BILL FRISELL — Is That You? (1990) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Recorded in 1989 while Frisell was still a member of Naked City, Is That You? finds the guitarist already trending away from that band's scattershot assault and toward the more pastoral leanings he would embrace in the upcoming decade. At its best, as on the title track, Frisell creates nostalgic but heartfelt melodies that have the sense of being a soundtrack to a bittersweet movie. Wayne Horvitz' "Yuba City" is also evocative and very much in keeping with his other work from around that time, all sumptuous melodic hooks overlaying somewhat clunky rhythms. There are other nice touches here and there (the charming "Rag," for instance), but too often the gauziness that is an inherent problem with much of Frisell's music comes to the fore. While his cover of "Chain of Fools" chugs along with some dopey panache, "The Days of Wine and Roses" threatens to evaporate into the mist altogether. Fans of his later work may welcome this approach and, indeed, consider it one of his most attractive attributes, but those listeners hoping to hear more of the bite and devil-may-care attitude shown in his work with Zorn may feel suffocated. Brian Olewnick

Tracklist :
1    No Man's Land    6:40
 Composed By – Bill Frisell
2    Someone In My Backyard    2:45
 Composed By – Bill Frisell
3    Rag    4:00
 Composed By – Bill Frisell
4    Is That You? 6:50
 Composed By – Bill Frisell
Tuba – Dave Hofstra
5    The Way Home    6:00
 Composed By – Bill Frisell
6    Twenty Years    2:43
 Composed By – Bill Frisell
7    Chain Of Fools 3:30
 Composed By – Don Covay
Bass – Dave Hofstra
8    Hello Nellie 4:07
 Composed By – Bill Frisell
Tuba – Dave Hofstra
9    The Days Of Wine And Roses    3:35
 Composed By – Henry Mancini
10    Yuba City    5:42
 Composed By – Wayne Horvitz
11    Half A Million    4:00
 Composed By – Bill Frisell
12    Hope And Fear    1:06
 Composed By – Bill Frisell
Credits :
Commissioned By – Kronos Quartet (tracks: 10), Ravinia Festival (tracks: 10)
Drums – Joey Baron
Guitar [Guitars], Bass, Banjo, Ukulele, Clarinet – Bill Frisell
Keyboards, Drum Programming, Bass [Momentary Bass], Producer [Produced By] – Wayne Horvitz

JOHN ZORN — Naked City (1990) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The violent cover photo (which shows a man after he was shot dead) sets the stage for the rather passionate music on this John Zorn set. With guitarist Bill Frisell, keyboardist Wayne Horvitz, bassist Fred Frith, drummer Joey Baron, and guest vocalist Yamatsuka Eye making intense contributions, altoist Zorn performs his unpredictable originals, abstract versions of some movie themes (including "A Shot in the Dark," "I Want to Live," "Chinatown," and "The James Bond Theme"), plus Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman." The stimulating music rewards repeated listenings by more open-minded listeners. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Batman 1'58
John Zorn
2     The Sicilian Clan 3'27
Ennio Morricone
3     You Will Be Shot 1'29
John Zorn
4     Latin Quarter 4'05
John Zorn
5     A Shot in the Dark 3'09
Henry Mancini
6     Reanimator 1'34
John Zorn
7     Snagglepuss 2'44
John Zorn
8     I Want to Live 2'08
Johnny Mandel
9     Lonely Woman 2'38
Ornette Coleman
10     Igneous Ejaculation 0'20
John Zorn
11     Blood Duster 0'13
John Zorn
12     Hammerhead 0'08
John Zorn
13     Demon Sanctuary 0'38
John Zorn
14     Obeah Man 0'17
John Zorn
15     Ujaku 0'27
John Zorn
16     Fuck the Facts 0'11
John Zorn
17     Speedball 0'37
John Zorn
18     Chinatown 4'23
Jerry Goldsmith
19     Punk China Doll 3'01
John Zorn
20     N.Y. Flat Top Box 0'43
John Zorn
21     Saigon Pickup 4'46
John Zorn
22     The James Bond Theme 3'02
John Barry
23     Den of Sins 1'08
John Zorn
24     Contempt 2'49
Georges Delerue
25     Graveyard Shift 3'25
John Zorn
26     Inside Straight 4'10
John Zorn
Credits :
Arranged By – John Zorn, Naked City
Bass – Fred Frith
Drums – Joey Baron
Guitar – Bill Frisell
Keyboards – Wayne Horvitz
Vocals – Yamatsuka Eye

JOHN ZORN - Cobra (1989) 2CD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

John Zorn's Cobra game piece has enjoyed quite a life of its own since this, its original recording, from 1985-1986. Zorn developed several similar pieces, but Cobra would see renditions by various ensembles with varying instrumentation, with the composer at the helm and without, and would become something of a staple for undergraduate musicians exploring improvisational strategies. One of the central sources for the conception behind this piece, oddly enough, was the Avalon Hill game company, which created strategic simulation games involving arcane sets of rules, dice rolls, etc., in an effort to approximate, for example, war planning and theory. Zorn, a games aficionado with an affinity for elastic rules systems, developed a unique, expansive, and highly flexible series of prompts and rules, taught and distributed them to many of the downtown New York City musicians of the early '80s, and staged numerous highly entertaining performances of the ensuing "conflicts." At such an event, inevitably more viscerally enjoyable than a recording of same, Zorn would hold up cards with symbols, usually choosing certain small combinations of players. These symbols could instruct, among many other things, that the musicians improvise in a certain style (surf guitar, free noise, punk, etc.) and/or could delimit the duration, volume, and so on. He would thus spontaneously organize a composition that, for all its apparent anarchy, was actually following a relatively strict set of assumptions. The kicker was that the players could counteract his commands, forming ad hoc blocs, cooperate or betray said blocs, form alliances "against" other players, etc. As an audience member, one saw a wonderful display of real-time politics combined with art creation, and the result was often spectacular. Unfortunately, an enormous amount is sacrificed when Cobra is encountered as only an aural document (here, one live session and one in the studio). The kernels of collective sound tend to appear arbitrary, any strategic rationale necessarily going unseen. Listened to at home, one hears a series of sonic postcards, enjoyable or otherwise on their own but bearing little obvious relationship to what came before or after. One can certainly appreciate the music in just that manner, as a random, Cage-ian series of musical fragments, but one is left with the nagging (and correct) sense of something crucial being missed. As a document in Zorn's career, Cobra is essential. As a purely musical experience, it is, quite unfortunately, less so. Brian Olewnick  

Cobra: Studio Version    59:25
1    Opening    0:59
2    Allegro    4:32
3    Largo    6:13
4    Moderato    7:42
5    Fantasia    3:44
6    Presto    1:39
7    Adagio Maestoso    2:40
8    Violento    4:16
9    Allegro Scorrevole    2:35
10    Capricciocongusto    4:40
11    False Start/ Giocoso    0:52
12    Scherzo    5:47
13    Maestoso Meccanico    1:22
14    Variations/Furioso    8:40
15    Epilogue    3:44
Cobra: Live Version    53:25
1    Prologue/Maestoso    6:05
2    Capriccio    13:23
3    Prestissimo    14:04
4    Lento/Mysterioso    9:29
5    Allegro    10:24
Credits :
Accordion – Guy Klucevsek
Celesta – David Weinstein (pistas: 1-1 to 1-15)
Conductor [Prompter], Composed By – John Zorn
Electric Guitar – Bill Frisell
Electric Guitar, Voice – Arto Lindsay (pistas: 1-1 to 1-15)
Electronic Drums – Bobby Previte (pistas: 2-1 to 2-5)
Guitar [Doubleneck], Bass [Doubleneck], Voice – Elliott Sharp
Guitar [Soprano] – Elliott Sharp (pistas: 1-1 to 1-15)
Harp – Carol Emanuel (pistas: 1-1 to 1-15), Zeena Parkins (pistas: 1-1 to 1-15)
Harpsichord, Celesta – Anthony Coleman (pistas: 1-1 to 1-15)
Organ [Hammond], Celesta – Wayne Horvitz (pistas: 1-1 to 1-15)
Organ [Pipe] – Anthony Coleman (pistas: 2-1 to 2-5)
Percussion – Bobby Previte (pistas: 1-1 to 1-15)
Piano, Organ [Yamaha] – Anthony Coleman
Piano, Synthesizer [DX7] – Wayne Horvitz
Synthesizer [Trombone Synthesizer], Electronics – J.A. Deane (pistas: 2-1 to 2-5)
Tape – Bob James
Trombone – Jim Staley (pistas: 1-1 to 1-15)
Turntables – Christian Marclay

JOHN ZORN - Filmworks I : 1986-1990 (1997) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

For Zorn, filmscores have always been a place to experiment and the Filmworks Series is in many ways a microcosm of his output. This original installment of the Filmworks Series presents three scores ranging from punk-rockabilly (featuring the nasty guitars of Bob Quine, Marc Ribot and Arto Lindsay); a jazzy Bernard Herrmann fantasy; to a quirky classical/improv/world music amalgam for Raul Ruiz's bizarre film The Golden Boat. Zorn's infamous one minute arrangement of Morricone's classic The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, is included as a bonus track. Out of print for several years, these classic recordings are made available here with the original cover art intact. This is the place where it all began. TZADIK
White And Lazy    
1    Main Title    0:55
2    Homecoming    1:15
3    The Heist    3:20
4    Meat Dream    1:15
5    Phone Call    0:50
6    End Title    1:59
The Golden Boat    
7    Fanfare    0:30
8    Theme    2:59
9    Jazz I    2:51
10    Horror Organ    1:06
11    Mexico    1:56
12    Mood    3:17
13    Rockabilly    2:01
14    Slow    2:47
15    Jazz Oboes    2:33
16    The Golden Boat (Turntable Mix) 2:58
Mixed By – David Shea
17    End Titles    2:53
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly    
18    The Good, The Bad And The Ugly 1:04
Composed By – Ennio Morricone
She Must Be Seeing Things    
19    Main Title    1:04
20    Swirling Shot    1:20
21    Homecoming    3:22
22    Catalina Flash    0:28
23    Seduction    4:54
24    Sex Shop Boogaloo    2:47
25    Catalina Escapes    1:11
26    Worms    1:04
27    Death Waltz Fantasy    1:24
28    Following Sequence    3:03
29    Movie Set    1:20
30    Climax    2:55
31    Going To Dinner    2:38
32    End Titles    3:27
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – John Zorn (pistas: 7 to 17, 19 to 32)
Arranged By, Producer, Executive-Producer, Liner Notes – John Zorn
Bass – David Hofstra (pistas: 19 to 32), Fred Frith (pistas: 18), Mark Dresser (pistas: 7 to 17), Melvin Gibbs (pistas: 1 to 6)
Bass Clarinet – Ned Rothenberg (pistas: 1 to 6)
Composed By – John Zorn (pistas: 1 to 15, 17, 19 to 32)
Drums – Anton Fier (pistas: 1 to 6), Bobby Previte (pistas: 7 to 32)
French Horn – Tom Varner (pistas: 19 to 32)
Guitar – Bill Frisell (pistas: 18 to 32), Robert Quine (pistas: 1 to 18)
Guitar, Vocals – Arto Lindsay (pistas: 1 to 6)
Harp – Carol Emanuel
Keyboards – Anthony Coleman (pistas: 7 to 17), David Weinstein (pistas: 1 to 6, 18 to 32)
Marimba – Bobby Previte (pistas: 7 to 17)
Oboe – Vicki Bodner (pistas: 7 to 17)
Organ [Hammond] – Wayne Horvitz (pistas: 18 to 32)
Percussion – Cyro Baptista (pistas: 7 to 17), Naná Vasconcelos (pistas: 19 to 32)
Percussion, Vibraphone, Timpani, Bells [Orchestra] – Bobby Previte (pistas: 19 to 32)
Piano – Wayne Horvitz (pistas: 19 to 32)
Piano, Organ, Celesta, Harpsichord – Anthony Coleman (pistas: 19 to 32)
Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet – Marty Ehrlich (pistas: 19 to 32)
Trombone – Jim Staley (pistas: 19 to 32)
Vocals – Bobby Previte (pistas: 18), Shelley Hirsch (pistas: 19 to 32)
Vocals, Turntables – David Shea (pistas: 7 to 17)

JOHN ZORN : New Traditions In East Asian Bar Bands (1997) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

From the lyrical sensuality of Hu-Die (for 2 guitars), the aggressive fireworks of Hwang Chin-Ee (for two drummers) and the mystical ambience of Que Tran (for two keyboards), this album shows yet another side of Zorn's genius for the dramatic and the unexpected. Using the spoken languages of Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese as pure melody, this suite of 3 pieces of twin instruments and narrators is perhaps Zorn's most beautiful creation to date.

Ten years in the making, these epic compositions, Zorn's most universally misunderstood pieces, are finally made available on an album. Original texts by Arto Lindsay, My-ung Mi-Kim, and Lin Hejinian. Performed by an all-star collection of the world's most creative improvising instrumentalists. TZADIK
Tracklist :
1    Hu Die 25'09
Guitar – Bill Frisell, Fred Frith
Narrator – Zhang Jinglin
Recorded By [1986] – Kramer
Recorded By, Mixed By – Seigen Ono
Text By [Text] – Arto Lindsay
Translated By – Ruby Chang
2    Hwang Chin-ee 16'41
Drums – Joey Baron, Samm Bennett
Narrator – Jung Hee Shin
Recorded By [1988] – Oz Fritz
Recorded By, Mixed By – Jim Anderson
Text By [Text] – Myung Mi Kim
3    Quề Trân 30'46
Keyboards – Anthony Coleman, Wayne Horvitz
Narrator – Ánh Trần
Recorded By – Steve Rosenthal
Text By [Text] – Lyn Hejinian
Translated By – Tú Vū
Credits :
Written-By, Producer – John Zorn

JOHN ZORN - Filmworks VII : Cynical Hysterie Hour (1997) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The holy grail of Zornthologists is finally available in a newly remastered definitive edition.

Released in Japan for only a few short months in 1990, this is the original music Zorn created for a series of four shorts by one of Japan's most endearing cartoonists: Kiriko Kubo.

A long time champion of Warner Bros. cartoon composer Carl Stalling, Zorn considers this to be his finest and most personal take on cartoon music to date, a genre that has influenced him deeply. The all-star band includes Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot, Arto Lindsay, Robert Quine, Wayne Horvitz, Bobby Previte and Cyro Baptista. TZADIK
Trip Coaster    
1    Hysteric Logo    0:24
2    Walk To Park    2:10
3    Coaster 2    0:47
4    Fighting Pirates    0:26
5    Yakisoba    1:14
6    Coaster Trip    1:39
Ch Ch Chang    
7    1st Hit / 2nd Hit    0:27
8    Punk Rock Hero    0:56
9    Abacus Waltz    0:38
10    Punk Rebel / Tsunta's Theme    3:36
11    End Title    0:13
Through The Night    
12    Through The Night    1:30
13    Home Sweet Home    1:43
14    Making Ramen At Midnight    0:32
15    Scary Moonlight    1:55
Bubblin' Singin'    
16    My Favorite Things    2:18
17    Omelet Punk    0:20
18    Classical    0:16
19    Stink Of An Onion    0:34
20    Onion Samba    0:59
21    Omelet Punk 2    0:16
22    Me And My Hamburger / Final Samba    1:05
23    Surfing Samba    1:10
Credits :
Acoustic Bass, Electric Bass – David Hofstra (pistas: 7 to 23), Kermit Driscoll (pistas: 1 to 6)
Cello – Maxine Neuman (pistas: 12 to 15)
Composed, Producer, Arranged By – John Zorn
Drum Machine – Ikue Mori (pistas: 12 to 15)
Drums, Percussion – Bobby Previte (pistas: 1 to 11, 16 to 23)
Electric Guitar – Arto Lindsay (pistas: 7 to 11), Robert Quine (pistas: 7 to 11, 16 to 23)
Electric Guitar, Banjo – Bill Frisell (pistas: 1 to 6, 16 to 23), Marc Ribot (pistas: 7 to 15)
Harp – Carol Emanuel
Keyboards – Peter Scherer (pistas: 7 to 23), Wayne Horvitz (pistas: 1 to 6)
Percussion [Brazilian Percussion] – Cyro Baptista
Turntables – Christian Marclay (pistas: 1 to 6)
Violin, Viola – Jill Jaffe (pistas: 12 to 15)
Vocals – Arto Lindsay (pistas: 16 to 23), Kiriko Kubo (pistas: 16 to 23)

NAKED CITY — The Complete Studio Recordings (2005) RM | 5CD BOX-SET | Archival Series | APE (image+.cue), lossless

Naked City was something of an avant-rock/free jazz New York supergroup in the late '80s and early '90s, featuring an all-star cast of New York jazz experimentalists and led by the most-famous downtown musician of them all, John Zorn. Comprised of Zorn on alto sax, Wayne Horvitz on keyboards, Bill Frisell on guitar, Fred Frith on bass, and Joey Baron on drums (and occasionally vocalist Yamatsuka Eye), Naked City, more than any other Zorn-led group, established him with a rock audience. The band had an enormous repertoire and its sets were famously unpredictable. Zorn says that he conceived the band as a compositional workshop; the challenge was to write as much as possible within the limited format. Once he stopped "hearing and writing for the band," it disbanded. Chris Kelsey

NAKED CITY — Naked City (1989)

The violent cover photo (which shows a man after he was shot dead) sets the stage for the rather passionate music on this John Zorn set. With guitarist Bill Frisell, keyboardist Wayne Horvitz, bassist Fred Frith, drummer Joey Baron, and guest vocalist Yamatsuka Eye making intense contributions, altoist Zorn performs his unpredictable originals, abstract versions of some movie themes (including "A Shot in the Dark," "I Want to Live," "Chinatown," and "The James Bond Theme"), plus Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman." The stimulating music rewards repeated listenings by more open-minded listeners. Scott Yanow

Tracklist :

1 Batman 2:03
2 The Sicilian Clan   3:33
Composed By – Ennio Morricone
3 You Will Be Shot 1:31
4 Latin Quarter 4:11
5 A Shot In The Dark   3:13
Composed By – Henry Mancini
6 Reanimator 1:43
7 Snagglepuss 2:20
8 I Want To Live   2:12
Composed By – Johnny Mandel
9 Lonely Woman   2:45
Composed By – Ornette Coleman
10 Igneous Ejaculation 0:23
11 Blood Duster 0:16
12 Hammerhead 0:11
13 Demon Sanctuary 0:41
14 Obeah Man 0:20
15 Ujaku 0:30
16 Fuck The Facts 0:14
17 Speedball 0:43
18 Chinatown   4:28
Composed By – Jerry Goldsmith
19 Punk China Doll 3:05
20 N.Y. Flat Top Box 0:45
21 Saigon Pickup 4:50
22 The James Bond Theme   3:06
Composed By – John Barry
23 Den Of Sins 1:14
24 Contempt   2:53
Composed By – Georges Delerue
25 Graveyard Shift 3:32
26 Inside Straight 4:17

NAKED CITY — Grand Guignol (1991)

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. Ted Mills
Tracklist :
1 Grand Guignol 17:41
2 Blood Is Thin 1:00
3 Thrash Jazz Assassin 0:45
4 Dead Spot 0:31
5 Bonehead 0:51
6 Piledriver 0:33
7 Shangkuan Ling-Feng 1:14
8 Numbskull 0:29
9 Perfume Of A Critic's Burning Flesh 0:24
10 Jazz Snob Eat Shit 0:24
11 The Prestidigitator 0:43
12 No Reason To Believe 0:26
13 Hellraiser 0:39
14 Torture Garden 0:35
15 Slan 0:23
16 The Ways Of Pain 0:31
17 The Noose 0:10
18 Sack Of Shit 0:43
19 Blunt Instrument 0:53
20 Osaka Bondage 1:14
21 Shallow Grave 0:40
22 Kaoru 0:50
23 Dead Dread 0:45
24 Billy Liar 0:10
25 Victims Of Torture 0:20
26 Speedfreaks 0:48
27 New Jersey Scum Swamp 0:41
28 S-M Sniper 0:14
29 Pigfucker 0:23
30 Cairo Chop Shop 0:22
31 Facelifter 0:54
32 Whiplash 0:19
33 The Blade 0:35
34 Gob Of Spit 0:18
35 La Cathédrale Engloutie   6:41
Composed By – Debussy
Three Preludes
36 Douloureux, Déchirant   1:17
Composed By – Scriabin
37 Très Lent, Contemplatif   1:47
Composed By – Scriabin
38 Allegro Drammatico   0:49
Composed By – Scriabin
39 Prophetiae Sybillarum   1:48
Composed By – Orlando Di Lassus
40 The Cage   2:07
Composed By – Ives
Vocals – Bob Dorough
41 Louange A L'Eternité De Jesus   7:10
Composed By – Messiaen
42 Grand Guignol (Vocal Version)   17:41
Vocals – Mike Patton

NAKED CITY — Heretic : Jeux Des Dames Cruelles (1994)

Naked City's tenure as a workshop for a rock group's compositional opportunities led to this album, which is performed mostly by subsets of the full group. Only one track of the 24 includes all six band members, the relatively anonymous "Fire and Ice (Club Scene)," where Joey Baron, Fred Frith, and Bill Frisell set up a slow funky groove for Wayne Horvitz and John Zorn's improvisations. The rest of the pieces are all performed by various duos (12 tracks) and trios (11 tracks). The exploratory nature of the groupings means that there are many fewer references to popular music styles compared to other Naked City albums, and the pieces all sound improvisional. As such, every listener will find his or her favorites, but all of the pieces are of high quality, as befits a grouping of great improvisers that form the group. The two duos by Zorn and Yamatsuka Eye (where they match each other squeal for squawk) or the ones between Zorn and Frith (who have demonstrated their close empathy in other sessions before and after Naked City) are particularly noteworthy. Although this album is credited as a soundtrack for a porn movie (scenes from which decorate the sleeve art), its music will appeal to many improv-oriented listeners who have a hard time with the thrash/hardcore atmosphere that is so characteristic of the band's first album and the Torture Garden pieces. Caleb Deupree

Tracklist :

1 Main Titles 1:28

2 Sex Games 2:23
3 The Brood 2:49
4 Sweat, Sperm + Blood 2:05
5 Vliet 0:50
6 Heretic 1 2:33
7 Submission 4:23
8 Heretic 2 1:46
9 Catacombs 2:46
10 Heretic 3 2:43
11 My Master, My Slave 2:23
12 Saint Jude 2:13
13 The Conqueror Worm 2:32
14 Dominatrix 2B 2:16
15 Back Through The Looking Glass 2:39
16 Here Come The 7,000 Frogs 1:59
17 Slaughterhouse/Chase Sequence 2:19
18 Castle Keep 1:49
19 Mantra Of Resurrected Shit 1:43
20 Trypsicore 1:46
21 Fire And Ice (Club Scene) 2:37
22 Crosstalk 1:41
23 Copraphagist Rituals 0:53
24 Labyrinth 5:47

NAKED CITY — Radio (1993)

Naked City was a band of excellent N.Y.C.-based improvisers from the late '80s to 1993, led by avant-alto saxophonist and composer John Zorn. Unlike their self-titled debut and the second Avant release Grand Guignol, there are no cover tunes on this release, entitled Radio. Several genres and bands are skillfully evoked, however, and helpfully listed in the liner notes in order of occurrence. Jazz, surf, R&B, death metal, funk, acid rock, and serialism are grafted together in this collection, often into the same song, and the band shifts genres, tempos, and arrangements on a dime.

Supposedly, Radio was conceived as a set for a college radio program, making it a kind of "Young Person's Guide to Naked City," beginning with accessible tunes, gradually building up listener tolerance to dissonance, and finally sandbagging the listener with evil blasts of dissonant metallic noise and convincing perpetrator-and-victim screaming.

Zorn gives ace guitarist Bill Frisell and versatile keyboardist Wayne Horvitz the space to shine on this collection, and both more than meet the challenges of these pieces. Avant-garde guitarist Fred Frith takes a supporting role in the band, supplying an in-the-pocket bass that keeps the funkier tracks cooking, and the depth and range of his playing on these tunes is a consistent pleasure.

Master drummer Joey Baron alternates restraint and abandon, keeping solid time on the jazz tunes, throwing tasty fills into the funk, and laying down a muscular, punishing thrash on the metal sections. Zorn himself does a fair amount of his balloon-animal-twisting squeals and sustained shrieking blasts, but he does vary the palette. Listed also as a full band member on Radio (but not performing on every piece) is Japanese noisecore/funk screamer Yamatsuka Eye of the Boredoms (now going by Yamataka Eye). His babbling, howling, choking, and flat-out screams of terror take many of the metal performances well over the top. Maurice Rickard  

Tracklist :

1 Asylum 1:56
2 Sunset Surfer 3:23
3 Party Girl 2:34
4 The Outsider 2:27
5 Triggerfingers 3:31
6 Terkmani Teepee 2:27
7 Sex Fiend 3:31
8 Razorwire 5:31
9 The Bitter And The Sweet 4:52
10 Krazy Kat 2:03
11 The Vault 4:44
12 Metaltov 2:07
13 Poisonhead 1:09
14 Bone Orchard 3:55
15 I Die Screaming 2:29
16 Pistol Whipping 0:57
17 Skatekey 1:24
18 Shock Corridor 1:08
19 American Psycho 6:10

NAKED CITY — Absinthe (1993)

Naked City's final album is by far its most puzzling and enigmatic. Downtown maverick John Zorn's compositional workshop for a rock band completed its run of seven albums with this quiet, almost ambient, collection. Some of the pieces, such as "Une Correspondance" and "Artemesia Absintheium," get somewhat noisy, with industrial clattering, insect-like whines, feedback, and complex noises in layers. The closing piece, "...Rend Fou," is atonal electronic rattles, a precursor to the glitch electronics of Mego artists Pita and General Magic rather than representative of any group member's background at the time. However, the bulk of the album is more like Val deTravers, composed of Bill Frisell's detuned guitar over a tranquil bass and Joey Baron's bowed cymbals. The tribute to French composer Olivier Messaien, one of the few mystical visionaries in 20th century music, is quietly beautiful sustained guitar notes over a simple heartbeat-like rhythm. Baron's percussion work is often very subtle, a quiet crackling like a fire on La Feé Verte and the first Verlaine (where Zorn himself takes care of the only vocals on the album). The titles reflect the artist's continued interest in the avant-garde of the 19th century, where the green liqueur absinthe (known as the Green Fairy, La Feé Verte) was a favorite among artists and poets, including Paul Verlaine and Charles Baudelaire (author of the controversial collection Les Fleurs du Mal). Nothing in Naked City's previous oeuvre prepares the listener for this collection, a complete reversal from the hardcore and thrash, but looking forward to Zorn's interest in minimalist pieces like Redbird and Duras. Caleb Deupree  

Tracklist :

1 Val De Travers 6:13

2 Une Correspondance 5:04
3 La Fée Verte 5:10
4 Fleurs Du Mal 4:06
5 Artemisia Absinthium 4:30
6 Notre Dame De L'Oubli (For Olivier Messiaen) 4:47
Verlaine
7 Part One "Un Midi Moins Dix" 4:23
8 Part Two "La Bleue" 6:01
9 ...Rend Fou 6:03
Leng Tch'e
10 Leng Tch'e 31:38

Credits :

Alto Saxophone – John Zorn
Arranged By – John Zorn (tracks: 1-1 to 1-26, 2-1 to 2-42, 4-1 to 4-19), Naked City (tracks: 1-1 to 1-26)
Bass – Fred Frith
Composed By – John Zorn (tracks: 1-1, 1-3, 1-4, 1-6, 1-7, 1-10 to 1-17, 1-19 to 1-21, 1-23, 1-25, 1-25, 2-1 to 2-34, 2-42, 4-1 to 4-19, 5-10)
Drums – Joey Baron
Guitar – Bill Frisell
Keyboards – Wayne Horvitz
Music By – John Zorn (tracks: 5-1 to 5-9), Naked City (tracks: 3-1 to 3-24)
Vocals – John Zorn (tracks: 2-1 to 2-42, 5-10), Yamatsuka Eye (tracks: 1-1 to 1-26, 2-1 to 2-42, 3-1 to 3-24, 4-1 to 4-19, 5-10)