Customer Reviews

Skeleton at the Feast

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This live album is unique to Gary's other efforts. His masterful use of multiple distortion, echo, reverb....etc. devices creates music that you'd never believe came from just one guitar. I play this music when I'm working on my art, it triggers those creative centers and really gets me going.
If you are a fan of spacerock or jazz, or just good unique music, pick this up.

Only recently have I been turned on to the music of Gary Lucas, and I am wholly immersed in his resplendent repertoire. "Skeleton at the Feast" is one of my favorite albums, not just of Gary's, but of all-time. His creations practically defy description with words. One doesn't just hear his music with ears; you experience it within your heart and soul.

This is an album of solo guitars, both electric and acoustic. I've never particularly been a fan of solo electric guitar because I often find it simply raucous. I have no idea how Gary does it, but his guitar sings with a voice all its own, serenading a sweet, psychedelic melody that is like a drop-dead gorgeous woman innocently sauntering by you - you cannot help but turn your head to see if she's for real.

Part of the album is dedicated to the music that Gary Lucas and Walter Horn wrote for live accompaniment to the 1921 German Expressionist film "The Golem." It's all hauntingly rich, stupendous surrealistic music, but one song is dangerously infectious: "The Junker and the Jewess." The first time I heard the song, I was cast completely under a spell under which I never wish to retreat. So sweet, so strange, so whimsical, so innocently devious - all of Gary's quirky but charismatic notes appear to be smiling in unison at their performance which seductively overwhelms the bloodstream. It may be impossible to listen to this song without the score being conducted on the body's muscles. It is that powerful.

"Christmas in Space Medley" is too amazingly beautiful to believe without listening to it oneself. "Bells" is so sweetly haunting, like it really is being broadcasted from space. It serenades the soul to paradise as you obediently follow along the dreamy path that it seems to carve especially for you. "Little Drummer Boyee" comes alive with Gary's special touches of punches of blues or jazz interjected with a brilliant stroke that only he can master. "Are You Experienced" has Hendrix's name on it of course, but Gary makes it all his own not by demanding that you listen but by irresistibly mixing combinations of his own style into the melody.

This is the album that prompted one critic to call Gary "A TRUE AXE GOD." The proof is in the pudding, and this album has been seasoned to perfection. Go ahead -- dig into the fabulous feast. You'll be begging for more.

"5 STARS...Guitarist Gary Lucas...has advanced on traditional Delta blues as well as the high psychedelic ripping fever of Jimi Hendrix." MUSIK EXPRESS, Germany, 9/91

This was Gary Lucas' first solo CD, and it is astonishing. There are some stand-by styles here---a National steel guitar bottleneck instrumental dedicated to Robert Johnson, for example---but the best of this album is based on Lucas' solo electric guitar playing. Lucas has developed a small hive of delays and loops and electronic devices to allow him to set up his own accompaniment to solo over (in a video of his performing, his hands dart from the whammy bar on his guitar to a dial on an electronic box and back again), so that he sounds like two or more guitar players, or a guitarist and synthesiser player, or as if he is playing(in Joe Zawinul's phrase)the native instruments of some undiscovered country. A stand-out here is what Lucas calls his "Christmas in Space Medley," which includes "(Ring Christmas) Bells," "Little Drummer Boy," and Hendrix's "Are You Experienced?" Lucas' work blends musique concrete and minimalist rhythmic insistence with the more usual rock and blues basics. This Electric Lucasland may not be for everyone, but for those who want their guitar music to arrive from somewhere outside the usual orbits, this CD will be perfect.

i love all of gary's music and think it is an extraordinary mixture of rock and jazz and alternative. you appear to be only featuring him in jazz; you should also refer people interested in his music to rock and alternative as well as jazz. this is not so much a review as a request that you carry his records also in the rock and alternative categories because to put it just in jazz does a disservice to his potential audience.

This is the essential primer and building block of the solo Lucas universe. Former Captain Beefheart guitarist extraordinaire blooms out with a dialectic that is exquistely comprehensive and deliciously intergallactic. His delivery and adroit executions are sumptuously sincere and the orbit one rides is breath-takingly memorable. I encourage you to take this flight. The compositions exude textures that range form the traditional to the downright sonically sacred. We're talking about a new grammar here that is seductive and comforting. The recording opens with Mr. Lucas' voice which I find very personal and replicates a sense of the player in your parlour. Robert's Johnson is a nice visitation to a new delta that sounds aggresively eternal emanating from his circa 1920's National Duolian.Hitchcocked ( Herrmann) is lusciously dark and gray and spine tingling. Ride the dizzyness of a cinematic cyclonic. Experience Christmas everyday of the year as you lend an ear to Bells/Little Drummer Boyee/ Are You Experienced?( Lucas/Hendrix); ride the electric Tannenbaum to the outer limits of the Melky Way. The compositions Aguirre( Lacrime Di Re)/ The Sheep Look Up( Fricke/ Lucas) are bouquets of the most fragrant flights. Here we have a piece so richly magnificent that one feels suspended high above a Herzog mountian, or a silver Kinski sea. Syd's Dream is a flavourful circus of 12 string resonances. I love all the compositions and have chosen to highlight just a few for your listening and visual pleasures. The recording closes with music for the silent German classic film by Paul Wegener entitled ,"The Golem" with Walter Horn on keyboards and Gary on various guitars and electronic devices.The atmospheres are filled with irony, surprise and good sonic storytelling. The " Jumker and the Jewess" a personal favourite of mine bounces along with a fresh abundance that puts a smile upon my face. It is romantic and lovely as it honks along. The Golem, a kind of Jewish Frankenstein weaves a mystifying tale of Rabbi Loew who as legend has it fashioned a man from clay to protect the Jewish people from persecution and obliteration. If the Golem came down from the upper room he would surely request a listen to Mr. Lucas' musical platter. PLease take your place at the feast; you won't be disappointed.

This album introduced me to Gary Lucas' music, and I am a follower since 2001. It hasn't aged one bit. I consider this record essential listening.

This is the essential primer and building block of the solo Lucas universe. Former Captain Beefheart guitarist extraordinaire blooms out with a dialectic that is exquistely comprehensive and deliciously intergallactic. His delivery and adroit executions are sumptuously sincere and the orbit one rides is breath-takingly memorable. I encourage you to take this flight. The compositions exude textures that range from the traditional to the down right sonically sacred. We're talking about a new grammar here that is very seductive and comforting. The recording opens with the sound of Mr. Lucas' voice which I find very personal and replicates a sense of the player in your parlour. Robert's Johnson is a nice visitation to a new delta that sounds aggressively eternal emanating from his circa 1920's National Duolian. Hitchcocked( Herrmann)is lusciously dark and gray and spine tingling. Ride the dizzyness of a cinematic cyclonic. Experience Christmas everyday of the year as you lend an ear to Bells/ Little Drummer Boyee/ Are You Experienced? ( Lucas Hendrix); ride the electric Tannenbaum to the outer limits of the Melky Way. The compositions Aguirre( Lacrime Di Re)/ The Sheep Look up( Fricke/ Lucas) are bouquets of the most fragrant flights. Here we have a piece so richly magnificent that one feels suspended high above a Herzog mountain or a silver Kinski sea. Syd's Dream is a flavourful circus of 12 string resonances. I love all the compositions and have chosen to highlight just a few for your listening and visual pleasures. The recording closes with music for the silent german film, The "Golem" with Walter Horn on keyboards and Gary on various guitars and electronic devices. These atmospheres are filled with irony and good sonic storytelling. The Junker and the Jewess,a personal favourite of mine bounces along with a fresh abundance that puts a smile upon my face. It is romantic and lovely as it honks along. The Golem, a kind of Jewish Frankenstein weaves a mystifying tale of Rabbi Loew who as legend has it fashioned a man from clay to protect the Jewish people from persecution and obliteration. If the Golem came down from the upper room he would request to listen to Mr. Lucas' musical platter. Please take your place at the feast; you won't be disappointed.