Rich, exciting. but NOT BACKGROUND MUSIC. Got to listen.
'satiably curious | Detroit, MI USA | 08/15/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I love this album. It crosses both musical and social boundaries.
Although Ornetted Coleman's music appears to be an "acquired taste". I feel that, like Ligeti, Messiaen or Lutoslawski, the taste is worth acquiring for the reward it returns. This is a good example. It may take the usual Metheny fan out of his/her comfort zone for a bit, but if you hang in, that comfort zone might expand quickly into an energy zone. The unusual Metheny fan knows that Pat Metheny does occasionally stretch out like this. He does it well, too.
For the usual Coleman fan: If you enjoyed "Dancing In Your Head" and "Beauty Is a Rare Thing", this one may just lift you out of yourself for a while. But please - try to listen undistracted."
How did they get this made in 1986?
Grigory's Girl | NYC | 06/26/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is really Ornette's album. Metheny, as good (and as underrated) as he is, is just going along for the ride, but that's OK, considering Ornette is the captain. This is even more intense than Free Jazz ever was, with the title track and the mammoth, epic workout "Endangered Species" standing out. This was/is a pretty radical album, and considering it was made in 1986 makes it even more remarkable. 1986 was not a year known for great jazz innovation. If they only had Yoko singing along, it would have been even more legendary than it already is. Fantastic, mind expanding music. One of the Ornette and Metheny's best works....
"
Statement barely overshadows substance
IRate | 10/30/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Interesting precursor to the thrash-jazz movement comes packed with explosive avant-garde interplay but also suffers from the strained dynamics. While the Metheny-Coleman alliance is an interesting one, it does not always work in favor of the music. Only when the duo go all out, abandoning tradition in search of brass-bliss cacophonies that the experimentation does not feel like a double-edged sword. Besides for rampant dissonance, there are a few tracks, especially on the new version, which demonstrate actual attempts at symbiosis. There is a lot to find in between cracks on this one, the end result is just uneven and even unsure."
Music For The Discriminating Musician
W. Dent | Baltimore, MD | 05/08/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Dare I say that this cd is one for the musicians? That is not to say that the music contained herein is for musicians exclusively! However, I might say with a degree of confidence that whoever you may be and whatever you might do for a living, the songs on Song X are an acquired taste.
This cd was made in that era of music making which celebrated the freedom of musicians from the rigidity of formulas and melodic temperance. Instead, the musicians were free to explore their originality and individuality within the environs of a "band" of musicians, all playing with one another uninhibited by the usual "rules" which govern more "traditional" music. Instead of verse-verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus and ending or anything resembling that remark, tunes might have a head played by one or more instruments simultaneously, followed by multiple soloists playing all out individually while maintaining a keen awareness of that which is being played by the others. To the untrained, unfamiliar ear, the results may sound more like a cacophony of disorder. Still, from the unusual orchestration (or lack thereof), sections will step to the fore where all of the musicians will play a passage very much together and in unison or harmony, rhythmically synched, undeniably tight, before swinging back into the former "disarray" of sounds. Certain of the descriptive words I've used are in parenthesis because they deal with individual perceptions. These "parenthetical" words will evolve and change for the listener as he or she invests the time and apply an open minded approach to their listening habits/skills!
The contributions to Song X are made by some of the greatest musicians who have ever lived. This statement is one of fact and not opinion. Pat Metheny, Ornette Coleman, Charlie Haden, Jack Dejohnette, and Denardo Coleman are among the most respected guitarists, saxophonists, bassists, drummers, and percussionists/drummers (in that order respectively), in the world, regardless of what genre you may be discussing! The performances each turned in on Song X are in keeping with the individual reputations each musician has garnered.
The songs without exception were written by either Ornette Coleman or co-written by Ornette Coleman AND Pat Metheny! Rest assured that the life breathed into each is owed to everyone on this cd. Soloing within the tunes by Jack Dejohnette for instance, is commonplace (though there is nothing common about his playing)! A trait of this music is reflected in an amazing solo by Ornette Coleman on the sax while Jack Dejohnette is playing paradiddles, flams, ratamacues, single and double stroke rolls all at a breakneck pace, as if nothing and no one else mattered in that moment (Song X - selection or track number 7). Then 'Mob Job' comes in at a moderate, laid back jazz beat owing as much to tradition as it does to free form experimental jazz. But don't get too comfortable because 'Mob Job' is followed by 'Endangered Species' which again, is a mountainous and rebellious cacophony of sound with some of the most outrageously immensely talented drumming on record to date! Simply smoking.....simply incredible!
It is so impossible for me to communicate the immensity of skill evident in Song X. If I could communicate anything that might be helpful to those of you who are trying to decide on whether or not to purchase this cd, I can only say that if you are a fan of great melody, lyrics, and songs along the lines of The Beatles, Jason Falkner, and any other power pop cats making beautiful music, to the point of slavishness and excluding anything slightly resembling experimentation, then this cd is not for you. However, if you have heard and loved cd's/albums such as Bitches Brew by Miles Davis, or have tasted to your liking, Mahavishnu Orchestra or even some of the 21st Century musicians such as Frank Zappa or Schoenberg.......and lean toward the more adventurous styles of music, I believe you will be a huge fan of Song X right off the bat.
I gave this cd five stars because the performances on Song X are beyond belief and the unity with which these five musicians play is astounding given this was a one-off performance, mostly improvised on the spot!
Give it a shot....you can always return it if you don't enjoy it as much as I!"
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1
