Raw Power: Surfacings 1

Trey Gunn | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 9, 1999)
• Original Release Date: November 9, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: First World Records
• ASIN: B0000296SX
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #198,491 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #88 in Music > Indie Music > Dance & DJ > Ambient

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Trey Gunn's third solo release is equal parts free jazz, art rock, and New Age, a riveting compendium of outtakes spanning a decade in the life of an active and versatile musician. Gunn, one-sixth of the rock ensemble King Crimson, inhabits a peculiar region between the electric guitar and the electric bass, tapping rich musical reserves in styles and octaves most people never think about. Using the Chapman Stick and Warr Guitar--instruments played with two hands on the fretboard, piano-style--Gunn burbles and weaves through a haunting web of moods and textures, putting rhythm first but forsaking neither melody nor harmonic complexity. Raw Power: Surfacings 1 showcases the talents of trumpeter Dave Douglas and percussionist Bob Muller, ebbing gracefully into broad, atmospheric material. With dramatic finesse, Gunn mattes fluid bass lines and percussive melodies against tonal washes and arcing leads that beg favorable comparison with those of Crimson band mate Robert Fripp. Some pieces here may be little more than fragments, but this is inspired stuff, any way you cut it. --Michael Mikesell

Product Description

Multi-instrumentalist Gunn was a new member of King Crimson at the time of this recording - playing a new & unique instrument called the Warr 8-string touch guitar, which has the range of a piano. The music is an extraordinary amalgamation of moods, creating a hypnotic, trance-like state using trumpet, drums, vocals & Chapman stick. Album also features Dave Douglas & Bob Muller.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Should leftovers really sound this good?, July 19, 2002

By 

spiral_mind (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Raw Power: Surfacings 1 (Audio CD)

Trey Gunn: if you know the man's name, it's most likely from his work in King Crimson. His music can almost be seen as a kind of toned-down version of KC without the electronic drums, or any of the evil guitar, or the strange animal noises, or any lyrics, or.. come to think of it, this is almost nothing like Crimson after all. Trey's sound is a richly textured hybrid of world beats, exotic textures and jazz sensibility with some Eno-like atmospherics throughout. The songs here don't have melodies in the way you'd usually think. Instead the instruments dance and weave lines around each other in an ever-changing whirl of notes that still seems to make perfect sense. There's a good ambient aspect to the overall sound, not just on the slowly drifting "One Thousand Years" or the spooky "Anastasis" but all over the place. As you've probably guessed, this is a difficult sound to describe to someone who hasn't heard it. The samples here should give some clue.

Raw Power isn't a conventional album like The Joy of Molybdenum (which would be a great first choice for a newcomer.. or any serious music fan for that matter), but a collection of songs that were either unreleased, hard to find or didn't quite fit on Trey's first two solo trips. Since he's very specific about song selections and arrangements for his formal albums, this project is a good opportunity to take a look at the process itself and the smatterings of extra ideas involved before the final cut. I've never once gotten the impression that he dug up some lesser tunes just to have a new disc to release. "Hard Winds" and "Indira Opening" are strong tunes in their own right, apart from the revampings they received later on. "...White Shirt" and "Hawaii 2 Oh" blend his rhythmic string-tapping with a simple tabla beat and a muted trumpet. There's also an alternate take of "Megrez," which Trey co-wrote and played on for the first Gordian Knot album. (A side note - GK is also an amazing instrumental work. If you like Trey's music you should RUN, NOT WALK to check it out.)

This music is challenging enough to captivate your attention if you listen carefully, yet easy enough to provide a quiet backdrop if you just want to relax.. it's a smooth treat for the ears that never fails to please. Take a listen to The Joy of Molybdenum first, and this will be a fine place to come once you're hooked.

5.0 out of 5 stars El mejor, December 17, 2002

By 

J. B. Fresno (Madrid, Spain) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Raw Power: Surfacings 1 (Audio CD)

Siendo seguidor de King Crimson y de sus múltiples facetas es dificil saber en quién de sus numerosos miembros reside lo que podríamos denominar el "espíritu crimsoniano". Es evidente que Fripp es el alma mater del grupo pero sus discos en solitario distan mucho de traer reminiscencias del conjunto. Oyendo a Trey Gunn, uno de sus miembros más recientes, uno tiene la sensación de estár oyendo ecos de ese espíritu. Desconozco si él es el impulsor de la actual música del rey carmesí o si, por el contrario, se está apropiando de dicha música, para, a su amparo, sacar sus propios discos al mercado. Sea uno u otro el caso, éste, como sus otros 4 discos son expléndidos y, en muchos sentidos, mejores que las últimas realizaciones del grupo.

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars dense rhythmic stuff, January 16, 2000

By 

Raymond Peck "rpeck" (Los Altos, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Raw Power: Surfacings 1 (Audio CD)

A fantastic record, and for me his best. It's spent more time in my CD player than any other record I've bought in several years.