Customer Reviews

Rambler

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

 

 

I avoided this cd despite it's great reviews because I always like Frisell's later works from the early '90's. I was wrong. This is a strong as some of his best recordings today. If you are a Frisell fan and haven't heard this cd, you will be pleasantly surprised. It is on par with "Quartet", another great Frisell album.

this cd was my introduction to bill frisell when it was released back in the 80s. rambler still stands as one cd i would take with me if moving to a desert island... it holds up better to repeated listening than almost any other recording due to its haunting melodies and deeply textured atmospheres. imagine two jazz trios performing on stage at the same time - one with guitar, bass and drums - a second trio with tuba, trumpet and drums. now imagine them sharing the same drummer and sounding totally comfortable with each other. that's rambler!

This is perhaps Frisell's finest effort. He has explored a number of styles over the course of his long career, but "Rambler" is so unique, so creative, and so inspired. This is vintage Frisell back when he was making so very bizarre sounds with his guitar. It's exactly this sort of bold experimentalism that drew me to Frisell in the first place.

The writing is uniformly strong: there are some lovely pieces such as "Rambler" and "When We Go", some harsh dissonance such as "Tone" and "Wizard of Odds", and some that really defy categorization such as "Music I Heard", a quasi-march in odd meter.

The other treat is the side men. Kenny Wheeler is in prime form here. His dark tone blends nicely with Bob Stewart's tuba (when was the last time you heard tuba on a jazz album?) and Frisell's legato synth/guitar strangeness. Wheeler's odd solos definitely take things "out", as they say, but in a different manner than Frisell.

The musicianship is outstanding as is the sense of ensemble. There are times when albums feel like the players were thrown together for the session without time to play as a group, but that's not the case here - they play like they've been together for years. Their blend and balance is further enhanced by EMC's trademark "cloud chamber" sound creating a thick, luxurious ambience.

I would put this in the top ten jazz albums of the last 30 years. That sounds extreme, but this is just that good. Rambler is an absolutely essential album not just for Frisell fans, for all fans of avant garde, progressive jazz music. Check it out.

I'd like to start out with an excerpt from M. Richards' review, "I avoided this cd despite it's great reviews because I always like Frisell's later works from the early '90's. I was wrong. This is as strong as some of his best recordings today." I share this sentiment. Frisell has always been a guitar visionary. That written, his music didn't really bloom or mature into consistent greatness until the late 1990's. Thus it's easy to be skeptical about Frisell's second album. That written, "Rambler" has turned out to be one of the most rewarding efforts that I've come across from Frisell's early period. Up there with "Where in the World?," "Rambler" is surprisingly strong. As with much of his early music, it is orchestrally driven. That written, it is loose enough to feel like a proto-Quartet project. Those accustomed to his later discography get immediate gratification with familiar songs. The title track and 'When We Go' are played on the Ginger Baker Trio's "Going Back Home." 'Strange Meeting' is one of the highlights off "Bill Frisell with Dave Holland and Elvin Jones." Despite the album's strengths, it is not a place to begin with Bill Frisell -unless the listener is an ECM junkie. At the end of the day, "Rambler" sounds dated. This is due to the production and performance. That written, this dated quality sometimes plays as a strength. For example, Frisell occasionally employs a synthesizer used by Robert Fripp during the same time period. This wonderfully retro sound is immediately recognizable by anyone familiar with King Crimson's music from the same epoch -think "Discipline" and "Beat." While not a place to begin, "Rambler" is a great listen for the Frisellian who has played out Bill Frisell's first tier recordings.

Can't imagine what drugs Bill was on when he compiled this Album. One star is too many! "Tone" & "Music I Heard" are without a doubt the worst part, but the whole thing stinks! The title tune is bearable. What was he thinking?