CD REVIEW: CSNY / Déjà Vu LIVE (Reprise Records)

Boy, did I SO MUCH want this to be a masterpiece. Granted, it’s a live album i.e. a picture of a moment, a glimpse of an evening, a facsimile of an experience. Nostalgia for those who were at the shows of CSNY’s 2006 Freedom of Speech tour, which by all accounts of the long-time fans I’ve spoken to who attended, was very moving, inspirational and impassioned.

And yes, if you are a right-wing fan of CSNY (there must be some...those who just like good music, or perhaps some who don’t get what they hear or pay attention to the words – like those who thought BORN IN THE U.S.A. was a pro-Reagan song), you should probably stay away from this CD, and I’m sure if you're a neo-con who happened to find yourselves in attendance at these shows you will run from this CD in due course.

For you old hippies, left wingers, hopeful idealists, cynical rebels, believers in free speech and democracy this just might be your cup of organic chai. Now, it’s not the best CSNY musically, but then again, they have always been about capturing moments, not necessarily striving for perfection. Some nights (years, projects) there are more illuminating moments than others.

And if you couldn’t make it through Neil’s recent LIVING WITH WAR aural diatribe against the current administration’s veil of b.s. then this outspoken revisiting of many of that records songs and ALL of the invective stance espoused by that release than this outing may soon replace TRANS as your least favorite Neil experience.

As a window into the place where art and politics, the 60s, rock n roll and outspoken creative, humanistic stances meet then this is a CD-long glimpse into what is the bread and butter of what has fueled CSNY for 40 years of sporadic interaction and inspiration—not just a nostalgia trip—but the belief that as artists, part of what you do is seek truth. You investigate, observe, spill your guts, take a stand, remain fearless in the eyes of those who observe you, those who criticize you, those who look to your for insight and inspiration.

So thanks to these guys, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Joe Strummer, Steve Earle, Billy Bragg..those who at one time or another could not help themselves but observe and investigate, explore and seek some kind of truth beyond the egos, the in-fighting, the girls and drugs and glow of success and put something on the line for what they believe.

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Now, musically, there’s not much you haven’t heard from these guys before (especially if you’ve been paying attention to Neil lately), but this won’t be the album to turn around any new, young listeners who wonder what the fuss has been about, unless of course, they are recently politicized and looking for messages they can rekindle into their own passions. The longed-for ferocious guitar interplay between Stills and Young is not the focus here though there are glimmers. In fact Stills is all but non-present here with only three of his tunes in less than remarkable renditions and his guitar and harmoniy voc al work takes a decided low profile. Neil is, as always insane on the guitar. The opening notes of his first solo on AFTER THE GARDEN just cracked me up. So audacious and appropriate (like the ballsy, dirge version of BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND from Neil’s Arc-Weld tour during the first Gulf War), explosive, war-like edge.

Now, back in the day, being a huge David Crosby fan, the first thing I’d do when I got back from a CSN or CSNY show or cracked the cello off of a new LP or CD was to count how many songs each of the four proponents contributed. Soon realizing that I’d never get enough Crosby songs, whether because his brilliance came in less prolific spurts than the foaming flow of Neil's output, the hooky craftsmanship of Nash or the brazen macho of Stills' writing, or because he just couldn’t win those internal battles over running order, minutes available and such. Each album and tour had a figure who seemed to lead the fray in the perspective department, at least until the CSN of the later, Neil-less years became more of a nostalgic live experience than a viable group with something NEW to say.

The fact that the disc starts with a Woodstock-y audience chant over which the band harmonizes on an acapella rendering of Croz’s timeless WHAT ARE THEIR NAMES is a wonderfully timely opening. This followed by Neil’s studio-tracked solo piano (with minimal overdubbed synth and bass by Neil) piece LIVING WITH WAR-THEME is curious. I wonder if this was taped and added to bookend the message of the CD or if it was perhaps piped into the p.a. at the start of the shows or as soundtrack to a pertinent video? I would love to see some DVD of this tour since I unfortunately missed it.

The fact that the four of them are coming together more often in the last decade than ever before has been just a good sign and sure, Neil’s direction has predominated, being the force of nature that he is and by far the most prolific and visionary artist of his generation.

Musically, it is nice to hear the harmonies of these guys together on some of Neil’s new stuff as well as the old stand-bys. The vocal version of LIVING WITH WAR is especially nice as is the aforementioned AFTER THE GARDEN. What I just don’t get is the trumpet. PLEASE leave it at home. Or at least get someone who can play in tune. I get the idea of it…I like and actually adore the mariachi punch that this kind of coloration gives the tunes what would work best on one tune as coloration gets old when so shabbily executed each time it rises out of the mix. Perhaps, I was just SO looking forward to hearing these great songs without the horn with perhaps Steve Stills filling in with riffs or Spooner Oldham filling the spot with a tasty B-3 fill. But hard to second-guess Neil. ROGER & OUT is gorgeous and haunting, somewhat like a cross between a poignant and mournful version of Dylan’s KNOCKIN ON HEAVEN’S DOOR fused with the melancholy edge of CORTEZ THE KILLER’S softer huge guitar sentiments. This is the highlight of the disc for me, I think, on first listen.

This is followed by a gorgeous rendition of FIND THE COST OF FREEDOM missing only the transcendent high harmony of their earlier years’ versions. TEACH YOUR CHILDREN, while apropos and a ready anthem, is also a bit tossed off sounding, as the huge anthemic hits tend that get troded out towards the end of shows often are. More about connecting with the fans than actually nailing something stunningly musical. And again, with the original studio version being a signpost of a generation, always a hard one to top.

The album ends with the second instrumental version of the LIVING WITH WAR-THEME. This is a very evocative and hauntingly beautiful Neil melody. Simple and moving. Here with some subtle synth strings as opposed to the earlier versions more active effects.

All in all, this album, while musically not their most compelling of output (always their first two studio records and Four-Way Street must be deemed essential along with the black CSN record—and I won’t even get started on their solo output which is filled with a wealth of treasures), this album makes me proud to be a long time fan, proud to be someone who can still believe in the power of art--be it Picasso’s Gurenica, Hunter S. Thompson’s political writing, Robert Mapplethorpe’s stunning visual images, or CSNY’s “Ohio--to observe, inspire, pontificate, push buttons and allow the audience to see another point of view on the road to forming one’s own ever-developing opinions.

At the outset of this review, I was half way through my first listen and I was feeling a bit disappointed. Now by the end of the first spin, as I hit the play button once more, I am sitting peaceful. Nostalgic, hopeful, and impassioned on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention. Forward into the fray. One day at a time, head held high, heart a-flutter.

HEY HEY WE'RE THE MONKS

I must insist that I have absolutely no commentary I can add to these videos. They are just outright classics. You can thank me later.







(above) THE MONKS - German Tv 1966 - Monk Chant







(above) THELONIOUS MONK Opening scene from STRAIGHT NO CHASER







(above) GYUTO MONKS HARMONIC CHANTING AUCKLAND

What I'm listening to...Abrams, King Crimson, Trio of Doom, Miles From India, Plant/Krauss

MUHAL RICHARD ABRAMS – VISION TOWARDS ESSENCE (Pi Recordings)

One of the great thinkers of the jazz avant-garde, progenitor guiding light of the AACM, teacher and mentor to many of the post-Coltrane jazz scenes primary outside musical forces, Abrams explores the solo side of his multifarious musical personalities on this live recording from the Guelph Jazz Festival in 1998. Abrams believes that improvised solo performance best reaches his artistic essence.

An hour-long suite of mesmerizing beauty and soaring, dislocating edge-play, this set envelopes as it jars the listener into long, swooping expanses of mood. From simple eloquence to dissonant, pan-Asian jagged chord clusters zigzagging up and down the keys, Abrams technical radiance and philosophic mindset is fully exposed in the completely improvised performance. 2007 ****

KING CRIMSON – Mann Music Center, Philadelphia, PA. July 30, 1982 (live unreleaed recording)

When guitarist Robert Plant reformed King Crimson in the early 80s, the band’s new sound was all it’s own while still versed in the edgy experimentalism and art-rock proclivities of it’s antecedents. The two new members of the band (guitarist/vocalist Adrian Belew and bassist/Chapman Stick player Tony Levin, drummer Bill Bruford had played in previous incarnations of the band before joining Yes) brought their own unique approaches to their instruments into the fold. Most importantly this group sounded like a band.

This show is from the tour supporting their second CD as a unit, BEAT, which supplied about half of the program. The majority of the remaining material came from their debut CD, DISCIPLINE that stands as one of the great albums of progressive rock.

I was at this show and when the band left the stage after just about 45 minutes, I was very disappointed. Why the truncated performance? In the day and age of the four-hour Dead and Springsteen shows I was regularly attending, I was a tad miffed. Especially since the first 45 minutes had been so tremendously riveting. But the encore was nearly as long as the set itself and was face-peeling. We left the show thoroughly exhausted and fully satiated.

Belew was the stunt guitarist of choice during this period, having gained his rep with Frank Zappa, toured and recorded with David Bowie, the Talking Heads and Laurie Anderson but here he was thrust into the spotlight as relative front man, by way of his engaging vocals and strange post-modern lyrics. But, in an ensemble of such forcefully iconoclastic turf-swallowers, the precision and interaction and group gestalt prevent any one member from holding center stage for very long.

The sound quality of this boot is excellent so I must presume it was a live FM broadcast at the time. ****

JOHN McLAUGHLIN / JACO PASTORIUS / TONY WILLIAMS – TRIO OF DOOM (Columbia/Legacy)

Before fusion was a bad word in the jazz world, these three primal innovators were individually amongst the most far-reaching and popular musicians on their respective instruments. They crossed musical boundaries pulling listeners from the rock n roll world into the realm of improvised music with a maelstrom of technical brilliance, harmonic daring and rhythmic ferocity that led handful of inspirational recordings and collaborations and to armies of less musical imitators who opted for the speed and flash without the balls, vision and substance.

With this long-awaited release, the vault-keepers at Columbia/Legacy have filled a major hole in the fusion pantheon by gathering the complete recorded works of this short-lived “super-group”. The band was formed in 1979 when all three were in top form. McLaughlin and Williams, having been seminal and influential players who came into their own in the bands of Miles Davis, had gone on to form two of the most popular and explosive bands of the fusion era, Tony Williams’ Lifetime (with whom McLaughlin played early on) and John’s Mahavishnu Orchestra. Pastorius had burst onto the scene and quickly become, quite possibly, the most influential electric bassist of all-time through his groundbreaking work with Weather Report, Joni Mitchell and on Pat Metheny’s first record.

Trio of Doom was formed for a one-time only gig at the Havana Jam in 1979. Three of the tracks were previously released on the Havana Jam LP but were actually not from the concert but recorded three days later in the studio in New York. The remaining cuts here have never before seen the light of day. There are two partial alternate takes (false starts, basically) of “Papa Oriente” from the studio sessions as well as the entire live set from Havana. Though a bit on the short side, this CD does not disappoint for fans of any of the players involved.

With McLaughlin the only surviving member of the Trio of Doom, we will have to luxuriate in the fact that this is all we will ever hear of this incendiary ensemble and we are lucky to be so blessed. ****1/2

VARIOUS ARTISTS -- MILES…FROM INDIA (Times Square Records)

Producer Bob Belden (check out his work elsewhere if you don’t know him) brainstormed this trans-continental coming together of over two-dozen musicians. Roughly half the participants are Miles Davis alumni and the other half classical and jazz musicians from India. They come together to reinterpret music from a wide swath of Miles Davis career blending Indian rhythm and texture with the genre-bending proto-fusion jazz/funk/rock styling of Miles early 70s years.

Contributions include stalwart heavyweight such as Ron Carter and Jimmy Cobb from Miles’ pre-70s classic quintets to Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, and Lenny White from the “Bitches Brew”. The 70s rock/funk influenced alum here include Pete Cosey, Dave Liebman, Michael Henderson, Badal Roy, Gary Bartz and the post-hiatus players of Miles 80s units is represented by his nephew Vince Wilburn, Adam Holzman, Robert Irving III, and Benny Rietveld. Also present is trumpeter Wallace Roney who Miles chose to join him in some of his final performances and who joined the 60s quintet on the road after Miles death as well as up and coming alto saxist Rudresh Mahanthappa whose own critically acclaimed music mines his Indo-American heritage as well as the influence of Miles and the players here.

The Indian musicians here were organized by Indian keyboardist Louiz Banks and represent some of the finest musicians in the country. Belden went to Indian with sketches of the music and worked with the musicians in Mumbai and Bombay to put together tracks incorporating Miles interest in Indian sounds and mood and then once back in the U.S. Belden used SKYPE technology to record the alumni from studios around the U.S.

Most importantly, the music soars. A potent and wonderful take on everything fom “All Blues” to Pangaea. Release date: April 15, 2008 ****

P.S. Catch the Miles From India project live May 9 at Town Hall in NYC and May 31 at the Palace of the Fine Arts in San Francisco. The live band features Carter, Roney, White, Cosey, Bankz, Bartz, Mahanthappa, Roy and Rietveld as well as featured Indian musicians from the cd.

ROBERT PLANT / ALISON KRAUSS – RAISING SAND (Rounder)

2007 ***** (see separate review)