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Bill Frisell: Guitar in the Space Age!
ByGrowing 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 rootsor perhaps joins the dotsonce 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 piecessonic 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 spiritand occasionally the letterof 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 drumsis 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 growsnot unlike a Grateful Dead tunefrom 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 strandssurf, blues, country, swing and rockupon 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, electricBill 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
Comments
About Bill Frisell
Instrument: Guitar, electric
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