Customer Reviews

The Joy of Molybdenum

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the first Trey Gunn CD I've heard and I think it is fantastic. I became aware of him through his work with King Crimson. I was very impressed the two tracks I downloaded off his web site,so I figured I'd get the CD. It was worth every penny. All nine tracks are wonderful, and not only is there great variety within every song, but each is quite different than the other. It makes for a enjoyable listening experience from beginning to end.

Although there are moments of some tracks reminiscent of Crimson, on the whole the flavor and feel is significantly different. Extensive use of exotic percussion instruments by drummer Bob Muller give it an almost world music feel at times, but then is often punctuated segments of heavy, driving drums. The musicianship of Tony Geballe and Trey Gunn is phenomenal. I highly recommend this CD (six stars!).

With _The Joy of Molybdenum_, Trey Gunn expands his sonic palette while retaining the odd-meter funkiness of his most previous new-material release, _The Third Star_. While both _Third Star_ and the earlier _1000 Years_ featured Gunn's low-end acrobatics (punctuated with upper register tapping and buzzing and propelled by percussionist Bob Muller's first-meets-third-world drumming) much of Molybdenum pulls the ear to the mid range to hear new band member Tony Geballe's acoustic and electric guitar work.. The result is an album that sounds fuller, less like a "solo album"-reinforcing that this album is not by Trey Gunn, but "The Trey Gunn Band." In some ways this makes the distinctiveness of the music subtler. On _Third Star_ the bony skeleton of "bass" and drum was rather exposed, with very little covering the inventive interplay that made the music so exciting. On the new album, there's more skin.

That skin sizzles occasionally, as in Geballe's acoustic riff that rides atop the first and last parts of track 6, "Sozzle." Beneath it, Gunn's touch guitar burps out a bass line. In the distance, someone's guitar moans in David Torn-like agony. Muller shakes and beats. At other times the skin glistens, as melody maker in the mystical "Brief Encounter"-a slow, chanting piece that evokes a desert mirage, and might remind King Crimson fans of a decelerated "Talking Drum." "Tehlikeli Madde," the album's closer, traverses these extremes.

The disc opens with the title track. Muller begins hammering out a rather complex 4/4, but, as you might expect, that is not quite complex enough for this band. After the guitars crunch in with the main, rocking theme, things are mixed up rather rapidly-an extra two beats here, a couple of measures of 5 there. What makes this enjoyable for the person unconcerned or unimpressed with odd time signatures is that, somehow, Gunn is able to make these changes sound natural, allowing the listener the pleasure of losing oneself in the music without always being able to recall at what point one got lost.

The same can be said of much of the music on this disc, which presents the listener with audible evidence of Gunn's further development. When 1000 Years and the more adventurous Third Star were released, some folks pinned Gunn as a one-man electrified League of Crafty Guitarists (no mean feat!). While the sound that likely inspired that appellation is present on this album (for example, on the "redux" version of "Hard Winds"-the original released on Raw Power-and the track, "Rune Song," with its peculiar, stately trilling in the melody line), there is such a variety of original noises, rhythms, and textures that reducing this music to influences is impossible. Alongside the funky rock are stretches of pushing and pulling atmospheric rhythms. (If you require some comparison to other artists, think of a more agile Polytown.)

All of the compositions (most of them credited to all three band members) are instrumentals, and together conspire to take the listener, eyes closed, to far off worlds of jungles, deserts, highways, outer space, cityscapes, and whatever other locales one has lurking in the imagination. For those who have liked Gunn's music in the past, they will no doubt like his newest. For those who have thought his work too spare, they will appreciate the richer instrumentation here. And for those who have yet to hear the work of this extraordinarily talented musician, The Joy of Molybdenum is a fine place to start.

Wow, this is a really difficult album to describe. The album begins with its killer title track, which just left me thinking, "Cool stuff." It blends swarming Eastern percussion with jagged guitar intonations and instrumental strokes of atmospheric color. Despite being fairly slow, it has a gradual intensity in its arrangements, and intense percussion had me aggressively addicted. The album is heavy on atmosphere, but the music is entrancing and brisk in a way that keeps it from sleepy musak land. Excepting plainly smashing stuff like "The Glove" and its stuttering, stormy power, the relaxing songs are quite exciting on their own just because of the arresting instrumentation. "Gate of Dreams" shows some clever interplay in a passage where acoustic guitars play the same rhythmic phrase at different speeds, their mismatched tempos taking them apart before the faster guitar catches up and brings it together again -- kind of like when one windshield wiper is slower than another (I may be making no sense here). "Rune Song" is probably my favorite, with its moist textures creating a subterranean ambience that builds into some powerful melodies near the end. Middle Eastern influences appear most prominently in the chord selections of "Sozzle" and "Tehlikeli Madde", which are some of my other favorites. But heck, I really like every song.

Despite being the band's namesake, Trey Gunn is not the star here. Everyone dazzles, be it Bob Muller (who plays strange exotic percussion alongside his drum kit) or Tony Geballe (the principle guitar-meister). Between them both is Trey Gunn and his mighty touch guitar, the weird instrument that enables him to dance along with the melodic forefront or build delicious rhythms.

I bet a lot of people are checking this out because of Gunn's involvement in King Crimson's latest manifestation. I think such people will be impressed that the Trey Gunn band excels on its own terms, and it's sure to surprise even the KC fans for its genre-busting approach. The King Crimson connection isn't necessary to be interested either, because I think many people with an ear for ingenuity and fine musical craftsmanship will enjoy this disc.

I got interested in Trey Gunn's Band work through King Crimson. I bought this CD in my preparation for TGB's performance in SF. And both of the experiences, the CD and the concert, have been amazing! Even though King Crimson's influence can be heard, Trey Gunn's music is different from KC's and has a unique sound.
Trey Gunn's music is very rich and beautiful. It can be gentle, but perfused with rocky rifts, jazzy and world music like and it is always surprising and entertaining. I can hear the continuing passionate conversation between the persussions, bass and guitars. Absolutely astonishing. The Turkish sounds of guitar are so seducing.
This is one of those CDs that is on my top ten most listened to list. And every time I listen to it, I rediscover its beauty. Do not let yourself miss out on great music!!!

Trey Gunn does what too few others do musically: effortlessly blend jazz fusion and world fusion. The only other guy who can do this with such masterful ease is Joe Zawinul. With a group of only three--himself, Tony Gaballe, and Bob Muller--he creates unique tunes that tell you here's someone who doesn't confine himself to the usual guitar-bass-drums lineup. Not by a long shot.

Heard here, aside from the conventional instruments, are Tony Gaballe's saz (a Middle Eastern guitar) and all manner of world percussion played by Bob Muller, including tabla, dumbek, darbukka, bendir, riq, and the Celtic bodhran. As well, Trey uses mellotron and theremin for additional flavors that give the music a fascinating feel heard in too few places elsewhere.

If you're looking for something different, unusual, and tremendously satisfying in the realm of instrumental music, here it is.

The ex-Crimson stickman can really make great music with his own band, mixing funk on steroids riffs, soundscape type ambience and exotic percusion to great effect. By utilising the talents of these three musicians, the album is an exciting journey through a complex instrumental landscape.

It sounds like Trey Gunn has finally come into his own unique style. You can still hear the influence of Fripp, but this disc has a very earthy, grounding feel to it. Lots of percussion add to that. Definitely not an easy listen though for someone who has never heard king crimson, fripp or Trey's earlier work

So far, I own four of Trey's albums (this, the Third Star, Raw Power, and Music for Pictures) and this one is his best overall CD, although the Third Star is a close second.

Pretty much every song on this album is a hit. The title track (and first song) start off with some great percussion work while Trey is dropping some eerie harmonics and chords, until about a minute into the song starts the main riff. At this point you realize that this going to be a great CD.

The second sang starts off with some electronica like effects. It's different, but cool when again the main riff hits, which is pretty heavy.

Hard Winds Redux is a slower version of the same song on Raw Power. I like this version than the older version. This one just has much more of a funky groove that makes for a more enjoyable song.

The rune song is probably my favorite song on this CD. It starts off with a very organic feel to it. It is really difficult to explain the layers and complexity to this first portion of the song. Then there is a tempo change about half way through the song where Trey begins with a groovy bass line on which he begins some crazy soloing over. Great Song!

The last song I will mention is Sozzle. This is a high energy song. Definitly one of his better songs.

If you are new to Trey Gunn, then you will not go wrong by getting this CD. All the songs are creative, different and complex. If you already have this CD and are on the fence about any of his other CDs, then I would also check out the Third Star.

If these tracks were songs, they'd be stuck in my head. As it is, when one of these songs jumps out of the mix, I pay attention and start having fun.

Purely instrumental music is great to listen to, because there are no words to get in the way. Sometimes people talk of brain surgeons listening to classical while they operate. This is probably not good for surgical techniques, but listening to "Sozzle", has more caffience than a quad-latte.

This is definite music for headphones, because the dynamics really make this enjoyable when listened to, instead of just sitting in the background. However, as background music, the dynamics make in fade in and out of your attention.

This is not only one of my favorite CDs, it really closely defines what I like about the current prok (prog-rock) sound.

Instantly enjoyable on first play, If you got to hear Gunn through King Crimson then you will like this.Reminiscent of Crimson although more accessable.The percussion is excellent throughout (almost as good as Bill Bruford!).Some stetches of music funk along heavy riffs that reminded me of the music behind long car chases on Starsky & Hutch!This cd will get a lot of play for a long time on my system.Go get it !