Customer Reviews

Nine Short Films

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

 

 

Terry Bozzio is an incredible musician, a man who own a special talent. He's a true artist, a perfectionist behind the drums and a man with his own sound and distinctive musical personality. You can say almost the same things for Billy Sheehan (but please let him play only the bass .. his guitar parts are pretty primitive!!!). But even if these two guys are so great (and they truly are as instrumentalist in this cd too) this project lacks contents in some places. It's not even Terry's voice or lyrics which are disturbing to me, the fact is that the music itself, if you don't consider the exceptional display of technique, is not that great. The atmosphere is dark and psychotic and it's not even this thing that is disturbing. It is in the most simple words I know, that the music is poor. Simple as that. Fantastic musicians, fantastic techniques involved, fantastic drumming, impressive bass work, but poor music. It reminds me of Marylin Manson here and there. So even if Terry is in my opinion the overall best modern drummer and listening to his drum work (ven here) is a pure joy, I wouldn't buy this album in your place. It's not a big thing. You can find good moments here andthere, but probably they're not enough to justify your purchase. I hope to find some other projects with Terry involved as good as were Sex and Religion by Steve Vai, or Guitar Shop by Jeff Beck. Or even the album from Torn (Polytown?, I can't remember the exact title). Drumming provided by Terry, music provided by great music writers.

This is one that truly gets better with every listen. I admit I hated the grunting of Bozzio when I first heard it. After a couple listens however, it grew on me. Drums are awesome as expected from Bozzio. Melodies and guitar work are awesome as expected from Sheehan. Some very interesting poetry, though I needed to read the cover to find out many of the lyrics. I would recommend that you listen to 'Tornado Alley' and 'Live by the Gun' before dismissing this album. I know I'm glad I did.

With the talent on hand for these sessions the next masterpiece of progressive and challenging music should have been delivered and I should be writhing in joy and listening repeatedly with abandon just struggling to find the right adjectives and hyperbole to properly describe the joy that is Bozzio/Sheehan. Oh, I'm looking for the hyperbole all right, it's just that I can't find enough words to express my extreme dissappointment with this, uh, effort. All right, maybe it's not quite as bad as all that but it ain't good either. Muscically it's everything I could want (and much more). It's challenging, surprising, beautiful, progressive. But for crying out loud, why on earth did Terry decide to sing!!!!???? He's awful. His delivery's awful. His phrasings are awful. He delivers the vocals in sneering, gutteral, whisper which is completely distracting to the music. I've tried over and over to listen to more than one song in a row from this work but Terry's voice and delivery is just so grating. Everytime I put it on to try just once more to give it a shot I just end up curled up in a ball and screaming AAAAGGGGHHHH!!! I'm gonna sell it to a used CD dealer tomorrow. God, I can't wait. Then I'm gonna run right back home to order another Lonely Bears CD or anything where Terry just plays drums and leaves the singing to someone more qualified.

Musically this disc is actually good.I've always liked Bozzio.The problem here is the spoken-word vocals.It ends up sounding like a rock version of hip-hop.If there were no vocals and maybe some guest musicians this could be really good.I've tried to listen to this and just ignore the vocals , but it's difficult because they are way up in the mix.The drumming is excellent as usual and Sheehan also is very good, but overall the musicianship can't make up for the mix or the overbearing talk-vocals.Next time hire a singer who can add another musical element,rather than detract from some good ideas and rhythm work.

Sadly, Terry Bozzio makes the mistake that many talented players make when doing their own albums; he opens his yap. The playing and production on the album is first rate, as would be expected from these two, but the songwriting and vocalizing (it can't really be called singing) is mediocre at best. Nevertheless there are a few tracks that are fairly listenable and if you're in the right frame of mind the album might grow on you. Were I to do it again, I'd just download "Finger Painting" and "Sub Continent", enjoy the sound of two incredible instrumentalists, and be done with it.

Wow. I just happened to stumble upon this CD. At first, I wasn't sure if I'd like Terry Bozzio singing, but then I remembered some of Frank Zappa tunes he sang, and listened to it. As always, you will NEVER get disppointed for how creative his drumming is(even when he played w/the Knack-I saw them live at Slim's in SF, and he was Mr. drum clinic.)

To top it off, with Billy Sheehan! Wow! Just say him w/Niacin (w/ Dennis Chambers) and he shreds, smokes and also plays melodically, instead of just whacking at his bass.

As the author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent" and a former radio disc-jockey, I am often asked to write and or discuss various recordings from the 60's and 70's.

Terry Bozzio's drumming has been described as extraordinary, complex, tasty, unique, and without limits. All these accolades are true and more.

Whenever Terry is part of a project (Especially Frank Zappa and U.K.) it is imperative to check out every note on the recording several times.

"Nine Short Films" with Billy Sheehan (Guitar and bass) may be the most frustrating album Terry has been associated with. His playing is terrific but there are some inexplicable events that unfolded as the project came to fruition.

Terry decides to sing and while asking every vocalist to be Lennon, McCartney, Greg Lake, Jack Bruce, or Art Garfunkel would be a fantasy but requesting at least competency is a given right.

The tale unfolds a bit more and gets worse. There are songs that have the vocals mixed so high they actually distract the ear from locking into Terry's drum parts. Since the lyrics don't come close to the music we can't even justify that the words make up for the inadequacies of his singing.

You have been warned. If there is an exercise that enables the ears to only concentrate on the drums, count me in!

If ever a recording needed an adjustment, it is this one. Keep the music as is but reissue it as a karaoke version.


Enjoy the music and be well,
Craig Fenton
Author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent"

When two over-talented musicians meet they don't always do great stuffs...but here they do!
The music is like a long dark trip in a boosted crimson court.
Ok the singing-the whispering-is quite weird at first, but it really is like a narrator softly inviting you to follow the music stream, and taking you deeper and further into Bozzio's twisted brain(that guy is a martian!).
Think about it as a Lynch or Cronenberg or horror movie soundtrack.
Don't miss the opening, don't turn it off before the end!

Musically this disc is actually good.I've always liked Bozzio.The problem here is the spoken-word vocals.It ends up sounding like a rock version of hip-hop.If there were no vocals and maybe some guest musicians this could be really good.I've tried to listen to this and just ignore the vocals , but it's difficult because they are way up in the mix.The drumming is excellent as usual and Sheehan also is very good, but overall the musicianship can't make up for the mix or the overbearing talk-vocals.Next time hire a singer who can add another musical element,rather than detract from some good ideas and rhythm work.

Unfortunately, the "singing" is needed to add melody to an otherwise monotinous album. Nevertheless, very, very nice chops.

I couldn't listen to more than four songs.