Derek Bailey/Pat Metheny/Gregg Bendian/Paul Wertico

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Absolute guitar noise heaven spread over 3 discs! When I mentioned it to Julio he said he doesn't trust Pat Metheny but he should. There's no soft fusion melodicism anywhere. The most normal the guitars ever get is the Sonic Youth-y (but probably better) ringing dissonant shards on disc 2 but mostly it's ecstatic or brutal or stifled or sick or sparse or even gentle noise all the way, with two percussionists achieving all the same things. The way track 8 of a "Study In Scarlet" just turns into a stampede of drums and feedback is a thing of beauty and wonder. Disc 1 (the whole "Study In Scarlet"), which only features Bailey and Bendian I believe, is especially astonishing as it's a totally tireless onslaught of maxed-out noise and pounding, getting into Metal Machine Music (but with a 'beat') territory at points but moving elsewhere at others.

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Saturday, 20 September 2003 02:28 (twenty-two years ago)

what record label's this on?

― thom west (thom w), Saturday, 20 September 2003 10:19 (twenty-two years ago)

Wasn't it Knitting Fac?
(would like to look it up but the two of these three cd'd I have are... m-m-misplaced somewhere)

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Saturday, 20 September 2003 15:24 (twenty-two years ago)

A great thing abt Bailey is how he will improvise with anyone. Like i said, I'll look out for it and will revive when i get it.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Saturday, 20 September 2003 15:35 (twenty-two years ago)

It's on Knitting Factory Records, which I believe means it's out of print. So scour those used bins!

― Phil Freeman (Phil Freeman), Saturday, 20 September 2003 16:21 (twenty-two years ago)

I was only ever gonna get this 2nd hand anyway.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Saturday, 20 September 2003 16:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Pat Metheny is a tough guy to figure out.

― Kris (aqueduct), Saturday, 20 September 2003 20:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Doesn't he have some other noise records too? The only other PM I've actually knowingly heard is his performance of Reich's "Electric Counterpoint". I have a feeling I'd probably like a lot of the light fusion stuff anyway. Everyone always recommends it to me.

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Sunday, 21 September 2003 00:12 (twenty-two years ago)

>Doesn't he have some other noise records too?

Just one; Zero Tolerance For Silence. Also long out of print, but well worth hearing if you can find one.

― Phil Freeman (Phil Freeman), Sunday, 21 September 2003 10:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah 'Zero Tolerance for Silence' is great improv-skronk - my CD copy has a rave-up stickah from Thurston (also on Geffen) Moore! - but 'Song X' (his collaboration w/ Ornette Coleman) and even '80/81' (a sometimes fierce, sprawling dbl alb he made w/ Dewey Redman, Michael Brecker, Jack DeJohnette and Charlie Haden) are well worth hearing.

I generally find the 'fusion-lite' albs pretty intolerable - Lyle Mays is kind of like the Kenny G of keyboard 'washes' - but I wish other modern mainstream jazzers wld take as many 'risks' (and I suppose that means plays 'free') as PM.

― Andrew L (Andrew L), Sunday, 21 September 2003 11:11 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah I had the 'pleasure' of hearing the fusion-lite stuff once so that's where my comment came from.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Sunday, 21 September 2003 11:50 (twenty-two years ago)

I thought "Zero Tolerance" was really awful the only time I heard it. "Song X" is unbelievably good and I sort of like the pastel melodicism of "Bright Size Life" but his later albums are just too gloopy to stomach.

― Kris (aqueduct), Sunday, 21 September 2003 20:41 (twenty-two years ago)

I like Gregg Bendian's free playing a lot (at least on Interstellar Space Revisited, anyway).

I like Metheny in skronky noise mode or super straight-ahead mode, as a sideman like on that amazing Gary Burton album where he dries out his tone or the trio with Larry Grenadier/Bill Stewart. The middle ground fusion stuff is pretty blech, yeah.

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 22 September 2003 13:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Sign of 4 is the best triple album I ever got for $5 US! Metheny and Bailey working that well together probably shouldn't surprise me as much as it does. Phil is right, scour those used bins - I see this all over the place for some reason. Probably Metheny fans who had no idea what they were in for...

― Dave M. (rotten03), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 06:48 (twenty-two years ago)

I think Zero Tolerance for Silence is pretty great too, from the melt-out feedback in the first long track to the slower climbing stuff on some of the others. I'm curious what you hated about it, Kris.

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Sunday, 28 September 2003 13:59 (twenty-two years ago)

zero tolerance sounds like bill orcutt doing brian mays bit out of brighton rock and that no bad thing. preponderance of metheny doing hammer on pullof on disc one of the sign of 4 but yeh iss ok fer peanuts

― bob snoom, Thursday, 2 October 2003 09:35 (twenty-two years ago)

I saw 'Sign of 4' for £10 in the Berwick St Reckless yesterday

― Andrew L (Andrew L), Thursday, 2 October 2003 19:36 (twenty-two years ago)

I saw one of the sets at the Knitting Factory that was recorded for this album, but I haven't heard the finished product. As I recall it was pretty skronky, and it was fun to see the unlikely pairing of Bailey and Metheny on stage.

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 2 October 2003 19:39 (twenty-two years ago)

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Derek Bailey/Pat Metheny/Gregg Bendian/Paul Wertico - The Sign of 4