The Musical Box

off-duty winter listening this week has included…

Adrian Belew: Side Four - Guitarist Belew burned it up on a snowy mid-February Saturday last year in Newport. The live Side Four was recorded the night before in Dayton. From the jittery drive of Writing on the Wall to the finale firestorm of King Crimson’s Thela Hun Ginjeet, Side Four lets Belew’s power trio funk, pop and roll run wild.

Peter Brotzman Chicago Tentet: Chicago Tentet at Molde 2007 - Saxophonist Brotzman, an elder free jazz visionary, reconvenes his new generation Chicago Tentet for music that is mediative, mysterious and, eventually, almost disturbing in its level of brute physicality. The opening Ten by Ten (all 39 minutes of it) is a volcano all unto itself. 

Fairport Convention: Many Ears to Please - A real discovery. Many Ears to Please unearths a February 1975 gig in Norway with fill-in drummer Paul Warren, the playful interplay of fidder Dave Swarbrick and guitarist Jerry Donahue and a repertoire that spotlights the gallant return of the great Sandy Denny.  

Gram Parsons: The Complete Reprise Sessions - Having soaked up the recent archival Parsons/Flying Burrito Brothers live CD as well as Emmylou Harris’ sublime rendition of Parsons’ Grievous Angel recently at the Singletary Center, it was time to delve back into the early ’70s studio albums that made traditional honky tonk music seem psychedelic.

Anthony Phillips: Field Day - A veteran British guitarist (and co-founding member of Genesis), Phillips discards the more amibient keyboard trappings of his recent solo albums and offers a wealth of solo acoustic guitar/bouzouki instrumentals (61 tracks on two discs) that place the honest melancholy of his playing in a more organic light. A 2005 release.