Customer Reviews

Suspicious Activity?

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

As many people may know by now, Sony was recently caught with egg on their face when a security specialist found out that a recently purchased CD (Van Zant: Get Right With The Man) from Sony music not only installed DRM software (digital rights management, to limit and outright prevent copying music to certain devices), but it did so in such a sneaky way that it hid itself entirely from Windows, and opened the system up to security issues such as viruses.

This CD has the same copyright protection, called XCP. When installed, Sony hijacks your computer and installs custom software which:

1) Hides itself entirely from Windows by installing as a rootkit

2) Hides itself in such a manner that any files begining with $sys$ are also hidden. For example, if you install the XCP copy protection software on your machine, and rename "document.doc" to "$sys$document.doc" it then becomes invivisble to you forever.

3) Installs its own custom CD-Rom drivers to hijack your system. It also sneakily names these drivers "Plug and Play Device Manager" to seem as if it's a part of Windows. Trying to delete these drivers manually will disable your CD-Rom drive entirely.

4) Offers no uninstall option until you manually contact Sony

As of my writing this review, Sony has "apologized" for this incident, and claims they will "re-evaluate" this copyright protection software on their CDs in the future.

In the meantime, a virus is currently running wild, which names itself begining with $sys$ in an attempt to hide from the user and virus scanners.

Several class action lawsuits are also pending against Sony right now.

In summary, as you can tell from above, Sony's actions here are absolutely horrible. This is your music. You purchased it, and they should not have any right to dictate how you can use it, let alone install software which compromises your system security.

This is one of the CDs with Sony's XCP copyright protection software on it, and as a result, you should not buy it to send a message to Sony that this will NOT be tolerated in the future.

I read some of the reviews before I bought this album and was prepared for something not really as good, but as a completist and huge fan, I decided that I had to have it. I was actually delighted to find something not only much better than what I expected, but just shy of on par with the other two albums in The Bad Plus discography.

I know many people have their reservations about these guys. Many write them off simply because "it's not jazz." I can say that I agree with them: The Bad Plus, and this album in particular is not really jazz. What I don't agree with is when people give the album a bad review because it's not jazz. I, for one, like a lot of music that isn't jazz and happen to know a large assortment of other jazz fans that have appreciation for music that isn't jazz. What I have to say about The Bad Plus is that they are what they are: interesting and quite good music. I believe it was Duke Ellington that said "There are two types of music in this world, good music and bad music. I like the good music." Whether that be jazz, classical, rock, bluegrass or Norwegian death metal I'll listen to it as long as it is good. God forbid musicians to try to do something unique and different.

Now, a little more about the album. I can first go about praising Iverson, Anderson and King for their amazing musicianship. David King's drumming is energetic, creative, complimentary and never distracting. He provides a firm groove and all kinds of color on the album. King also writes what I believe to be the group's best tunes. Reid Anderson's bass playing is also quite stellar. He is constantly interacting with the other two musicians, stirring creativity and adding creative interjections when appropriate to add to the musical palate. The stand out musician in this trio however is of course, pianist Ethan Iverson. He has excellent improvisational ability, stunning right hand/left hand independence, technical ability beyond belief and is bursting at the seams with creativity. The group works as a unit and are constantly in conversation with each other whether they are improvising as a soloist or collectively. The jazz cat with attitude persona is worn well by them all and they make some really exciting music.

Suspicious Activity? is loaded with lots of good material. The album is beautifully bookended with two great ballads ("Prehensile Dream" and "Forces" both by Anderson). David King's composistions like I said stand out above the others. Both "Anthem for the Earnest" and "The Empire Strikes Backwards" are full of energy and quite catchy. Ethan Iverson's two composistions, "Let Our Garden Grow" and "O.G. (Original Gentelman)" are far out in terms of traditional melody and harmony are concerned, but still make sense to the listener. "O.G. (Original Gentelman)" even swings a bit, which is rare for The Bad Plus. The album loses a little bit of momentum in the middle with "Knows the Difference", "Lost of Love" and "Rhinoceros is My Profession" which merely don't stand out as opposed to being wasted CD space. The disc billows at a massive climax on the cover of Chariots of Fire which just steals the show. In fact, this album really could have used more brilliant covers in the Bad Plus tradition and a little less original material.

The other thing that makes this album dwindle a little is the production. One of the most amazing things about The Bad Plus's previous two albums is the absence of no editing or splicing or overdubbing (with the exception of two cuts off of "Give", 1 instance of splicing and 1 wrong note fix). In fact, less than half of the tracks on "Suspicious Activity?" are edit free. The trio used a lot more overdubbing which sort of destroys the acoustic jazz trio persona. Iverson gets his fingers working on harmoniums and celestes even, which are albeit cool sounds but don't really work for their setup.

I regard "Suspicious Activity?" to be not suberb like the groups other two studio releases, but is quite strong. I would certainly not call it their best, but I see it as legitimate, interesting and well done. The minor details I mentioned above are small flaws which are part of a really well done release from the midwestern trio.

I really liked this album and love the Bad Plus but now I've had to completely reinstall the operating system to get rid of the root kit. I will never, ever buy a copy protected album again.

I was unconvinced by the first album, "These Are The Vistas." It was really really hyped everywhere and I thought the production was strange. Did a trio really need such an unfaithful recorded presence? After seeing them live, however, I now think they are the most innovative group in jazz. I like "Give" too, but this new album five songs by Reid Anderson, who is a great composer (the other two write very well too) and the pop-styled production is even more extreme, which somehow works even better for this really wild band. I don't think they are understood in the world very well (some of these other reviews and things I've read in magazines miss the point entirely). I can say this much: it is not "easy" music, but it is not just for jazz fans (the only jazz records my girlfriend likes are by "The Bad Plus").

Sony's DRM (Digital Rights Management) copy protection software is installed upon insertion of this "audio" cd into your computer. The software is malicious and can ruin your pc to the point of having to format and reinstall everything. This software also sends information about your pc to a Sony server. Do you want Sony to have ALL your information? The so called "patch" that Sony makes available to fix this software does nothing! The software also allows for virus, spyware, and other malicious programs to hide themselves and operate without detection. Currently there are no virus scanners (Norton, Mcafee, etc.) that can detect this software or the viruses it can help hide. The same goes for spyware.

Sony should be ashamed that PCs are infected just by playing this CD.

Amazon should stop selling this CD immediately given the known damage that it causes to computers.

I love the Bad Plus, and wish I could buy this album. However, this is one of the first CD's that has Sony's new evil copy protection scheme. If you put this CD into a PC it will install something called a rootkit, which buries itself in your computer just like spyware. It can then keep an eye on you to make sure you don't make any illegal copies. See the EFF web site for more details. In short: this CD is dangerous to put in a PC. Sony is being evil here.

A shame, I'd like to give it a listen.

I'm not sure what some of the other reviewers are listening to, but I'm not convinced that it's this record. Suspicious Activity? is as fine an addition to The Bad Plus oeuvre as one could expect. There is plenty of the great Bad Plus sound here, and it has clearly grown and become more sophisticated. Suspicious Activity? is also likely to be the most accessible album they've made. It probably won't blow you away, but some of it just might. It is definitely a solid outing.

The tracks here definitely rock harder than those on their previous records, generally speaking, and bassist Reid Anderson even lays down a deliciously funky groove on "(Theme from) Chariots of Fire", something I would not expect from The Bad Plus. They're definitely growing -- as one reviewer mentioned, there is a noticeable improvement in pianist Ethan Iverson's chops -- and it seems as if the group is comfortable and confident enough their sound to step closer to the mainstream, to rely on the simple strength of a melody, instead of on the wild crash-bang on the piano and the cymbals. They still have that kind of intensity from previous albums, but here it's more focused, more musical even. Drummer Dave King takes his fury out on the drum pieces of the drum set more often, rather than the cymbals, providing an earthier rhythmic base. Ethan Iverson does some things on the piano that I find astounding, and Reid Anderson's bass has seemed to find its unique place in the trio, whereas in These Are the Vistas (their first album) the bass was usually doubled in the left hand on the piano. They sound more adept and more coalesced -- more mature. This aspect may be the defining feature of the album. Musically, this maturity often translates into a little less jazz, a little less crash and rambunctiousness and a little more pop in their "genre-bending" formula. And it works, there's no question about it.

Every single track here is rock solid, but a few deserve special mention:

- "Anthem for the Earnest" is The Bad Plus in a good old-fashioned rocking out, with melodic and rhythmic integrity abounding.

- "Lost of Love" is a monumental and very satisfying track, one that is perhaps more epic than any other they've done.

- "Rhinoceros Is My Profession" has (perhaps expectedly) Dave King in a stampeding rage most the time, which isn't unusual for The Bad Plus, but stacked on top of this is a dramatic and compelling melody.

- "(Theme from) Chariots of Fire" is so well done and innovative that I get the willies when I listen to it. We all know The Bad Plus does great covers. This one should be experienced.

I've seen The Bad Plus live three times (the first time in 2003), and I can attest that this album is every bit as Bad Plus as they were back when I first heard them. The songs found here are the natural extensions of the foundation they've set in their other albums. I would guess that Suspicious Activity would be the most appealing of their recordings to someone unfamiliar with The Bad Plus. It quickly became my favorite. It's full of great music that bears repeated listening.

Like many honest music consumers, I'm continually disappointed when bands I enjoy, such as The Bad Plus, publish music with hair-brain copy protection schemes.

I feel that the artists should be held accountable for the content of their CDs. It isn't enough to say "Sony is evil". In fact, I'm pretty such that that is their strategy (Sony's). They know the customer has no "relationship" with Sony, but does with the artist. Therefore it makes much more sense for Sony to take the blame, as it won't affect what we think of the band, and by extension, it won't affect our buying habits.

So, let me be the first to say it.

The Bad Plus: shame on you for having allowed copy protection on your CD. Next time, make sure you work it in to your contract that YOU WILL NOT ALLOW copy protection on your CDs.

As for this particular CD, I cannot review the music because I don't purchase copy protected CDs, although I've been fooled many times into doing so.

Thank you,

John.

I was so bummed to see this band in the list of Sony's virus-infected CD's. The Bad Plus is just an incredible, incredible band. Go to their shows. Buy their T-shirts. For this band to get scuffed by evil corporate BS from Sony is just shameful.

Suspicious Activity is my favorite Bad Plus record so far. The chaos is a little more focused and the rock element is very strong. It's good to see them getting away from the novelty covers, which are fun at first but lack the depth of their original tracks. This CD is so freaking excellent. I hope people will give it a chance and support these hardworking musicians, despite the fact that their record company sucks.

If you can't bring yourself to buy the CD, go see a show. If I'm not mistaken, the bands make a much larger share of the profits from their shows than they do their CD's anyway. Usually Bad Plus shows aren't even that expensive, and they're AMAZING live. Buy a T-shirt. Download the mp3's and hand them 20 bucks after the show.

Don't be chased off from this band by corporate morons at Sony!!! This is their best CD yet.