Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quality work and a must have for an Adams fan, January 18, 1999
By A Customer
I'd give it 5 stars to off-set the average rating, but I'll leave breathing room. The title work, Gnarly Buttons (essentially a clarinet concerto with small ensemble), surely is based on "popish" themes ["folkish" would be a better characterization], especially the final movement "Put your loving arms around me". In fact, the main melody seems to mimic in tone, pitch, and rythm, the words "put your loving arms around me," to the point where it must have been deliberate. But every bad association one can have with pop music does not apply: there is a genuine development behind the music, and add to that the unique orcehstration. As for John's Book of Alleged Dances, these are wonderful "dances" and rythmicaly fascinating to follow (particular passages stand out, for instance 0:34 on track 5). Don't let the silly names (nor the fuzzy samples offered on this site) fool you: this is not a repeat of Hoodoo Zypher, Adams' foray into total electronic music that I'm sure many of his listners regret buying.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A complete success, June 17, 2000
By A Customer
As a great fan of both John Adams and Kronos Quartet, I am in awe of this CD. Gnarly Buttons is a wonderful clarinet/small ensemble piece. However, it is John's Book of Alleged Dances that makes this CD shine. Adams has (once again) shown that classical pieces do not have to be the dull, serious, angst-filled works that leave the audience depressed. His "Book of Alleged Dances" is a group of fun, well-written pieces for string quartet and, get this, foot-controlled sampler. John Adams, you are amazing!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Two of John Adams' Solid Works of Humor and Warmth, April 6, 2006
John Adams becomes more popular by the year with his compositions for large orchestra ('Naive and Sentimental Music', 'On the Transmigration of Souls') and operas ('Doctor Atomic' and in a way 'El Nino') gaining justly increased performances, but Adams has another side - chamber works. As with all great composers it is the smaller, exposed works that often tell us more about a composer's genius. The two works on this splendid recording prove this to be the case.
'John's Book of Alleged Dances' was written for the Kronos Quartet and is a bit of whimsy in its series of eleven dances for string quartet and a rhythm track made of prepared piano sounds. The result is a group of works that pay homage to the backwoods simplicity of America's folktunes. The dances are endlessly creative, with never a moment of hurried compositional thought. They are played with such fine sense of fun and expertise by the Kronos Quartet that they become instant staples in the chamber repertoire.
'Gnarly Buttons' could be called a clarinet concerto, but that title does not fully cover the novelty of the work. Composed for clarinet, banjo, guitar, mandolin, trombone, English horn, bassoon, piano, strings, and 'two samplers' playing a variety of sounds including accordion and cow! The piece is dizzy, playful, funky, fun and virtuosic! Adams conducts the London Sinfonietta and the Present Music ensemble with clarinetist Michael Collins in this rollicking performance that feels like a ride through the farmlands and backcountry of America. It is a delight and the recording is highly recommended. The CD includes some fine notes from the composer, giving us an immediate association with the two works. Drop the pretensions and just settle in and enjoy some fascinating and fine compositions. Grady Harp, April 06
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~ John [composer] Adams
~ John [composer] Adams
~ John [composer] Adams
~ John [composer] Adams
by John Adams 
