THE REMEDY OF ABSTRACTION

With a solid back-up such as the one provided by the threesome McGill, Stevens and Manning (usual partners in ceaseless jazz-rock album and projects), plus violinist extraordinaire Akihisa Tsuboy (KBB leader), the duo of Tim Drunheller and Rick Eddy could only have in mind a powerful A Triggering Myth album for this year 2006. And so they did: "The Remedy of Abstraction" is perhaps their most robust-sounding album to date. And that doesn't not mean at all that they left behind their ideology of jazz- oriented prog full of finesse and exquisite craftsmanship: what it means is that this same exquisiteness portrays now an invigorated feel, a more energetic approach. That being said, the two keyboardists' input stands as the ensemble's main core, with the enthusiastic guests elaborating a continuing solid complementation for the basic harmonics and melodic lines. As always, the references to Happy the Man, Gilgamesh and National Health are there, with added touches of mid-70s Return to Forever and Gentle Giant's academic side. 'Now that My House Has burned Down, I Have a Beautiful view of the Moon' (a long title that inspired the artwork) kicks off the album with an air of sophistication and strength. With a little more of sophistication and just a little less of strength, the title track emerges as a flow of evocative melodies. The leads played by guitarist McGill and violinist Tsubay help to bring some extra energy into the warm colors provided by the synthesizers' main lines. Still more warmth, this time seasoned with gentle melancholy, is in the aptly titled 'Her Softening Sorrow', which is typical ATM exploring their gentler side. The legacy of Canterbury's legend Gowen comes to mind whenever the ATM guys display their melodic sense with this sort of depth. 'Not Even Wrong' feels more related to Jean-Luc Ponty's 70s albums with a touch of Mahavishnu Orchestra: this is the perfect excuse to let Tsubay, once again, provide excellent violin flourishes to the front, at times. Tracks 2-4 are, IMHO, the apex of the album, although it is fair to say, indeed, that the repertoire keeps a high musical standard all the way through. The excitement found in this piece will soon be reprised in 'Shakespeare's Strippers', where McGill takes the leading role somewhere in the middle, doing a well-accomplished Holdsworth impersonation in an amazing solo. McGill is appropriately replicated by the synth during the last part, making it one of the most explosive passages in the album. Between these two tracks, 'Rudyard's Raging Natural' offers a recapitulation of the first two numbers' articulated sophistication, while 'The Eisenhour Slumber' retakes sonic ventures into melancholic moods. 'When Emily Dickinson Learned to Lounge' sort of prolongs this melancholic vibe, but it also includes some disturbing dissonant keyboard input that creates an interestingly uneasy atmosphere, like some sort of delicate prelude to a mysterious nightmare. The last 2 ½ minutes are filled by the closing number, 'The Last Resort', which serves as a playful epilogue (something that Kerry Minnear would have written after listening to Canterbury for three hours in a row. so to speak). General balance: "The Remedy of Abstraction" is one of the most accomplished recordings of 2006, and it sure will keep the good fame of ATM among prog-connoisseurs and jazz-rock fans worldwide intact, or even enhanced. A masterpiece, indeed!

Well, despite of evaluating it as an inferior product in comparison to their previous album entitled "Forgiving Eden", the present "The remedy of Abstraction" is able to maintain a good quality, talking about its general harmonic lines as well as a few citations, a sort of small tribute to some experimental/Canterburian groups from the UK...I think of bands like Hatfield and the North and National Health for example, without forgetting the fusion oriented passages in the vein of an American ensemble like Return to Forever or once again in the style of another famous band - founded by J. McLauglin - the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Even though actually there are only a few hints from these latter, their "adventurous" approach is almost the same. The violin section inside is very interesting, as well as the guitar pedals, sometimes drawing the inspiration from the best passages by A. Holdsworth. The long instrumental section in the title track is a bit classically oriented to the Jazz progressive sound of Happy the Man, but it' a minor question, cause actually in the last years ATM have been running a more personal road for several times (Forgiving Eden is a tipycal example). In search of an odd contamination - regarding of their jazz overtones - ATM have performed a very good job. Instead "Shakespeare's Strippers " is my favourite track, as it's probably the most adventurous tune, talking about the guitar passages, I have ever heard in their music; but of course I can't forget the melancholic touch within 'Her Softening Sorrow' and also another intelligent tune like "Not Even Wrong", the best long instrumental along with the title track. I don't like the dissonant harmonic passages of the keyboards within track#8, but it's a minor defect after all, cause the inventions all over its duration make this album absolutely worth checking out.

If you're not too much into the experimental/Canterburian style you can erase an half star at least; otherwise you could consider it as a must-have...according to your personal music tastes of such "diverse" genre, naturally!

Here my friends, we're in front of one of the best 2006 releases. Yes, pure jazz/prog/fusion in the best way it can be made. Every track here is a gem, pure music without words that will lead you into a fantastic journey.

The level of the musicians is incredible. High quality playing of every instrument, even if I want to focus my attention on the bass playing of Michael Manring. On every track you can clerly hear the dynamic bass lines, they are not hidden under the other instruments, on the contrary they are a carrying part of the whole composition.

The tracks range from the two minutes to the eight minutes, but they have almost all a medium lenght, but believe me, you must listen to the whole record, to catch its beauty (even if the singles track taken one by one are incredible). Wonderful and really impressive guitar work and solos all along the whole album. Scott McGill is a genious.

No filler here, every track is outstanding, my personal attention go to "Now that my house has burned down", "The remedy of abstraction", "Her softening sorrow", "Not even wrong", and "Shakespeare's strippers" (The last track is focused on some marvelous guitar solos )

So if you are in the vein of jazz - fusion, go for this album, it's a very pleasant piece of music. It has become one of the favorite album of who is writing.

An intense and fascinating musical experience.

Man what an intricate and complex sounding album. This is all-instrumental with a couple of significant guests helping out in Scott McGill (guitars) and Mr. Tsuboy (KBB) on violin.

Things get started with "Now That My House Has Burned Down, I Have A Beautiful View Of the Moon".The front and rear covers of this album are descriptive of this song title.There are keyboard melodies throughout, and the drumming is fantastic. So much going on though as this is quite intense early on. Chunky bass too then the piano gives a jazzy feel to this tune. What a start ! "The Remedy Of Abstraction" features some beautiful keys, bass and violin, but it's the lead guitar that is outstanding on this track. A calm before 4 1/2 minutes then the violin and bass lead us back. Dual keys only 6 minutes in then the bass, drums and violin return. "Her Softening Sorrow" features some terrific acoustic guitar and piano on this song where the tempo changes a few times. So much in the way of intricate sounds, a collage really.

"Not Even Wrong" has a bombastic intro and then the violin comes in before things get really calm. Love the spacey vibe as the guitar solos in the background. This song changes gears a lot. "Rudyard's Raging Natural" is a short piece that features drums, bass and synths, while my favourite on the record "Shakespeare's Strippers" is laden with tempo shifts and intricate percussion, while the guitar is crazy and amazing. The keys also standout. During "The Eisenhour Slumber" the focus is on the dual keyboards before the violin come in. "When Emily Dickinson Learned To Lunge" features keys, acoustic guitar and piano leading the way, but again not a lot of melody. I like how dark this is and also the electric guitar when it comes in. "The Last Resort" ends it with a short uptempo soundscape.

A low 4 stars for me. These guys are amazing players and if you really focus on the music you will be rewarded.

Every once in a while, I do silly things like buy an album because it has a cool cover or I'm drawn to the title. I therefore have a highly eclectic music collection which includes some albums that I just can't listen to. This is one of the albums that I was magnetically drawn to by both cover and title, but particularly by the title of the opening track (which is depicted very nicely by the front and back of the cover). I mean, how cool is Now That My House Has Burned Down, I Have A Beautiful View Of The Moon as a song title?

Anyway, enough waffling and on to the album itself. It's great. It is cool. It is beautiful and emotional and has some even cooler song titles that are also outstanding compositions, the best of which by my book are that first track, The Remedy Of Abstraction, Shakespeare's Strippers, The Eisenhour Slumber and Not Even Wrong. These songs are at times frighteningly complex at others so simple that you wonder why there isn't more music like this around. The interplay between piano and guitar is particularly striking and is laid on top of some very intricate drum and bass rhythm play. The presence of the violin adds further interest to the mix though it is maybe not quite as prominent as it should be (but maybe that's just to my untrained ear).

As this is the first jazz/rock fusion album I have bought, I can't really suggest suitable comparisons for this work. However, I am very much inspired to explore this genre further as, despite my purchase of this album being very much a shot in the dark, I enjoy listening to it very much indeed and am still finding fresh themes on each listen. I'm therefore happy to recommend it to anyone else who is thinking about dipping a toe in this particular part of the prog rock pool. Excellent stuff!