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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
"All We Are Saying" is Bill Frisell's third album for Savoy in 13 months.
Since August of 2010, the guitarist has released "Beautiful Dreamers", "Sign of Life", and now this one. In addition, he collaborated on the duet recording "Lagrimas Mexicana"s with Brazilian guitarist Vinicius Cantuaria on Naive Jazz, released earlier this year.
All We Are Saying is a full-length offering of Frisell's interpretations of John Lennon's music.
Frisell's quintet includes violinist Jenny Scheinman, pedal steel and acoustic guitarist Greg Leisz, bassist Tony Scherr, and drummer Kenny Wollesen.
Almost none of these 16 tunes are radical reinterpretations of Lennon's songs; most stick close to the original melodies even at their most adventurous. While there are obvious attempts at rock due to the root material -- "Revolution" and "Come Together" most notably -- this isn't a 'rock' album per se, nor is it a noodling jazz record. It's much more slippery than either.
The opening "Across the Universe", with its twinning of Frisell's electric guitar and Leisz's pedal steel as Scheinman's violin picks up the lyric melody and extrapolates its harmonic aspects, is indicative of the recording's M.O., offering a close examination of Lennon 'the composer'. The interplay between the three principals is remarkable, such as on the intro to "Nowhere Man," where Scheinman's ostinato tenses up in advance of the changes, and Leisz grounds her fluidly while Frisell pulls his lower strings to wind up, allowing the track to begin then flow into more open areas without losing sight of the melody.
Sometimes it doesn't work. "Hold On" is such a ghostly sketch it's hardly there at all, and the insertion of a Bach motif in "In My Life" almost makes it a novelty tune.
"Mother", with its dissonant opening guitar, is the bluesiest thing here; its much slower tempo only adds to this impression.
"Beautiful Boy" dispenses with anything extraneous save for inserting a country stroll at its center; its pace is a bit quicker to boot.
The album closes with "Give Peace a Chance". Frisell employs an array of effects in swirling, shimmering contrast with Leisz's swelling steel and Scheinman's droning violin.
Scherr's languid bassline, and Wollesen's lack of an authoritative backbeat and slow tempo attempt psychedelia, but feel more like an opium dream. It's the only exception to the close-to-the-core feel of the the album, and it becomes something wholly other.
"All We Are Saying" is a revealing listen to the side of Lennon that isn't examined closely -- or often -- enough. That said, as a whole, it feels a bit "too" laid-back, especially given its nearly 70-minute length. T. Jurek
Since August of 2010, the guitarist has released "Beautiful Dreamers", "Sign of Life", and now this one. In addition, he collaborated on the duet recording "Lagrimas Mexicana"s with Brazilian guitarist Vinicius Cantuaria on Naive Jazz, released earlier this year.
All We Are Saying is a full-length offering of Frisell's interpretations of John Lennon's music.
Frisell's quintet includes violinist Jenny Scheinman, pedal steel and acoustic guitarist Greg Leisz, bassist Tony Scherr, and drummer Kenny Wollesen.
Almost none of these 16 tunes are radical reinterpretations of Lennon's songs; most stick close to the original melodies even at their most adventurous. While there are obvious attempts at rock due to the root material -- "Revolution" and "Come Together" most notably -- this isn't a 'rock' album per se, nor is it a noodling jazz record. It's much more slippery than either.
The opening "Across the Universe", with its twinning of Frisell's electric guitar and Leisz's pedal steel as Scheinman's violin picks up the lyric melody and extrapolates its harmonic aspects, is indicative of the recording's M.O., offering a close examination of Lennon 'the composer'. The interplay between the three principals is remarkable, such as on the intro to "Nowhere Man," where Scheinman's ostinato tenses up in advance of the changes, and Leisz grounds her fluidly while Frisell pulls his lower strings to wind up, allowing the track to begin then flow into more open areas without losing sight of the melody.
Sometimes it doesn't work. "Hold On" is such a ghostly sketch it's hardly there at all, and the insertion of a Bach motif in "In My Life" almost makes it a novelty tune.
"Mother", with its dissonant opening guitar, is the bluesiest thing here; its much slower tempo only adds to this impression.
"Beautiful Boy" dispenses with anything extraneous save for inserting a country stroll at its center; its pace is a bit quicker to boot.
The album closes with "Give Peace a Chance". Frisell employs an array of effects in swirling, shimmering contrast with Leisz's swelling steel and Scheinman's droning violin.
Scherr's languid bassline, and Wollesen's lack of an authoritative backbeat and slow tempo attempt psychedelia, but feel more like an opium dream. It's the only exception to the close-to-the-core feel of the the album, and it becomes something wholly other.
"All We Are Saying" is a revealing listen to the side of Lennon that isn't examined closely -- or often -- enough. That said, as a whole, it feels a bit "too" laid-back, especially given its nearly 70-minute length. T. Jurek
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I'm not particularly a jazz fan but I am a fan of Bill, much of whose work doesn't seem like jazz to me, being a mix of American roots music incorporating elements of folk, country and blues. I was therefore very curious to see how his interpretations of these Lennon tunes would turn out and I've got to say that I'm not convinced that on the whole they do work - although I'm not exactly sure why.
The playing and production is immaculate, as you'd expect, but for me there isn't that rootsiness to keep everything grounded. The fact the these tunes are so well-known to baby-boomers like me means that some of the quieter more melodic pieces such as 'Julia' and 'Woman' just come out sounding like cheesy lift music - albeit very well-played lift music. And I'm afraid that the inclusion of lap steel and violin in Bill's combo only adds to this atmosphere of cheesiness. 'In my life' is one of my favourite Beatles' songs but while this instrumental version is OK it just doesn't have the poignancy that the lyrics in combination with the music bring. I did like the more muscular 'Revolution' and the loping version of 'Please please me' but I'd much prefer to see Bill returning to his more familiar American roots music.
The playing and production is immaculate, as you'd expect, but for me there isn't that rootsiness to keep everything grounded. The fact the these tunes are so well-known to baby-boomers like me means that some of the quieter more melodic pieces such as 'Julia' and 'Woman' just come out sounding like cheesy lift music - albeit very well-played lift music. And I'm afraid that the inclusion of lap steel and violin in Bill's combo only adds to this atmosphere of cheesiness. 'In my life' is one of my favourite Beatles' songs but while this instrumental version is OK it just doesn't have the poignancy that the lyrics in combination with the music bring. I did like the more muscular 'Revolution' and the loping version of 'Please please me' but I'd much prefer to see Bill returning to his more familiar American roots music.
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Everyone covers Lennon/The Beatles, but not like this. This man is a genius of the guitar. The phrasing is his unique quality, he plays the notes and the spaces between them like no-one else. His more extreme/pure jazz is not to my taste but anything less demanding I love. Anyone who can make 'Goodnight Irene' (obviously not on this album) so beautiful is special.
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