Go West: Music for the Films of Buster Keaton

Go West: Music for the Films of Buster Keaton

ASIN: B000005J32

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
Guitarist Bill Frisell's exploration of 20th-century Americana has led him to many places, but the films of silent-screen comedian Buster Keaton have been a special inspiration. What makes this "background" music so compelling is Frisell's ability to reimagine the particular landscape of Keaton's Wild West, its wide-open spaces and doomed humor. His compositional materials are almost minimalist. A few short melodies recur throughout, and the bass motif that appears with the brief "Box Car" appears again and again, in "Train," "Bullfight," "New Day," and "Cattle Drive," until it assumes the inexorable momentum of narrative. In his handling of these materials, Frisell is able to suggest a host of other musics (like the blues of "Card Game" and the dissonant near-flamenco of "Ambush") and a range of complex emotions. His then-regular partners make essential contributions: Kermit Driscoll provides rock-steady bass lines, while Joey Baron's creative use of percussion extends to using woodblocks for both humor and foreboding. Like Keaton, Frisell has the ability to take the expected, even the cliché, and make it resonate with subtle and sometimes disturbing dimensions. In the process, he has created a score that not only enriches the film but is able to stand on its own. For another Frisell take on Keaton, check out the shorter High Sign/One Week. --Stuart Broomer

Tracks:

Down On Luck
Box Car
Busy Street Scene
Go West
Train
Brown Eyes
Saddle Up!
First Aid
Bullfight
Wolves
New Day
Branded
Eats
Splinter Scene
Cattle Drive
Card Game
Ambush
Passing Through Pasadena
To The Streets
Tap Dancer And Confusion
Devil Suit
Cops And Firemen
That A Boy!
I Want Her

Amazon.com essential recording

Guitarist Bill Frisell's exploration of 20th-century Americana has led him to many places, but the films of silent-screen comedian Buster Keaton have been a special inspiration. What makes this "background" music so compelling is Frisell's ability to reimagine the particular landscape of Keaton's Wild West, its wide-open spaces and doomed humor. His compositional materials are almost minimalist. A few short melodies recur throughout, and the bass motif that appears with the brief "Box Car" appears again and again, in "Train," "Bullfight," "New Day," and "Cattle Drive," until it assumes the inexorable momentum of narrative. In his handling of these materials, Frisell is able to suggest a host of other musics (like the blues of "Card Game" and the dissonant near-flamenco of "Ambush") and a range of complex emotions. His then-regular partners make essential contributions: Kermit Driscoll provides rock-steady bass lines, while Joey Baron's creative use of percussion extends to using woodblocks for both humor and foreboding. Like Keaton, Frisell has the ability to take the expected, even the cliché, and make it resonate with subtle and sometimes disturbing dimensions. In the process, he has created a score that not only enriches the film but is able to stand on its own. For another Frisell take on Keaton, check out the shorter High Sign/One Week. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

Buy This Album Today.......2005-09-11

This is one of my favorite Bill Frisell albums along side of "Have A Little Faith" and "Where in the World?" I'm a HUGE Bill Frisell fan and I have almost everything he's done (about 36 albums of session and solo work).

He's a genius at conveying emotions through his subtle touch and very textural sound. Bill is, without a doubt in my mind anyway, one of the most original jazz guitarists of the past 20 years. "Go West: Music for the films of Buster Keaton" capture Frisell at a very creative peak. This album along side of "The High Sign/One Week" were a departure and a new beginning for him. Many people say that these albums mark the end of the old Frisell. I look at these two albums as a departure, but also at the possibilities of what was to come for him. He made some of his most accessible work after these albums. Not saying that he compromised his musical integrity, but he plays alot different now then he did on this album and anything prior to these albums.

This album captures Frisell in a truly unique situation...film scoring, but to my ears this album has a really great flow to it. It's not stagnant or dry. It's really beautiful and yet it's in-your-face. There are themes that appear throughout the album that help make this album flow.

If you're a fan of Bill Frisell or a potential fan, do yourself a favor and pick up this one and "The High Sign/One Week." Get a glimpse of Frisell's genius with this incredible collection of songs.

Frisell does his thing.......2005-01-25

This is one of two albums Frisell has released featuring soundtracks to Buster Keaton films. (The other is _The High Sign/One Week_, soundtracks to two Keaton shorts; there are also a few tracks from his soundtrack to _Convict 13_ on the _Bill Frisell Quartet_ album.) It's an interesting choice of film since it's not one of Keaton's more celebrated full-length films. (Apparently it was difficult to film because the herd of cattle was hard to control.) The only time I've seen it was in Victoriaville with Frisell's trio performing the accompaniment live. I remember it as being quite a good film, actually, & rather moving--Keaton, though famously stonefaced, is always good at conveying his love for unlikely objects of affection, whether a boat, a train or (as in _Go West_) a cow. Maybe my experience of seeing the whole thing live has affected my judgment of this disc, but though I like it well enough I don't think it reaches the heights of the live gig.

Nonetheless, it's worth getting just because the Frisell/Driscoll/Baron trio made so few albums--aside from the Keaton projects, the only other one is the excellent though poorly-recorded _Live_ on Gramavision. I don't like this one as much as the tighter _High Sign/One Week_, but it does give you a nice taste of Frisell doing his thing at length over a series of incrementally elaborated grooves (about 3-4 simple themes that turn up in different guises again & again). One cute touch is that Driscoll for many of the tracks playing "walking bass"--with a bow! It's all a very handsome album, & a great way to hear Frisell soloing basically for 80 minutes on end, but without Keaton's visuals to sustain interest it does get a bit overextended, & the simple themes are a pretty thin basis for such a long piece of music. I always find that my attention invariably wanders before I reach the end of the disc--I tend to lose the thread circa track 20. Anyway, taken in smaller doses this is a lovely disc, recommended to anyone who admires Frisell's work: it's user-friendly without descending to the cloying niceness of some of his later work.

Go West will keep on growing on you.......2000-04-12

I am a big Frisell fan, but just picked up this album recently. A wide range of music and reoccuring themes throughout make this one of my favorites. A very live, open-sounding production. Highly recommended if you're a fan.

Jazz Music:

Jazz Music

Jazz Music