John Zorn - Naked City

It's hard to find a contemporary musician more eclectic than alto saxophonist John Zorn. Whether investigating the affinity between traditional Jewish music and jazz with his band Masada, or performing soundtrack music for Japanese porno films, Zorn has consistently proven himself a fearless seeker of new frontiers. On Naked City, Zorn combines covers of such movie themes as Ennio Morricone's "The Sicilian Clan," Jerry Goldsmith's "Chinatown," John Barry's "James Bond Theme," and Johnny Mandel's "I Want to Live" with his own noir-inflected originals, and a "Peter Gunn"-like cover of Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman" is thrown in for good measure. The results are like a trip to the drive-in for a bad double-feature--if the drive-in is on Mars. The band, which features Zorn stalwarts Bill Frisell on guitar, Wayne Horvitz on keyboards, Fred Frith on bass, and Joey Baron on drums, is remarkably confident and wide-ranging. --Fred Goodman Amazon.com

Zorn: 101

Note: This album is from The Complete Studio Recordings.

Although Naked City has more to their discography, and worth checking out (get it with the other albums in the complete studio recordings), their debut, is worth owning even if you don't want the rest of their discography (kind of easy to understand if you ask me). Easily the most fun John Zorn album I have ever heard, the band tackles different styles with ease and can easily move around each with even greater ease. And when Naked City is soft, unleashed, leashed, mysterious (you'd think that from the Chinatown theme song), fun, jazzy, you name it!!! If it happens to not have something you like, life gives you lemons sometimes.

This album is consistent, fun, and all varied with the many moods of music. This album goes by pretty fast for me, since there is always something that catches you. Out of all I've heard of the band playing, the debut is their best playing, ever. John Zorn's blasts of saxophones are focused and add the all of the chaos, beauty, style, suaveness, who knows?! He hardly is the focus, as every player on here, in a phrase, is the ______. Fred Firth and Joey Baron are insane on the rhythm, doing everything they can to the best of their abilities, resulting in some excellent music. Wayne Horovitz plays crazy cool piano, how does he get that tone in the beginning of The Sicilian Clan? Bill Frisel is a monster guitarist, playing licks, sweet walls of dissonant melodies, soulful playing, and monster noises to back up Zorn, and more! Perhaps a bit cliched when describing the people, but I am not really a very creative person, despite my love for creativity in general (hey, the same thing is boring, alright?!).

There is plenty of songs on here to satisfy your musical thirst, regarding if you like the genres being played here. The hardcore pieces are tight, well focused, and don't feel any dated. and Eye is one insane vocalist, that scream on Demon Sanctuary is priceless. The theme songs on here deliver the goods, so if you like the theme song, you will mostly like that. I even like the Ornette Coleman cover better than the original! Campy tunes like Batman and James Bond? How could you argue with that? And there's more!

Though it would be harrowing to listen to for anybody who doesn't like this kind of music (yes, all of you idiots who are reading this, get out of here, stop trolling, and get a life), it's worth getting, this is essential. And in my eyes overall, it's the best Naked City release, period. If you know you are into this kind of stuff, then it's an essential purchase. And if you are new to John Zorn, this isn't a bad starting place. If you don' tlike it, don't feel bad at all. Ignore all the music snobs.

10/10 May 10, 2008

John Zorn's "Naked City"

Naked City are primarily an avant-jazz thrash-metal band, however, their radical music fuses stylistic boundaries. This legendary debut album from Naked City includes beautiful renditions of "The Sicilian Clan" (Ennio Morricone), "Lonely Woman" (Ornette Coleman), "I Want To Live!" (Johnny Mandell), "The James Bond Theme" (John Barry), "Contempt" (Georges Delerue). Naked City were also known for performing an extensive array of cover songs throughout their live performances worldwide. April 25, 2008

If there is such a thing as a "Starting Point" for John Zorns Music...(this is it!!??)

For an Artist such as "John Zorn", who has run such a impressive range of genres that his music touches upon: (Free Jazz, Film Music, Improvisation, Rock, Metal, compositional, Jazz, lounge, cabaret, thrash, semi-ambient, post-classical ...etc), and music that wildly jump-cuts through these styles, and offers up such a huge plethora of diverse sounds, his music can seem bewilderingly and often overwhelming to the initiated. And liking one album, doesn't necessarily mean that you'll like another. One album can sound so radically different for another and feature such an unpredictable approach to music, that its hard to really recommend his music, to anyone expect those that like to be challenged by music or are musically adventurous. And with such a large catalogue of albums to choose from, such as the eccentric reinterpretation/re-imaging of film scores "John Zorn Plays the music of Ennio Morricone", through to the impressionistic musical approach and stretches of modern compositional live-music jazz of the strangely dark mood music of "Spillane". And that's not even mentioning the experimental and violent sounding passages of the Jazz/ambient/Noise fusion that is a fetishist's wet-dream, in the largely disturbing "Torture Garden". Which sit uncomfortably alongside the dark harmonics, and minimalistally arranged string quartet, and pronounced, sombre late-century classical music of "Cartoon S&M".

It would then be fair to argue that, although a lot of Zorn's albums could be considered essential, not all (even possibly only a few), could be recommended to the majority of listeners of his work. What works for one listener, won't necessarily work for another. So it's hard to single out one of Zorn's albums that would be a good recommendation for most listeners. But if such an album of his exists, then most people would agree that his astonishing "Naked City" album, would be as damn close to being considered his most universally liked/appreciated work. Nobody's saying it's his best album (although many, may well...believe it is), but it's an album that most, that have listened to Zorn's work, will agree is a brilliant starting point for his work. Judging by the controversial image on the album cover of a man lying dead after a fatal shooting, this is wildly disorientating album of tracks that run the gauntlet of : hardcore, rock, skewered country, sleazy jazz, thrash, Punk, Lounge, experimental, free improvisation & avant-garde & metal, and tracks regularly switch and morph into different styles and moods and musical shapes (and sometimes during the course of a track). The imagination and arrangements that have gone into creating this album is by and large, quite staggering. It's not an easy listen by any stretch of the imagination, and only those that like their music adventurous need apply. Because if you were to take this CD into a normal group environment, and play this for your friends, then unless they share the same open-ended approach to music that you do, then it's fair to say that both you (and your Cd) will be asked to leave.

The music shifts from moody film-noir pieces one minute, that conjures up images of seedy back alleys and shady characters....(think a musical take on "Sin City") luring you in with it's sombre mood, but then the next track is a relentlessly pounding passage of agitated saxophone wailing thrash-jazz, that references the more extreme end of Ornette Coleman & John Coltrane's work. With the passionate and energetically exuberant wig-out of tracks such as these. And it's a shock to the system the first couple of times you hear it, but its undeniably thrilling and very much like...flying on the seat of your pants via music. The performances here are without doubt exceptional and although the album sounds like nothing even remotely sounding like approaching structured, it is actually a carefully composed and arranged album, that has regular moments of improvisational sounds and Free-arrangements. It's an album that tackles abstract movie themes one minute, and then shrugs them off to dive into modern creative noise rock the next. Then its almost as if it wants to tackle straight ahead jazz (with a slightly sinister feel), then it take the intense of aggressive feel of metal, and imbue it with the mechanical and cold feeling of Industrial music, before switching back to a completely brutal and blistering take on Free-Jazz. It's a staggering album, possibly one that threatens to overwhelm the listener, as it's a rapid-fire cross-section of musical styles, genres and fusion-orientated approaches that both impress and overwhelm in equal measures. But once you made the commitment to the album, the perseverance begins to pay off, and what was at first a incredibly complex and unfocused album of random musical styles thrown together, with no consideration of what went before it, soon becomes a wonderfully idiosyncratic album. It's a album that shows, how when the correct pieces (and performers) fall into place, how truly breathtaking music, can be created, and how a band that perform music in such extremes, can arguably deliver something so original and breathtaking, that you essential box yourself into a corner. Any further continuation of this theme would merely be an additional companion, and never likely to scale the heights (and more importantly deliver the impact) of the first release, and likely to be a case of `Diminishing returns'. And to do something any more radically different from this would essentially be a completely different product, and couldn't truly be associated with this album.

If you like your music to follow conventional structures and ideas, then the screaming saxophone, leftfield Jazz, and mind-bending organ pounding hard-hitting drums, mixed with, chugging trash guitar metal, will be a deal-breaker, and swiftly prompt the return of the cd. But for those that have a fair idea of what to expect (that it is wildly varied challenging music), it'll over the course of several listens astound and surprise on many levels. The fact that the band would go on to other explore aspects of music, rather than retread existing material, (and then later disband) is a crying shame, but Naked City arguably remains one of the most relentlessly innovate and progressively creative (as well as technically brilliant) albums of John Zorn prolific career.
July 4, 2006

Words... cannot... express....

Although I didn't know it at the time, if Naked City hadn't have happened there's a good chance the likes of Mr Bungle, Secret Chiefs et al would never have existed. Its hard to believe that this album was made in the late 80s considering how crazy it is. Even if it was released today it would still sound fresh and exciting.

At times placid with stirring piano and smooth sax work, at other times crazy beyond belief like a cross between free jazz and grindcore, Naked City is a phenomenol album. While it takes a few listens to sink in, those of you open minded to even consider getting it in the first place will find that it grows on you surprisingly quickly. Zorn's saxaphone is brilliant throughout the entire thing. On The Silican Clan he sounds soulful and tasteful whereas on all the vocal tracks with Yamatsuka Eyes he sounds like he's having an epileptic fit. I've heard avant garde saxaphone work before and I have to admit I'm not always impressed, largely because it often sounds like noise that anyone could do. But Zorn's work on this album is so intense and on the ball with the music that it's hard not to have admiration for it. It is of course balanced out with 'typical' sax work, proving that the man is far from a one trick pony.

The music itself is all over the place. Sometimes melodic and almost peaceful, at other times upbeat and catchy, then noisy and aggressive, sometimes within the same 30 seconds, it's completely schitzophrenic and so unbelievably eclectic that one has to wondor what on earth possessed him to create such a thing. The whole band are clearly tuned into his vision though as they move in an out of moods and tempos with him at the drop of a hat. It's not easy to imagine how much practice they must have had to become so tight together.

This is simply an incredible record. If you're prepared for a challenge that's worth the effort then buy Naked City. February 12, 2006

Staggering Display of Musical Mastery- One of Zorn's Best...

John Zorn hails from New York and has been one of the most interesting and exciting figures in contemporary music for years. He appears to be of limitless talent, acquiring quite a reputation for his wild eclecticism. That eclecticism is wildly abundant on this fine, fine album, as Zorn and Company rage thru the music of Ornette Coleman, Henry Mancini, Ennio Morricone, John Barry, and of course Mr. Zorn himself. They blaze through jazz, swing, blues, free jazz, noise, rock, thrash, and surf- often in the same song. This is great music for today's attention-span addled human. In fact, I think this would actually be a great album for youngsters with an interest in jazz to listen to. It is fast moving, often changing, and definitely never boring. I haven't listened to this CD for awhile (until today), and I forgot how enthralling it is.
`Naked City' was my first John Zorn album and it remains my favorite (along with his Occult masterpiece I.A.O.). This wonderful disc starts out with `Batman'; Zorn's uptempo envisioning of what Batman's theme should sound like- and it totally kicks ass. This is followed by Morricone's `The Sicilian Clan'. Zorn's saxophone sounds great on this track (and I usually HATE the saxophone). Next up is `You Will Be Shot', a nifty Zorn original that changes just about every ten seconds; touching on rock, noise/thrash, and blues/swing. I could go on and on; fruitlessly attempting to describe track after track. That however is beginning to seem increasingly pointless as I listen to this spectacular album. It sounds so cliché, but one must truly listen to this album for themselves to have any kind of understanding for how much ass it kicks.
One of the things that Mr. Zorn seems to have a knack for, is assembling the right band for the right project (much in the same way Miles Davis did). The band that he put together for `Naked City' was absolutely perfect, and up to the task of tackling these diverse, high energy arrangements. Bill Frisell on guitar, Wayne Horvitz on keys, Fred Firth on bass, and Joey Baron on skins were the perfect partners in crime for this wicked creation. I would've loved to catch this amazing band live.
This is a hell of an album. I own LOTS of music, and this is by far one of the most diverse releases I have. Not many bands could pull off the ridiculous changes present here. On paper, this should be a mess. However thanks to John Zorn's vision and skill (and that of his band mates) this works wonderfully- way better than it should. If you are interested in Zorn and have yet to delve into his intimidating and massive catalogue, this is a great place to start. If you are a fan of Zorn, you undoubtedly have this excellent and timeless release. December 7, 2005

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