Customer Reviews

Visitor [Vinyl]

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

 

 

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.

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.

...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.

I have been a fan of Jim O'Rourke for nearly a decade, and I was very impressed by this album. The arrangements are never too dense or muddled. There is beautiful space in the composition, yet it is never sparse. There times when the album seems to reach a climax, but Mr. O'Rourke quickly reigns in the piece. This is a thing of beauty, subtlety, and patience. All the arrangements and melodies are simple but not boring. Mr. O'Rourke took familiar phrasing and the sound of instrumental 70s folk rock and breathed new life into the genre on the Visitor.

I was very excited to purchase this--after it received a laudatory review in the NY Times. But I was disappointed. I have great respect for Jim O' Rourke's musical instincts and completely adored some of his earlier discs--most notably "bad timing", "eureka" and "insignficance." not to mention work with others, like "loose fur." this disc doesn't seem to do much more, and I found the curious starts and stops, well . . . boring. They sounded like curious starts and stops and not much more. Still, the guys got more talent that most of the schmoes out there, so I give it 4 stars even if I was disappointed.

I am a fan of Jim O'Rourke's solo music and certainly of his collaborative ventures (sonic youth, aluminum group, loose fur and on). He has hit gold with this release. A delightfully shifting focus and transitional segues transport the listener into an abstract multi-instrumental audio experience that is truly a masterpiece. Much like earlier tracks, "Martial Art, Not Sport" and "94 The Long Way," the diverse compositions and rich layering become more rewarding with each listen. I would give it 6 stars if I could.

...noodling guitar tracked and re-tracked and interwoven with other nondescript piano-like, oboe-like tracks, rising toward...a non resolution...or a pause...or a familiar sounding noodling guitar, tracked and re-tracked, and interwoven with other nondescript piano-like, oboe-like tracks...rising toward...another non-resolution or a pause, or yet another somewhat familiar sounding, somewhat familiar, but still most definitely noodling, guitar tracked and re-tracked...

...for about a half an hour...