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| Track list: 1. Without a Song 2. Where Are You 3. John S. 4. The Bridge 5. God Bless the Child 6. You Do Something to Me Running time: 40 minutes Released: 1962 |
I think this came out of a the same large multi-album box set as Beyond the Blue Horizon and Birds of Fire (amongst others). I don't know what to expect but I am hopeful that I'll find something to love here.
A very easy paced, softly backed melody kicks us off. I need relaxation this evening so this is good. I am off across the Atlantic tomorrow for a week of working States-side, and a nice chilled listen is welcome. Thus far this is very accessible and pretty traditional to my ear, Rollins' sax leading over a backing of drums, bass and keys - which appear to be some form of organ, they have that muted, electrical tone to them. Exciting it isn't, but the soft distance created by the recording makes it a sort of unthinking comfort. I am all packed, save for the things that can't go in the night before, and the wavering over whether to take my personal laptop in addition to my work one. I suspect I will, I have 5 long evenings to fill and Steam plus the potential opportunity to listen whilst away could help that some if work socials don't.
There is the inevitable shifting of focus from instrument to instrument, player to player. That staple of the jazz time, solos for all. I have been critical of this practice in the past and I like it no more here, but it is not so egregiously annoying. As Where Are You starts, it cements the idea of this as a late night, slow down sound. Lazy-paced, this opening is almost sombre. It is also very sparse indeed, and the softness of the track is a bit of a hypnotic; I feel my eyes drooping and my head nodding. It is not, thankfully, an early start tomorrow, but it is unfortunately not the best of timings with regards to buses, and a lot of waiting around is expected. The sax is drooping too it seems, it sounds tired and played out by the end of the piece. The net tune starts far too broken up for my liking - little snatches with big pauses between them. It then kicks into life, an energy and pace that was absent from earlier tunes having been found somewhere. The whole piece still feels like it is being played off in the distance somewhere though... the tones are soft and pillow like so whilst the tempo is higher the soporific effect remains. The sax again is the primary tune carrier, the centrepiece for the ear to follow, and in shutting my eyes and following it for a good few seconds I wonder if it isn't a bit much. An electrified guitar has been added to the mix, and its tones are particularly cheesy. I think this combination of the over-dominant saxophone and the cheese-tastic guitar are a bit of a turn off, and I blame them for my wandering attention. For the first two tunes I didn't find myself looking at other web pages.
Today was a decent day - low key, just prep for going away and enjoying the rugby. Just. Almost a monumental self destruct from England, but not quite. The thought of the final day of the 6 Nations awaiting me when I return, baggy-eyed, to Heathrow on Saturday morning is hopefully going to carry me through the jetlag of a first long-haul trip in a decade. The title track has the same energy as John S. but not the cheese. It is a busy little number. I am, also, apparently unable to tell the difference between guitar and keyboard; checking up on it, there is no key part, so that organ-like sound is actually the same cheesy guitar tone. What. An. Idiot. Me, not the guitar player. I find The Bridge has been and gone in my self admonishment, replaced by another slower piece. I find myself more appreciative of the gentle pace, even if some of the notes feel almost random in application - the odd jump in what is otherwise a nice theme.
Despite these out of place notes - they seem to diminish as it progresses - and its encouragement for my yawning maw (man, I knew yawning was infectious, but I didn't know reading the word had the same effect as watching someone else yawn), God Bless This Child is a really nice track. Soft accompaniment for a slide into relaxation. Just need an empty street with low-wattage lighting, a cool hat and some 50s motors parked up in the moonlight to complete the image.
The album ends with a take on You Do Something To Me; the only other version of this I am familiar with is Paul Weller's. This, as an instrumental jazz piece, is very different and if I didn't know going in that it was the same root I wouldn't be able to place it - but the metadata on the track calls out Cole Porter's composition so... I find the tune rather bland to be honest. Something about the arrangement is less comfortingly relaxing than the previous tune, even if that is just that by now I have had my fill of very standard jazz. I find myself glad when the tune drops out and Rollins' saxophone leads us out over a much reduced backing.
Overall, I don't know what to make of this record. I certainly enjoyed most of it, though in a detached, spacey kind of way befitting my head being on tomorrow's travel. That said, where I really noticed it was when it got too staid, too templated or too cheesy. I have always been particularly fickle about my music and I wonder if that fickleness isn't just putting a bee in my ear about this particular cut. I think I'm going to sleep on it before I make excisions of my own.
A very easy paced, softly backed melody kicks us off. I need relaxation this evening so this is good. I am off across the Atlantic tomorrow for a week of working States-side, and a nice chilled listen is welcome. Thus far this is very accessible and pretty traditional to my ear, Rollins' sax leading over a backing of drums, bass and keys - which appear to be some form of organ, they have that muted, electrical tone to them. Exciting it isn't, but the soft distance created by the recording makes it a sort of unthinking comfort. I am all packed, save for the things that can't go in the night before, and the wavering over whether to take my personal laptop in addition to my work one. I suspect I will, I have 5 long evenings to fill and Steam plus the potential opportunity to listen whilst away could help that some if work socials don't.
There is the inevitable shifting of focus from instrument to instrument, player to player. That staple of the jazz time, solos for all. I have been critical of this practice in the past and I like it no more here, but it is not so egregiously annoying. As Where Are You starts, it cements the idea of this as a late night, slow down sound. Lazy-paced, this opening is almost sombre. It is also very sparse indeed, and the softness of the track is a bit of a hypnotic; I feel my eyes drooping and my head nodding. It is not, thankfully, an early start tomorrow, but it is unfortunately not the best of timings with regards to buses, and a lot of waiting around is expected. The sax is drooping too it seems, it sounds tired and played out by the end of the piece. The net tune starts far too broken up for my liking - little snatches with big pauses between them. It then kicks into life, an energy and pace that was absent from earlier tunes having been found somewhere. The whole piece still feels like it is being played off in the distance somewhere though... the tones are soft and pillow like so whilst the tempo is higher the soporific effect remains. The sax again is the primary tune carrier, the centrepiece for the ear to follow, and in shutting my eyes and following it for a good few seconds I wonder if it isn't a bit much. An electrified guitar has been added to the mix, and its tones are particularly cheesy. I think this combination of the over-dominant saxophone and the cheese-tastic guitar are a bit of a turn off, and I blame them for my wandering attention. For the first two tunes I didn't find myself looking at other web pages.
Today was a decent day - low key, just prep for going away and enjoying the rugby. Just. Almost a monumental self destruct from England, but not quite. The thought of the final day of the 6 Nations awaiting me when I return, baggy-eyed, to Heathrow on Saturday morning is hopefully going to carry me through the jetlag of a first long-haul trip in a decade. The title track has the same energy as John S. but not the cheese. It is a busy little number. I am, also, apparently unable to tell the difference between guitar and keyboard; checking up on it, there is no key part, so that organ-like sound is actually the same cheesy guitar tone. What. An. Idiot. Me, not the guitar player. I find The Bridge has been and gone in my self admonishment, replaced by another slower piece. I find myself more appreciative of the gentle pace, even if some of the notes feel almost random in application - the odd jump in what is otherwise a nice theme.
Despite these out of place notes - they seem to diminish as it progresses - and its encouragement for my yawning maw (man, I knew yawning was infectious, but I didn't know reading the word had the same effect as watching someone else yawn), God Bless This Child is a really nice track. Soft accompaniment for a slide into relaxation. Just need an empty street with low-wattage lighting, a cool hat and some 50s motors parked up in the moonlight to complete the image.
The album ends with a take on You Do Something To Me; the only other version of this I am familiar with is Paul Weller's. This, as an instrumental jazz piece, is very different and if I didn't know going in that it was the same root I wouldn't be able to place it - but the metadata on the track calls out Cole Porter's composition so... I find the tune rather bland to be honest. Something about the arrangement is less comfortingly relaxing than the previous tune, even if that is just that by now I have had my fill of very standard jazz. I find myself glad when the tune drops out and Rollins' saxophone leads us out over a much reduced backing.
Overall, I don't know what to make of this record. I certainly enjoyed most of it, though in a detached, spacey kind of way befitting my head being on tomorrow's travel. That said, where I really noticed it was when it got too staid, too templated or too cheesy. I have always been particularly fickle about my music and I wonder if that fickleness isn't just putting a bee in my ear about this particular cut. I think I'm going to sleep on it before I make excisions of my own.
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