Visitor [Vinyl]

Jim O'Rourke | Format: Vinyl

Product Details

• Vinyl (September 8, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Drag City
• ASIN: B002HM41CC
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #337,360 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

2009 release from the Avant-Garde rocker, his first solo album since 2001. All the classic O'Rourke-isms are here for you musicologist types: percolating banjos smooth electric leads organic kicking drum sounds the flickering of shakers to the left and right mellow but ominous woodwinds sounds that indicate vintage (before turning left and running out the door) sonic jokes sonic tear-jerkers sonic jerkoffs all wrapped in spacious yet subtle left to right placement of everything. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars gorgeous, September 19, 2009

By 

Nate (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Visitor (Audio CD)

I first discovered Jim O'Rourke's "Insignificance" in 2002 and was immediately taken by its lovely melodies, infectious lyrics, and detailed arrangements. I've been waiting for a proper follow-up for the last seven years and had nearly given up until yesterday, when I found out about "The Visitor." When I learned that the album was one 38-minute instrumental track, I prepared myself for disappointment - how could it possibly equal "Insignificance" or "Eureka" without his stinging vocals?

Well, it's a completely different album, but equally brilliant. No one will mistake this for anything other than a Jim O'Rourke album, as it plays much like the instrumental "Bad Timing" mixed with the gentleness of "Eureka." The liner notes implore the listener to "please listen on speakers, loud," and so that's what I did. I'm on my third listen now and I know "The Visitor" will keep calling me back for months and years to come. Stunning production and jazz-infused melodies accent what is essentially a classical arrangement constructed of rock music parts. It spits in the face of the MP3-era ADD approach to music and forces you to sit, relax, and enjoy as it sprawls out before you. Wonderful.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars O'Rourke invents the Folk Symphony, September 20, 2009

By 

Piers Moktan "Piers Moktan" (Khorsor Elephant Stable, Nepal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Visitor (Audio CD)

One week on, and I'm still digesting this 38 minute piece. It's a remarkable one-man achievement, apparently comprising 200 audio tracks lovingly edited together and featuring O'Rourke on all instrumental duties. It comes with the exhortation to play loud, making me glad I purchased a CD for my Hi-Fi rather than a download for my computer. This music demands your attention, and it's worth it. No mere background 'soundtrack to your life' nonsense, this is music to be listened to. If only I could experience it live in the Albert Hall! Its frequently warm and engaging character has the same kind of effect on me as Peter Broderick's 21st century laptop folk-rock on Home. If you can imagine the unlikely fusion of Messiaen's compositional talents with James Blackshaw's guitar skills then you might have some idea of what Jim O'Rourke has achieved with The Visitor. It's kind of different, and it's wonderful. This music enables you to plunge into a bath of bliss and curiosity.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I'm a curmudgeon..., December 20, 2009

By 

jive rhapsodist (NYC, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Visitor (Audio CD)

...and I think that "interesting" is the appropriate word. One aspires to "long form", but one's affections are totally taken by a "Pop - Rock" sensibility as far as harmony, melody, rhythm, orchestration are concerned. So what to do? Well, give credit to O'Rourke for doing it "from the inside" - for not being one of those trained composers whose mouths water when they imagine how amazing it would have been to have played in a sinkhole like CBGB's, and who utter the word "Rock" as though it were the talisman for everything Real and Good and True and Honest in music. O'Rourke is a real practitioner, and he knows what he's doing. And he did what he set out to do. I just think it's a little...BLAND. But I don't think Steely Dan is amazing either.