Record Reviews - RecordDB

Artist	Title	Review
Mahavishnu Orchestra	Between Nothingness And Eternity
Mahlathini And The Mahotella Queens	Rhythm And Art	<p>Included is more Zulu and accordion jive from Mahlathini and the Queens, with several songs in English.</p>—<b>J. Poet</b>
Mainline	Canada
Manassas	Manassas	<p>A sprawling masterpiece, akin to the Beatles' <i>White Album</i>, the Stones' <i>Exile on Main St.</i>, or Wilco's <i>Being There</i> in its makeup, if not its sound. Rock, folk, blues, country, Latin, and bluegrass have all been styles touched on in Stephen Stills' career, and the skilled, energetic musicians he had gathered in Manassas played them all on this album. What could have been a disorganized mess in other hands, though, here all gelled together and formed a cohesive musical statement.</p><p>The songs are thematically grouped: part one (side one on the original vinyl release) is titled "The Raven," and is a composite of rock and Latin sounds that the group would often perform in full live. "The Wilderness" mainly centers on country and bluegrass (Chris Hillman's and Al Perkins' talents coming to the forefront), with the track "So Begins the Task" later covered by Stills' old flame Judy Collins. Part three, "Consider" is largely folk and folk-rock. "Johnny's Garden," reportedly for the caretaker at Stills' English manor house and not for John Lennon as is often thought, is a particular highlight. Two other notables from the "Consider" section are "It Doesn't Matter" (later redone with different lyrics by the song's uncredited co-writer Rick Roberts on the first Firefall album) and "Move Around," which features some of the first synthesizer used in a rock context. The closing section, titled "Rock & Roll Is Here to Stay," is a rock and blues set with one of the landmarks of Manassas' short life, the epic "The Treasure." A sort of Zen-like meditation on love and "oneness," enlivened by the band's most inspired recorded playing it evolves into a bluesy groove washed in Stills' fierce electric slide playing. The delineation lines of the four themed song groupings aren't cut in stone, though, and one of the strengths of the album is that there is a lot of overlap in styles throughout.</p><p>The CD reissue's remastered sound is excellent, though missed is the foldout poster and handwritten lyrics from the original vinyl release. Unfortunately, the album has been somewhat overlooked over the years, even though Stills considers it some of the best work he has done. Bill Wyman (who guested on "The Love Gangster") has said he would have quit the Rolling Stones to join Manassas.</p>— <b>Rob Caldwell</b>
Manassas	Manassas	<p>A sprawling masterpiece, akin to the Beatles' <i>White Album</i>, the Stones' <i>Exile on Main St.</i>, or Wilco's <i>Being There</i> in its makeup, if not its sound. Rock, folk, blues, country, Latin, and bluegrass have all been styles touched on in Stephen Stills' career, and the skilled, energetic musicians he had gathered in Manassas played them all on this album. What could have been a disorganized mess in other hands, though, here all gelled together and formed a cohesive musical statement.</p><p>The songs are thematically grouped: part one (side one on the original vinyl release) is titled "The Raven," and is a composite of rock and Latin sounds that the group would often perform in full live. "The Wilderness" mainly centers on country and bluegrass (Chris Hillman's and Al Perkins' talents coming to the forefront), with the track "So Begins the Task" later covered by Stills' old flame Judy Collins. Part three, "Consider" is largely folk and folk-rock. "Johnny's Garden," reportedly for the caretaker at Stills' English manor house and not for John Lennon as is often thought, is a particular highlight. Two other notables from the "Consider" section are "It Doesn't Matter" (later redone with different lyrics by the song's uncredited co-writer Rick Roberts on the first Firefall album) and "Move Around," which features some of the first synthesizer used in a rock context. The closing section, titled "Rock & Roll Is Here to Stay," is a rock and blues set with one of the landmarks of Manassas' short life, the epic "The Treasure." A sort of Zen-like meditation on love and "oneness," enlivened by the band's most inspired recorded playing it evolves into a bluesy groove washed in Stills' fierce electric slide playing. The delineation lines of the four themed song groupings aren't cut in stone, though, and one of the strengths of the album is that there is a lot of overlap in styles throughout.</p><p>The CD reissue's remastered sound is excellent, though missed is the foldout poster and handwritten lyrics from the original vinyl release. Unfortunately, the album has been somewhat overlooked over the years, even though Stills considers it some of the best work he has done. Bill Wyman (who guested on "The Love Gangster") has said he would have quit the Rolling Stones to join Manassas.</p>— <b>Rob Caldwell</b>
Manassas	Down The Road	<p>Following the release of Down the Road, Manassas broke up. Perhaps they should have done so before recording this disc, for there is little here to recommend it. Two cuts, Chris Hillman's "Lies" and Stephen Stills' "Do You Remember the Americans," are of some worth, but the rest come off sounding like lame attempts at Latin-inflected blues jams with embarrassing lyrics to boot. For completists only.</p><p>—<strong>James Chrispell</strong></p>
Manfred Mann's Earth Band	Live At The Paris Theatre London 1972
Manning	Manning
Phil Manzanera	Primative Guitars
Andrew Manze	Eine Kleine Nachmusik K.525
Mark Almond	Mark Almond II
Bob Marley	The Very Best Of
Sir Neville Marriner	Ravel: Bolero
Branford Marsalis	Scenes In The City	Branford Marsalis's debut as a leader is ambitious yet consistently successful. On "Scenes of the City," his narrative is in the same spirit of some of Charles Mingus's recordings of the 1950s. Otherwise the music is in the modern mainstream vein with Marsalis (on tenor and soprano) hinting strongly at Wayne Shorter and John Coltrane, along with a touch of Sonny Rollins. The backup crew includes such notable young lions as pianist Mulgrew Miller and Kenny Kirkland, bassist Charnett Moffett, and drummers Jeff "Tain" Watts and Marvin "Smitty" Smith in addition to bassist Ron Carter. It's an impressive start to a notable career.
Branford Marsalis	Royal Garden Blues	<p>Branford Marsalis' second album as a leader followed his first by three years, and he had grown a lot in the interim. He had switched permanently to tenor (doubling on soprano), left his brother Wynton's group, toured with Sting, and begun heading his own group. Although using quartets on each of the seven selections, Marsalis varies the personnel quite a bit, utilizing pianists Ellis Marsalis, Kenny Kirkland, Larry Willis, and Herbie Hancock; bassists Ron Carter, Charnett Moffett, and Ira Coleman; and drummers Ralph Peterson, Al Foster, Marvin "Smitty" Smith, and Jeff Watts. One of Branford's more playful albums, the repertoire includes a tribute of sorts to his native New Orleans on "Royal Garden Blues" plus "Strike Up the Band" and then-recent originals. An excellent outing.</p><p>— <strong>Scott Yanow</strong></p>
Branford Marsalis	Romances for Saxophone	<p>Romances for Saxophone was released in 1986 by CBS Masterworks' Light Classics division. Branford Marsalis, usually known for his jazz background, asserts his mastery of the soprano saxophone on this excellent collection of romantic chamber music. Accompanied by the English Chamber Orchestra, Marsalis indulges us with some of his most fervent music yet. Each piece explores a different aspect of love and romance. Vocalese, originally for the soprano voice, portray the vocal lyricism and musicality of Marsalis' soprano saxophone. The "Rachmaninoff Vocalese" is an exceptional confirmation of the mastery of tone and musicianship that defines the music Marsalis is known for. Other well-known works, such as Debussy's L'Isle Joyeuse and Stravinsky's Pastorale, brilliantly contrast the air that Marsalis has played since 1981. The French and Russian compositions add a new dimension to the young Marsalis repertoire — classical romantic.</p><p>— <b>Paula Edelstein</b></p>
Branford Marsalis	Renaissance	<p>The highpoint of Branford Marsalis' third Columbia release as a leader is a 15-minute version of Jimmy Rowles' "The Peacocks" played in a trio with pianist Herbie Hancock and bassist Buster Williams. The remainder of the program matches Marsalis with pianist Kenny Kirkland, bassist Bob Hurst and drummer Tony Williams on a pair of standards ("Just One of Those Things" and a live version of "St. Thomas"), J.J. Johnson's "Lament" and originals by Marsalis and Williams. Although he did not have an immediately recognizable sound on tenor and soprano at this point, it was obvious from nearly the start that Branford Marsalis would have a very significant career. This is one of his better early efforts.</p>— <b>Scott Yanow</b>
Branford Marsalis	Mo Better Blues	<p>Although the Spike Lee film Mo' Better Blues had a somewhat absurd ending, its depiction of the jazz life had its accurate moments and the music was generally quite rewarding. A few of the selections on this soundtrack CD are throwaways or filler, but there is also some fine playing by a modern hard bop quintet consisting of trumpeter Terence Blanchard, Branford Marsalis on tenor and soprano, pianist Kenny Kirkland, bassist Robert Hurst, and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts. It's sure to be a collector's item someday.</p><p>—<strong>Scott Yanow</strong></p>
Branford Marsalis	The Dark Keys	<p>Dark Keys is Branford Marsalis' first major solo album since taking a leave from recording to be the musical director of The Tonight Show in 1993. Instead of following through with the hip-hop inclinations of Buckshot LeFonque, Marsalis has returned to traditional jazz, yet this is far from standard bop. Marsalis pushes at the borders of post-bop, adding elements of hip-hop and rock & roll, making for an adventurous and exciting listen. Occasionally, his experiments are unsuccessful, yet they are never less than intriguing.</p><p>—<strong>Leo Stanley</strong></p>
Branford Marsalis	Trio Jeepy	<p>Branford Marsalis clearly had a lot of fun during this set. On seven of the ten numbers included on the double LP (the CD reissue actually has one less selection), Marsalis romps on tenor and soprano in a trio with veteran bassist Milt Hinton and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts; the remaining three numbers have Delbert Felix in Hinton's place. The performances are quite spontaneous (the occasional mistakes were purposely left in) and Marsalis really romps on such tunes as "Three Little Words," "Makin' Whoopee," and "Doxy." On the joyful outing that is also one of Branford Marsalis' most accessible recordings, Milt Hinton often steals the show.</p><p>— <strong>Scott Yanow</strong></p>

Showing 1041–1060 of 2096 reviews · Page 53 of 105