Exploded View [Original recording reissued, Import]

Steve Tibbetts | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 8, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Import
• Label: Ecm Import
• ASIN: B00005BJNM
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,868 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not of it's era, May 23, 2003

By 

andrew ward (Bellingham, WA. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Exploded View (Audio CD)

Mid-80's is its home:
So many jazz (based) CD's from the 80's just sound awful when played back today, due to Synth-percussion or Keyboard programming and a myriad of other tragedies related to that musical era. This CD suffers from none of the above, the acoustic guitar sound (12 string) is very nice and the percussions are layered and powerful.
Certain CD's can be played while doodling around the house or playing chess or drawing or sadly even while reading. This CD however falls into a category specifically relegated to pure listening, perhaps Wine whiskey or scotch in a glass can accompany headphones but that's it. This (statement) is true for a few reasons, mainly because the electric guitar is frequently beautifully obnoxious (fingernails on chalkboard) all variety of feedback and pick-sliding in conjunction with over the top distortion and compression. Frankly, I love it but it cannot be on the player whilst attempting anything else (other than the afore mentioned scotch).
Some of the highlights scattered about the disc are very cool 12 string guitar washes and intense percussion breaks well crafted quiet moments and full throttle attack revolving around "on again off again" guitar mayhem. This is a unique musical experience in that his playing regularly borders on "self-serving showmanship" only to be followed by haunting little acoustic interludes that if not focused on can slip by almost unnoticed (the opposite of self-serving) in that they serve only to expand the mood or enhance the song groove. Tibbetts playing is enigmatic and this CD is worthy of its high praise.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars His most intense??, May 21, 2001

By 

Michael Heminger "pantherboy" (Pardeeville, WI) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Exploded View (Audio CD)

I like to refer to this one as his 'hot' album. Tibbetts and percussionist Marc Anderson created almost all of their works as extended jams that were parceled out into 'songs' for these lp's. "Exploded View" sounds like they took themselves out into the hot african plains and recorded from there. The drums are the heaviest of all the other works, and a couple of female singers add an expansive emotion to the earthy, primal sounds. This is not 'world music' as we've come to know it. The guitar wails and washes are too varied to fit into that genre. Tibbetts' guitar sounds as if it's ripping in from another dimension at times, supplies a gentle atmospheric blanket at others, and drifts into tinkling accoustic sounds at others. This is the best music for playing while driving in the world - pick any album. I can honestly say that his works sound like nothing else I've ever heard - timeless (I've owned this album for 15 years and was playing it on the way to work today) and defying description. If Hendrix had lived and become involved with Stewart Copeland, they might have created works of this magnitude.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant and unique roller coaster ride, May 12, 2001

By 

Nobody important - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Exploded View (Audio CD)

You should all be thankful that someone has decided to re-release old Steve Tibbetts albums. Exploded View is nothing short of amazing. With a compositional style unlike anyone you have ever heard, Tibbetts takes you on a journey ranging from serene beauty to intense catharsis. The interplay of Tibbetts' jaw-dropping guitar work, Marc Anderson's compelling percussion, and several singers who use their voices not to sing lyrics but to sound like a human orchestra, all work together for one of the greatest, and most unique musical experiences I have ever heard. Further listening: Everything Tibbetts has ever recorded. Preston Reed-- Handwritten Notes; Preston plays two-handed tapping, percussive acoustic guitar with enough intensity to make Michael Hedges sound like the new-agers with whom he was often lumped. Blues, jazz, and funk come together beautifully on this one. Richard Leo Johnson-- Fingertip Ship; solo acoustic guitar pieces. Nothing sounds quite like it should, but somehow, it all makes sense. Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenberg and Edgar Meyer-- Skip, Hop and Wobble; experimental jazz done by a group of bluegrass masters. Truly weird, but brilliant. And of course, Frank Zappa's 70's stuff.