Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Humans of America: Sounds of the City, Town, and Country

129

Humans of America: Sounds of the City, Town, and Country

By

Sign in to view read count
Humans of America: Sounds of the City, Town, and Country
Sounds is a vocal record with some unusual performers arrayed in dramatically different settings. And like music from throughout history, it adopts the idea of telling a story though sound: the listener gets to experience a sequence of events, portrayed using musical language. But the record only features voices. The outcome is cinematic—like a silent movie, in a way, but it's not silent and there's no movie. Most importantly, it's real close to home, so sit back.

Let's charge right into the story line, shall we? Just fill in the sonic aspect of the recording from the palette of your own personal experience, and this review can go full circle. Shall we?

Picture the sonic stories behind these tracks, which at times can run together.

One chapter starts off with the grand appearance of a real macho stud out for some fresh flesh, shouting his intent in no uncertain terms. He casts his head to and fro, getting more and more annoyed at what he's hearing all around him. Turns out there's a whole group of girls gathered on the spot, and they're laughing at him. Hee-hee, hee-hee, hee-hee.

End of chapter one. Chapter two features an annoying whiner who just won't shut up about his struggles, despite all the beautiful music in his life. We'll skip that part. Next is an interesting conversation between two very eager young people, calling each other's names at a great distance and exchanging remote sexual energy. Sheer poetry, as you might imagine.

Then we enter into the mafia kingdom. The Boss, who has his own little spot staked out and doesn't like anyone going there unless they bring a little something, sees a gift approaching. There's no reason to be quiet when you're the Boss, right? Sure, but you also have to consider the wife and children. Their main interest is to make sure he leaves a little something for them. It's Family, you understand, and there are times to remind old Papa of that fact.

And sure, once the whole Mob has done its thing and gone back to sleep, the lesser gangs descend upon the area. They make a lot of noise tooling around, claiming their own share of this crowded little world. The guy at the end has the last laugh, but was it worth it?

Okay, that was the storyline behind a few tracks on the real CD, which honestly is best appreciated without knowing the identities of the vocalists. If you come into it knowing who's who, that spoils the whole show. Better to hear each track on its own terms. Right? So don't look at the personnel listings. Figure it out for yourself.



Track Listing

1. Big Stud; 2. Laughing girls; 3. Snoring with a cold; 4. Boys and girls; 5. We're doing fine; 6. Yeah, sure, we're doing fine too; 7. The Boss, his wife and children; 8. Scrappy winos; 9. Cleaning the windows; 10. Turn that TV down; 11. I'm a cool kid, too!; 12. Man, that one really hit the spot; 13. Farmer Ed, Remix.

Personnel

Big Stud, The Boss, and others.

Album information

Title: Sounds of the City, Town, and Country | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: One Such

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Sensual
Rachel Z
Over and Over
Tony Monaco Trio
Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.