Customer Reviews

Wilderness (Repackaged) (Alternate Track Listing)

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

 

 

And, defying simple categorization, right to the end. Tony William's last album (?) and in many ways a synthesis of more new beginnings for him - jazz meets the orchestra - neo-fusion - funk - latin - swing - classical. If anything, I was only disappointed he didn't throw in some hard bop - but his own compositional leanings were more toward jazz-rock-fusion, and in some ways that has become mainstream - only because Mr Williams was one of the key innovators of these genre, and we are appreciating his work from a post-Williams, post-Zappa perspective, if you get my drift. Anyway, it's a fantastic album - with great synergy between all players - all giants of jazz!! Highly recommended, along with the Mosaic Select CD of TW's work!

Tony is one of the finest drummers the world has known, but this album is pretty much a disappointment from a material standpoint.

Sounds very much middle of the road.

The supporting cast is legendary, but I just couldn't recommend it, considering that there is just so much better that he has done.

Shortly, this is a very lucky find. Some tunes of this album (like "China Town") reminds me of his old "Lifetime" but played and enhanced by all stars players, Michael Brecker (sax), Pat Metheney (g), Herbie Hancock (pf and key), Stanley Clarke (bs) and the strings orchestra. There are all the essences and features of each musicians tune by tune. Unique and interesting. It would be worth just to listen how these Jazz masters with the orchestra play Tony Williams' fusion-funky touch music. Recorded Dec. 1995. My actual point for this album is 4 1/2.

Only the tremendous creativity of Tony's drumming could have compensated for the merely pleasant orchestral pieces (a series of variations) he composed for this CD, but the recording engineer has tried his best to artificially swamp that complex presence with strings, and has unfortunately succeeded. Tony also takes the sonic back seat in the electronic quintet numbers and some incredible brushwork textures have to be deciphered instead of marveled at. Brecker's facile electicism is no substitute for the muscular originality of the lesser-known Billy Pierce who played tenor on Tony's last four quintet albums on Blue Note. Stanley Clarke is a solid foundation and Metheny takes flight, but we still cannot hear the drums! The technology has improved to the point of finally being able to acurately capture the extremely complex waveforms of percussion instruments, but the great musician Tony is here forced into the wallpaper with the irresponsible twiddle of a knob! It's all about who controls the controls, but it is tragically not about drums.

This is the Tony's authoral last work, if i'm not wrong.
As he said in a 1997 interview to modern drummer, he was very proud with this album. He composed almost all musics. He was feeling himself more mature as a composer. This album is about a travel. Something like an imigrant in the new world travelling across the new land by train. This work is a movie in music format. The arrangement have an harmonic orchestration. For him, one album is a complete history, not a fragmented number of peaces. This songs are linked, musical, peacefull, not a drum show in first plane (this he made as a master in all his life). It's a beautyfull and poetical goodbye from one of the greatest master of the music.

I enjoyed this cd. Though several years old, the music is still current and relevant and satisfied my requirements for melody and tempo. Glad I found this one.

What a waste Tony Williams died in 1997, only in his 50s. This, and his last two albums with the brilliant Arcadia, show that he still thought like a young man and young musician. He was both.

This is shining, modern jazz, with a digital buff. But the music is pastoral: Miles-like ballads, blusey romps with advanced chord progressions, and of course, wonderful playing from all invovled.

On a lot of newer music, smooth modern production tries to cover lack of subtance. Not here: in a sense, this is the music these giants have always played-- this jazz is actually pretty traditional from a compositional standpoint, just put into today's context. The results are thrilling. Had Miles not done himself in with drugs so young, he probably would have gotten bored with Michael Jackson songs and movded into terrian like this.

As ever, Hancock's panio is lyrical--take the band out and his playing could be from Miles Smiles. Williams shows why his being a master drummer is as assumed as rain in Seattle and sun in California. He puts, like always, rhythms in places no one else would think of, and makes it feel natural as air.

Williams is gone, but we have the music. Just not enough of it--from the sound of this, he had much, much further to go.

the last crusade of a drummer who changed the drummersworld. fantastic album, one to be proud of

This recording is awesome, all the interpreters are world class musicians. Go buy it!

the picture of the guys on the back of the liners will make you laugh. wow stanley clarke is weird looking. i don't listen to this much but there is a really sweet synth solo by pat metheny somewhere, i think it's on track two. the album kinda sucks tho.