Besides

Editorial Reviews
From the Label
There is an elite group of artists in the world whose B-sides, the so-called "throwaways" that for some reason didn't make it on to their albums, stand with anything on those albums. Bob Mould is just such an artist. BESIDES collects the studio cuts and live tracks that backed the singles from COPPER BLUE and FILE UNDER: EASY LISTENING.

From the studio gem "Needle Hits E," to scorching live versions of "JC Auto," the Who's "Armenia City In The Sky, and the harrowing "The Slim," BESIDES completes the picture of Sugar with the hard melody of the studio and raw emotion of the live stage. It also provides more insight into the songwriting talents of bassist David Barbe, who is represented by four tracks, including "Where Diamonds Are Halos" and "Frustration."

A must for fans, BESIDES is also powerful evidence that there is even more to Sugar than can be fit into an album or captured in the studio.

BESIDES also features a special bonus. The CD contains an extra CD-ROM track, containing a QuickTime version of the video for the track File Under:Easy Listening track "Gee Angel." The video is accessible on both Macintosh and Windows machines, provided that they are properly configured for CD Plus. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

An Introduction to Der Ring des Nibelungen
Average customer rating:

Ring introduction critique

FASCINATING STUDY FOR NOVICES AND AFFICIONADOS ALIKE

Welcome back to a classic analysis

Essential for Understanding Wagner's Ring Cycle

Very Functional

An Introduction to Der Ring des Nibelungen
Deryck Cooke , Georg Solti , Wiener Philharmoniker , Anita Valkki , Berit Lindholm , Birgit Nilsson , Brigitte Fassbaender , Christa Ludwig , Claire Watson , Claudia Hellmann , Dame Gwyneth Jones , Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , Eberhard Wächter , George London , Gerhard Stolze , Gottlob Frick , Grace Hoffmann , Gustav Neidlinger , Hans Hotter , Helen Watts , Helga Dernesch , Hetty Plumacher , Ira Malaniuk , James King , Jean Madeira , Joan Sutherland , Kirsten Flagstad , Kurt Böhme , Lucia Popp , Marga Höffgen , Marilyn Tyler , Maureen Guy , Oda Balsborg , Paul Kuen , Régine Crespin , Set Svanholm , Vera Little , Vera Schlosser , Waldemar Kmentt , Walter Kreppel , and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Wagner's Ring: Turning the Sky Round

Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen (Ring Cycle) / Sir Georg Solti

Decoding Wagner: An Invitation to His World of Music Drama (includes 2 CDs)

Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen / Levine, Metropolitan Opera (Complete Ring Cycle)

Ring of the Nibelung

ASIN: B00000424H
Release Date: 2005-09-13

Tracks:

Of All Great Musical Compositions... (Examples 1-4)
The Fundamental Symbol... (Examples 5-11)
Returning Now To The Nature Motive... (Examples 6, 12-16)
A Number Of Further Motives... (Examples 5, 17-21)
A Second, Much Smaller Family... (Examples 22-25)
So Much For Nature. (Examples 26-38)
The Cause Of The Deterioration... (Examples 39-44)
The Other Transformation... (Examples 45-48)
Several Other Motives... (Examples 49-52)
Two Further Motives... (Examples 41, 53-61)
The Basic Motive Associated With The Spear... (Examples 62-68)
Along Another, More Complex Line... (Examples 69-72)
In Act Two Of Walkure... (Examples 69, 73-75)
Returning Now To Act Two Of Walkure... (Examples 76-79)
Love Is Another Of The Central Symbols... (Examples 80-83)
Later In The Same Scene... (Examples 84-87)
Freia's Motive Has Two Independent Segments... (Examples 88-91)
The Label 'Flight'... (Example 92)
When Fasolt, In Scene Two Of Rhinegold... (Examples 93-98)
A Little Later In The Interlude... (Examples 99-103)

Tracks:

The Other New Motive... (Examples 104-109)
There Are Several Independent Love-Motives... (Examples 110-114)
The Characters In Whose Lives... (Examples 115-120)
One Further Motive Belongs... (Example 121)
The Sword Motive Recurs... (Examples 122-130)
Ironically, This Phrase... (Examples 131-135)
Closely Associated With Gutrune's Motive... (Examples 136-140)
Here We Come To The End... (Examples 141-146)
Complemtary To This Symbol... (Examples 147-149)
One Last Central Symbol... (Examples 150-157)
One Further Motive Connected... (Examples 158-161)
There Are One Or Two Motives... (Examples 162-168)
These Motives Of Alberich And Mime... (Examples 169-171)
Quite A Number Of The Subsidiary Motives... (Examples 172-176)
Besides This Family Of Motives... (Examples 177-180)
Our Final Example... (Examples 10, 181, 182)
In The Final Scene Of Gotterdammerung... (Examples 181-183)
Even More Masterly... (Examples 184-188)
Now If We Return... (Examples 189-191)
This Masterly Way... (Examples 192, 193)

Amazon.com

When Wagner set the Ring to music, he intended the orchestra to act in the fashion of a chorus from a classic Greek tragedy--setting the mood and commenting on the action. In order to allow a nonverbal musical line to reflect on the plot, Wagner developed a psychologically and musically complex symbology to communicate his thoughts to the listener. From the beginning the Ring has spawned numerous written commentaries on the relationships of the motif structure, but by using examples from the Decca Ring recording, Deryck Cooke's thoughtful spoken commentary is by far the most accessible guide for either the fledgling Ring enthusiast or the seasoned veteran. --Christian C. Rix

Customer Reviews:

Ring introduction critique.......2006-11-04

This is very worthwhile, at the same time it requires time, patience and attention, but it does provide some keys to better enjoyment of a sensational piece of music.

FASCINATING STUDY FOR NOVICES AND AFFICIONADOS ALIKE.......2006-08-16

This may look an intimidating, daunting and dull prospect - a 2+ hour lecture on the motifs in the Ring. Don't be put off. Whether you're a relative novice to the Ring and want to find out what it's all about, more experienced with a desire to understand the composer's methods better or an afficionado who thinks he knows it all inside out, there is great pleasure as well as elucidation to be had from this set. Originally made to accompany the Decca Solti Ring, it contains a multitude of musical illustrations taken from those recordings as well as some specially recorded by Solti just for this Introduction.

It wasn't the first time this has been tried. The famous HMV sets from the late 20's also included recorded examples of over 100 motifs. (These, by the way, are available as part of the Pearl reissue of those wonderful HMV recordings). What that set lacked was the wonderful insights as well as the approachability of the talk by Deryck Cooke. Cooke was a great and much missed musicologist - a Mahler expert responsible for the performing edition of the Tenth Symphony still most played today, a fascinating explorer into the nature of music's basic building-blocks in his excellent book, The Language of Music, and an inspiring and elucidating critic of Wagner's work as shown by the fascinating book he left unfinished at his death, I Saw the World End.

On these CDs he does much more than list the leitmotifs and identify them as calling-cards. He shows the amazingly integrated and organic growth of the musical material that Wagner uses throughout his vast work. He demonstrates how motifs can change their sense and meaning as they evolve through the drama. And he shows how the complex combinations of motifs can radically advance both the musical and the dramatic narrative of the piece. There are even places where he corrects the misinterpretation of some of the motifs that had become ingrained from early commentators' false labels.

This set should engage and enlighten anyone with an interest in Wagner's huge and inexhaustible tetralogy. Do give it a try - no matter how far down the road to Wagnerianism you are.

Welcome back to a classic analysis.......2006-05-28

Deryck Cooke's lecture series upon THE RING is almost as much a classic by now as the Solti RING cycle, with which it was originally issued on LP, and from which it derives its musical examples. The difference is that whereas the Solti RING has been continuously in print ever since it was completed, and was among the first opera sets to benefit from the CD revolution, the Cooke analysis was for long almost totally unobtainable. Now we have it back. It should be welcomed: it is a classic. Cooke's mellow, deep voice with the hint of a Celtic burr - which made him ideal on BBC radio - patiently explains Wagner's melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic metamorphoses to such good effect that if you own this recording, you really require no other RING analysis. (A pity about the abrupt beginnings and endings of too many vocal and orchestral illustrations, though.) Musicology lost a fine, sensitive thinker with Cooke's premature death in 1976.

If all you want is dilettantish baby food, there are plenty of dumbed-down Wagner commentaries on the market, stretching from Anna Russell's famous monologue (which doesn't pretend to be anything other than a parody aimed at morons) to the latest standard-issue "Wagner-was-a-Nazi-boo-hiss" feuilleton (which, unfortunately, does). Without reasonable score-reading skill you will find Cooke useless, however diligently you have ploughed through Marx, Jung, Freud, or other gurus purportedly relevant to THE RING. Cooke expects you to use your brains and your musical sense. Quelle horreur. At today's BBC his "elitism" would render him unemployable.

Essential for Understanding Wagner's Ring Cycle.......2006-05-15

I originally bought this set on vinyl in the early 70s when I discovered the Ring in college. I studied the records and booklet assiduously, and after about three run-throughs I finally started getting it. Wow! Thirty-five years later, I still remember Mr. Cooke's analyses of various motive families, and I don't know how I could have mastered and loved the Ring without him. I now own this set on CD and listen again on the rare occasion of attending a Ring performance. My wife calls me a "Ring nut," but of course I'm nuts about many other things as well.

Bottom line, buy this set and study it if the Ring has captivated you as it has countless others. The presentation is dry, but sticking with it brings measureless and longlasting rewards.

Very Functional.......2006-03-19

This CD set is excellent for what it sets out to do: present the leitmotives of the Ring according to their relationship to one another and their role in developing both characters and plotlines. Deryck Cooke's lectures on each motive are very insightful, very helpful at cueing the listener into the semantic aspect of Wagner's orchestral writing. The one drawback is that the musical examples are a bit jarring. Without fade-ins or -outs, the engineering is quite barbaric. And though the orchestra was, I believe, conducted by Solti, and is beautifully done, the vocal performances can be quite unpleasant. Point being: this is not background music, but in accomplishing what it sets out to do, it is very successful, and I don't know of anything else like it.

Average customer rating:

I'm Really Diggin This CD
happiness is easy
Rarities collected
for new wave and experimental Talk Talk hardcores
Classic synth artists who forgot they had talent...

Asides Besides
Talk Talk
Manufacturer: Caroline
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Party's Over
Missing Pieces
Laughing Stock
The Colour of Spring
Spirit of Eden

ASIN: B00000883W
Release Date: 2000-01-04

Tracks:

Talk Talk (Extended Version)
Today (Extended Version)
My Foolish Friend (Extended Version)
It's My Life (Extended Version)
Such A Shame (Extended Mix)
Such A Shame (Dub Mix)
Dum Dum Girl (12' Mix)
Without You (12' Mix)
Life's What You Make It (Extended Mix)
Living In Another World (Extended Remix)
Pictures Of Bernadette (Dance Mix)
Happiness Is Easy (12' Mix)

Tracks:

Talk Talk (Demo Version)
Mirror Man (Demo Version)
Candy (Demo Version)
Strike Up The Band
My Foolish Friend
Call In The Night Boy (Piano Version)
Why Is It So Hard?
Again A Game...Again
Without You
Dum Dum Girl (U.S. Mix)
It's Getting Late In The Evening
For What It's Worth
Pictures Of Bernadette
Eden (Edit)
John Cope

Album Description

28 track compilation of 12in remixes, B-sides and demo versions, including the original extended versions of 'Talk Talk', 'Today', 'It's My Life', 'My Foolish Friend', 'Such AShame', 'Life's What You Make It', 'Living In Another World', 'Dum Dum Girl' and more! Nearly all of the tracks are on CD for the first time. Also features original artworkby James March. AVAILABLE FOR SIX MONTHS ONLY!!! Double slimline jewel case. 1998 EMI Records release.

Album Details

Very Limited Edition. 28 Tracks featuring Many Highly Collectable Recordings on CD for the First Time.

Customer Reviews:

I'm Really Diggin This CD.......2005-07-18

My Talk Talk days start in 1982 when they were warm up for Elvis Costello at Orlando. The auditorium was 1/4 full for the warm up and I wish I had moved up front as I did for Costello (who was amazing, played it seemed like 3 hours). Talk Talk really had me wanting to move my feet with music from their first album (to bad I didn't have a date :-( ). I got the "cassette" (yes those days, lol), and played that thing out (actually traded it from a guy for I think a Duran Duran tape, lol). I was hooked on that first album "The Party's Over", but really found a strong groove that continues 20 years later with the discs "It's my Life" and "Colour Of Spring", I also bought "Spirit Of Eden" but was like wow, I'm not into this at all. Sans present day, I am looking for their first disc after missing it for 20 years after the tape wore out and discover "Asides, Besides", what a great investment! For me now I have all the Talk Talk I want, this disc has all the songs from "Spirit" I enjoy plus alternate (which I LOVE) and remix tracks (interesting, some better than others) of my favorite 3 discs. I could recommend this for someone looking to invest in only one cd from the group that this be the one and for Talk Talk fans its great material to augment the stuff you already own and have probably listened to for 20+ years like me. Since I have gotten this collection a couple of months ago, I havn't really played the originals, it's that good!

happiness is easy.......2005-02-10

One of the more artistic and least appreciated bands of the 80's, Talk Talk created some brilliant and hauntingly beautiful tunes, although with each successive album they drifted further from the pop sensibilities of their early hits, `It's My Life' and `Talk Talk.'

Talk Talk is one of those bands that people either loved or hated the vocals. Mark Hollis has a nasal tenor voice. It's a unique voice, to be sure, but just not for everyone.

There are two aspects to this collection: first, of course, is the collection of extended versions, remixes, and demo versions. Yes, many of the songs on disk one appear on other collections, and on the extended play vinyl for each single. What makes this collection special is really disk 2, with demo versions of Talk Talk, Mirror Man, and Candy, and a variety of versions and a couple new songs that don't appear on any other release. For a collector, this is a must have.

The other reason I like this collection is the insert. The booklet contains the artwork from each single, as well as pictures of the band at each phase of the band. Just a really nice touch, and well worth owning.

Rarities collected.......2004-03-28

This could be very interesting collection - Talk Talk was like chameleon,transisting from new wave pop band to ambitious rock formation up to relaxing ambient collective. Well - the fact is that many track are really valuable and rare such as never published elswhere on Cd poppy "strike up the band", rocking "Pictures of bernardette" or "?" and a lot of demos and remixes. but most of track shows us why they were b-sides - they are simply simple,quite boring,uninspiring second class synth pop.I like tal talk but this collection is mostly for their biggest fans,offering a lot of treasures that are that valuable mostly because they were not published on cd befor. But the real gem here is "john cope" (can be found on some one best of collection) - atmospheric and catchy "spirit of eden" outtake that could be a great single hit.
but for all - 3 stars

for new wave and experimental Talk Talk hardcores.......2001-11-03

For the experimental Spirit of Eden, Laughing Stock, & Colour of Spring philes, this set offers a few gems, namely "John Cope", the sole B-side from the Spirit of Eden sessions. It's a great song, probably deemed to poppy or hooky for SOE. Just imagine a SOE song with more basic structure and... well, kind of like the Colour of Spring. It also includes the B-sides to COS: "It's Getting Late In The Evening", "For What It's Worth", and "Pictures Of Bernadette". The first two give us a glimpse into what's to come with SOE just like "Chameleon Day" did. We also get to hear the fretless bass line omitted from "Life's What You Make It" in the remix version here.

For you new wavers, there are remixes galore and a few demos and B-sides. For all of us who bought the original remix cd and were stunned when the were none of the originals we loved (just cheesy early 90's remixes), this cd is only the originals.

I am a Talk Talk follower who has enjoyed all phases. I remember the strange vibe of Spirit of Eden in 1989, taking a while to get into it, not knowing it was destined to be an underground milestone classic. ciao!

Classic synth artists who forgot they had talent..........2001-08-28

Most people seem to be of the opinion that Talk Talk started off as a Duranie clone and then got better. Personally I think the original sound knocks pegs off the organic sound this group aspired to in their later days, but then I was always a synth man. This 2CD collection is a game of two halves - CD1 contains 12" mixes of the Talk Talk singles (plus a few more), while CD2 contains a shed load of b-sides. As single sets both would be pretty impressive, bunched together you have a collectors dream. Talk Talk had a synth style all their own and were a superior 80's band before they lost their way and eventually lost the plot. This collection showcases how good this band were when they were on song. For me, the best songs were around the It's My Life album. Therefore my favourite songs from each of the CD's are as follows: CD1 : It's My Life, Such A Shame, Dum Dum Girl, Without You. CD2 : Strike Up The Band, ?, Why Is It So Hard, Again A Game...Again. This is a well-packaged collection, a lot of time and effort went into the booklet with reproductions of all the single sleeves with the incredible James Marsh illustrations where applicable. There are also a number of photo reproductions from the boys in their hey-day and also some useful bits of information that you probably didn't know.

Average customer rating:

All About The Music
Besides...
Plenty of good stuff here
3.5 stars
Disjointed but brilliant!

Besides
Sugar
Manufacturer: Rykodisc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Beaster
File Under: Easy Listening
Copper Blue
Black Sheets of Rain
The Last Dog & Pony Show

ASIN: B0000009PP
Release Date: 1995-07-25

Tracks:

Needle Hits E
If I Can't Change Your Mind (Solo Mix)
Try Again
Where Diamonds Are Halos
Armenia City In The Sky
Clownmaster
Anyone
JC Auto
Believe What You're Saying (Campfire Mix)
Mind Is An Island
Frustration
Going Home
In The Eyes Of My Friends
And You Tell Me
After All The Roads Have Led To Nowhere
Explode And Make Up
The Slim

Customer Reviews:

All About The Music.......2005-12-31

This is good, solid stuff! It's hard to believe that these are B-sides, although there are some that are much better than others.

What I always liked about Sugar, is that they never got flashy or over-produced. They just play great music, and that's the case with most of this CD too. It definitely has its strong parts: "Needle," "If I can't Change Your Mind," "Believe" but this is worth having.

The funny thing is that this was my first Sugar disc. I built from here, so it was good enough to get me hooked!

Besides..........2005-09-30

Does anyone know what the picture is on the cover of the album?

I've always wondered and cant find an answer...

Plenty of good stuff here.......2005-08-22

I think it's just criminal that "Needle Hits E" was left off Copper Blue. It would have made a great album even greater. But at least we finally got it here. Mould also delivers with "Mind Is An Island," "Going Home" and "After All The Roads Have Led To Nowhere." Additionally, "Armenia City In The Sky" is an agreeably groovy cover.

Probably the most illuminating aspect of this album is that it finally gave us a decent look at bassist David Barbe's songwriting abilities. For all the talk of Sugar being something more than just Bob Mould and some hired guns, the band's three proper releases up to this point had been dominated completely by Mould except for Barbe's just-OK "Company Book." Barbe has four songs on Besides, and they're all pretty good. I would argue that "In The Eyes Of My Friends" and "When Diamonds Are Halos" deserved better than a B-sides compilation. Barbe doesn't have nearly the voice that Mould does, but as long as he stays within his limited range, he sings well enough.

I was never able to see Sugar live during the band's limited life, so the bonus live disc (which came with a limited number of copies) is particularly gratifying.

3.5 stars.......2004-04-10

Back in the '80s, Minneapolis was home to some of the best post-punk bands known to mankind like The Replacements, Soul Asylum (before Dave Pirner sold his soul to the devil with "Runaway Train"), Babes in Toyland (Courtney Love has nothing on Kat Bjelland), and Husker Du. After Husker Du broke up, Bob Mould moved on to Sugar. I wasn't a big fan of the band but they did have some solid songs, especially on their debut album "Copper Blue". One of my favorite songs is "If I Can't Change Your Mind", especially the acoustic mix. It received a lot of airplay here in the land of 10,000 lakes.

The other day I was at my local library and came across Sugar's b-side compilation "Besides". I had to check it out because of the solo mix of "If I Can't Change Your Mind" which was Bob Mould on acoustic guitar. I rarely hear the song on my local radio stations nowadays (thank you very much Clear Channel for ruining music diversity on the radio). I found "Besides" enjoyable for the most part but towards the end of the cd, the music began to get on my nerves. Now I know why some of these songs weren't previously released, they were not very good to begin with. I really did enjoy songs such as "Needle Hits E", and "Try Again". The first half of the cd was actually solid. I think Bob Mould should have made this full length album and EP (extended play) and ended the cd somewhere between "Anyone" and "Mind is An Island". For all its flaws, "Besides" is tolerable enough to give it 3.5 stars and it sounds a lot better than a lot of new music today.

Disjointed but brilliant!.......2001-11-18

Like most b-sides collections, Besides is not for those just diving into the vast, brilliant career of Bob Mould. To get a bit more specific, if I could own only one Sugar recording, it would be Copper Blue. Of course, most bands can only wish that thier best efforts come anywhere close to Sugar's "trash". The raw energy of "Needle Hits E" and the amazing live version of "JC Auto" alone make it worth owning. Also standing out is the live version "The Slim" and the remix of "Believe What You're Saying". The icing for me, though, is the live "Explode And Make Up", which recalls the miserable, agonizing masterpiece of lost love that was Husker Du's "Candy Apple Grey" album.

Besides: A Collection of B-Sides and Rarities

Average customer rating:

NOT a Collection of Throwaways

Besides: A Collection of B-Sides and Rarities
Buffalo Tom
Manufacturer: Beggars UK - Ada
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Fireworks on TV
Up Here
Three Easy Pieces
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Sky Blue Sky

ASIN: B00006459J
Release Date: 2002-05-27

Tracks:

Witches
For All to See
She Belongs to Me
Bumble Bee
Never Noticed
Way Back
Sally Brown
Hawaiian Baby
Butterscotch
Wah-Wah
Anchors Aweigh [#]
Breathe
Spider and the Fly
Clouds
Cupid Come
Does This Mean You're Not My Friend?
Guiding Star [#]
All Tomorrow's Parties

Album Description

Besides, the companion to the band's anthology Asides From Buffalo Tom, is an eighteen track collection of B sides taken from singles spanning over a decade.

Compiled by the band, Besides features non-album tracks and previously unreleased material plus exclusive track notes.

Album Description

The definitive collection of B-sides and rarities from one of the forefathers of alternative rock. Includes a 16 page deluxe booklet with exclusive track by track notes from the band. 18 tracks. 2002.

Album Details

Collection of B-sides from the Beginning of their Reign of Terror.

Customer Reviews:

NOT a Collection of Throwaways.......2002-05-22

It has been my experience that, for the majority of the time, b-sides, outtakes, demos and soundtrack contributions from musical artists are usually left off of "official" albums for very good reason. Sure, it's fun to collect oddities and cover songs but, generally speaking, they rarely compare to the album material and/or singles. So it's very refreshing to find this collection from Buffalo Tom that sets a shining example of how these types of collections should be done. The generous 18 tracks of b-sides, compilation contributions, and covers found on "Besides" (which should only be purchased after you buy "Asides") span the band's ten plus year career and includes some really nice tracks that are on par with their best work. Many long-time fans have probably heard many of these songs before but the two new "previously unreleased" tracks , "Anchors Aweigh" and a cover of Teenage Fanclub's "Guiding Star" are worth adding to any previous collection you may have put together. Also included are a fun soundcheck cover of the Stones' "The Spider and the Fly", the terrific "Never Noticed" and the piano driven "Bumble Bee". The band also contributes some good liner notes to the collection, explaining the origins of these tunes and why they didn't make it on to any of their full-length albums. For fans of the band this is a must own and for new fans, I suggest "Asides" (a best-of collection) first, followed by this one...the "Ying" (Asides) is better overall but this "Yang" is also a lot of fun.

Average customer rating:

Talent deserving wider recognition.
Beautiful stealth "out" jazz
Junkmedia.org Review - Check him out!

Laughing Barrel
Ron Miles Quartet
Manufacturer: Sterling Circle
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Heaven
Witness
Woman's Day
My Cruel Heart
Critical Mass

ASIN: B00008PX2D
Release Date: 2003-03-25

Tracks:

Parade
New Breed Leader
Psychedelic Black Man
Still Small Voice
Jesus Loves Me
Sunday Best
Fairy Court

Album Description

Ron Miles lives in a constantly shifting musical landscape. Always, it is the conversation with other musicians which affects his landscape with shadow, light, and color. This quartet immediately understands-- with seemingly telepathic clarity-- Ron's musical tableau, and they bring to it their own visions and stories. It is when these stories come together that we find ourselves moving through this brilliantly changing landscape.

Customer Reviews:

Talent deserving wider recognition........2004-08-19

Subtle seems the best way to describe the music of Ron Miles. Primarily known as trumpet-playing sideman to guitarist Bill Frisell and as arranger for Ginger Baker's recent jazz projects, Ron Miles has come into his own as a writer and composer. His take on melody, harmony and rhythm can all be described as subtle. But that is certainly not meant to sell his music short. For the attentive listener, Miles' music reveals endless rewards.

This scaled-down quartet date retains similarities with his final Grammavision release Woman's Day. Ruddy Royston's polyrhythmic drumming and Anthony Cox's sturdy bass support Miles' melodic trumpet excursions. But it is in guitarist Brandon Ross' bag of effects pedals that we hear the sound of surprise. His guitar tone and solo approach varies with practically each piece. The sweetly melodic accompaniment of the opening pastoral ballad "Parade" is contrasted with his distorted solo on the following "New Breed Leader". Although there is sonic variety, this is no post-modern, stylistic grab bag. Miles' writing is, as with the best jazz writers, distinctly his own.

Borrowing heavily from laid back Midwestern country and soulful, mellow swing, Miles' music sounds like a distant cousin to Frisell's own recent excursions into the sound of the heartland. "Sunday best" could easily be mistaken for the sort of catchy tune Frisell himself would pen. But where Frisell has recently strayed from more discordant and edgy material, Miles' seems unafraid of occasionally venturing forth into the maelstrom.

The quartet's experimental edge is best exemplified by the closing track, "Fairy Court", an ostinato-driven free-form jam, with a cooking rhythm section and killer guitar and trumpet work to boot. Wah-wah guitar and plaintive trumpet ride over a steadily rising backbeat during "Psychedelic Blackman". Although more energetic than the other pieces on the album, these are definitely highlights.

Ron Miles is not an especially well-known player in today's jazz scene. Being based out of Colorado can have that effect on a contemporary jazz artist. But don't let that stop you from checking him out. His work deserves wider recognition.

(This review was originally written for the online webzine: junkmedia.org, and was published there April 29, 2003)

Beautiful stealth "out" jazz.......2003-11-04

I'm totally blown away by this disc. What intelligence! What glorious, off-kilter, unfettered jamming! What brilliant (though in no way show-offish) compositions! What stunning group improv!

Listen. This is it. So what if Ron Miles, trumpeter extraordinare, resides in that Western cow-town, Denver, CO? So what if his band is relatively unknown? So what if this disc is on Sterling Circle Records (Wha . . . )? These guys can play. The revelation, for me, is Rudy Royston (Who?) on drums. Check him out on "New Breed Leader," ostensibly a post-bop workout, but in reality an ultra-hip, fluidly swinging, unclassifiable number. Royston's all over his kit, providing deep grooves even as he rhythmically deconstructs this intriguing number. Brandon Ross, e-guitar, also provides some unbelievable fireworks. Sounding like a cross between Jimi Hendrix and Pat Metheny circa Off-Ramp, he lets loose with a frenetic though thoroughly controlled blast of healing e-guitar indecipherability. When Royston comes in for his solo two-thirds of the way through, things reach critical mass. Bam! Splat! Shimmer! He blasts through the sonic sound barrier with warp-drive percussion madness. Controlled sonic mayhem, that's one plausible description.

Brandon Ross--why does the name resonate just behind consciousness?--takes center stage on the next number, "Psychedelic Black Man" (Ahem), with sustained wah-wah incredulity. That morphs into some incredibly beautiful balladic contemplation: "Still Small Voice" and "Jesus Loves Me," each of which, in their own way, showcases the leader's rich, burnished open trumpet playing. The dialogic interplay between guitar and trumpet on the latter provides unlooked-for sonic balm and opens the way for Anthony Cox, surely one of the great acoustic jazz bassists on the scene today, to bring it all together in a revelatory and mesmeric bass solo, which in turn leads into a great sprung-rhythm out solo from Miles, undergirt by sympathetic support from the band.

The next to last cut, "Sunday Best," a simple-sounding though very sophisticated number, proves Ron Miles can do just about anything. Graced with an impossibly catchy tune, succinct, evocative, I'm left with an uncontrollable desire to hit the "repeat" button. "Fairy Court," the last and perhaps most "normal" number here, nevertheless contains some weird restless energy magnificently uncovered by Brandon Ross's stunningly ideosyncratic guitar solo and continued by a free passage that somehow makes complete sense.

Yes, this isn't your normal jazz outing, But there's nothing to fear. What we have here is simply gorgeous, original, nearly a-referential, modern music. Not to be missed.

Junkmedia.org Review - Check him out!.......2003-04-30

This scaled-down quartet date retains similarities with his final Grammavision release Woman's Day. Ruddy Royston's polyrhythmic drumming and Anthony Cox's sturdy bass support Miles' melodic trumpet excursions. But it is in guitarist Brandon Ross' bag of effects pedals that we hear the sound of surprise. His guitar tone and solo approach varies with practically each piece. The sweetly melodic accompaniment of the opening pastoral ballad "Parade" is contrasted with his distorted solo on the following "New Breed Leader". Although there is sonic variety, this is no post-modern, stylistic grab bag. Miles' writing is, as with the best jazz writers, distinctly his own.

Borrowing heavily from laid back Midwestern country and soulful, mellow swing, Miles' music sounds like a distant cousin to Frisell's own recent excursions into the sound of the heartland. "Sunday best" could easily be mistaken for the sort of catchy tune Frisell himself would pen. But where Frisell has recently strayed from more discordant and edgy material, Miles' seems unafraid of occasionally venturing forth into the maelstrom.

The quartet's experimental edge is best exemplified by the closing track, "Fairy Court", an ostinato-driven free-form jam, with a cooking rhythm section and killer guitar and trumpet work to boot. Wah-wah guitar and plaintive trumpet ride over a steadily rising backbeat during "Psychedelic Blackman". Although more energetic than the other pieces on the album, these are definitely highlights.

Ron Miles is not an especially well-known player in today's jazz scene. Being based out of Colorado can have that effect on a contemporary jazz artist. But don't let that stop you from checking him out. His work deserves wider recognition.