Guest akanalog Posted March 12, 2004 Report Share Posted March 12, 2004 this was asked a bit ago but i was wondering if anyone had any opinions of some good bill laswell productions to check out. i have recently heard some of his material stuff for the first time and was really impressed by "secret life" and enjoyed "one down" a lot too besides the whitney houston ballad. but then i tried out "seven souls" and found it pretty cheesy. i was also surprised to find i really liked the bill laswell solo album on tzadik. don't remember the name right now. but does anyone have any recommendations of any non-cheesy bill laswell? i was in a store today and so much of his output-on axiom, sub rosa, subharmonic-whatever... looked questionable both based on the graphics and names of the albums. i am sure there is some great stuff out there....i seem to remember in the old thread someone recommended the gigi(?) album but maybe i am not remembering correctly. anyway, any input is welcome. i am surprised i have heard so little of his work at this point in my life..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Burke Posted March 12, 2004 Report Share Posted March 12, 2004 (edited) Laswell suffers from John Zorn Syndrome (i.e. he puts out way too much shit and much of it is of either questionable quailty or simply an aesthetic execsie that doesn't hold up over the length of an entire LP). In other words, almost everything they put out is "the one where I do this or the one where I do that" instead of just "my new album". I dunno. That's my take. Edited March 12, 2004 by Brandon Burke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted March 12, 2004 Report Share Posted March 12, 2004 Personally I can't stand John Zorn, and I like an awful lot of the Bill Laswell I've been discovering lately. Go figure. I'd recommend a few that I keep playing over and over: Tabla Beat Science (I prefer the two disc DVD, but the two cd live is very good as well; haven't yet gotten the initial release, saving that for when I need to buy a thrill) Gigi, and especially Gigi Illuminated Audio (which is an "ambient dub translation" and doesn't really feature this Ethiopian singer much but is a fantastic production): this singer from Ethiopia singing secularized Ethiopian holy music is given great support by Laswell's production and arrangements (I think) and Herbie, Pharoah, Wayne, etc. Imaginary Cuba: this is a reworking of a lot of contemporary Cuban music that is quite successful in my opinion Jazzonia: took me a bit to warm up to but I like this hip-hop jazz fusion that has Karl Berger arrangements and performances, Byard Lancaster, Kevin Haynes, etc. . . . At first I thought it was too pop but then I realized that was the point, it wasn't aimed at me, and there's some really nice material here if you open up your mind a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockefeller center Posted March 12, 2004 Report Share Posted March 12, 2004 Massacre, "Funny Valentine" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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