NAKED CITY

I believe that this is the most famous recording of John Zorn, partly because it uses a very large scale of musical influences bringing something for almost everybody, and similarly demonstrating new musical styles to people, who wouldn't maybe hear them otherwise. But the biggest reason should be the overall quality of the release, which is certainly high. "Naked City" is a quite rough listening experience, and the number of different musical styles paints a picture of a violent and chaotic city. "Batman" works as a dynamic opener, which is followed by the mellow and beautiful "The Sicilian Clan". A short promenade to the next ghetto is "You Will Be Shot", which gives some hints of the forthcoming grind metal attacks. After "Latin Quarter" and the Henry Mancini sounding tune the violence rate grows again. Then time for some Ornette Coleman cover and eight short Napalm Death tunes which durations range from 11 to 42 seconds. I recall that these tracks caused serious interest among the grindheads to who I played this album. Next stops are Chinatown and Thai area, which are followed by a performance of the classic James Bond Theme. Four more tracks hammer this production of Pandora's Box to the listeners head, either as an abomination or as an interesting cultural artifact. I respect this record much, but during my tamed adulthood I find seldom strength to listen this kind of music long. Instead of metal heads this should interest also fans of serious jazz listeners, as John has gathered up quite cool band, having Bill Frisell on guitar and Fred Frith playing the bass. I wouldn't suggest buying this blindly for an expensive price, but anybody interested of chaotic contemporary art music should give this a listen when possible.