Customer Reviews

Round Nut Tool

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

 

 

This is a great CD. I bought it when eighth blackbird performed at my college, in one of the most entertaining and interesting classical concerts I've attended. If you think contemporary classical music is too boring, cerebral or grating on the ears to listen to, this CD will change your mind. My only complaint is that it has only 3 movements from the 13-movement "Thirteen Ways," their signature piece. Until they bring out the whole piece on CD, "Round Nut Tool" will keep me happy.

This is music of the sublime! There is a gothic beauty to this group's singular sound that can only be topped by watching them perform live. I heard eighth blackbird last year in Harrisburg, PA and they were astounding! I eagerly bought a copy of their CD and have been thrilled with the purchase ever since. As an English teacher, I frequently use selections from the CD to use as freewriting prompts in my writers workshops. The students are intrigued and inspired by the unique sound of this contemporary classical group. I look forward to future recordings from the ensemble to use with my classes. Bravo!

I heard the group Thirteenth Blackbird on the radio, and liked them very much. But I was very disappointed by their CD, "Round Nut Tool". The musicianship is excellent, but almost all the selections are seemingly endless repetitions of discordant and arhythmic sounds, rendering the music unlistenable. Music is melody, harmony, rhythm--yes?--all of which are virtually absent here.

The ensemble's most dynamic work, I think, is 13 compositions around the Stevens poem "thirteen ways of looking at a blackbird". Only three of the 13 pieces are included here, and only one of these is anything like what I think of as music. So I spent fifteen dollars on a CD I could barely listen to once--waste of money.