Andy Timmons Electric Truth

Bobby Timmons Trio - Easy Does It (1961) {Riverside OJCCD-722-2 rel 1992}
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© 1961, 1992 Riverside / Fantasy | OJCCD-722-2
Jazz / Hard Bop / Piano

Pianist Bobby Timmons, who became famous for his funky originals and soulful playing, mostly sticks to more bop-oriented jazz on this trio set with bassist Sam Jones and drummer Jimmy Cobb. He provides three originals (none of which really caught on) and is in excellent form on five standards, with highlights including "Old Devil Moon," "I Thought About You," and "Groovin' High." The Riverside CD reissue shows that Timmons was a bit more versatile than his stereotype; in any case, the music is excellent.

A new set by British saxophonist and composer Andy Sheppard is always a welcome proposal, but his 13th album, and 14th release overall, also happens to be his debut for ECM. The association is a long one, indirectly, since Sheppard recorded a dozen albums with Carla Bley's band on WATT, which is manufactured and distributed by ECM. The music on Movements in Colour is an ambitious, but utterly lyrical blend of Latin, Middle Eastern, and post-bop, and it is realized by musicians such as jazz guitarist John Parricelli (who plays acoustically here) and tabla player Kuljit Bhamra – members of Sheppard's regular quartet – guitarist and electronic musician Eivind Aarset, and double bassist Arild Andersen, who also plays some electronics.

Criminally overlooked by academics, critics and purists who refuse to listening to anything outside of conventional jazz vernacular, Andy Bey's delivery on Experience and Judgment goes beyond anything he previously committed to tape, revealing a spiritual side that's punched up and supported by a jazz-funk ensemble. The album's opener "Celestial Blues" finds Bey delivering lines that wouldn't be out of place on Bill Withers records from this era, and the remainder of the album sounds similar to the works of such contemporaries as Roy Ayers and Gil Scott-Heron. It's soul soothing music that's been played with great reverence by the rare soul and funk community for years and rightly so, as Bey captures the essence of the soul world brilliantly, and fuses it into something that is uniquely his own.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD) - English Electric (2013) {BMG}
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© 2013 BMG / 100% Records | 53800780 0
Synth Pop / Indie / Alternative Dance

On their second album since their 2005 reunion, synth pop pioneers Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark rekindle the spirit of two new wave classics, the first being their own "slept on" masterpiece from 1983, Dazzle Ships, an album that pushed the boundaries sonically. From the blippy, robotic, and almost musique concrète opener "Please Remain Seated" to the geometric sleeve that credits DZ designer Peter Saville with Executive Art Design, English Electric carries on the pop-meets-avant-garde spirit of that fan favorite album.

John Cale - Eat/Kiss: Music for the Films of Andy Warholol (1997) {Rykodisc HNCD 1407}
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© 1997 Hannibal Records / Rykodisc | HNCD 1407
Modern Classical / Minimal / Experimental / Avant-Garde / Stage & Screen

John Cale's soundtracks for two of Andy Warhol's experimental films of the early 1960s, premiered in 1994 and recorded live at a concert at Lille, France in 1995, are multi-part free-form works on which his keyboards are accompanied by fellow ex-Velvet Underground drummer Maureen Tucker, pedal steel guitarist B.J. Cole, and a string quartet. The abstract nature of the films allows Cale free rein to create impressionistic soundscapes occasionally reminiscent of the ambient work of Robert Fripp and Brian Eno. Cale fans should note that though some of the music is melodic, there is none of the pop or rock found on many of his albums, but then most Cale fans probably are adventurous enough to give this a try.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - English Electric (2013) {Sony Music Japan SICP 3810, bonus tracks}
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© 2013 BMG / Sony Music Japan | SICP 3810
Synth Pop / Indie / Alternative Dance

English Electric, is OMD‘s second album since their hiatus, but it’s the first one to truly justify their reformation. Lead singer Andy McCluskey may be in his fifties, but his vocals have been left untarnished by age, with his voice sounding just as wonderfully melodramatic as it did in the ’80s. He hits some big notes on this album, especially on lead single “Metroland”, and even backing vocalist Paul Humphreys gets a showcase of his singing chops on the evocative ballad “Stay with Me”.

Many a guitar fan would have predicted that a summit between legendary guitarists Andy Summers (the Police) and Robert Fripp (King Crimson) would result in a guitar solofest. But the music on their first collaboration together, I Advance Masked, stresses guitar textures and moods over indulgent soloing. Although the recording sessions weren't entirely enjoyable for Summers (who was experiencing marital problems at the time), some very beautiful music can be found on the resulting album. The music for the track "Girl on a Swing" does an excellent job of conveying the song's title in one's mind, and the duo's guitars weave wonderful polyrhythmic guitar lines throughout "China - Yellow Leader." "The Truth of Skies" is an atmospheric piece, created by a wash of keyboard sounds and guitar dissonance, while "New Marimba" would have sounded right at home on an early-'80s King Crimson album…