Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
the music DOES speak louder than the words, June 11, 2000
The good news is that when this record is good, it's GREAT. The bad news is that when it's not good, it's really, really not good. With six cuts of Ornette Coleman covers and a truly great set of side musicians, this could have been a near-perfect recording (definitely 5 stars). Unfortunately, Ulmer includes three originals of sung r&b songs (these aren't terrible songs, it's just that Ulmer's lyrics and singing can't begin to compete with his own incredible guitar playing). On the instrumentals, Ulmer's harmolodic playing has never been better, especially on the opening cut "Lonely Woman." Ironically, the title of the recording might have informed Ulmer (let the music speak for you man, it says so much more than your words). The definitive Ulmer record is still "Tales of Captain Black," and if you can afford the import $, it comes more highly recommended.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A lot more mixed than you'd guess., May 2, 2007
Guitarist James Blood Ulmer will probably always be associated with Ornette Coleman. Blood's was part of a now legendary (and never recorded) quartet of Coleman's and featured Coleman on his debut record. It seemed it was only a matter of time until an album of Coleman tunes was recorded by Ulmer, and "Music Speaks Louder Than Words", from 1997 is that album. Unusually, it's also something else now and again too.
Ulmer is backed by two bands-- acoustic bassist Calvin Jones and drummer Rashied Ali or electric bassist Amin Ali, drummer Aubrey Dayle and keyboardist Michael Mustafa Ulmer. The material with Jones and Ali really shines-- Jones sticks close the model of Charlie Haden on bass but Ali is a monster, all over the place, freely associating and providing a great framework on which Ulmer can work-- look no further than opener "Lonely Woman" for a fine example of this. Jones patiently offers anchor, Ulmer slips in and out of tempo, and Ali provides a framework where Ulmer's playing works perfectly. The electric stuff is a bit different-- they tackle a pair of Coleman tunes and three Ulmer originals. The Coleman songs are both fantastic-- "Elizabeth" gets a nice straight reading and "Cherry, Cherry" (with Jones guesting) featuring a fine free structure that really seems to get the point of Coleman's music.
Now to be clear, I love Blood Ulmer's singing, and these are vocal pieces. I think "Blues Preacher" is one of the really great records, but this is a mixed batch. Admittedly, "I Can't Take It Anymore" is ok, it's a straight blues, neither fantastic nor horrible, but "Dance in the Dark" and "Rap Man" are both pretty much train wrecks. Ulmer mumbles his way through, dominated in volume by the backing instruments. Worse still, they're both really bad. If this were on a major label, I'd assume the label made him do it, but I can't for the life of me figure out why they're on this record.
I'm giving this three stars, but it's a tough rating to issue out, the Coleman covers are so strong it's hard not to love this record, but there's such a mixed batch of stuff on here, it's hard to think highly of it.
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