Comp.int.market 1992 Transport S.1 1993

Sting - Ten Summoner's Tales (1993) {1998 A&M Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 335 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 125 Mb
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© 1998 A&M / PolyGram | 540 997 2
Rock / Contemporary Pop

After two albums of muted, mature jazz-inflected pop, the last being an explicit album about death, Sting created his first unapologetically pop album since the Police with Ten Summoner's Tales. The title, a rather awkward pun on his given last name, is significant, since it emphasizes that this album is a collection of songs, without any musical conceits or lyrical concepts tying it together. And, frankly, that's a bit of a relief after the oppressively somber The Soul Cages and the hushed though lovely, Nothing Like the Sun.

Delfeayo Marsalis' long-delayed debut as a leader on record features the young trombonist on ten of his originals. One should ignore the religious titles and the drawings in the liner notes and enjoy the music for what it is: advanced hard bop. Marsalis' idol is J.J. Johnson and his trombone playing is similar to Johnson's style. Among the many artists who make appearances on this set are tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman (for the opening title cut); trumpeter Scotty Barnhart; brothers Branford (soprano on five numbers), Jason (who at the time was a brilliant 14-year-old drummer), and Wynton (whose highly expressive trumpet solo on "The Weary Ways of Mary Magdalene" is one of the high points of his career); and various sidemen from the Marsalis bands. Delfeayo, who has mostly worked as a record producer, is now overdue for an encore.

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On this well-intentioned set, Diane Schuur sings 13 standards that she individually dedicated to 12 singers: Billie Holiday (who is saluted with two songs), Helen Morgan, Anita O'Day, Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae, Ella Fitzgerald, Libby Holman, Peggy Lee, Dinah Washington, Ivie Anderson, Nancy Wilson and Mabel Mercer. In most cases, the arrangements for the huge string orchestra (contributed by Billy May, Johnny Mandel, Jeremy Lubbock, Clare Fischer or Alan Broadbent) weigh down the music a bit, and none of Schuur's renditions quite reach the heights of her role models. Still, Diane Schuur's voice is quite attractive, and taken on its own merit, this sincere CD (which has an informative 40-page booklet) is generally enjoyable.

Scorpions is a German rock band formed in 1965 in Hanover by Rudolf Schenker. Since the band's inception, its musical style has ranged from hard rock to heavy metal. The lineup from 1978–92 was the most successful incarnation of the group, and included Klaus Meine (vocals), Rudolf Schenker (rhythm guitar), Matthias Jabs (lead guitar), Francis Buchholz (bass guitar), and Herman Rarebell (drums)…

Nirvana probably hired Steve Albini to produce In Utero with the hopes of creating their own Surfer Rosa, or at least shoring up their indie cred after becoming a pop phenomenon with a glossy punk record. In Utero, of course, turned out to be their last record, and it's hard not to hear it as Kurt Cobain's suicide note, since Albini's stark, uncompromising sound provides the perfect setting for Cobain's bleak, even nihilistic, lyrics…

THE CELTS is the 1992 re-release of a 1987 album simply titled ENYA, containing 15 selections originally composed for a BBC series of the same name. Although a number of the tracks sound dated, several others, including "To Go Beyond (II)" are notable for how they locate the origins of the classic Enya sound, far removed from earlier Celtic efforts…

Lost Terrain (1992). Seattle's Jeff Greinke is considered by many to be one of the great talents in the ambient/experimental music scene. His career has progressed from early experimentalism, through his mid-period ambience and fourth-world atmospherics, to his recent work in a loop-oriented world/jazz/ambient hybrid style. The one release of Greinke's most often mentioned by fans of his work is 1992's Lost Terrain, originally issued by Silent Records. With a sound that ranges from austere minimalism reminiscent of Budd and Eno, to strange, surreal soundworlds uniquely Greinke's own, Terrain showcases all that is strong and unique about Greinke's work. Out of print for several years, this crucial mid-period release is now available again, digitally remastered and repackaged, from Hypnos Recordings…

Although it has come out on a budget label, these four performances (taken from concert appearances in 1978, 1980 and 1981) had never previously been released before. With support from either George Cables or Milcho Leviev on piano, David Williams or Bob Magnusson on bass and drummer Carl Burnett, the great altoist Art Pepper is in excellent form on an emotional "Kobe Blues," an intense version of "Patricia" and hard-swinging renditions of "Allen's Alley" and his own "Straight Life".