Search - Derek & Ruins :: Saisoro

Interesting.

N. Dorward | Toronto, ON Canada | 01/07/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This disc is credited to "Derek and the Ruins"; it is the first of two CDs recorded by Derek Bailey with the Ruins, a Japanese bass and drums combo (though the bassist is different between _Saisoro_ & the 2nd album, _Tohjinbo_); the drummer also adds in some energetic vocals at a few points. The Ruins play mostly using pre-set structures, while Bailey improvises on top. It's an interesting album, which at its most energetic--the opening track & much of the long last track--is quite absorbing, but it's something of a byway in the Bailey oeuvre. I much prefer the more recent disc _Mirakle_, with Tacuma & Weston.Two notes on the album's production. (1) The absolutely stunning cover-art is by the drummer Ikue Mori--wonderful stuff. (2) There seems to be a peculiar running joke or something in connection with Derek Bailey albums in which John Zorn participates as producer or performer: most of them contain a large swatch of dead silence in the longest track. (The most annoying instance of this is on _Harras_; there's another instance, mercifully brief, on _Mirakle_.) This one is no exception, alas. Knock it off, John."