Customer Reviews

Cloud About Mercury

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

 

 

I bought this album on vinyl back in the 1980s and was thrilled to see it back in print on CD! This album sounds unlike anything else i've heard, including Torn's other work. I can hear Don Cherry's influence on his playing and compositional structure (i wonder if that led to the choice of a trumpeter for a second soloist?). Bruford and Levin do some of their best rhythm section work here, as good as anything they ever did with King Crimson. Bruford's drum sound is especially good... it marked his return to electronic drums after a couple of years of recovery from the Discipline-era Crimson, and Simmons had blessed him with a new, more touch-sensitive kit. Mark Isham is a wonder... very different from the mellow ambience of his soundtracks and Windham Hill work. He really grounds and glues the sound together, providing a coherence often missing from David Torn's playing. I wish he'd join with good horn players more often. But ultimately, this is a David Torn album, and the other three players are there to support him.

And he TEARS YOUR HEAD OFF. On one hand, his experiments with looping, digital reverb and pitch shifting, and other electronic effects still sound fresh today. On the other, he attacks distorted lead playing with the fury of the finest blues. He is one of those players who would rather wring a song out of one note with bends, feedback, and tonal colorations, than comp along to slick bop changes. People compare him to Robert Fripp, but i think it's much closer to Adrian Belew. But frankly, David Torn has a sound completely his own, one of the greatest and most personal voices in jazz guitar in the last 20 years.

Some musicians are so distinctive that often one note is all you need to identify them. DAVID TORN (guitars/guitar-synth/effects) is undoubtedly a member of this small exclusive group. His extraordinary guitar-work has been pushing back the boundaries of what the instrument can do for some years now and "Cloud About Mercury" is his finest recording to date. Although this album was released back in 1987, it still sounds like the future. Torn is perfectly matched by King Crimson's rhythm-section, BILL BRUFORD (Simmons drum-kit/percussion) and TONY LEVIN (Chapman stick), but the real guest-star turns out to be MARK ISHAM (trumpet/flugelhorn/synth) who is better known as a Hollywood film composer these days but proves himself here to be a fine trumpet-player and an inspired improviser. His warm, expressive tone and melodic flair stand out in sharp relief against the occasionally harsh electronic backdrop, providing enough light and shade for the CD to bear repeated listenings. The music might be described as 21st Century electronic Jazz but draws upon all kinds of influences from the Far East to North Africa and South America; from modern-day Classical music to Miles Davis, King Crimson and beyond. Weird time-signatures and alternative scales blend with memorable tunes and passionate improvisation, and the results, while occasionally extreme, are highly atmospheric. Torn composes most of the material but on "Previous Man" and "Egg Learns to Walk" the whole band contributes and the result is a looser, more spontaneous feel as the musicians good-humouredly play ideas off one another. The latter, for me, is the album's high-point-a perfect blend of electronic and acoustic instrumentation which starts out as Jazz but ends up resembling the soundtrack to a Science Fiction movie. Full marks to Manfred Eicher for his crystal clear production which gives everyone plenty of space and perfectly preserves the dynamics. In all these years, I haven't heard another CD that sounds anything like this one. You will love it or hate it but I, for one, think it's time they reassembled this group to record "Cloud About Mercury II".

This is the disc where David Torn really found his niche and his sounds!

Armed with some up-to-date technology for the time (1987), Dave wrote to Bill Bruford (after seeing him play with King Crimson) and asked him if he'd like to try recording, thankfully, the answer was YES! Before long, Tony Levin came into the picture with his Chapman Stick and so did trumperter Mark Isham.

Improvisation plays a major role in this outing although there are some more composed segments, like the brilliant, "3 Minutes of Pure Entertainment" which in reality is several minutes of fiery brilliance punctuated by a snaky unison melodic figure from Torn and Isham.

Torn alone commands a huge tonal palette utilizing a Steinberger guitar and all manner of digital looping and delay implements, plus an improvised koto-like instrument made out of a junky old guitar (used on the opening cut "Suyafhu Skin/Snapping The Hollow Reed", which also features some very unique percolating melodic figues generated by Bill Bruford on electronic drums. Dave lets loose with grand soaring melodies here before charging into an apocolyptic conclusion. "Mercury Grid", another one of the more structured pieces shines brightly as Mark Isham's trumpet is featured heavily here as Dave unleashes and extrudes other-worldly and ghostly chordal swells underneath.

From "The Previous Man" onwards, the pieces are more loose and improvisational with each musician contributing equally, no-one dominating the proceedings. Dave really puts his looping skills to the test here as well as unleashing searing melodies and angry fusillades of noise at times. The disc however does end on a quiet meditative note.

People who had heard his earlier playing (for example with Everyman Band in the early 80's) sometimes compared him to Allan Holdsworth, NOT SO HERE!!! Dave really found his own style and sounds. Listen to this and have your mind expanded!

Wow! ... I believe that Clouds About Mercury is David Torn's best work. I count it as one of the creative avant-garde guitar albums ever and, quite frankly, despite his great work since, I have not heard David Torn reproduce arrangements that are as cohesive and flow as well as they do on Clouds. Bill Bruford is also brilliant on this album. If you like his drumming on the early Earthworks albums, you'll like the amazing electronic percussion that meld perfectly with the melodies and harmonies. Clouds About Mercury is a must-buy for any avant-grade jazz, progressive, or electronic guitar enthusiast. Ordinarily I would give 'good' albums a 3 or 4, but this one is definitely a five.

I bought this on vinyl, when it was first released in 1986. I had never heard anything like it, and soon I'd played the album until the grooves wore through to the other side. It was a great stepping stone that lead from the world of progressive rock into the realm of jazz. Mark Isham's horn work was like faint, echoey memories of Miles Davis from my childhood. It combined so effortlessly with Torn's guitarscapes, the likes of which I had never heard before, and Levin and Bruford provided a rhythm section that was a familiar friend, guiding me into uncharted territoty; expanding my appreciation of aural space. Some 21 years later, I still find this album to be both fresh and refreshing. This recording is the documentation of a rare and successful culmination of seemingly disparate parts, reflecting creative spontaneity and integrity.

David Torn is joined here by a great group of artists: Mark Isham (trumpet), Tony Levin (bass), and Bill Bruford (drums). This is really quite a line up, technically up to just about any music. As a result the musicianship is great. The remaining question is: how good is the music?

Well some of the tracks are really impressive (Snapping the Hollow Reed, The Network of Sparks), some of the tracks are slightly 'off base'. These other tracks (Previous Man for example) are not bad mind you, but not great either. This music is rather like art-rock mixed with ECM-style jazz. It sounds a bit like King Crimson circa 1982 (without the vocals and with a less 'artifical' guitar sound than Fripp used).

Torn played on several of Mark Isham's great records (Tibet, Castalia) but his next solo record was the largely unlistenable 'Door X' (released by Windham Hill oddly enough and now unavailable). After that, I stoped listening to Torn.

Bottom line: I come back to record fairly frequently. Its hard to say why. In an odd way, I like it better after I've listened to it than when I'm listening to it. Its as though my memory strips away the 'filler' and what I remember is the beauty which is partially hidden underneth.

This album is unlike anything else I've heard. The combination of electronic sounds, guitar & percussion is out of this world. One of the musicians plays a chapman stick. I'm not sure what that is, but I'm guessing it is responsible for some of the interested sounds on this album. Torn is very experimental and incorporates spacey licks, feedback, and leverages his whammy bar to create a soundscape that sounds something like futuristic indian sitarists on a mission to Mercury. Despite the experimentation and wide array of sounds, there is good song writing here as well. While I love to listen to experimental music, its hard to listen to it too long if the music is just a random improvisation with no song structure. That is not the case here. I highly recommend this album.

This is an excellent release. Not quite as good as "Tripping Over God" or "Polytown" in my humble opinion, but still excellent nevertheless. David Torn is a master composer and uses his guitar and assorted instruments to make beautiful exotic soundscapes. Highly recommended.

David Torn probably eats Frippertronics for breakfast. On "Cloud About Mercury", Torn is guitarist extraordinaire and primary composer (with just two group exceptions). Make no mistake about it, though - in between the atmospheric intro and outro, this is a group effort through and through. Was it Torn's original idea to assemble this particular collective? Or was ECM just giving him some "business-friendly" collaborative options? Twenty some years after the March 1986 sessions, it simply doesn't matter. This is great music-making that makes for endlessly great listening, not to mention frequent studious inspections of air-worthiness.

Mark Isham was the heir apparent to Miles Davis in the 80's (before any of us really knew who Wallace Roney was), willing to play acoustic (or minimally treated) trumpet in diverse electric settings, showing off his technical panache along with considerable writing chops on projects like his Windham Hill debut "Vapor Drawings" (1983), Group 87 (1983-85), "Stiletto" with Michael Shrieve (and Torn) on RCA Novus (1989), and a small but substantial scattering of releases under his own name on Virgin and Columbia throughout the 90's. Isham was no doubt a co-inspirator to current contenders for the throne like Dave Douglas (who was probably about 23 when this record was made). His crystal clear trumpet smear here in the glare of Torn's eclectic conception stands in stark contrast to some of the movie soundtrack fluff that he would subsequently make, but hey, you gotta put food on the table too, right?

Bill Bruford plays outstanding electronic percussion here and everywhere, but that doesn't mean there's no acoustic kit within ear's reach. His monstrosity on anything he cares to touch continues unabated. The batterie is in good hands anytime Mr. Bruford is in the house. (Never have heard him play piano - does he? He's such an excellent composer in his own right - wonder what he writes on - marimba perhaps?)

Tony Levin is not constantly there in the mix, but when he is, it is a presence to be reckoned with, as usual. There is an otherworldly kind of plasticity to his mega-phat (as in "admirable") low end. Could be the Stick - could just be him. In fact, if Adrian Belew or some other cosmic brother of his were here as well (or in place of Isham), it would be very hard not to call this unit Son Of Latter-Day King Crimson.

Is this a perfect 5-star album? Well, if you're a perfectionist, probably not. But I can't hear anything out of place, no playing that is less than well executed, and no section, solo or ensemble, that does not delight in some way. There's a rugged grittiness to the whole, which is not entirely out of character for ECM ship's captain Manfred Eicher, but that is certainly ballsier fare than we're used to hearing from that label (not counting some Pat Metheny or Terje Rypdal albums. Can I get away with using that word here?). If you dig this platter and crave more of the same, or thereabouts, Stiletto by former Santana drummer Shrieve has him in place of Bruford (turns out fair), Andy Summers of Police-fame alongside Torn (both shred), Isham as noted above, and Scandinavian heavy Terje Gewelt where Levin was (4 stars). For an extra dose of Levin's Stick on display where you'd least expect it, right there next to the late lamented Michael Brecker, check out the final track on the all-around commendable Steps Ahead album Modern Times from 1984 (5 stars).

Reviewed from the original 1987 domestic (US) CD release, which sounds fairly clean to these highly tweaked ears. Guessing that means the freshly re-mastered edition from 2001 must sound immaculate. Can I raise my stars to > 5 once CAM's been re-added to the collection? Apparently I'll try just about anything, as do these four amazing musicians.

After hearing other work by Torn in Everyman Band and with Jan Garbarek I was expecting something on the level of King Crimson "Red." I found jazz and fusion largely through listening to prog rock, especially KC, so this album was personally exciting for me.

The tracks never seemed to get off the ground and get coherence. I found Isham to be a breathy distraction.

Levin and Buford never got their quirky groove on, and after a few listens I stopped trying so hard to like it and moved on to something else. Oh well.