Strings

Album review

These 14 selections that feature Eugene Chadbourne on solo guitar, banjo, Dobro, and "noise" reflect not only that Chadbourne is one of the nuttiest and funniest serious improvisers on the planet, but they also showcase his unnerving talent to dig into someone else's composition, drag the most hidden nuances out of it, and showcase them in an entirely new and very emotionally revealing way. Chadbourne begins with his own "The Shreeve," a guitar piece that collapses three different melodic ideas into three different tonal improvisations in just under four minutes. Next is a deep, Ralph Stanley-esque bluegrass read of John Coltrane. No, you didn't read it wrong. I am not going to spoil it and tell you which of Coltrane's tunes he fires his way through, but suffice to say there's also a bit of Dick Dale in there with Stanley, too. There are also several homages here, one to Grace Slick, complete with guitar-kissing sounds; one to Sonic Youth titled in the manner of an Anthony Braxton composition; and one each for Roland Kirk, Derek Bailey, and author Paul Bowles. There are more formal covers here too, including Mingus' "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" (which simply has to be heard to be believed) and Sonny Rollins' "Tenor Madness," as well as one each by Ellington and Strayhorn. What does it all add up to? Everything, that's what. Chadbourne has a way of making American music from all vernaculars sing along with itself without looking in the mirror to see if it looks good enough to go out. To thread all of this through with stunning improvisation that reflects many of the same ideas at hyper-speed with the dexterity of a kung-fu master in a cotton field makes Chadbourne a true outsider, the master of musical art brut.

© Thom Jurek /TiVo