- Audio CD (9 Nov 2004)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Format: Import
- Label: Evolver
- ASIN: B00067Z264
- Other Editions: Audio CD | MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,260,927 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Apprenticed in the Don Van Vliet school of the exploding note theory, Lucas has evolved a unique and instantly identifiable style of playing. Based on a mix of jazz, blues, world and rock, his references are broad, from Davis, Zappa, Harry Smith, Syd Barrett to Richard Wagner via 30 and 40's film scores.
Improve The Shining Hour is an eclectic and special brew, a retrospective of unreleased recordings of the first 20 years of his musical career. The exploding notes are heard on three Captain Beefheart compositions including Flavor Bud Living and Oat Hate. His National Steel is to the fore with former New York Doll, David Johansson on Spider Web a 21st Century delta blues, (better than the Joan Osbourne version - which has Lucas too). More slide is heard with Charles' son, Eric Mingus, who does a blues shouter's rendition of the hymn Judgement. Among the 18 tracks of this 70 minute CD, you will find an American folk version of Astro Boy, and Mary Margaret O'Hara with a quite unnerving version of Canadian poet Paul Haines' She Was Showing Me. Not forgetting a couple of short, written-for-TV pieces, and Lucas improvision with scratch artist DJ Spooky. However, "Dulce", a gentle Latin jazz song with Uruaguayan chanteuse Elli Medeiros, just wins my vote. Tremendous variety, much for most tastes and an excellent introduction to Lucas, the master musician.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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2 reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Lucas' Biograph
27 Jun 2000
Format:Audio CD
(...)If Gary Lucas was ever a guitar rookie, it doesn't show here. This is Lucas' Biograph, his Basement Tapes: sterling songs and instrumentals that lay somewhere like loose gems in a drawer waiting for the right setting. Lucas, who has played with everyone from Leonard Bernstein to Captain Beefheart, has the true artist's need to copter again and again into fresh territory, to see how his skills and vision can interact with new forms. Included here are solo acoustic guitar pieces (some with Lucas' own vocals, something he has been too shy about), others are shimmering sheets of controlled electric sweetness. Lyrics range from the zany to the philosophical. One of the best pieces here is an earth-toned, slide guitar and tabla driven, version of "Spider Web," a song Lucas wrote with Joan Osborne and which was nominated for a Grammy. Lucas also includes a few pieces from his days with Captain Beefheart. The best of these is the the instrumental "Oat Hate" (Beefheart's name for sexual jealousy). Lucas also includes his comic side: the "Astro Boy" theme, excerpted from an unreleased (WHAT? why?) album with Peter Stampel. But, for me, the big blue diamond here is "She was Showing Me," from the "Darn It!" album. Lucas' music here is layered, skewed, with an astonishingly original and dense kind of counterpoint---this one of those Lucas tracks that makes me wonder why someone isn't calling up the Kronos Quartet and saying, "Listen to this!" Lucas is not just a good, but a brilliant composer. One wonders, how many more gems is he keeping hid?
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Eclectic array of authentic talent
14 July 2003
Format:Audio CD
Blues, rock, avant garde, jazz, musical accompaniment to a narrative, African influenced, an energetic, humorous children's tune, and what the CD jacket describes well as "sensuous dementia" - this record draws a little from a lot of categories. The amazing thing is how well executed they all are. Gary Lucas seems to be afraid to tackle nothing and these tracks include solo instrumentals, his own vocals, and vocals by others, including Don Van Vliet (Captain Beefheart), the delicate voice of Eli Medeiros, the raw power of Eric Mingus, and the husky but expressive David Johansen.
The eclecticism is only one appeal. There simply isn't an unmemorable track on the album. The understated beauty of the Latin influenced "Dulce" is spotlighted by Eli Medeiros' sweet vocals. It's a song that makes you want to cuddle up to someone special on the dance floor with its sensuous flavor. My favorite song on this CD is "Breath of Bones," which defines its own sound that is very difficult to categorize neatly in a box of perfectly designed criteria. The beginning solo electric guitar with effects creates a psychedelic aura that foretells an unknown event that promises to thrill. Vocals, which appear later, are by Lucas, whose low, seductive (almost) whisperings accent perfectly this totally funky creation. As with most innovative and intelligent music, these are songs that seem to present a new facet each time you listen to them. I found this especially true with his Grammy-nominated song, "Spider Web," vocally interpreted here by a very bluesy David Johansen. One can almost imagine the song, "Follow" as a Broadway tune with a broad vocal range from Richard Barone
Although people have unique tastes which, of course, necessitates that we won't all enjoy the same type of music, I will venture to say that with so much talent rolled into so many different avenues on this album, I think it virtually impossible that one will not discover at least one tune which really grabs hold and stays with you. This album is an excellent reply posed by the question, "So, what kind of music does Gary Lucas play?"
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