Sacred System: Chapter 2

Bill Laswell | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 16, 1997)
• Original Release Date: September 16, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Roir
• ASIN: B000001Q43
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #251,829 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

4 TRACKS: 1) Thunupa 2) Anuois 3) Purana 4) Akapana

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Slick, Stylish, Ambitious, March 31, 2005

By 

Scott McFarland (Manassas, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sacred System: Chapter 2 (Audio CD)

Laswell is definitely aiming here to channel the spirit of Miles Davis (with a dash of Jon Hassell). Sonically this sounds quite a bit like "Panthalassa" where Laswell remixed some classic Miles moments into something slick, digestible, and in my opinion inferior to the original. This isn't "dub" so much as it is Laswell's take on Miles and Jon Hassell's musics, with his own rhythmic style thrown in. ("Anubis" sounds explicitly like Laswell's remix of Miles' "Black Satin", it's exactly the same rhythmic concept.)

Given that this is new music, I am able to judge it on its own merits and not in relation to the greatest recordings of recent history (whereas I judge "Panthalassa" to be a waste of money). There's a lot to like here. The beats and bass are sublime. As a collection of rhythm tracks, this is up there with "Ekstasis" as a master work. Structurally though, the pieces drift too much (they're too static, they go nowhere over too long a time). Less than much modern electronic music, but too much for this to be called great.

It's pretty smooth and pretty interesting, though.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Add a dash of...something, December 9, 2005

By 

Stargrazer "the lost mixtape of my life" (deep in the heart of Michigan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Sacred System: Chapter 2 (Audio CD)

Very good by conventional music standards -- deep, rich, rhythmic, well-engineered and superb as background music for parties, studying, or turning inward. If you are bored with mainstream (or even the top layer of underground) music, check this out.

But, as alluded to in other reviews, a bit homogenous for Laswell. He has a killer formula, but it's still a formula.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, July 25, 2009

By 

Lovblad (Geneva, Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sacred System: Chapter 2 (Audio CD)

Again Bill Laswell has released a splendid new record. This is the second Sacred System release. This time again it draws heavily on Miles-Davis type trumpet solos a little like Miles in his 70's period. It otherwise is heavily based on dub and eastern influences. This is beautiful laid-back, trance;like music. Of course he has done this before a few times but it is really one of his better efforts. It is heavily bass-based of course. It is released on ROIR records, which I did not know still existed at this point in time.