Truly demented
Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 04/18/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Remember when Peter Townshend used to smash his guitar on stage at the end of Who concerts? Well, that's about how much respect these guys have for the Great American Songbook.Their wholesale deconstructionist method comes into full flower on that old chestnut, Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You. Starting out slightly north of bizarre, with smiley-faced organ, an unidentifable kazoo-like instrument (probably a guitar), and totally static electronic drums, things start to get way weird not three minutes into it as the band launches into drunken marching music. From there they proceed to total sonic meltdown, yet somehow still tethered to the lineaments of the song. It ends with a surreal dancing coda brilliantly executed on probably the world's cheesiest organ by the inimitable Jamie Saft. Surely one of the most abnormal readings of a pop song ever put onto disc.Even when they hold their tendency toward musical anarchy somewhat in check, as on Walk On By, things are still out of whack. In fact, this approach may be even scarier than the sonic freak-out: It's more nuanced, more accessible, but there's still a lot of subtle strangeness just below the surface. I guess my favorite cut is A-Team. With its Mexican Radio-like unintelligible staticky spoken-word text, it's so faux-jubilant, so mock-anthemic, it's perfect. Another favorite moment is a quasi-quote of the theme from Chariots of Fire near the end of Politician, this amid near absolute sonic decay.Everyone's to be commended, but this is the most assured I've ever heard Briggan Krauss. He has this amazing tone on his alto that sears into you brain, but he can also play simply beautifully, as on Don't Make Me Over, given an almost normal reading by the lads. Jaime Saft constantly scores with his sick organ treatments, and Curtis Hasselbring's guitar emits sounds seldom if ever heard before.The weird thing is that no matter how mannered, how outre, how bizzare things get, this music is never less than compelling, and often starkly beautiful. Probably not for everyone, but if you ever dug Captain Beefheart, or maybe Anthony Braxton, or Sam Rivers, or Frank Zappa, you might want to try this. Not for the faint of heart."
They stand on the shoulders of giants
Veronica Rusnak | Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA | 03/09/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Wow. This is so such the "Spirit of Jazz" that I always loved I can't even find the words. True jazzbos taking the basic charts of melodies and do what they do best: reintrepret without reinventing, and still keep in there (albeit buried) the original soul of the composition. Standout track is Kasmir -- I play this for friends and they all sit up and take notice: "Wow, who ARE these guys?" Back in Black is my second favorite: they maintain the its-only-rock-and-roll-but-i-like-it playfulness of AC/DC. Oh, and they're absolutely demented. Liner notes say this was recorded at Frank Booth, so that should clue you into to the level of dementia. Further, in acknowleding (sp?) the original composers of their songs, they write in their liner notes "We stand on the shoulders of giants." Indeed."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1