It must be tricky making a compilation of drum music. The idea of a drum solo lasting more than 30 seconds is abhorrent to most of us. This CD gets round that, first by starting and finishing with a couple of dead-cert bankers for the Unknown Public public: it starts off with an exquisite miniature by Moondog, and then concludes with a 'classic' by the widely-cited (if narrowly enjoyed) Edgard Varèse.
Between the two it's a predictably mixed bag. Predictable in the sense that, by this time, an Unknown Public formula had been set (other Unknown Public issues can be found on the compilations page), almost as consistent as that for Word magazine cover CDs.
Thus having started with the 'one-off' sui generis Moondog, the next three tracks feature:
- a rather-too-serious hybrid of free jazz and drum-and-bass (Larry Stabbins & Oktal)
- some composed and intellectual jazz (Alex Cline Ensemble)
- full-on contemporary classical complexity (Brian Ferneyhough)
To be honest, there's nothing to match the elegance of the Moondog track that kicks things off. Dave Douglas' Tiny Bell Trio playing a Kurt Weill composition is probably the next best.
This time the Unknown Public box comes with a separate piece of recycled card for each track. The graphic designer has been given carte blanche to do whatever he liked, and as a result the text is so much of a struggle to read that I can't imagine I'll ever bother. I was very surprised to find out that the design was done by Jonathan Barnbook whom Lucy and I saw last year when he was showing people round his Design Museum exhibition.
After this issue, Unknown Public abandoned its cardboard box format.
| Details of this CD at the Unknown Pubic site | Rate Your Music entry for this album |
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