Search - Bill Frisell :: Good Dog Happy Man

Good Dog Happy Man
Bill Frisell
Good Dog Happy Man
Genres: Jazz, Special Interest, Pop
 
  •  Track Listings (12) - Disc #1

The live-simple equation reached in the title of Good Dog, Happy Man might lull the listener into believing that Bill Frisell's continuing vamp on his Nashville band is reaching for the quaintest sounds possible. But in tr...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Bill Frisell
Title: Good Dog Happy Man
Members Wishing: 5
Total Copies: 0
Label: Nonesuch
Original Release Date: 5/18/1999
Release Date: 5/18/1999
Genres: Jazz, Special Interest, Pop
Styles: Avant Garde & Free Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Modern Postbebop, Bebop
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
Other Editions: Good Dog, Happy Man (2 LP 180 Gram Vinyl with Bonus CD)
UPCs: 075597953626, 075597990348

Synopsis

Amazon.com
The live-simple equation reached in the title of Good Dog, Happy Man might lull the listener into believing that Bill Frisell's continuing vamp on his Nashville band is reaching for the quaintest sounds possible. But in truth, this mellow-opening recording is as reaching and full of yearning as any of the guitar great's other releases. He draws in the full-on bluegrass sound of Nashville with the more rock-hard crunch of that redoubtable effort's successor, Gone, Just Like a Train, which debuted longtime session drummer Jim Keltner as an ideal foil for Frisell's squishy guitar end runs around flashiness. Keltner's back on board, as is bassist Viktor Krauss (who began his Frisellian foray on Nashville), but the band has grown to include Wayne Horvitz on Hammond B-3 for several steamy tracks, Greg Leisz on steel guitar and mandolin, and Billy Cox on second six-string guitar. Frisell marks each tune with a uniquely decentered stamp, giving off a comfortable aura for new listeners and sneaking in gobs of weird twists and phrases. In addition, he samples in layers of squiggles in spots, making Dog sound like an ageless pop gem as well as the boundary-busting bounty that it is. --Andrew Bartlett

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CD Reviews

Do you like swimming underwater?
Bruce C. Moore | Seattle, WA United States | 10/12/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Most folks who can swim stay on the surface. Those who have discovered the joy of escaping gravity, and the freedom of breathing to a different beat, find a blissful release in getting beneath it all. If there were speakers in Hanalei Bay, this is what I would play.Every time I listen to one of Bill's albums I want to share it with a friend. I'm always tempted, but I avoid the thought, "this is my favorite." I'm not comfortable with the whole notion of 'favorite' because it implies I can't enjoy anything else quite as much. But, as I'm listening this evening, boy am I tempted to give in.So, what's so special about this one? It's loaded with the accessible essence of his music...the ability to push simplicity beyond elegance, and to reach a musical sensibility that is majestic and moving. You get a hint of his ability to deconstruct a melody without having to resolve what was once familiar. You delight to his fleeting references to the familiar without loosing touch with the gentle tension of discovery. You are bouyed by his chameleon like ability to fuse with his ensemble of stellar session players, ever changing and ever excellent.So friend, I want to share this album with you. And I trust you will want to share it with a friend, as well. Dive in, the water's fine. No suit required."
It's not jazz...So What!!
DC from TX | Round Rock, Texas USA | 01/04/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)

"I had to post this in response to the knucklehead that posted the "this guy's is a charlatan" review below. I am not a huge Frisell fan by any means, but the guy definitely has his own style, which is a lot more than I can say for most 'jazz' guitarists, who all play the same cliched licks they learned from their teachers at Berklee, GIT, or wherever they went to 'jazz school', with the same old cliched 'jazz guitar' tone that they all use. I am a guitarist myself (20 years+). I love all kinds of guitar playing, including jazz guitar, but I HATE snobby jazz guitarists that think if it aint blowing lightning quick bop runs over complicated chord changes, then it aint jazz and it sucks. I think Miles disproved that years ago, thank God. It's not all about how many notes you can play, despite what some swell headed jazz guy may think.





Anyway, this is a nice atmospheric and laid back album. Delay, looping and subtle 'whammy bar' bends give Frisell's guitar an otherworldy sound, while acoustic instruments bring it back down to Earth. Is it jazz? No, so what???? It's heartfelt music, it's what comes out of Frisell's soul. He's not trying to make music to impress YOU, jazz guitar guy.



Sorry for the rant, but snobby musicians really tee me off...

"
Play this while caught in aggressive, rude rush hour traffic
Steve Vrana | 11/10/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm fairly new to Frisell World, but I know what I like, and I've been carting this CD around with me wherever I go because I've not yet grown tired of hearing it. It's rootsy, yet unique. It's emotional, yet unsentimental. It's accessible, yet mysterious. It's familiar, yet unpretentious."