Search - The Bad Plus :: Suspicious Activity?

A few words about The Bad Plus

Sor_Fingers | Boulder, CO USA | 04/11/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I read some of the reviews before I bought this album and was prepared for something not really as good, but as a completist and huge fan, I decided that I had to have it. I was actually delighted to find something not only much better than what I expected, but just shy of on par with the other two albums in The Bad Plus discography.



I know many people have their reservations about these guys. Many write them off simply because "it's not jazz." I can say that I agree with them: The Bad Plus, and this album in particular is not really jazz. What I don't agree with is when people give the album a bad review because it's not jazz. I, for one, like a lot of music that isn't jazz and happen to know a large assortment of other jazz fans that have appreciation for music that isn't jazz. What I have to say about The Bad Plus is that they are what they are: interesting and quite good music. I believe it was Duke Ellington that said "There are two types of music in this world, good music and bad music. I like the good music." Whether that be jazz, classical, rock, bluegrass or Norwegian death metal I'll listen to it as long as it is good. God forbid musicians to try to do something unique and different.



Now, a little more about the album. I can first go about praising Iverson, Anderson and King for their amazing musicianship. David King's drumming is energetic, creative, complimentary and never distracting. He provides a firm groove and all kinds of color on the album. King also writes what I believe to be the group's best tunes. Reid Anderson's bass playing is also quite stellar. He is constantly interacting with the other two musicians, stirring creativity and adding creative interjections when appropriate to add to the musical palate. The stand out musician in this trio however is of course, pianist Ethan Iverson. He has excellent improvisational ability, stunning right hand/left hand independence, technical ability beyond belief and is bursting at the seams with creativity. The group works as a unit and are constantly in conversation with each other whether they are improvising as a soloist or collectively. The jazz cat with attitude persona is worn well by them all and they make some really exciting music.



Suspicious Activity? is loaded with lots of good material. The album is beautifully bookended with two great ballads ("Prehensile Dream" and "Forces" both by Anderson). David King's composistions like I said stand out above the others. Both "Anthem for the Earnest" and "The Empire Strikes Backwards" are full of energy and quite catchy. Ethan Iverson's two composistions, "Let Our Garden Grow" and "O.G. (Original Gentelman)" are far out in terms of traditional melody and harmony are concerned, but still make sense to the listener. "O.G. (Original Gentelman)" even swings a bit, which is rare for The Bad Plus. The album loses a little bit of momentum in the middle with "Knows the Difference", "Lost of Love" and "Rhinoceros is My Profession" which merely don't stand out as opposed to being wasted CD space. The disc billows at a massive climax on the cover of Chariots of Fire which just steals the show. In fact, this album really could have used more brilliant covers in the Bad Plus tradition and a little less original material.



The other thing that makes this album dwindle a little is the production. One of the most amazing things about The Bad Plus's previous two albums is the absence of no editing or splicing or overdubbing (with the exception of two cuts off of "Give", 1 instance of splicing and 1 wrong note fix). In fact, less than half of the tracks on "Suspicious Activity?" are edit free. The trio used a lot more overdubbing which sort of destroys the acoustic jazz trio persona. Iverson gets his fingers working on harmoniums and celestes even, which are albeit cool sounds but don't really work for their setup.



I regard "Suspicious Activity?" to be not suberb like the groups other two studio releases, but is quite strong. I would certainly not call it their best, but I see it as legitimate, interesting and well done. The minor details I mentioned above are small flaws which are part of a really well done release from the midwestern trio."

This is the best "The Bad Plus" disc

Gentle Giant | 12/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was unconvinced by the first album, "These Are The Vistas." It was really really hyped everywhere and I thought the production was strange. Did a trio really need such an unfaithful recorded presence? After seeing them live, however, I now think they are the most innovative group in jazz. I like "Give" too, but this new album five songs by Reid Anderson, who is a great composer (the other two write very well too) and the pop-styled production is even more extreme, which somehow works even better for this really wild band. I don't think they are understood in the world very well (some of these other reviews and things I've read in magazines miss the point entirely). I can say this much: it is not "easy" music, but it is not just for jazz fans (the only jazz records my girlfriend likes are by "The Bad Plus")."

Don't rip this CD on your PC - it installs a rootkit!

Craig Schmidt | Needham, MA United States | 11/14/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I love the Bad Plus, and wish I could buy this album. However, this is one of the first CD's that has Sony's new evil copy protection scheme. If you put this CD into a PC it will install something called a rootkit, which buries itself in your computer just like spyware. It can then keep an eye on you to make sure you don't make any illegal copies. See the EFF web site for more details. In short: this CD is dangerous to put in a PC. Sony is being evil here.



A shame, I'd like to give it a listen."