[ Album Cover ]

Upper Extremities
by Bruford Levin

Released 1998
Label: DGM
Catalogue: DGM9805

[ Reviewed January 2003 ]

The combination of Bill Bruford on drums and Tony Levin on bass was easily enough to get me to shell out for yet another CD.  Their individual or collective work has always been of the highest quality from the early days of Yes (Bill) to recent times.  I have to say at this point that I don't care for the most recent King Crimson incarnation - it just sounds like a complete racket.  With musicians at their level of talent there is no way that you need six of them.  Bill has managed to be innovative when using electronic percussion without sounding dated, and Tony's bass playing is always very musical in a serious kind of a way.

This album also features guitar by well-known David Torn and trumpet by Chris Botti, so as long as they didn't stray into self-indulgent improvising territories we were going to be just fine.  And as predicted, the album turns out very well although like most good music it takes a few listens to fully appreciate it.  The first couple of turns left me thinking that it's not bad but could be a bit more interesting perhaps.  Further listenings were proving to still be enjoyable rather than tailing off.  Listening to it recently I was further struck by the sheer variation of the tracks.  There's a lot more here than two blokes fiddling around with a few of their mates.

The album starts exactly as you'd expect with Cerulean Sea with Levin twiddling his bass as the ever-famous Bruford snare drum comes in with a load of eerie sounds drifting around in the background.  Don't try to tap your foot to the beat as Bill is constantly speeding up and slowing down (probably with different arms simultaneously).  It's not that pleasant-sounding and I'm glad the whole album's not like this to be honest.  The album rapidly moves into a quieter jazzier groove with Original Sin which has a lovely trumpet solo by Botti reminiscent of Kenny Wheeler on Bruford's Feels Good to Me album.  Not to be outdone, Torn is busy torturing his guitar in the background.  Don't worry, I'm not going into a complete track-by-track run-down like some reviewers do; I'll summarize.  The rest of the album ranges from slow laid-back passages to full workouts with those mind-numbing time-signatures that only Bruford seems to do.  There is even a small amount of dialogue recorded of Bill explaining (over drinks) what weirdness he does on drums immediately before the track has him actually doing it.  This could be a bit annoying but actually works very well and means that you listen to the track especially carefully.  I haven't really mentioned Levin yet.  He is excellent throughout coming out with a wide range of sounds, using both his famous stick and acoustic bass to good effect.  The four players work as a tight team and all of the tracks are to-the-point without any unnecessary meandering.

The standout track is easily Cracking the Midnight Glass.  It starts deceptively quietly with cello-sounding notes (actually Levin using a bow on bass) and then launches into a roller-coaster ride that mixes Led Zeppelin's Kashmir into an evil but powerful brew of King Crimson rock.  You get the full effect as Torn's guitar adds the perfect amount of Frippery.  The album is beautifully recorded and I recommend that you turn it up to get the full effect of that big bass, the tightest of tight percussion and all of the electronic stuff going on in the background.  The packaging is excellent and clever-dick Levin has painted the cover art and taken the pictures.  By the way, Bruford Levin Upper Extremities spells B.L.U.E., hence the colour scheme I suppose.

This is a good solid album with more than a hint of modern King Crimson, and is recommended for those who like their music to be Progressive but with a touch of jazz in it.  There is also a double live available by this band called BLUE Live which may be a better bet if you just want to get one album (see the Discipline site).  Actually, maybe I need to get that one as well.

Tracks:
1.Cerulean Sea7:03
2. Interlude:23
3.Original Sin4:55
4.A Palace of Pearls5:33
5. Interlude:19
6.Fin de Siecle5:22
7.DrumBass:54
8.Cracking the Midnight Glass6:06
9.Torn DrumBass:54
10.Thick with Thin Air3:28
11.Cobalt Canyons3:53
12. Interlude:27
13.Deeper Blue4:12
14.Presidents Day6:22
total time 55:56

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Copyright Steve Bachini