Bill Frisell - East/West

[BlueMiles]

I had been looking forward to this for a long time, since I saw the Frisell trio live in Oberlin (Ohio) last November. That was an astonishing show. Bill has been gathering material for quite awhile, and performances on the new double CD come from the Village Vanguard and Yoshi’s.

I own, or have heard, virtually all of Bill’s stuff from about 1990 on, and it’s interesting to find that only 4 of the 16 tunes appear on previous records. But that's kind of cool in itself. Also, the repertoire on the record seems essentially quite different from what I heard at Oberlin.

I think I favor disc 1 (West) right now. It has six rather lengthy performances and features an electric and edgy approach. “Blues for Los Angeles” is even more howling than the studio version. There’s a nice long version of “Shenandoah,” though I’m not too sure about the freaky sounds Frisell produces on switches and pedals near the end of it. Bill continues to be one of the handful of jazz musicians who interpret Dylan. Disc 1 ends with Dylan's "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall"; more than 3 minutes go by before you have the slightest idea that's the tune.

Disc 2 (East) features mostly shorter tunes...some pop tunes like "People" and "Days of Wine and Roses" and closing with tunes by Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. There are also some freaked out rock things...very brief. But probably the best piece is “Ron Carter”--broodingly intense and epic in length (at 14 minutes, more than twice as long as the studio version). Frisell’s jazzier side is displayed on “My Man’s Gone Now,” “Days of Wine and Roses” (quite different from, say, Wes Montgomery’s version), and an original called “Vanguard.”

I think we all know that jazz performers play at much greater length in concert than in the studio. In the live setting, you can get inside the music and literally feel transported. It's a bit harder to capture that when it's a recording of live material. But I think this CD will keep growing on me.

“East West” certainly presents a broad range of what Frisell can do. He is in the spotlight virtually the whole way through, though Kenny Wolleson shows he is a drummer to be reckoned with.

[Freetoojazz]

Hi BlueMiles,

I just bought this cd and i listen it twice. You're lucky to see him live recently. You made a good resume of the disc. The West side is more folk / americana. The East side as a little folk & jazz. Both sides are interesting.

Like you, i got a crush on disc 1. Hope that Bill will approach a much larger audience with this one.

Originally Posted by BlueMiles

I had been looking forward to this for a long time, since I saw the Frisell trio live in Oberlin (Ohio) last November. That was an astonishing show. Bill has been gathering material for quite awhile, and performances on the new double CD come from the Village Vanguard and Yoshi’s.

I own, or have heard, virtually all of Bill’s stuff from about 1990 on, and it’s interesting to find that only 4 of the 16 tunes appear on previous records. But that's kind of cool in itself. Also, the repertoire on the record seems essentially quite different from what I heard at Oberlin.

I think I favor disc 1 (West) right now. It has six rather lengthy performances and features an electric and edgy approach. “Blues for Los Angeles” is even more howling than the studio version. There’s a nice long version of “Shenandoah,” though I’m not too sure about the freaky sounds Frisell produces on switches and pedals near the end of it. Bill continues to be one of the handful of jazz musicians who interpret Dylan. Disc 1 ends with Dylan's "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall"; more than 3 minutes go by before you have the slightest idea that's the tune.

Disc 2 (East) features mostly shorter tunes...some pop tunes like "People" and "Days of Wine and Roses" and closing with tunes by Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. There are also some freaked out rock things...very brief. But probably the best piece is “Ron Carter”--broodingly intense and epic in length (at 14 minutes, more than twice as long as the studio version). Frisell’s jazzier side is displayed on “My Man’s Gone Now,” “Days of Wine and Roses” (quite different from, say, Wes Montgomery’s version), and an original called “Vanguard.”

I think we all know that jazz performers play at much greater length in concert than in the studio. In the live setting, you can get inside the music and literally feel transported. It's a bit harder to capture that when it's a recording of live material. But I think this CD will keep growing on me.

“East West” certainly presents a broad range of what Frisell can do. He is in the spotlight virtually the whole way through, though Kenny Wolleson shows he is a drummer to be reckoned with.

He's trying very hard to make a living, so just leave him alone, won't you?

[BlueMiles]

Whatever the hell that means!

I'm a big admirer of Frisell, and I am hardly trashing his new CD.

[Squaredancecalling Steve]

Blue Miles: Don't feel obligated to respond to BM as you would to a normal human -- that thing has been around for a while and it is clearly in need of a life and a high colonic.


I dug my first listen to East/ West, also liked the first disc more, and will report back after some more listens.

[clarke68]

Originally Posted by BlueMiles

I think I favor disc 1 (West) right now.

I've been through this a few times on the Rhapsody music service, and so far I agree. There's definitely more on disc 1 to reach out and grab you (a far more rockin' set) but I suspect the subtle intricacies (intricate subtleties?) on disc 2 will grow with me over time.

I like Frisell's electronics throughout, I think he's gotten better at it over the years. The most overt stuff still works well for me, and there's some spots on disc 2 where I almost can't believe how well his digital tones blend with acoustic instruments.

Originally Posted by BlueMiles

Kenny Wolleson shows he is a drummer to be reckoned with.

No kidding....I did a double take on the album's credits because I didn't think he was the same guy on both discs. Very rockin', groove-oriented playing on disc 1, and highly interactive, collectively improvisational on disc 2.

Amazing how much the bass player can influence a band.

[kedoane]

I am currently playing on air at KSJS his cover of Dylan's "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall." Methinks that I will get this album as soon as I get another paycheck under my belt.

[Nate Dorward]

Don't think there's been much discussion of this one here? Picked it up a couple weeks ago, as I'd mostly lost touch with Frisell's stuff post-Nashville. It's two concert recordings, both with Kenny Wollesen on drums, & (disc one) Viktor Krauss on bass, & (disc two) Tony Scherr on bass & guitar. A mix of Frisellian Americana ("Shenandoah", "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Crazy", &c). The 2nd disc has a few jazz standards & some group improvs. My current feeling is that disc one is excellent, with a lot of rock'n'roll power to it; disc two, with Scherr, I found a bit disappointing. I caught that band live about the same time & remember that Frisell indulged Scherr with a two-guitar duet--here the two-guitar stuff takes up a number of tracks at the end & it's a bit inconsequential: I would have loved to hear Frisell seriously tackling "Crazy" but here it's virtually a throwaway, as ditto the Johnny Cash tune at the end (mere months after Cash's death). But I've found myself playing disc 1 frequently--excellent opener with the Marvin Gaye tune & the Dylan tune is good enough to rival any of the pop-song readings on Have a Little Faith.

[Squaredancecalling Steve]

UP for Nate.

[Nate Dorward]

Thanks. Ugh, the presence of Baise Moix brings back those bad memories....

[BFrank]

Sounds like a winner. I just ordered it today from BMG for a VERY decent price.

[Nate Dorward]

Oddly enough I just foudn the original press release for the album (on the Frisell thread on Organissimo) & none of the tracks listed for the "East" half of the album is on the finally released disc. Hm.

[clarke68]

Originally Posted by Nate Dorward

Oddly enough I just foudn the original press release for the album (on the Frisell thread on Organissimo) & none of the tracks listed for the "East" half of the album is on the finally released disc. Hm.

They're on Further East/Further West, a download-only album "released" this week.

I gave it a spin yesterday on Rhapsody. The "West" band is rockin', but seemed slightly less focused than the brick n' mortar release. Still, having a live version of "Egg Radio" is worth the price of admission (my favorite tune off Gone, Just Like a Train).

The new "East" stuff I found quite a bit more engaging than I remembered from the CD. Tony Scherr stood out to me more, and Frisell does a nice solo version of "Rainbow" with a kind of drone in the background done with his sample delay effect thingie. Made me go back and check out the CD again and, lo and behold, I enjoyed it more than in previous listens...I guess it did grow on me.

[BFrank]

Is it just my copy or is there some reason why disk #1 says "east" and disk #2 says "west" even though it's the other way around?

Also, for obvious reasons, there are similarities on "West" to Viktor Krauss's "Far From Enough" album which features Frisell. If you like "West" I recommend picking up the Krauss album. Jerry Douglas is also in fine form.

[Squaredancecalling Steve]

My copy seems to be correctly labeled. West is a yellow disc with 6 cuts, and East is a black disc with 10 cuts.

Thanks for reminding me about that Krauss album -- I've been meaning to pick that one up.

[BFrank]

Interesting.......my black, "east" disk is actually the "west" session - and vice versa on the other one.
I got it from BMG. I wonder if that has something to do with it.

[barryC]

recently downloaded "further east/further west" - an additional 2 disc set making this a really nice 4 disc set - move over braxton!

[BlueMiles]

Hey, Barry, what are some of the highlights from the extra 2 discs?

[Gary Sisco]

That you got it from BMG could have a lot to do with it. They issue licensed versions, so they may well have printed the CDs wrongly. There are a lot of people who don't pay much attention to their work. Shit like that happens more often than you might think.

I like Frisell a lot but I have enough of his releases that I always wonder if I need to buy another. Usually I cave, eventually. I'm glad to hear there's at least some ferocity on this one, as the quiet americana thing, while I like it in reasonable doses, and the playing is always top notch, has been making me hesitate as the years go on, where I used to just buy Frisell releases because there was one to buy.

[BFrank]

Originally Posted by Gary Sisco

That you got it from BMG could have a lot to do with it. They issue licensed versions, so they may well have printed the CDs wrongly. There are a lot of people who don't pay much attention to their work. Shit like that happens more often than you might think.

Oh, well ...

It's all about THE MUSIC, anyway ... right?

[BFrank]

I was just noticing how much the cut "Ron Carter" on east sounds like "Follow Your Heart" from Joe Farrell's CTI album, The Joe Farrell Quartet. Has very much the same vibe, for sure.

[Gary Sisco]

BFrank -- Yeah, it's about the music. Things like that can cause disasters for discographers and dj's and such, however. It just takes a little attention to one's job to avoid, but I guess that's asking too much too often.