Customer Reviews

Underground

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Definitely not what you'd label as an inaccessible album, this album (which counts "Ugly Beauty", Monk's only recorded waltz-time piece, among its works) constitutes in essence a musical comeback for Monk, who at the time had not released any albums with more than four original compositions since the mid-fifties (more than a decade before).

It's packed with works that range from melancholic and blue ("Easy Street") to joyful ("Green Chimneys"); from "simple" and straightforward (such as the opening track, which actually dates a couple of decades before) to complex and filled with accents (such as "Boo Boo's Birthday.")

All in all, it's an exquisite work of music that you can tap your day away to or sit down and listen carefully to in order to disect it in detail.

Amazon lists this as # 24 in his catalog of albums. I think this is by far one of his best, at least a top 5, as for me this is my favorite of all my 20+ Monk albums. Green Chimneys, In Walked Bud and Boo Boo's birthday are among some of the best songs he has ever written. This era in Monks music had his best line up of musicians including Charlie Rouse and Ben Riley. If you know your Jazz you will know what a great album this is. If you are just starting a Jazz collection, this is a great addition. If you are new to Monk, try a Greatest Hits. The bonus tracks are a great bonus.

I got this CD as a gift -- this was my introduction to Monk. First couple times I listened to it, I was shocked with his unique style, with his approach to jazz, and with his compositions. The quality of this record is nothing short of stellar. Monk sounds fresh and energized. He seems to be very well-synchronized with the rest of his band, and they make magic. Every musician on this recording is terrific. The rhythm section is solid. The bass player does a few improvisations, especially on Ugly Beauty and Green Chimneys, and it is something you don't hear much of, at least not of this quality. These guys don't miss a beat. Monk is a truly creative player and composer, and this recording really showcases that.

I don't suggest this record as an introduction to jazz, but if you enjoy jazz, this is a good place to start with Monk's work, in my opinion. You may not get into this record until you make a couple passes at listening to it and possibly listening to other good jazz in between different attempts at this record. I feel that listening to Miles Davis really helped me appreciate Monk even more, as weird as this sounds.

I just love this CD. I especially enjoy listening to it over a great pair of headphones because it makes you feel like it's just you and them, without any kind of disturbances or sounds from the outside to distract you from catching and enjoying every tune that emanates from this record.

Buy this remastered version with extra tracks. The sound couldn't be better, and the extra tracks provide more takes of the great tunes that appeared originally on this record.

The remastered sound of Underground's reissue is much cleaner and crisper. The songs were restored to the original recorded length and there are a few bonus tracks added. Oh yeah, the album cover is clearer and closer (which is very important).

I agree with the reviewers that say this is not Monk at his peak, but regardless of that, I think this is one of his best albums. The musicians sound like they are having fun performing and the relaxed approach to the recording takes away from some of the intensity sometimes expressed in some of the classic Monk albums.

There are some nifty liner notes including an explanation behind the album cover and the story surrounding the making of the album.

(about the editing)
I somewhat prefer the edited versions of these songs from the previous release because the songs feel concise to the compositions. That may upset some jazz purists, but frankly a decent solo can get lost in the translation of the recording and end up hurting the overall performance and composition. I think back in those days the musicians expected the solos to get edited (it was a natural part of the recording process). These "unedited" versions that we hear in these re-issues are not necessarily what the musicians intended as the final versions.

Overall, Thelonious Monk's Underground is a terrific album; one of his best and I highly recommend checking it out- edited or unedited.

I'm simply dumbstruck that as of Oct 2005, only two people have reviewed this album to date. Browsing through various Monk albums on Amazon, it seems most have relatively few reviews. I can't understand this.

If I were stranded on a desert island and could bring a single album with me, I wouldn't hesitate about the composer: Thelonious Monk. Perhaps one of the least appreciated and most misunderstood geniuses of our time (up there with Bela Bartok and Frank Zappa), Monk is simply the greatest of them all to my mind.

(...)

Monk is in top form here. leading his band up and down a winding path full of prosperous improvisational detours and stopping at melodic landmarks all along the way. i love Underground because not only are the songs so well performed and such a great example of Monk's complicated-yet-catchy style of writing; but also because the controversial cover image is a reminder of Monk's great sense of humour. and i have to admit that i am not a big fan of vocal jazz, but Jon Hendricks performance on "In Walked Bud" is one of the highlights of this album! hard to believe that he came up with that lyric line on the spot, but...wow!

One of my favorite records ever. Genre? Who needs that? This is a classic by any standard. Most of these compositions are actually new, which was rare for Monk at the time: the long, swinging "Green Chimneys" (bolstered with bass and drum solos); the tender but lighthearted "Boo Boo's Birthday"; and the characteristically off-kilter slow waltz "Ugly Beauty", one of his best compositions; and the slightly repetitive "Raise Four", recorded without sax player Charlie Rouse - "Thelonious", "Easy Street" and "In Walked Bud" don't feature him, either. You also get two unforgettable re-recordings of two Monk classics: a concise, lively "Thelonious" and the classic vocal version of "In Walked Bud", whose lyrics were spontaneously invented by Jon Hendricks. It features the lyric that to me does the best job of summing up what Monk does: "Takin' the note that nobody wrote and puttin' it down". Of course, "In Walked Bud" keeps its endearingly weird melody, filled with all kinds of odd chords: it's one of the strangest I've ever heard, but it has a way of sticking in your mind. It's always been one of my favorite Monk melodies, and it gets a fine treatment here. There's also a cover of the appropriately laid-back, optimistic "Easy Street". Other little bonuses: the Grammy-winning album cover, with Monk sitting alone at a piano dressed as a revolutionary, complete with the gun, and the 2003 reissue, which adds several bonus tracks, alternate takes of "Boo Boo's Birthday"; "Ugly Beauty" and "Thelonious", and restores "Ugly Beauty"; "Raise Four"; "Easy Street"; "Green Chimneys" and "In Walked Bud" to their full lengths, from sharply curtailed versions found on the LP and 1990 reissue. That's the one to get.

Thelonious Monk entered the studio in late 1967 and early 1968 for the last time with his long-standing quartet of Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Larry Gales (bass) and Ben Riley (drums) to record a new album, an album that would be new in more ways then one-- no less than four new Monk compositions were debuted on this record, and in retrospect, it appears to be a fine swan song for a man whose legacy on Columbia is enormous.

Due to a death in the family, Charlie Rouse missed on the sessions, leaving his performance on only three of the seven cuts on the album. Those cuts all turn out to be new pieces-- "Ugly Beauty", a waltz based on a seven note chord, finds the band is stunning form-- meditative and sensitive yet exciting at the same time-- the interaction between the band is stunning-- look no further than when Monk drops out, suspending Rouse above Gales and Riley, for an example of this. The trio plays fantastically together, but it still FEELS like Monk's music, no one else's, even without the leader's piano. "Boo Boo's Birthday", one of my personal favorite Monk pieces, features a theme that implies an echo, stated (as often Monk did) on piano then tenor, before bursting into a stunning improv that could only be described as a duel-- Monk and Rouse both freely associate around the theme, coming together and yet not throughout the piece. "Green Chimneys" falls a bit short though-- it had been attempted for "Straight, No Chaser" earlier in the year and Monk rejected it for that album, but I findt hsi performance not much better. The bouncey theme works out ok, particularly with Riley on opposite beats from Monk and Rouse, but Rouse's solo feels a bit too tentative (Monk however is brilliant).

The remaining four cuts find the band without their sax player-- Monk falls back a bit on his stride influences-- "Thelonious" and "Raise Four" (the latter new at this session) both have a heavy stride sound, and neither is completely satisfying. The former lacks the sense of urgency earlier recordings had, the latter feels a bit undeveloped. The last two pieces are both oddities. "Easy Street" finds Monk in an almost straight ballad mood, performing with a sensitivity and delicateness before turning to an arco solo by Gales (something we don't hear much of from him). "In Walked Bud" features vocalist Jon Hendricks, who happened into the studio and was invited by Monk to sing on a piece-- while his lyrics are a little rough in their delivery, the rendition is a lot of fun and a real highlight.

This reissue features superb sound courtesy of remastering and thre bonus tracks-- all alternate takes-- as well as restoring material edited for LP. The restoration is great, but the alternates, while entertaining, all clearly feel inferior to the issued master (mind you, all are acceptable, it's just that what was put out was better). This is not one of Monk's best, but certainly there are a couple essential cuts on here, and it's well worth the investment for fans.

John Coltrane said if you lost count playing with Monk, you walked into an open elevator shaft.

Monk's note and chord placement was so obtuse, it was immediately identifiable as Monk. Underground covers tracks Monk had done before. You have to admire his stedfastness in 1967. Him playing this music in the context of free jazz, soul jazz and Mingus and Don Ellis experiemts is not regressive or conservative. It is Monk doing what he did best--being Monk.

And the vocals on "In Walked Bud" are incredible.

I still maintain that Monk's best album is "Straight, No Chaser." That being said, the same personnel are on this album, and it is a darn good one. My favorites are "Boo-Boo's birthday," "Raise Four," "Easy Street," the self-titled "Thelonious," and "In walked Bud." That about covers the entire album, but it shows how versatile Monk was. I don't include "Green Chimneys" because that is also in "Straight No Chaser." One word about the last song, there are extended solos in this version.

Overall, I'd rate this album my third favorite: behind "Straight No Chaser" and "Monk and Coltrane at Carnegie Hall." The artwork in this album alone is out of this world. I'd include it in your must-have Monk albums.