Customer Reviews

Second Sight

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

 

 

Wonderful inspired work by some of the greats of modern jazz. Joining Marc are Bill Frisell, John Scofield, and Peter Erskine. No horns, no keys, just two master guitarists dueling over thoughtful and energetic compositions. This album is different than many albums of the time period because the compositions are so interesting, Marc's time with Bill Evans coming through? Marc has taken the traditional Rock line up and turned it on its head with the two Bass Desires recordings. If you don't own it you should.

If you've never been convinced that a back-cover photograph could encapsulate an album of instrumental performances, take a look at Dieter Rehm's placid beach scene on the back of Marc Johnson's Second Sight (1987). While Johnson's first album with the same line-up (1986's Bass Desires) was an off-the-wall avant-garde surprise, Second Sight, while retaining some of the same textures, is otherwise very different. This is a much more cohesive, accessible, thought-provoking, and yes, relatively quieter album that doesn't sacrifice any of Bass Desires' sense of adventure or experimentalism. Second Sight remains the better album for the simple reason of more memorable compositions and atmospheres. Which of course begs the question, "Why is there a lone helicopter over the ocean on the front cover?"

The vigorous drumming of Peter Erskine and the howling guitar trade-offs of Bill Frisell (left-channel) and John Scofield (right-channel) mark "Crossing the Corpus Callosum" as a continuation of the previous album. The beach seems very far away in this musical depiction of a futuristic landscape, featuring many of Frisell's special effects and Johnson's long bowed notes on the bass. From here on out, the sonic atmosphere changes radically, with Frisell's following "Small Hands" being a gently picked largo. Erskine's "Sweet Soul" is one of those magical moods you wish could last forever: somewhat reminiscent of the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows", Scofield takes the first verse, Frisell the second verse, and both join together on two choruses for this album's most soulful (naturally) track. Before anyone thinks this has become an easy-listening album, Scofield's "Twister" and "Thrill Seekers" restore order with twangy guitars, rock'n'roll cliches ("Twister" is almost the album's "hit single", a satirical take on Kenny Loggins' "Footloose"), offbeat drumming, bizarre basslines, and much soloing. Johnson, who never dominates the material, takes his first solo on "Thrill Seekers", which fades with more of Frisell's loopy effects. "Prayer Beads" is entirely a solo piece for Johnson, with a performance moving from leisurely to energetic. Listen to the double bass's strings snap against the fretboard in a resonant recording studio (credit: Rainbow/Oslo). "1951" is a much more typical Frisell composition (quirky/countryish) with stops and starts, bends, slides, a wandering bridge, and subtle percussion from Erskine. The album closes peacefully with Johnson's "Hymn for Her".

Before recording this album, Johnson had guested on John Abercrombie's masterpiece Current Events, and many of the same ethereal atmospheres on that album appear on this one. In spite of the wild contrasts, Second Sight is a lot more beautiful and a lot more "just plain fun" than Bass Desires, and is highly recommended to fans of all the players involved. In 1998, Johnson and Frisell would record an album called The Sound of Summer Running that attempts to be an aural sequel to this album, but falls just short. It's on the Verve label, and has Pat Metheny replacing John Scofield, and Joey Baron instead of Peter Erskine.

Now this was oen huge disappointment. Do not get me wrong. I love Frisell and I completely agree with the other reviewer. It is simply that I was so blown away by the first bass Desires that I expected much much more. Also Bill Frisell has been associated with so many exceptional records that a very good record is simply not enough.

I love John Scofield's guitar playing don't get me wrong, but the way he arranges his compositions aren't quite up to par with Bill Frisell's. First of all, look at what Bill Frisell has done in the past 20 years, and then look what Scofield has done. There's really no contest. Bill Frisell is one of biggest things to happen to jazz guitar since the Pat Metheny explosion in the late 70s. Like Pat Metheny, he plays unusual music, but what he's playing really works. I can't say the same for Scofield, because it seems he hasn't really pushed himself into anything experimental or exploratory, in fact, Sco hasn't really gone in a new direction at all. Sco has always stayed where he was at, which is okay, but I don't really feel inspired when I hear him play. Scofield is an exceptional player, but when it comes down to it, Bill Frisell and Pat Metheny are so much better at what they do then Scofield is at what he does. A good example of Bill Frisell pushing himself into ackward and new musical situations would be his collaborations and work on John Zorn's Naked City projects. I mean that is some of the most dissonant and absolutely insane jazz music I ever heard. Frisell has also been on more records than Scofield, and probably Metheny as well. If you don't believe me go to Bill Frisell's website and look up all his session work. That HUGE list will give you a little insight at what this virtuoso has been doing.

Now on to the review of Marc Johnson's Bass Desires "Second Sight" album. This is the second album by this group and I must say that I'm more impressed with it than the first, but it's hard to forget the unforgettable opening song on the first album, "Samurai Hee-Haw." That's a really good song and both Frisell and Scofield really sound great together. The music on this second album ("Second Sight") showcases the two players better I think than the first. They also seem to have a little bit more room to stretch composition wise. My favorite song on this album is "Small Hands" composed by Frisell. It's a very hauntingly beautiful song. It's this side of Bill that I love to hear more than anything.

I can't go on about this music. I just hope that however buys this album, that they have at least more than one Bill Frisell albums.