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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best and Most Mature Omar Album Yet, why no large release?, March 27, 2008
I admit to being a huge, somewhat biased Omar Rodriguez Lopez fan. His combination of head banging rhythms and hypnotic ambient noise fits my love for creative musicianship to a 'T'.
For any of his fans: This is his best solo album, and yes I own them all. Clearer/groovier than the yellow one (self titled), more focused than "please heat this eventually" or "No Bufalo..." and more soulful than his superb first solo album/soundtrack.
Songs like 'Baby Fat', 'Coma Pony' and 'Melting Chariots' show the quintet in fine form, different from Mars Volta, but wholly compelling none the less.
The reworked versions of Jacob Van... and Vandelpark (now the title track) from the yellow album are equally fantastic, all players really get to show off their chops and the compositions are fantastic as well.
To people new to Omar: A great starter album, unfortunately almost none of you will see this without ever hearing an Omar album, because this one only got vinyl release (and now a quiet CD release), but this is a fantastic intro to such a prolific and creative musical talent. Omar's phrasing is a unique combination of Robert Fripp (King Crimson), Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin (Mahavishnu Orchestra/Miles Davis) and Eddie Hazel (Parliament/Funkadelic)... compelling and challenging at the same time. His band is made of a bunch of his local friends/relatives as well as Money Mark, a keyboardist extraordinare whose work with the Beastie Boys as well as his solo work (i also suggest his album: "Marks Keyboard Repair Shop") merits mention alone.
Overall: Save your money, don't buy his Lydia Lunch album, or No Bufalo , or Calibration... buy this one and the new Volta album, it'll be money will spent.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Record Could Change You, February 15, 2009
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez seems to astound me twice as much as he did before with each record he releases, this is certainly no exception. The Apocalypse Inside Of An Orange is a real pleasure for the ears; repetitive, funky/jazzy bass lines teamed with simple yet effective drum lines and additional Latin-American style percussion create a tight, grooving background allowing for instrumental solos throughout (primarily guitars and saxophones).
The record opens with the relatively short (by Omar's standards) 'Melting Chariots', which has such a gorgeous harmonised saxophone riff, you will be left humming it for days it is so catchy. The track features a great saxophone solo followed by an equally as good guitar breakdown before an abrasive, harsh-sounding (but nonetheless beautiful) guitar section towards the end. I challenge anyone to listen to this without either tapping their foot or nodding their head along to the groove, it's tasty.
Swiftly following 'Melting Chariots''s abrupt ending, the sophomore track 'Knee Deep In The Loving Hush Of Heresy' kicks in with a 13-second long seemingly ad-libbed mesh of saxophone, electric guitar, synthesizer and drums, which may have the listener feeling discomfort but that will soon end as a gentle riff played between the bass guitar and saxophones in unison begins. After a few sweet woodwind countermelodies, and a couple more freak-outs in the style of the opening, we arrive at a heavier, faster-paced section which stays for the second half of the piece. A lengthy solo guitar section appears just before the main riff is played once again, only this time it is performed by Omar himself and has a real heavy sound to it.
The third track, 'Jacob Van Lennepkade II' (which is a revived version of 'Jacob Van Lennepkade' from Omar's self-titled second solo record), is TAIOAO's epic, the Cassandra Gemini of the album if you will (for The Mars Volta fans). The composition uses the same bass line as The Mars Volta's 2006 song 'Viscera Eyes' and although it may seem extremely repetitive upon the first few listens, it features ever-changing textures of synth and `tampered-with' electric guitar, it has a much stronger feel to its original and although it is only a mere minute longer, I feel that it accomplishes much more than its predecessor ever did in terms of variety (not to take anything away from the original, it's just a completely different feel).
`Fuerza De Liberacion' starts with some peculiar sound effects for a while, before the percussion breaks in, followed by guitar and then (I believe for the first time on one of Omar's solo records), Omar singing. Well I say `singing', his voice has a really cool effect on it, which lowers it significantly and makes it near indecipherable. The latter half of the song sees some nice guitar work and drum workouts from Marcel, before ending in a similar fashion to its opening. The song is often overlooked by many and seen as the `ugly duckling' of the album, but it is very engaging if you give it time.
`Spared From The Insult List' is a really pleasant piece, a groovy guitar line played throughout with several great guitar solos, fantastic drumming, and a fair amount of flute, courtesy of Adrian Terrazas-Gonzalez. The keyboard/synthesizer work from Money Mark is also noticeable on this piece, although in the background and never really featured. This is easily as catchy as `Melting Chariots' and will likely be an early favourite of yours.
The next piece `Baby Fat' is an odd little thing (2 minutes 50 seconds) which I didn't take much notice of at first, but is in fact a fantastic addition to this record. It is very quiet at first, with several guitars playing eerily with the accompaniment of drums, and it very slowly builds up. But then out of nowhere it bursts into a crazy guitar section which stays for the rest of the, relatively short, song. It is rather funny, and definitely crucial to the record as a whole.
The `mini-epic' of the record is the title track, coming in at 11 minutes 12 seconds. It is a reworked version of `Vondelpark Bij Nacht', again from Omar's second solo record, and was used also as the groundwork for `El Ciervo Vulnerado' on The Mars Volta's `Amputechture'. It is seemingly much less structured than anything you will hear on this record and may remind you a little of drone music, it is very saxophone-based and there are no recurring melodies to be found. It is incredibly atmospheric and should not be expected to accomplish anything other than putting you in a different state of mind. After repeated listening you will recognise all of its tensions and swells, highs and lows and although it is probably the least enjoyable track (at first) and the slowest grower, if you can learn to love it, you can probably learn to love anything Omar has released thus far.
If the penultimate track put you off at all, then the (ultimate?) final track will surely hook you back in, it has the catchiness of `Melting Chariots' and `Spared From The Insult List', but has an added beauty to it, I find it incredibly introspective and endearing. The ever so smooth keyboard in this piece is so natural sounding and joins with the guitars' tones so nicely, and the drums just roll along in the background throughout. The guitar and saxophone dual solos are heartrendingly melancholy, yet at the same time uplifting, Omar shows a sensitive side to him which I had never known until I heard `Coma Pony'. When the piece finishes, I can't help but want more from it, but when it does, I take a moment just to appreciate the record and Omar himself.
The Apocalypse Inside Of An Orange is an ideal starting place for anyone new to Omar's solo work and simply has my highest recommendation. As with anything Omar creates, there are little intricacies to be found everywhere and you will always be discovering new things with each listen, so give this record the time it deserves, it really is a masterpiece.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Bending Reality, December 3, 2009
This album demonstrates how expressive and inventive music can be. When I first started listening to it while I worked, I found myself torn away from it and completely at the mercy of the strange aural effect that it produces. It is hypnotizing and Dali-esque. It is the closest thing I've experienced to an optical illusion for the ears, delightfully confusing the senses, making me stop and take notice.
This is my absolute favorite Rodriguez-Lopez release! There is no other quite like it.
"Fuerza de Liberacion," and especially the title track are free-play acid rock jam sessions with moody synthesizers, stuttering horns and pedal effects, evoking mood, sensation and unique sonic atmosphere.
It all finishes of with the grounding anthemic "Coma Pony" guitar jam farewell.
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