Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Lithium cover is excellent, and the sound is fine. Give it more than one listen., February 18, 2009
I'd like to respond to a few criticisms here which I think are unfounded:
"Lithium": I am baffled by the amazon.com reviewer's suggestion to "just skip" the Lithium cover, with no further explanation. That's poor journalism in an "official" review--why doesn't he like it? Why not lay out his argument and then let the listener decide for themselves? On first listen, it's my favorite track on the album. They mess with the rhythm, introducing a pause or hiccup, which sounds to me like an extension or exaggeration of the original drum part, and it gives the song extra force. And Lewis really belts the ending.
The mastering: it sounds fine to me. In fact, this and "Prog" sound *less* processed than their earlier, Tchad Blake-produced albums (Fred Kaplan noted this in his stereophile.com review). Perhaps if you're the type who's listening in their special hyperbaric listening chamber with the $10,000 speakers connected by solid gold cables to the amp and turnable floating in an isolation chamber...but then I don't know what to tell you. I noticed that the reviews complaining about the sound were posted before the US release date--was their something odd or different with the international version?
The engineering/decision to self-produce: it was mixed by Tchad Blake, the guy who produced and recorded their first few albums. It was recorded by Brent Sigmeth--google him to see what else he's done. These are rock/pop engineers, not strictly "jazz" ones, but it doesn't seem (or sound) at all out of line with their previous releases.
The singing: Wendy Lewis does not sound like most singers, especially over-the-top "I AM HERE TO ROCK" vocalists. It sounded very odd to me at first, but that feeling fell away after about one minute as I got used to what they were doing. My advice to others, for both the singing and TBP in general, is that you need to give it a little time. Whether you normally listen to jazz, rock, or whatever, this group is probably inhabiting a somewhat different musical space than you're used to. Anyway, Lewis' technique is much better than many of the people who get passed off as rock and pop singers, and her affect, which at first may seem flat and odd, ends up being perfect for these arrangements. Finally, anyone claiming that adding her is an attempt at commercialism can't be listening to the same album as I am. Really? Which one were they hoping would be a Top 40 smash?
I can understand perfectly well how someone wouldn't like this album--this kind of abstracted music-making is not everyone's cup of tea--but not for these reasons. I just don't think they hold water. Give it, or at least the samples, a listen, wait, try a second listen, and see what you think. There's really good stuff in here.
|
|
|
19 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The mastering of this music is abysmal, and I'm being kind..., December 12, 2008
First off, I love the Bad Plus. I've seen them live and I have purchased (not pirated) all of their albums including their first independent disc, so I'm no fair-weather fan. I was very excited about this record, but my excitement quickly turned to utter disappointment.
The mastering on this record is terrible. You remember the hullabaloo over the sound quality of the Metallica album Death Magnetic? Well this is the jazz counterpart. And if you haven't heard about the loudness war thing, go to Wikipedia and look up 'loudness war', or google 'pleasurize music' .
I really have no idea why a jazz trio would want to have poor sound quality on a record, unless they think loud=more sales. Where is the proof that loud mastering (especially in the Jazz world) = more sales? Here is a record where the piano sounds horrible, the bass is muddied, and the drums lack any punch. It sounds really really bad on my stereo. The brickwall limiting at 0 db and the occasional clipping makes this record, for me, unlistenable. I am sorry but I won't be buying anymore bad plus records unless I am sure it has been mastered properly. And because reviews rarely mention that, it means I will probably not be buying anymore.
I hope that this doesn't signal a general trend in Jazz records. I think it is a mistake because jazz fans care about sound quality and are generally older with better equipment then the average Brittney/Metallica fan so loud records will not be something they will enjoy.
I am also disappointed that the band decided to damage the music because it shows disrespect for their fans and disrespect for their music.
The music itself is quality Bad Plus, using the same formula as before except they added a singer. Personally, I prefer instrumental music as i find songs sung in English to distract me from the music. It's as if part of my brain that would normally be used for music appreciation is being forced to decode song lyrics. But most people like singing, so if their intention was to increase sales, the addition of a singer was a good way to go, just not for this fan. The singer has a quality voice and was a good choice. Ethan Iverson, Reid Anderson, & David King are their virtuosic selves on this record.
So bad mastering + singer = obvious attempt to increase sales. If you are new to the Bad Plus I would recommend getting the first self titled album (although it's hard to get) or Prog.
Oh, and for those that are interested, this cd has an effective dynamic range of 7 dB. Good quality jazz disks should be in the range of 14.
|
|
|
16 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
awful, January 4, 2009
True, the sound on this disc is dreadful. Not a case of commercialism gone awry, I think, but one of self-overestimation - FAIC is the first album TBP engineered without the help of a seasoned producer, a mistake they probably won't make again.
I could have lived with a muddled bass, though, and even with drums coming out of a broom closet, if this had only been The Bad Plus as I know and love them - an irreverent, non-conformist jazz-outfit decontstructing pop standards and mixing them with their own, brilliant, originals.
I've seen these guys bring down the Amsterdam BIMhuis, and I will always treasure albums like Give, Prog or Suspicious Activity. Music brimming with ideas, humor, and virtuosity. But all of that is missing on For All I Care, an uninspired affair that just sounds... tired.
The fatal flaw of this record is that you can't deconstruct pop songs if you stick, verse and chorus, to the lyrics. That approach leaves no room for taking the structure apart to reassemble it in new, revealing and exciting ways. FAIC could perhaps have succeeded if the words had been chopped up, huddled about and interspersed with new lines, but if you force yourself to follow the lyric of a song in its original order, all you get is a cover song.
An album with covers of bands as diverse as Yes and Pink Floyd, The Bee Gees, Nirvana and Wilco, could that work? One thing's for sure: this one doesn't.
For if you must use a singer on a Bad Plus album, for X's sake pick someone with a little spunk, sense of adventure, and versatility. Wendy Lewis, formerly the singer of a couple of obscure indie rock bands from the Minneapolis area, lacks all of that. She ruins this album in a baffling, Yoko Ono kind of way by murmuring along to the music. Weakly, listlessly, lethargically.
On Barracuda and Feeling Yourself Disintegrate, her singing is given lots of echo in an attempt at vitalization. Alas. The Good Lord himself couldn't bring that voice to life.
I had a hard time staying awake when I watched an interview with the woman on Youtube, but I seem to remember she's a old friend of drummer Dave King, who invited her to do the vocals on FAIC. For old times' sake, I suppose.
Dave is a very kind man.
But we are stuck with a boring Bad Plus album. Who could have thought that possible? My reason for giving it two stars in stead of one are the (all too few) instrumental tracks, Semi-Simple Variations being my favorite. Fortunately, it's given two takes. Unfortunately, these end after two-and-a-half and one minute respectively.
Bless you, Wendy. But be a dear and go back to being an obscure indie rock singer.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
![Suspicious Activity? [CD on Demand]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511T%2BbM3azL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
, recommendations and new releases on SoundUnwound 
