Modern minimalism.
Released on John Zorn's Tzadik label in 1995, this is Jim O'Rourke's attempt at being a classical composer. It's quite good -- if you have patience. This thing is practically the definition of subtlety. The first track is over forty minutes long and one of the best examples of minimalism I could give. It's not really good for intense listening, because if you give it too much attention it'll drive you nuts. It's good once you've heard and understand his other works.
~Austin
Jim O'Rourke's tribute to John Fahey?
Only Terminal Pharmacy rivals this as the most minimalist Jim O'Rourke album. I say that because a good 85% of this album is just Jim playing his acoustic guitar. There are other bits of instruments like piano, vibes, pedal steel, organ, electric guitar, electric bass, banjo, and even drums at the very end. But mostly, it's just Jim, strumming away. No vocals either. You might say, "That sounds boring," but you're only saying that because you haven't heard it yet. The songs are mostly very long, clocking in at an average of about 8 minutes. They are these surprisingly lush, evolving things that simply would not be as good as they are had they been trimmed and edited down. Overall, it's musically a good precursor of his recordings on Drag City that would follow and it stands up on its own as more than just a side note and as a damn fine record.
~Austin
In one word, magnificent. No, seriously, it's freaking magnificent.
It's clear from right out the gate that this album was going somewhere completely different with the eight minute long ode to how much testoserone sucks on "Women of the World." Not only is it a ballsy move on Jim's part (dude, he's a dude) but it's an absolute beast of a wonderful pop song. And it sets the stage nicely for the rest of the album. The entire thing is just incredibly organic and lush, using string and horn arrangements at will, but never once becoming overproduced or cheesy. It's an eight song slice of fantastic melodic modern pop. The album reaches cinematic heights after three long, drawn out, free-flowing pieces (the calm "Movie on the Way Down;" the trippy, Pink Floyd-ish "Through the Night Softly ;" and "Please Patronize Our Sponsors") finally climax to a brilliant bossa-fied cover of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Something Big" and the album's beautiful title track. "Eureka" utilizes small hints of computer and synth melodies incorporated with live instruments to amazing results. Overall, wow. It's a record that I often forget about. But when I do manage to put it back in the player, my jaw drops every single time. Outstanding.
~Austin
More magnificence.
Very much a companion piece to Eureka, and because of that, it's inherently great. The seven minute instrumental "Not Sport, Martial Art" picks up right where Eureka left off with its lush and strategic arrangements. Jim's tendancy to incorporate weird, twisted lyrics comes to the forefront here with the opening track "Fuzzy Sun." The real gem of the EP is the title track where Jim ends it like he did on Eureka: with an incredibly melodic acoustic ballad. Although only four songs, it's one of the better things I've heard from Jim.
~Austin
Rockin' out a bit.
Surprise: this record opens up right away with a rockin' guitar line. It may come as a shock to anyone expecting another Eureka-like record of elegant and never dissonant pop. But, even if it's not as delicate right off the bat as past albums, it will soon open up and reveal itself. On "All Downhill From Here," the song revolves between rockin' distortion and xylophone-and-horn-laced melodies. In other words, ol' Jimmy's just playin' around a bit. The album features members of Wilco backing up Jim. And such, it takes on a more country-ish rootsy sound than any of Jim's other albums (the opening bars of the title track sound very similar to a particular Neil Young tune). It's definitely one of his most guitar driven vocal records, as the repetitive riff on "Therefore I Am" will demonstrate. The second half of the album heads right back into Eureka territory, orchestrated melodies, weird lyrics and all. "Memory Lame" finds Jim in a particularly pissed off mood and someone must've really pushed his buttons with lines like "Lookin' at you reminds me of lookin' at the sun and how the blind are so damn lucky," "These things I say might seem to offend, but not half as much as I'd like to intend" and "Listening to you reminds me of a motor's endless drone and how the deaf are so damn lucky." Ouch. The album is capped off by the highlight "Get A Room," which finds Jim wondering about what would happen if he were in the position of authority to give some only one night to live. He assumes that you would automatically go out and try to score. He details how useless the situation would be through a series of observations ("She falls asleep before you because she has to go to work and you don't") before sarcastically declaring "You sure picked a winner." The song starts off melancholy and low-key but it progresses and builds up to a big melodic monster that will have you singing along, regardless of the twisted subject matter (and the fact that Jim actually states "I'd like nothing better than to watch the desparation on your face"). The lyrics on the album seem to be directed at someone in particular ("I don't recall your face no more, but you left behind your mask") and the whole thing, despite musically being very melodic and beautiful, is bitter and angry. Really, it's pretty but ugly; accessible but challenging. Fantastic.
~Austin
One of the most blatantly misleading album titles ever.
Live recordings from 97-99. All laptop-driven, I thought this sucked when I first bought it, but it takes patience. I had gotten used to a certain Jim O'Rourke sound (big mistake on my part) and I misled myself to believe that's what this record would sound like. It's basically something like Terminal Pharmacy, but played on a computer instead of live instruments. There are lots of blips and beeps, but the melodies come full circle most times several minutes into the songs and when they do you'll say, "OH KAY! I get it." But until then, it's kind of frustrating. Don't discard it after one listen like I almost did though.
~Austin
