A unique portrait.
Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 10/02/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Invariably, when an artist as well respected as Derek Bailey passes away, a flood of material seems to hit the market-- planned releases, reissues cashing on the perceived short-term boost in recognition, and sessions perhaps not intended for release, but with new material at an end, suddenly seems more relevent, more critical. "To Play: The Blemish Sessions" falls into that camp-- Bailey had provided David Sylvian with a set of recordings, about 45 minutes or so released on here, primarily on acoustic guitar but with a couple pieces on electric, from which Sylvian derived three fine tracks on "Blemish". This session presents that material unedited and without Sylvian's overdubs.
While Bailey's playing throughout can be quite enjoyable, there's definitely a hole in the music-- it's clear he'd intended this to go along with a vocal. "Play 6" for example-- there's so much space hanging around in this recording that I felt myself subconsciously filling in the spaces. In it's own way, this is a fine portrait to the genius that is Derek Bailey; a view into his position in the creative process and a chance to hear him in isolation for a recording meant as part of a collective. But while the music is certainly interesting from that perspective, it does feel incomplete.
My guess is that anyone reading this is going to purchase this regardless of what I have to say. Given this, I should state that I have no regrets about picking this up, but there's definitely a whole lot better by Bailey."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1