Naked City - Grand Guignol (1991) (eac-log-cover)

Naked City - Grand Guignol (1991)

jazz, avantgarde | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 350MB

Avant

Allmusic:
Naked City's follow up to their self-titled album is a departure from the New York noir that they had perfected. Here, after a 17 minute, moody title piece, all low rumbling punctuated by drum thrashes and distorted screams, is a very straight transcription of Debussy's "Cathedrale Engloutie" featuring some very lovely, watery guitar work from Bill Frisell. Other modern pieces follow, with works by Scriabin, Ives, Messian, and Di Lassus. And then for something completely different: 32 thrash'n'burn numbers lasting anywhere from 10 seconds to a whopping 1:14, most with humorous titles (some favorites: "Jazz Snob: Eat Shit," "Perfume of a Critic's Burning Flesh," "Pigfucker"). Forget the subtlety of the first half -- this is thrash jazz! Yamatsuka Eye of the Boredoms provides vocals. As they say, there's screaming, and then there's Yamatsuka Eye. Whether or not such eclecticism makes for awkward listening is apparently the last thing on Zorn's list, and it probably shouldn't be a concern anyway. A rewarding album.

Tracks
-01. "Grand Guignol" – 17:41
-02. "La Cathédrale Engloutie" – 6:24 (Claude Debussy)
-03. "Three Preludes Op. 74: Douloureux, Déchirant" – 1:17 (Alexander Scriabin)
-04. "Three Preludes Op. 74: Très Lent, Contemplatif" – 1:43 (Scriabin)
-05. "Three Preludes Op. 74: Allegro Drammatico" – 0:49 (Scriabin)
-06. "Prophetiae Sybillarum" – 1:46 (Orlande de Lassus)
-07. "The Cage" – 2:01 (Charles Ives) - Featuring Bob Dorough
-08. "Louange à l'éternité de Jésus" – 7:08 (Olivier Messiaen)
-09. "Blood Is Thin" – 1:02
-10. "Thrash Jazz Assassin" – 0:47
-11. "Dead Spot" – 0:33
-12. "Bonehead" – 0:54
-13. "Piledriver" – 0:36
-14. "Shangkuan Ling-Feng" – 1:16
-15. "Numbskull" – 0:31
-16. "Perfume of A Critic's Burning Flesh" – 0:26
-17. "Jazz Snob: Eat Shit" – 0:26
-18. "The Prestidigitator" – 0:46
-19. "No Reason To Believe" – 0:28
-20. "Hellraiser" – 0:41
-21. "Torture Garden" – 0:37
-22. "Slan" – 0:24
-23. "The Ways of Pain" – 0:33
-24. "The Noose" – 0:13
-25. "Sack of Shit" – 0:46
-26. "Blunt Instrument" – 0:56
-27. "Osaka Bondage" – 1:17
-28. "Shallow Grave" – 0:42
-29. "Kaoru" – 0:53
-30. "Dead Dread" – 0:48
-31. "Billy Liar" – 0:13
-32. "Victims of Torture" – 0:24
-33. "Speedfreaks" – 0:50
-34. "New Jersey Scum Swamp" – 0:44
-35. "S/M Sniper" – 0:17
-36. "Pigfucker" – 0:24
-37. "Cairo Chop Shop" – 0:25
-38. "Facelifter" – 0:57
-39. "Whiplash" – 0:22
-40. "The Blade" – 0:30
-41. "Gob of Spit" – 0:21
*All compositions and arrangements by John Zorn, except where noted.

Personnel
* John Zorn – alto sax, vocals
* Bill Frisell – guitar
* Wayne Horvitz – keyboards
* Fred Frith – bass
* Joey Baron – drums
* Yamatsuka Eye – vocals
* Bob Dorough – special guest vocalist

sample & buy: Grand Guignol