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Bill Frisell: Guitar in the Space Age!

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Bill Frisell: Guitar in the Space Age!
Though prototype electric guitar first appeared in the early 1930s, the instrument only became a staple of popular music in the 1950s and 1960s. As a musical revolution was evolving, so was a different type altogether -space exploration. Sixty years on, in an age when the challenge is just to keep abreast of technological innovations it takes an effort to imagine the seismic shift that the electric guitar and space travel—and television that brought such adventures into millions of homes—signified for youngsters like Bill Frisell.

Growing up in Denver, Frisell was just eleven when Telstar made headlines as the first direct relay communications satellite to be launched into space. He was barely in his teens when Chicago blues, surf music and the era's alt-country that has so informed his playing first impacted. Here Frisell re-explores his musical roots—or perhaps joins the dots—once again in the soulful company of Greg Leisz, Tony Scherr and Kenny Wollesen, who wove their collective charms on Frisell's John Lennon tribute All We Are Saying (Savoy Jazz, 2011).

That album and Guitar in the Space Age feel in some ways like companion pieces—sonic sculptures hewn from similar source material. However, if there's a suggestion that Frisell is getting a little nostalgic in the autumn of his years it's worth remembering that Frisell's two releases sandwiched between All We Are Saying and Guitar in the Space Age were the avant-garde solo guitar album Silent Comedy (Tzadik, 2013) and the contemporary chamber-meets-country suite Big Sur (Okeh, 2013). With Frisell, there's a time for stretching the boundaries and, as with Guitar in the Space Age, there's a time for plain-old having fun.

Scherr's hypnotic two-note bass line forms the backbone of "Pipeline," The Chantay's grooving 1962 surfer hit. Frisell and Leisz ride in unison, embellishing the melody with sustain, peeling notes, crying slide, and reverberating shimmer and twang. Frisell's trademark loops add a personal seal. There's more than a hint of Hank Marvin's influence here and even more so on Joe Meek's cantering "Telstar," which sounds like the sister theme to the TV western series The High Chaparral.

On most of the songs Frisell remains faithful to the spirit—and occasionally the letter—of the originals; Peter Seeger's biblically-inspired "Turn, Turn, Turn" and Mel London's "Messin' with the Kid" are plucked from the mold, though Leisz and Frisell's solos on the latter lend bluesy bite. "Surfer Girl"—the first song Brian Wilson ever penned— is taken at the same dreamy pace as the original, with Leisz's pedal steel sighing like Hawaiian guitar. Ballsier is Link Wray's down-'n'-dirty "Rumble." This 1958 instrumental effectively invented the power trio and the power chord, brought distortion and feedback to the table and influenced every guitar-wielding musician. Frisell's quartet gives a ripping, reverb-heavy interpretation with the dual guitars fired up.

Two Frisell originals snuggle amongst the covers. A shimmering nostalgia imbues the first half of "The Shortest Day" before Frisell's catchy melody and Wollesen's kick inject new spirit. "Lift Off"—minus drums—is a dreamy vignette, sparse and moody and echoes the vibration of Speedy West's "Reflections From the Moon." Duane Eddy/Lee Hazlewood's "Rebel Rouser" seduces with its country swing. Another Hazelwood tune, the distinctive "Baja"—a minor hit for the landlocked, earthbound surfer band The Astronauts— sees Frisell and Leisz dovetail beautifully.

Their intuitive dialog is more expansive still on Ray Davies "Tired of Waiting for You," which grows—not unlike a Grateful Dead tune—from a pretty pop melody into a grooving psychedelic jam with ringing guitar lines and soaring loops. Merle Travis' sunny "Cannonball Rag" and Jimmy Bryant's "Bryant's Boogie" sparkle with the country-swing that forms a big part of Frisell's musical DNA.

Guitar in the Space Age is a delightful celebration of a musical era that still resonates. As good an introduction to this most influential of guitarists as any entry in Frisell's discography, it's essential listening for Frisell fans looking for an insight into the multiple musical strands—surf, blues, country, swing and rock—upon which he has built his unique six-stringed idiom.

Track Listing

Pipeline; Turn, Turn, Turn; Messin' with the Kid; Surfer Girl; Rumble; The Shortest Day; Rebel Rouser; Baja; Cannonball Rag; Tired of Waiting for You; Reflection from the Moon; Bryant's Boogie; Lift Off; Telstar.

Personnel

Bill Frisell
guitar, electric

Bill Frisell: chitarra elettrica; Greg Leisz: pedal steel, chitarra elettrica; Tony Scherr: basso; Kenny Wollesen: batteria, percussioni, vibrafono.

Album information

Title: Guitar in the Space Age! | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Okeh

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