Bestial Cluster: Mick Karn: Amazon.co.uk: Music

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com ^(beta)

Amazon.com: 4.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful music from a master stylist, 26 Feb 2001

By John Hendow - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Bestial Cluster (Audio CD)

Mick Karn was born on the island of Cyprus, with the music/culture of Egypt, Israel, Syria, and Turkey all around him. At a young age he moved to London, later forming the band "Japan" with his school chum David Sylvian. Mick plays bassoon, clarinet, keyboards, and other instruments on his recordings, but in the context of Japan he held down the low notes. Early on, he pulled the frets out of his bass, and his trademark fretless playing quickly developed. In 1983, the band dissolved, leaving Karn with a unique style and plenty of musical inspiration. His studio work with other musicians such as Midge Ure and Joan Armatrading is pretty interesting, and is worth investigating. Check out "Dalis Car" (with former Bauhaus vocalist Peter Murphy) for evidence of surreal atmospheric pop; take note of the fact the Mick plays ALL the instruments on this CD.

The atmospheric multicultural grooves on Bestial Cluster are evidence of his maturing musicianship and compositional abilities. It is perhaps his most musically complex CD to date, and he has said it was among his most challenging endeavors. You will frequently find him collaborating with guitarist/loopist David Torn. Their complimentary musical explorations are always interesting (listen to "Polytown" for a good starting point). David Torn once described Mick Karn by saying "It's as if Bootsy was Moroccan." Hard to top that :)

Torn lends some tasty guitar work to this effort, and it's well worth finding a copy. Take a listen to this CD and be entranced by an intoxicating tapestry of sounds.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A solid performance by a unique artist, 6 Dec 2004

By Christian Buckley - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Bestial Cluster (Audio CD)

I came across this gem in a small shop in San Francisco, and was pleasantly surprised by how good the album is. Performed with David Torn, and fellow Japan members Steve Jansen and Richard Barbieri, Bestial Cluster showcases the many sides of Mick Karn. He plays a wide range of instruments, but at the center is always his dominating and unique bass sound. And his voice isn't half bad, either.

My favorites include the title track, The Drowning Dream, and Bones of Mud. If you're looking for an extension of Japan, this is not for you. There's nothing "pop" or "mainstream" about this. This is pure art-rock ala Karn,a nd I give it a big thimbs up.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Aggressive and exciting., 11 April 2005

By Michael Stack - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Bestial Cluster (Audio CD)

Mick Karn's "Bestial Cluster" is a superb record-- on this, he's managed to balance the different elements of his music, his bass is front and center, but equal time is given to other instruments, and when he sings, its with a confidence that his previous vocals lacked. Add to that a stellar support cast-- "ambient with an attitude" guitar monster David Torn, fellow ex-Japan/Rain Tree Crow bandmates Richard Barbieri (synths) and Steve Jansen (drums, synths), and guest spots by such big names as Joachim Kuhn (piano) and David Liebman (soprano sax), and a great album comes forth.

It is Torn's voice second only to Karn's, that shines loudest-- his fretwork mixes and twists around Karn's rubbery bass into a potent combination, check out "Back in the Beginning" where the two twist and turn around Kuhn's masterful piano solo.

The album covers a number of moods-- from the nightmarish textures of "Back in the Beginning" and the agressive "The Drowning Dream" to the glam pop of "Bestial Cluster" to the funkiness of "Beard in the Letterbox" and "Saday, Maday". The material hangs together well, and this constant movement in mood keeps any of it from growing dull or tired-- the last three Karn-driven albums both suffered from a sort of mid-tempo malais (admittedly, "Dreams of Reason...." manages to top it most of the time), but this one escapes with a number of different faces. "Bestial Cluster" is a good place to start looking into Karn, and certainly essential for fans of either the man or fantastic bass playing in general.

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