Sam Rivers Music

Killer tunes on this cd, vatos locos! From reading the critics, it sounds like they have a personal axe to grind, which has no relevance to the way this cd freakin' rocks. If these songs don't put a smile on your face, then you've got cranal rectitus. Peace out, muchachos!

Was Fred Durst a great lyricist and vocalist? Nope. Was Wes Borland an innovative guitar player? Not even close. But for fifteen minutes sometime in the 90's, we were all picking up what they we're putting down, and we loved every minute of it. There are only one or two good songs on each Limp Bizkit album anyway, so now you can have them all on one disc. The new songs suck.

All the songs are great on this!!!! I would defintely recommend this to people!!!!! I think this is a awesome greatest hits!!! I have all Limp Bizkit's CDs and would recommend them to anyone who likes metal (yes nu-metal is metal) and anyone who just likes having fun, because honestly there are not that many bands out there that are fun like these guys!!! 1 question for all the people who hate this band, why if you hate Limp bizkit so much would you take the time to review their CDs? People call Limp Bizkit fans idiots, but I think its a lot of Limp Bizkit haters who are idiots, who can't have a little fun! I don't think even think a lot of them hate Limp Bizkit, they just don't want to be "uncool" and like Limp Bizkit. Don't listen to people's stupid biased opinions, buy Limp Bizkit CDs!!

If you are a casual fan of Limp Bizkit and were just hoping to have all the big singles that used to be on TRL and stuff on one disc, this CD comes as a disappointment. At least HALF the songs on here are significantly shorter than on the actual CDs they come from, starting with the first big huge tracks, Counterfeit, Faith and Nookie, which, if you look on itunes, are each listed as the "greatest hits" versions, which I assume means edits so that they could fit more songs on one disc. Too bad. This could have been a convenient way to get all the complete versions of theirs songs on one disc so you wouldn't have to buy each individual CD.

Whether you like Fred Durst or not, you just can't deny the impact he has made in the music industry. He has done everything from be a guest-singer in Korn's "Follow the Leader", to be the reason Puddle of Mudd has anything to stand on at all. Nonetheless, for the frontman of Limp Bizkit, he's come out with some fun music, and definately some really crappy stuff as well. But here, we have Limp Bizkit's greatest hits. In all honesty, anyone growing up with any genre close to Bizkit has heard many of these songs, which to be fair, are not half bad in the Rock/Rap world.

Cerainly for a hits package, this isn't half bad. Unlike some packages that come out with 13-14 songs, this one actually has a good amount of music on the disc. Will you like all of it? Probably not. However, there are definately some catchy toons on here that would make any rock collection incomplete without. Take "Break Stuff", "Nookie", "My Generation", "Rollin (Air Raid Vehicle)" and their version of "Behind Blue Eyes". Definately some of their careers greatest hits, and not half bad music, too.

Obviously, this album won't appeal to all. Many people out there just can't stand Fred or his music. But for those like me, you just have to have some Bizkit in the collection. And for those who don't want to decide which album of theirs has more good than bad, this is the one to pick up. Especially since it's got a few other tracks that were previously unreleased. Believe it or not, "Bittersweet symphony" can actually sound decent.

But all in all, it's a decent album. Definately a noteworthy hits package, and the music here definately shows some of Bizkit's best work, and some that shouldn't have ever been released.

James Blood Ulmer has never come close to achieving the fame of John McLaughlin as a jazz guitarist, which means that even his best recordings are harder to find. But I've never heard anyone who has been able to take the sort of frenzied guitar work that McLaughlin pioneered in the early 1970s and carry it into modern times, retaining the energy and inventiveness while liberating it from the Jimi Hendrix stylistic flourishes that everyone was copying. Whereas McLaughlin usually found interesting ways to swirl around the melody line on long solo runs, Ulmer is astounding in his ability to identify chords and notes that take the music in unexpected harmonic directions. It is this singular ability of his that makes every track on "In the Name of..." stand out and lets them survive repeated listening. It is also this joyous exploration of creative discordancy that makes the CD too abrasive for anyone looking for smooth jazz or even ultra-produced 70's-era fusion.

Ulmer's colleagues in the Music Revelation Ensemble (Cornell Rochester on drums and Amin Ali on electric bass) offer quality performances, and because the music is so democratic (harmolodically) they manage to make critical contributions outside the context of a conventional rhythm-section solo. Guest woodwind players, meanwhile, share the front line with Ulmer -- including Arthur Blythe on alto sax for three tunes and a gripping but spare bari sax performance by Hamiet Bluiett for another. The true giant of the session is multi-instrumentalist Sam Rivers. I don't know what it is about Rivers ... Most free jazz recordings sound indulgent to me, but Rivers has some kind of magical ability to wander off on the most liberating jazz excursions while staying deliciously grounded in the underlying musical idea. To those who say free jazz is nothing but noise, Sam Rivers forces me to answer: "Maybe, but not all noise is created equal, and this guy produces some glorious noise." His pairing with Ulmer on three tracks -- once playing soprano sax, once playing flute, and once playing tenor -- will take you to free-jazz heaven if anything can.

Is this the type of music Hendrix and Coltrane would have played if they were alive in the mid 70s?Its not music to relax to with its strong edge.The bass and drums exchange leads with the sax and guitar.No one instrument is leading but the band is tight.Ulmer is on fire riffing even using the wah- wah .Almost an hour of excitement.Even the slower tunes cook.Only for experienced listeners.

I too received this fantastic CD as a Word Perfect 6.0 Demo back in 1993. It always frustrated me that my home CD player wouldn't recognize the CD since the 1st track was actually a data track. I did a search on Amazon to see if there was another release, after several unsucessful attempts to load the demo version into my iPod. Not only did I find this CD with two additional tracks but also discovered a DVD of a live performance of Innovators. Viewing this concert is also an incredible experience. Read the liner notes for each song and it will bring great meaning to the songs and to the whole CD. What an incredible listening experience even today, 12 years later.

This music is emotional and deep. I can't say enough about this CD and have listened to it about thousands of times. My favorite track is Sage of Lamberene, dedicated to Albert Schweitzer. It moves me to tears.

This outstanding album is something really worth listening to! I first listened to it because of a friend of mine, and my life changed the moment I listened to "Man Among Man"! Indescribable! These two wonderful musicians know secrets that when listened can really touch you deeply. Here's a MUST HAVE! No doubts there.

I am a as much of a hi fi equipment enthusiast as my finances will allow me. Besides the music on this CD being something very very special, probably my favourite, its diversity in sound is a great test for Hi Fi equipment. It runs from high trebles to deep bass beats, clean vocals, subtle sounds to driving rythms and complex audio mixes.
Try with PMC OB1 speakers Bryston amps 14's (must be biamped) Naim CDX2 CD Player with separate XPS2 power supply and Naim NAC 282 preamp. Cable to taste and you will be blown away.

The music and the insert could each stand on their own as powerfully moving pieces. Together they open the heart and mind to new understandings. At once transcendental and grounding, Innovators can be merely a lovely musical encounter or a growth experience. Either way, you'll want to listen again and again.

I saw the film at an IMAX type theatre, and it was great! So that makes the sound track so much better! The opening piece and the closing piece are both very moving, and it makes me think of the opening scene where you are flying over the Nile from it's source in Southern Africa to Egypt.

Having enjoyed the DVD version for some time now, I finally decided to add the CD Soundtrack to my collection. This has become a prized posession. I was not prepared for the richness of sound within almost all songs. Although Egypt is the common theme, an intricate variety of instruments blend very well with the predominant western orchestral performance.
And if that were not enough, there is the editing which makes this worthwhile for the audiophile. The imagery of sound and the separation of the instruments is a true jewel.
This CD has my highest recommendations!

I got this CD after listening to the sampling of track 1, which has quite rythmic native drum beat underlying it. But on all subsequent tracks, the music becomes much more subdued and etherial. Atmospheric...like walking into a pyramid or dig site, kind of. Not exactly my thing, but track 1 is nice. :)

If you love egyptian cultue and history, then this CD is a must have. Tantalizing and exotic music set great with the I-Max movie or by itself

At the risk of sounding somewhat biased; as I'm prone to be partial to all things Egyptian, this albumn is one of the best works I have ever heard. Seldom does something reach into my being to the point where I feel chills up and down my arms. This certainly did that. You can sit back, close your eyes, and imagine you're attending court in Ramses palace with a warm breeze blowing in from the nile. Don't pass this one up!

Intimate improvisational music played with absolute mastery by a criminally underrated saxophonist/flutist/composer and a great virtuoso of the double bass. A profound musical journey - but also just a dialogue between friends. Essential.

Never knew who the guy was as he rode next to me on a Greyhound bus. I was a teenager in a Knoxville, TN military academy on my way home for a visit.
I offered him a cigarette and he politely declined and we began to talk. Seems he had missed a flight in Knoxville, TN and took the bus for a 5 hour trip into Columbia, TN for a private flight which was waiting for him there. He told me who he was and that he was a kind of famous performer. When he asked had I ever heard of them, I dully replied "nope...never" lol I was only interested in smoking up some cigs and getting home. He said "I bet if you ask your mom, she's heard of us. Well when I told her and my Aunt that owned the bus station in Columbia, they were really excited, but happened to somehow just miss him for an autograph opportunity. After all he was in a hurry. Just a lil' story....

Please, somebody email me and tell me what it is about this kind of music that people enjoy listening to it. It seems so disonent, it has no melody, rhyme, or reason. It sounds like Ferris Bueller playing the clarinet when he says: "Never had one lesson."

Excellent reviews, I just want to add that interested listeners might also want to check out the David Holland album "Conference of the Birds". It features Sam Rivers and Anthony Braxton on reeds and flutes, and the incredible percussionist Barry Altschul in 1972. Mr. Rivers also sounds incredible on the Tony Williams album "Lifetime". I highly recommend that disk as well.

Please be aware that this music will not immediately mandate foot tapping. Nor was it intended to, at least not during the first listen. It IS the combination of two legendary musicians providing wholly improvised, extended duo performances that never weaken with time. This music was recorded in 1976, and is still fresh. It does not fall into the traps of, I am sorry to say standard, so-called free form music, with its inability to focus. Rather, this musical set brings the listener to and through distinctly formed stream of consciousness improvisations with Sam Rivers playing and soprano then tenor saxes, underpinned by Dave Holland on Bass. This, along with Volume two of this collaboration, should be a part of anyone's collection who appreciates interactive music which develops musical forms with structure and clarity; music that never fades.

The second Volume of the Sam Rivers Dave Holland duo collaboration, this set being the flute and piano partitions of the session. Not Easy Listening, but unique and beautiful music, and as with Volume I, excellently formed.

SHOCKWAVE (14:41) begins with a piano solo, sometimes sounding like Bela Bartok's night music, and sometimes like Cecil Taylor's keyboard romping. At 2 min, the drums begin with nervous tapping only on the snare. At 2 min, 20 sec, the bass joins in. At 4 min, 15 sec, there is a change in pace. No more nervous tapping, but instead a slow, tripping, thumping gait, which is soon replaced by a racing bass line. At 4 min, 45 sec, the tuba joins in.

At 5 min, 10 sec, a xylophone joins in. At 6 min, the racing bass line continues, as does the tuba. At 6 min, 15 sec, we get a break from the piano, and all we hear is the bass and tuba, both of them racing. At 7 min, 20 sec, the sax joins in, sometimes sounding smooth, as in Sonny Stitt's smooth saxopohone playing. Eventually at 9 min, 45 sec, we are subjected to an extended period of Anthony Braxton-like squawks. At 13 min, the noisy squawking session comes to a fortunate end, and we are treated to a drum solo. The drum solo continues to the very end of the piece.

TORCH (6:56) begins with flute, bass, and drums, playing quite fast. The tuba contributes occasional low-throated burps. At 2 min, 15 sec, there is a transition, where the flute no longer plays in the upper range, but instead plays in the mid-range. The bass and tuba continuously play, but they are in the background, sounding as a pair of distant trains on the other side of a lake. At 5 min, the flute suddenly gets charged with excitement and plays in the high range again. At 5 min, 30 sec, the pace suddenly slows down, and stays slow for a while. The bass appears to play a repetitive drone motif. TORCH remains slow to the very end.

PULSE (10:22) starts with bass and tuba only. At 1 min, the drum contributes a rat-a-tat rhythm. The sax comes in at 2 min, 15 sec, sounding like a forlorn shepherd's call on some remote desert. The drums become more active and varied, and there are cymbal crashes. At 4 min, the slow and varied shepherd's call motif continues, but the drum begins a rhythm sounding like a crippled man walking with a cane, sharply striking the ground at every alternate step. The sax becomes faster, no longer sounding like a shepherd's tune. At 7 min, the sax plays something that seems like an actual tune. It is a slow tune. The bass plays a drone motif. The slow tune-like episode continues to the very end of PULSE. If anything, the repeated drone-like motif of the bass with tuba sounds like they are playing Shortening Bread (Put on the skillet!).

FLUX (6:03) begins with a slow piano solo. At 50 sec, the bowed bass joins in. Thurman Barker (taking the place usually held by Barry Altschul) treats us to a variety of percussive effects. A xylophone is heard at 2 min, 20 sec. The pace suddenly picks up at 3 min. The xylophone continues. At 4 min, Mr.Barker produces a razzing effect from a whirling noisemaker. At 4 min, 40 sec, the piano briefly produces a jagged, marching motif. At 5 min, 35 sec, things get quite and slow--it is just xylophone and bass. This seems like the ideal Charles Ives chamber piece. In other words, if Charles Ives had continued to write chamber music pieces (or if his chamber music pieces had been more interesting), they might have sounded like FLUX.

SURGE (6:13) is a moderately fast piece. At 1 min, we hear saxophone squawks. The tuba plays a bunch of high-pitched fluttering motifs. The drums and cymbals get a big louder. At 3 min, the drums are torrential. I wish that the other instruments had stopped at this point, so that we could hear a torrential drum solo. But the other instruments don't stop. All instruments continue at full throttle for a while. At 4 min, Dave Holland takes up the bow, and the sax plays long-lasting notes. This is unusual for Sam Rivers, for he rarely plays notes that last as long as several seconds.

Nicely done... This is my first Sam Rivers purchase - and certainly not the last!

Here's a disc that I've been seeking out for a long time. Tomato Records finally re-released it in 2002, after a few years of unavailability. As one of the great documents of 70s creative jazz, it's a welcome reissue. Sam Rivers is one of the all-time greats on tenor sax, and a mean soprano, flute, and piano player, as well. Anyone who's caught his trio live in recent years can attest to the fact that his talents are undiminished, even at the age of 80. This particular album was recorded in 1978, and prominently features bassist Dave Holland, one of Rivers' most sympathetic collaborators of the decade. Holland is the anchor here, with Thurman Barker's spare, understated, and masterfully economical drumming going from rapid hi-hat timekeeping to volcanic surges of Varese-like pile-ups. The bass player has an almost unreal sense of time, and his rapid, wandering lines are consistently articulated with impeccable clarity. Also holding the bottom end down is Joe Daley's tuba. He handles What one would assume to be an unweildly instrument for fast-paced improvisation with a deftness that allows him to flow easily amongst the quicksilver play of the other musicians. Daley also plays baritone horn on the opening cut "Shockwave", his lines and Holland's interlocking in a fluid tussle. The piece opens with Rivers on the piano, playing with a robust, but beautiful force that prefigures the style Matthew Shipp would take to the next level some years later. After the aforementioned duet between Holland and Daley, Barker gradually asserts his presence, while Rivers enters on tenor. His angular, clean lines evolve into impassioned shrieks, while the rapid free-bop pace never lets up. "Torch" is a similarly speedy number, with Rivers on flute. After the rhythmic, acoustic quasi-fusion of "Pulse", where Holland's playing most recalls his work with Miles Davis, "Flux" features the bassist's cello playing in a duet with Rivers' piano. The piece recalls twelve-tone classical in its more restrained moments, before building up into a dramatic cloud of sound accented by Barker's bells. Rivers' rich tenor returns on the closing "surge", as does Daley's tuba. Holland stretches out on arco bass while Barker lays low for much of the track, adding manic snare shapes at unpredictable peaks. Overall, this album met with my high expectations. It's a fine addition to Rivers' criminally slim back catalogue, and about as good as it gets at the intersection of top-form free jazz and metered playing.

Longineu Parson's music is not for the faint of heart. He will pick you up and force you to listen to what he wants to say, and will pull no punches while saying it. He is also one who can fly with the eagles as opposed to describing how the eagles fly, and, he can carry you along with him on his flights. Finally, he is one who knows where he came from. He acknowledges those who inspired him to go to the places he has been and where he is going. For the serious music lover and especially trumpet lovers, Longineu is one you should not pass over. Get this CD!