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MJBrady
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Published on: 17 Jul 2004
Not sure what I was expecting with this cd, the music was explained as some kind of Mahavishnu, eclectic electric fusion music. A lot of promotional information was also sent with the cd, and given the amount of info to Anthony Curtis' bio, I guess I was expecting a much more refined product with this cd. What I am hearing here is a lot of improvised experimental freeplay going on between the musicians. There are some major talents involved in this project recording such as Tony Levin, Mike Keneally and Lewis Pragasam, but in the end, the cd appears as more a excercise in freeform music, than it does a collaboration of musical genius.
Most of the songs feature some solid and creative drumming and bass/stick settings by Levin and Pragasam, after these two establish the backbeats, Curtis on guitars and violinist Jeff Gauthier, explore the spaces between with some very avant and meandering sounds. In the end, the songs here are more like long drawn out jam sessions to my ears, kind of like a rough and unrefined version of Ozric Tentacles, without the psychedelia. Other cds that came to mind as I listened through this cd were some of the Attention Deficit songs, or even the Bozzio/Levin/Stevens recordings, though this cd seems even more raw and unpolished.
I do like Levin's and Pragasam's chemistry, both can articulate themselves in this environment of intuitive invention. But I find both Curtis and Gauthier's contribution on the noisy side of things, Keneally is nearly absent in terms of making a statement on this cd, I guess I was expecting more of a Mahavishnu type of setting, which Curtis doesn't compare to style wise, in some ways Curtis' guitar playing goes the way of David Torn or Frith, Fripp and Blood Ulmer. Book of the Key fuses long drawn out bass and drum jams with the world of abstract and disjointed melodic accompaniment, something that may or may not appeal to fusion fans, it all depends on whether you believe playing improvised solos in disharmony is purposed or based on lack of ear training. Something for the listener to decide. As for me, I understand and have heard a lot of avant and noise music, it's definetly an aquired taste. And in many cases, hard to digest. Anthony Curtis - Book of the Key, a cd for the folks that are outside the box of normal tonal melodic phrasing.
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