Reviews by markjazz

I'll start off by saying I own all the Nile albums to date and will buy their new one as soon as it comes out. However, this release is probably their weakest so far. I can't pin it down really as to why because it's still egyptian themed death metal so that part doesn't bother me. It maybe just the whole flow of the album and that maybe there isn't just enough tracks that stand out enough for me to give this album a higher rating.

The opening track, What Can Be Safely Written, is great and I've always been a fan of their longer tracks for some reason. If a death metal track that's over 5 minutes can keep me interested in it the whole time then that fucking rules! This album had a single for the track Papyrus Containing the Spell to Preserve Its Possessor Against Attacks From He Who Is in the Water and I found that I don't even care to much for that track at all, but luckly it's the shortest one on the album. There's some awesome riff'n tracks on here though, like As He Creates, So He Destroys and Even the Gods Must Die, which are probably my two favourite on here.

I will also make a point by saying that these bonus tracks are pointless. I personally don't give two shits about hearing an instrumental version of a death metal track. I wanna hear vocals damn it. I would rather have them put in shit sounding demos or something. Overall it's not a terrible album and I play it often, just not as much as this groups other epic albums!!!!

This is an album you really have to be in the right mood for in order to enjoy it. It's a solo piano album, and a good one, but I won't say it's up there with say The Köln Concert. However, considering that Mingus was a bass player and 7 of 11 of these tracks were composed by him which makes me like it even more. How this album came to be was Mingus had lost a friend and was in the studio playing an improv piece that was gloomy and dark. Bob Thiele was in another room and heard someone playing and loved it. He walk in the studio and there he saw Mingus playing and thus asked him if he'd like to make a solo album.

Most of the tracks are pretty average but there's two stand out ones; Myself When I Am Real and Roland Kirk's Message. These two tracks are among my favourite in all of solo piano jazz. They tell a story for sure, which is what Mingus was great at in his compositions.

This album is one of a kind and for a number of reasons. It was written as a ballet piece (with some latin influence), the liner notes were done by Mingus's psychotherapist, Dr. Edmund Pollock, the music on here is unique, extreme and beautiful all at once and the fact that it's rated very high all time proves how much power it has. At the time of its release it received mixed reviews, and I could see why, but now-a-days it has legendary status in the jazz genre.

It took me a while to get use to this album and I remember rating it a 3/5 the first time I heard it but now I like it a lot more. It's hard to describe the music going on during the album but what you'll hear is an orchestra of horns and even Mingus on the piano, which surprised the producer Bob Thiele. Overall it's jazz avante-guard at its best and I wouldn't really recommend it as a first album for new Mingus fans but it's one you'll need in your collection for sure.

This is a very great bop'n album from the master Mingus. The opening track, Hog Callin' Blues, has a lot of punch and features hints of the classic track ii bs. There's vocal yells and it sounds like they're having an all around good time jamming away. Devil Woman slows things down with a very modal sound but later picks up with booker ervin given off some great soul blasts. This track goes up and down and hints at the blues side as well. A topper on this release for sure. Next we get right back in the fast lane with Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am, which sounds like a statment track and contains elements that reminded me of A Foggy Day. This crew is trying to tell a story with thier instruments and it's very effective here. Next is Ecclusiastics, featuring some random vocals spazzed in here and there for good measure, including Oh Yeah!. Love it. The piano from Mingus on this track, yes Mingus doesn't touch his bass on this album, is just awesome. Rival's the other greats on the piano as far as the history of jazz goes. Oh Lord Don't Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb On Me slows things down with a fairly humorous take. Not my favorite track on here as it has that southern baptist church flavour to it, a bit to much for my tastes. Thankfully another humorous track comes next with, Eat That Chicken. A fast paced track that I'd love to have seen played live. I can just see the band smiling, or maybe laughing, while playing this one. Soon we get a very odd experimental type track called The Passions Of A Man. Again, it's a track I think that is trying to tell a story. I think a few people might be put off by this but this kind of jazz was very new at the time and I simply love it. Kinda sums up of the era as well I think.

Overall this is not my favorite Mingus album and by far not the one that stands out in his discography but I simply love it as one of his best non-bass albums.

Alright kool kats. Markjazz here telling you all about this number from the master of relaxer, Charles Mingus. I guarantee that once you hear the first righteous note from Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting you'll be hooked like a bass on the fish'n line of soul! Come'on boys and gals "Clap your hands, clap your hands." This music is bop'n..."Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh." Listen to that sax play brothers. Just listen to the Cryin' Blues and that bass solo strum those tears away! Give that low tone to me Pepper, Oh, I hear yeah! You moanin' now? I say, are you Moanin' now? Yes, moan with me brothers and sisters and jive to this jazz stream. Come on, swim with me. This is one fast number so you gotta keep up! Tensions build now so we gonna take it slow, but Mingus will keep that bass busy. You gett'n busy? I hope so. Give me a solo Dannie Richmond! Don't sit tight cause now your gonna feel My Jelly Roll Soul! Let's hold together now and dance while we tell a joke. Come on, grab my hand and swing. Make your jelly roll! After we'all grab a night cap. But say what? Say what? The E's Flat Ah's Flat Too? Well hell brothers, let's jive one more time and get it right!!! This is a quick number so I hope your feet are slick. "Waaahhooooo, I got this one boys!!!" Jazz at it's roots and jazz at it's best!

Notes I thought you'd dig:
Written By, Bass - Charles Mingus
Drums - Dannie Richmond
Piano - Horace Parlan, Mal Waldron
Saxophone [Alto] - Jackie McLean, John Handy
Saxophone [Baritone] - Pepper Adams
Saxophone [Tenor] - Booker Ervin
Trombone - Jimmy Knepper

Recorded Feb. 4, 1959.

This is definatly a classic Mingus album but it's not my favorite overall. There's some awesome tracks, like Better Git It In Your Soul, Boogie Stop Shuffle (My personal fav), and the bonus track GG Train is simply awesome. This album is a great one for that long drive and if you want to show anyone new to jazz a great album with some soul then this is one to give them. I think out of any artist on this discs lineup Dannie Richmond is the best. He's one of the most under-rated drummers of his time I think and he helps carry some of these tracks very well and seems to play with ease. My problem with the CD reissue is that some of the tracks are the unedited ones and I actually think there's a mistake in the track Bird Calls where someone blows their horn a bit early. Not sure. I think in this case I'd prefer the original LP over the CD reissue but the bonus tracks are pretty great.

This is your standard Metheny sounding album except for the fact that he has spent years making other instruments do the work for him now. He has created the ulitmate one man band and it sounds so well put together that if I didn't know it was machines playing the jazz I wouldn't have guessed it. The first track is awesome but I find myself falling alseep to half of this album. It's pretty good overall but I wish it came with a DVD showing the songs being played. I probably would have liked that better.

Well from what I've heard this is the best of the series so far and the opening track, Hiyodori, is one that I would love to hear more of but I'm thinking I won't be so lucky. It's loud and brutal and features some great loops and flicks of the ole laptop pedal knobs. Across the Earth starts out with a cool distorted loop and then goes into the usual drumming we've heard through out the series. This track sounds like a song at times, which is something I don't want to hear from Merzbow at all, but for some reason the track is still pretty cool sounding overall and kept me interested during the 16+ minutes. Sounds like it'd be on a Boris With Merzbow release. Past the half way point the track slows down and goes into some Prog Rock sounding thing...then picks up again. This has got to be the most musical sounding track he's ever done and it's pretty damn good but it's not Merzbow. Purple Triangle is another smash of loud noise and spazzed drums. Nothing special. For what the series is worth I think it's a good concept but damn does it all seem rushed. I am going to give this a 4/5 simply because it's the best from the series.

I use to like this release a lot more when I first had it but now it's pretty average compared to his other guitar laptop noise. The noise is not to heavy or ear busting, like his older stuff, but instead it's very rhythmically sensual. My friend falls asleep to this type of noise sometimes. I don't much like the title track at all but the last track, Pier 39, is one of my all time favorite Merzbow tracks. The guitar sample he toys and loops with is a lot slower than the rest featured in the CD. The noise level is light and has a very hypnotic quality to it as the sound ranges from one ear to the next.

Not the greatest Merzbow release but it has its moments. The 1st track is probably the best overall sounding track on the release. It starts very quite and then slowly cascades into the typical loud sound of rumbles. Akashiman is the loudest track on the disc and has a great distorted loop to finish the track off. The 3rd track is neat and goes along the lines of Merzbow's releases "Door Open At 8AM" and "Necromancer". The final track is one that had to grow on me. The first 14 minutes are great and show the talented side of Merzbow with his glitch out noise shots. Then for the final 17 minutes you have this long long long loud drone that barely changes, except for the pitch. It's great to hear but it can piss you off because you almost want it to end, but you can't, you have to hear it all.