Nels Cline - Dirty Baby *

Artist:

Cline, Nels

UPC:

671860014225

See Also:

Alan Broadbent/Alex Cline/Nels Cline/Peter Erskine/Alan Pasqua - The Music Of Eric Von Essen Vol. 1

Description:

It is easy to see why guitarist Nels Cline calls the works he composed for Dirty Baby the most challenging of his career to date. He was called upon by producer and poet David Breskin to compose two separate works to sonically accompany two collections of Los Angeles artist Ed Ruscha`s images from the `80s and `90s. One, for the artist`s "censor strip" images (wherein the title of the painting is on the canvas yet concealed by strips of color); one for images from his Silhouette series of paintings. All 66 images are included in either a handsome double-disc package containing three booklets with a liner essay by Cline, or in a larger-format hardcover book that also contains Breskin`s poetry along with larger image representations and music. Two sets of images presented different challenges. Cline worked with larger ensembles in each case. "Side one" contains the six-part suite, "Dirty Baby" for the Silhouettes series. It begins quietly, slowly, deliberately; it`s suggestive more than assertive. Players include Bill Barrett`s harmonica, Jon Brion`s repetitive synth patterns, and Cline`s and Jeremy Drake`s acoustic guitars, supported by Devon Hoff`s contrabass and minimal percussion by Scott Amendola and Danny Frankel. They really take shape on "Part II," as electric guitars and a drum kit come to the fore, playing and economically soloing on gorgeous yet simple chord patterns. "Parts III" and "IV" are their mirror images, haunting, spookier; works that are elliptical with large spaces, moody colors, and textures; they`re beautiful in execution. By "V," the band is vamping Miles Davis-style on a funk riff with Amendola`s electric bass leading the charge. For ten of "Part VI"`s twelve minutes, free-form guitar skronk, synth whiteout, and an undermixed rhythm section smatter and smear the soundscape before Drake`s banjo assembles a mutant back porch melody to close it out. Side two contains 33 short tracks -- all but one are under four minutes -- titled for the images they represent. (The titles are fantastic, comically noirish: "Agree to Our Terms or Prepare Yourself for a Blast Furnace," "You Talk You Get Killed," etc. ). Cline uses an even larger band that relies as much on winds, reeds, and strings as much as it does various guitars, percussion, and effects, with Alex Cline in the drum chair and Brad Dutz on vibes, xylophone, and more. These pieces are more fragmented, angular, and aggressive, yet the mix is warm, making them as strangely approachable as Ruscha`s quirky, prohibitively code-like images, all of which imply silence or else. Yet these short tunes suggestively speak volumes about silence and the titles that the images themselves command. Here, the dynamics are wider, colors are brighter, and textures are more layered than on side one. Jazz, rock, modern composition, structured improvisation, and restraint play an enormous role, but are anchored solidly by Cline`s adventurous guitar work. Dirty Baby is a singular accomplishment, presented in a fashion that is both challenging and utterly irresistible for fans of Cline`s -- and Ruscha`s -- impressive bodies of work. ~ Thom Jurek

Track Listing:

DISC 1:

1. Part I
2. Part Ii
3. Part Iii
4. Part IV
5. Part V
6. Part VI

DISC 2:

1. In God We Trust
2. Hi There, My Old Friend
3. If I Was You I`d Do Just Like I Tell You To Do
4. Do As I Say or...
5. No Mercy
6. Do As Told or Suffer
7. Agree To Our Terms or Prepare Yourself For a Blast Furnace
8. Your a Dead Man
9. Hey You Want To Sleep With the Fishes?
10. Columbian Necklace For You, A
11. Note We Have Already Got Rid of Several Like You - One Was Found In River Just Recently
12. Be Cautious Else We Be Bangin On You
13. You Won`t Know When You Won`t Know Where You Won`t Know Who and You Won`t Know Why
14. It`s Payback Time
15. I`m Going To Leave More Notes and I`m Going To Kick More Ass
16. You Cross Me I Wanna See Blood
17. I Heard You Moved To Pahrump, Nevada - You Cannot Escape
18. Little Snitches Like You End Up In Dumpsters All Across Town
19. I`ll Be Getting Out Soon and I Haven`t Forgotten Your Testimony Put Me In Here
20. You Talk You Get Killed
21. Do Not Let the Information Be Known To Any Person or You Die
22. Don`t Threaten Me With Your Threats
23. I Just Might Act Ugly If You Talk
24. When I`m Released I`m Smoking a Straight Line To You. Got Me?
25. Want To Get To Know My Boiling Point?
26. You Dirty Rotten Bitch
27. You Will Eat Hot Lead
28. I Can`t Take It No More
29. I Might Just Act Ugly If You Get Up On That Stand and Say Something Unpleasant To My Ears
30. I Thought I Told You That We Won`t Stop
31. I Will Wipe You Off the Face of This Earth
32. Give Up the Gold or Give Up Your Life
33. You and I Are In Disagreement

Album Information

Release Date:

10/12/2010

Type:

Performer

Genre:

Jazz Instrument

Subgenre:

Avant-Garde/Downtown

Label:

Cryptogramophone

Producer:

David Breskin

Catalog Number:

CG142

Original Release Year:

2010

# of Discs:

2

Studio/Live:

Studio

Runtime:

93 : 15

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