Customer Reviews

Later That Evening

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

 

 

When I heard Eberhard Weber live in 1980, it changed my life. It was the most incredible music I had ever heard, and I've been a huge fan of his since. This music surrounds you with its beauty, a blend of traditional European classical music, American jazz, and ethnic rhythms. From moments of sublime simplicity to all out "blowing", each piece seems to be logically linked to the next, like four movements of a larger composition. And producer Manfred Eicher and the ECM crew can create a sound like nobody else. Turn it up loud, and listen to the whole CD . . . again and again!

The thing about Eberhard Weber's music, including this release, is that
you have to LISTEN closely. You don't catch it all the first few times.
And then - it all makes sense, like a perfectly crafted story, with subtle
details, twists and turns, leading to a logical ending. Listen for the
very subtle (but DEFINITE) voices in "Carwash" about halfway in that re-
appear after the initial voices at the beginning; almost WHISPERING, as if
they're up to something no good. And such ATMOSPHERE, almost like a
soundtrack. So eerie, beautiful, and brilliant. In the title track, listen
to the way Weber ties it all together toward the end with Lyle Mays'
gorgeous piano work. It's a beautifully constructed recording all the way
through, as is one of my other favorite Weber releases, "The Colors of
Chloe", which is a benchmark early ECM classic and an incredible debut for
Weber on ECM. Brilliant art of the highest order. I've listened to both
recordings hundreds of times. Bless you Manfred Eicher for ECM records,
which became a very important part of my life years ago, and still is.
Like many of Weber's other ECM releases, "Later" is a masterpiece.

Tracks 2 and 4 are standout selections on this CD. Webber and company (McCandless, DiPasqua, Frisell, Mays) play with true emotion swelling to free flying highs as well as intense quiet moments. The production quality is outstanding.

This is a wonderfully weird album, full of sonic images and impressions rather than songs with clear verse, chorus and bridge. Eberhard Weber uses his bass mostly as a lead instrument, so there occasilnally seems to be something missing in the rhythm section.

For once without long-time collaborator Rainer Bruninghaus on piano, Weber brings in Lyle Mays to provide, according to the CD sleeve, mere 'piano'. But there are many synthesizer effects permeating this album, for which I assume Mays is entirely responsible. In places, this CD sounds much like the Metheny/Mays work entitled 'As Falls Wichita ...'. But with reedsman McCandless blowing oboe, soprano sax and english horn, don't expect the resemblance to be total. In other places, McCandless sounds closer to John Surman on Miroslav Vitous' highly recommended 'Journeys' End' CD.

This album provided a recruiting ground for Lyle Mays' first solo album: Bill Frisell's excellent guitar work was signed up for that 1985 debut.

This album needs a lot of listening, and the reed-playing may grate on the ears of say, Metheny fans expecting smooth, straightforward tunes. But the album is well worth the effort.

Sorry, folks, I don't like to attack fellow reviewers in order to make a point, but this album--a fully developed, beautiful piece of work--is worth a listen, without preconception. In fact, its worth 500 listens. This album was life-changing for me, as well, and I still hear new things in it, almost 30 years later. This is not "ambient" music nor is it "As Falls Witchita, So Falls Witchita Falls II" as one reviewer suggests. In fact, it doesn't owe much to Metheny's sound, except to say that Lyle Mays plays keyboards on the date. I'm quite confident that Metheny would say that Weber influenced him, and not the other way around, although musicians of this caliber often cross-pollinate with ideas and inspiration. Frisell's guitar work is a real standout here. It leaps, soars, deeply accents and cuts with laser clarity throughout. Other reviewers would evidently be surprised to hear that even the open sections have actual chord progressions beneath them, out of which flow some exquisitely crafted solos. Mays' shines here, too, and engages in some remarkable ensemble playing. Four separate tracks, but I always heard this album as one piece, with four movements. It works on many levels and its worth your time, your money and your listening.

It is like listening to a Samuel Barber piece in slow motion and getting a deeper glimpse of all the under-currents that create the emotional upswell it evokes. Worth listening to the half dozen times it takes to get it. Beautifully haunting tunes, the rich timbre of McCandess' Mariano inspired Coltrane-esque solos, great group interaction, Frisell's early comping (which hints of what is to come later with Paul Motion) and Eberhard Weber's evocative playing all contribute to this masterwork.

I've been listening to this on and off since it came out in 1983, and it remains one of my favorite recordings. Listeners expecting a standard jazz format (head-solos-head) may be disappointed, but I find it very rewarding listening on its own terms. The compositions evolve over long periods, with the 'theme' generally stated near the end rather than at the start, with the exception of Mauritius, where the melody occurs closer to the beginning. One of many things I love is the contrast of the spacious piano-guitar-horn playing with the propulsive ride cymbal in 'Death In The Carwash.' Very cool.

Contrary to the other reviewer's claim, I'm pretty sure Lyle Mays knew Bill Frisell well before this session, and at least some of the effects are not Lyle. For example, the layered trills near the climax of 'Death In the Carwash', are multi-tracked winds - I heard this from Paul Mc Candless himself. I have a hunch the other 'effect-like' sounds are made by Eberhard and Bill. Wish I could have heard 'em live (they did some concerts in Europe back in the day).

I couldn't disagree more with the two star critic below. Both "Mauritius" and the title track are quietly beautiful-simple, yes, but certainly neither free nor lacking in coherence. "Mauritius," especially, builds gently and evocatively behind Mays simple lines; "Later that Evening" shows Weber's beautiful bass sound at its best. "Death in the carwash" (which, for the record, opens not with German but English played backwards -one of the advantages of having the vinyl original), and heads in a definite, climactic direction. It is, as one of the reviewers writes, much more akin to Metheny/Mays' "As Falls Wichita." As always, Weber's compositions are interesting and imaginative, displaying that unqiue ECM blend of European classicism and modern jazz.

I have loved these guys in other recordings (Weber, Colors of Chloe; Frisell, many albums; Mays, with Metheny and Frisell; McCandless, with Oregon), so I was disappointed to hear them mostly not connecting here. Other reviewers have called it a masterpiece, but after 3 listenings I just can't hear it. If you're looking to buy this album for its "Dream Team" line up, think twice.
NOTE: after about 20 listenings I am liking this album more and more. Most intriguing is Mays's playing. It reminds me of some 20th century classical composer - can't put my finger on who it is. But I stand by my original review in that this music is not for everyone. If you like Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, and Oregon, you may very well not like this.

Like a report of the weather after the initial downpour, LTE trickles with subtle innovation which, like most of Weber's work, distinguishes itself from the chaff of ordinary Jazz, even if this release tends to drift around an extended tempo-less wind.