Search - Derek Bailey :: Standards

"Ballads", take one.

Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 07/05/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"With the passing of Derek Bailey, it seems a number of recordings, whether out of print or unreleased, seem to be coming into general availability. Perhaps the crown jewel of the posthumous material released thus far, "Standards" is in effect an early take of "Ballads". Per the liner notes, the story goes that Bailey had recorded a set of standards while in New York, but decided upon returning home to London to change his approach. The later recording was "Ballads" and this recording, released as "Standards", sat on the shelf.



In listening to the two of them together, the differences between them are clear. "Ballads" tends to state the theme then delve into brief improvisation and presents all the pieces as a continuous performance, "Standards" starts with improvisation and briefly states the melody towards the end of each piece, with the pieces tending towards longer lengths and presented as separate performances. But one thing that's certain, they're both very clearly the work of Derek Bailey-- his voice, his sound, and his unique approach to the guitar dominate the performances. This recording may be a bit more abstract (it's presentation of the theme as a coda leaves the listeners with little touchstone) and I think succeeds a bit less. The strength of "Ballads", for me at least, was that it allowed Bailey to explore a sentimentality and melancholy that he often didn't exhibit in his music. Opening with the themes of old ballads lent themselves to this-- it set up almost a schmaltz from the start. While the playing on "Standards" is staggering and intense and enormously powerful, it captures more of Bailey's manic energy and mystery than that unique sadness of "Ballads".



This isn't to say it's not a superb listen, mind you, and make no mistake, this is clearly no demo recording-- this is a complete and fully formed vision. Perhaps the biggest testament to Bailey's genius is that he could take a fine record, abandon it and outdo it. "Standards", however, provides an intriguing view into the working process and is a fine listen on its own. Recommended."