August 25, 2002

  • La Musica

    Today I found three CDs I’d been looking for.

    Laurie Anderson’s ‘Life On A String‘ is pretty much the culmination of everything good about her career thus far. It’s dark and hypnotic and borrows heavily from her storytelling (the best thing she does). Requires attention. Immaculately produced.

    Jon Hassell’s ‘Fascinoma,’ on the other hand, is a throwback to his first few records in the late 70s. It’s still and quiet and shimmers off in the distance like a mirage. If you secretly wish he hadn’t put out any records after ‘Vernal Equinox,’ then get ‘Fascinoma.’ It’s produced by Ry Cooter, and has some great playing by a number of musicians, all within the context of Hassell’s quiet world. Once upon a time, in another life, I was a recording engineer, so I also love the fact that this album was recorded on custom-built analog equipment (one-inch two-track tape with custom equalization?). They even built a tube-based A/D converter for mastering to CD.

    David Sylvian/Robert Fripp’s ‘Damage.’ This album was originally released in 1993 as a limited edition in Europe of only a few thousand. It might as well have been a bootleg. Re-issued last year in the US. The album is tracks from Sylvian’s ‘Gone To Earth’ and Sylvian/Fripp’s ‘The First Day,’ performed live in London in 1993. The two tracks not on either of those CDs, ‘Damage’ and ‘The First Day,’ are completely worth the 7-year wait. The rest is merely really good.