Customer Reviews

These Times

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

 

 

This album has a little bit of everything for a music lover.Funky jazz soul, world music, bebop guitar, a little dab of everything. What holds it all together is that Stern is consistently melodic in his phrasing. At times this album shimmers as the layers of sound including wordless vocals from Richard Bona and Elizabeth Kontomanou mix with the other instruments seamlessly. Kudos to Stern.

The jazz-beat numbers on the album do warrant the comparisons to Pat Metheny. Especially those featuring the vocals of bassist Richard Bona. Metheny doesn't own the sound however and Mike Stern's resume stands on it's own. Stern's sound has a much harder edge to it and the jazz-funk numbers on the album are smokin. "These Times" is not really a "guitar hero" album. There are breathtaking solos but there are times that Stern is content to sit back and add color and texture to a song. This is a total band effort. I'm sure the all star supporting cast helped. I would say if you're a Metheny fan, check this out. However, I'm betting that if you know one man, you probably already know the other. Excellent stuff!

If you listen closely you can almost hear god or some other supernatural diety speaking through Stern's music. This has pretty much always been the case with him though. It is such an amazing privelege to listen to anything he does and this disk is certainly no exception.

He is way beyond "gifted" as musician for sure and his compositional chops just continue to get better, and better and better!

Mike, you are a joy to listen to!!!

The songs on this record are very similar to his last effort. That's not entirely a bad thing, but I REALLY liked the direction he was going with the quartet format a few years back. Mike's compositions are starting to sound more and more like Pat Metheny's and his improvisations don't seem as inspired as in the past. On the other hand, Richard Bona sounds great and Vinnie Colaiuta is always incredible.
++++++ UPDATE ++++++
After repeated listens, this has become one of my favourite records! Forget about my comparison to Metheny..this CD stands on its own.

Mike leaves his ego at the door in this metheny-esque outing. The tunes are the stars not the guitar technique. The dense and funky opening tune just totally cooks! (can't go wrong with that Miles influence) The disk gets better everytime I listen to it. This would have been a ground breaking disk in the 80's. But it's brave to make a great disk with nice tunes, a hot band and a focus on funky groving instead of trying to be virtuosic and hip at the expense of the music. Way to go Mike! This disk pulls off the difficult task of groovin' high and deserving lots of airplay at the same time.

The danger one faces when attempting these hybrid discs is that of the dreaded Jackalope (not, be assured, the fabulous John Abercrombie/Loren Stillman/Bob Meyer eponymous recording)--a monstrous amalgam, rather than a transcendent New Thang. Where does this disc fall on the spectrum? More toward the cool New Thang than toward the awkward Jackalope, but not entirely out of the woods awkward-wise (so to speak).

I'm not opposed to schizoid musical sensibilities; it's just that they're so dang hard to pull off. Generally, I think Mike Stern does an andmirable job walking that dicey tightrope between killer funk-based jazz and jazz-beat sensibilities. The only problem is that he can't seem to seemlessly blend the two vibes consistently, except for "Silver Lining" and "If Only," which, for me, work equally well in both worlds. The remainder of the numbers seem to (rather wildly) oscillate between the two. Which is OK, but which also, it must be said, tends to dilute the integrity of the proceedings.

Me, I'm more of a jazz-beat guy, so the the more overtly jazz-funk numbers lack the appeal of the world-jazz numbers.

Now, if he could only make a disc that seemlessly combined the two sensibilities, he'd really have something. 4 and 1/2 stars.

I don't know what is wrong with the people who say this diversion from mainstream jazz is bad. I'd like to see someone else who can build a solo with as much intensity as this virtuosic musician. Another fine and adventurous performance from one of the jazz worlds diamonds.

Mike Stern & company have managed to capture a fine recording effort which features the best of today's jazz fusion artists.
Mike's guitar work is tasty, technical and taunting. Richard Bona's vocals are featured extensively as well as his elegant and exciting bass playing. The playing is superb, the mix is dead on and the songs are well written and arranged. One of the best fusion releases of 2004.

Great music. Will Lee's playing rules! Is good to listen to this album. The more "world beat" material is boring, bland stuff. Better go listen to Richard Bona's own music. Colaiuta, as always, driving, creative, solid.

I've been listening for Mike's music for at least 15 years now, and so far "Voices" and "These Times" are one of Mike's best works.

They are different, but different doesn't necessarily mean bad.
You won't be disappointed, trust me. Richard Bona Rocks!!!