obviously by the standout track 'Hard Plains Drifter', a John Zorn 'index card' arrangement (along the same lines as 'Spillane' or 'Godard'), where the band plays a dozen or so musical 'sound bites' (the index cards); one may be country, another punk, another avante garde spooky, etc. The 'index cards' are then shuffled, reordered, and reassembled in the studio to produce an effect not unlike quick, late-night channel surfing in the David Lynch Motel.

Technical/conceptual details aside, its an incendary performance, featuring some of Frisell's best country/punk riffing and some unforgettable, over-the-top drumming by the incredible Joey Baron.

Also not to be missed is Frisell's soaring, gut-bucket blues solo on 'Love Motel', Hank Roberts' virtuosic ensemble playing on 'Pip, Squeak' (how on earth does he keep up with that melody?), plus a ton of intense, creepy scratching & scraping on nearly every other track.

This is a great album if you're into the guitar, early 90's avante garde, or a long-time fan of Bill Frisell. Although not life-changing in the way, say, 'A Love Supreme' is life-changing (so only 4 stars), it simply must be heard to be believed.

When I bought this CD back when it was first released it was a complete revelation. It made me discover both Bill Frisell enad John Zorn. The guitar playing is extremely varied as it would be when I saw them on tour at Montreux. John zorn at one point screamed at the protesting audience: "If you want commercial music, go see George Benson". A lot of people left but it was a fantastic concert or two concerts actually, first Frisell then more or less Naked City. On this record you can indeed hear what would come out stronger on the Naked City records. Very experimental music varying from almost ambient music to aggressive thrash metal, all while remaining very much in the spirit of jazz. The sound is n ot really perfect, being slightly too shrill and should be redone (if it has not been).Otherwise it is a fantastic record...recommended. 6 stars.

Outstanding alternative jazz-rock from the textural master back in rowdier, but still fascinatingly intelligent days, remains vital to this day, often transcending any labels whatsoever.

Before We Were Born is one of Frisell's finest albums ranked up there with "Rambler" and "Gone, Just Like a Train". It shows Frisell during his more experimental stages, back when he was regularly working with John Zorn and Naked City.

There's a wide range of material here from the quasi-Morriconian "Lone Ranger", to the epic "Hard Plains Drifter" (arranged with the help of Zorn), to the strange opening track. Along the way, we also get a nice little suite of tunes featuring some saxophones and, in particular, Julius Hemphill who plays a blistering solo on "Love Motel". As usual, Joey Baron keeps things fresh rhythmically and his soloing on "Freddy's Step" is a treat.

My major complain is the sound quality. The sound is highly compressed eliminating almost all dynamic contrast, the mix is somewhat muddled, and it's just kind of shrill overall. The music is so great that I can ignore this, but I think it's the one fault of an otherwise amazing album.

If you're a Frisell fan and you don't own this already, buy it immediately. If you're new to Frisell, this is a great way to get into his early phase. Great writing, great playing, a great CD.

This was my first Bill Frisell CD and it totally blew me away. So much diversity - and so much unique and inventive approaches to the guitar - and music in general. A must have for any guitar fan out there.

I was lucky enough to meet Frisell a couple of years ago - and I told him that track 7 "the lone ranger" song was the best 7 and half minutes I've heard dedicated to the Compact Disc medium. I meant it then - and I mean it now. That song along is worth the purchase price of the CD.

~Theo

Bill Frisell is a musician's musician. His playing has emotional depth and technical brilliance in equal measure. Ferocious, serene, melancholic, playful... Bill travels through diverse musical territories unexplored by most of his contemporaries. A true original. His skills as a composer and arranger are equally stunning.

This was my first Bill Frisell recording. After the first 15 or 20 seconds of the first track, I had to start it over again. I couldn't believe my ears! The sound was unlike anything I'd ever heard. A huge, cosmic sound. Shattering. I still get chills thinking about it. I find the rapid movement through styles to be a plus, not a minus. It shows Bill's incredible versatility. The one exception is the long Zorn-produced track, which I usually skip (although I am a fan of Naked City).

If you are interested in Bill Frisell, this disc is a great place to start.

Imagine an old movie in which a bunch of folks get together for a barn raising, and then follow it up with a little music and dancing. This disc is like a soundtrack to the apocalyptic version of that movie, where the barn is razed, not raised, and the only hope for mankind is that the musicians can reach a place where music normally doesn't go. Lucky for us, our hopes are not disappointed. Frisell is awesome -- as someone once said, he is a national treasure. I agree with many of the comments from other reviewers here. The first track, Before We Were Born, is jolting in a 'Wow, gotta hear that intro again' sort of way. Hard Plains Drifter evokes 'Ennio Morricone meets Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock after watching Bonanza' to me, and The Lone Ranger is really, really great stuff. The twist on this album is the Some Song and Dance portion (plus the final track, Steady, Girl), which is all great bluesy/jazzy stuff that makes for a bit of a Twilight Zone effect with the other tunes. Overall, just really good music. The kind of music you'd like to bottle and FedEx to the pop star of the month as a reminder of what musical talent really sounds like.