THE VIOLENCE OF AMATEURS

1. "The Kokonino Stomp" (4:42) definitely opens like a stomp but then goes 1950s TV soundtrack theme streaming. (8.75/10)

2. "The Secret Life Of Walter Riddle" (8:14) opens as a true small-town bandstand military band piece before suddenly going spy theme. All kinds of tense situations and diabolical opponents are constructed through the music that ensues. Now I see the inspiration for bands like Atomic Ape as well as similarities to a lot of Adrian Belew's musique dramatique. (12.75/15)

3. "The Odessa Steps Sequence" (8:42) a soundtrack to Sergei Eisensteins's famous scene from the film Battleship Potemkin? The RUSH/VAN HALEN-like sound palette middle sequence is an interesting choice--tempered by flutes. Then it turns video-game soundtrack! Not sure this makes for a successful rendering of the intended subject matter--except to make it melodramatic as a silent film might be taken. (16/20)

4. "Mail Order Quarks" (10:27) opens very melodic and upbeat, sounding like one of WEATHER REPORT's 1970s happy songs. The instrumental sounds and performances are still a bit "wonky" though. At 2:45 things shift into a more delicate picked electric guitar based passage. Sounds like a setup for a John McLaughlin/Mahavishnu solo section. Chorused violin solos heavily, methodically, emotionally, before being joined by frantic flute, electric guitars, and synth noises. Band shifts gears again, hitting stride in third with fairly straight time signature as synth and jazz guitar take turns soloing before a final switch back into the smooth WEATHER REPORT zone for the finish. Nice song! (18.25/20)

5. "Tiger Tea" (12:13) has a "Birdland in Jamaica"-kind of feel and sound to it before soprano sax takes the lead in a Jay Beckenstein/SPIRO GYRA-kind of way. Lots of visual moods established as interludes between burst of the main theme, pastoral, circus, saloon, night driving, etc. The only real constants are the sounds of the drum kit and the chunky fretless bass. Entertaining, to be sure, but not as melodic as I need it. (20.75/25)

6. "Joosan Lost / The Fate" (21:42) (40/45) = 8.89

Total Time: 65:18

B-/3.5 stars; sophisticated musical performances that are unfortunately rendered with little or no flow or consistent melody (kind of like life, not like listener-pleasing music). There's a lot of humor and skill here, but this is just not my cup of tea (and I don't even drink much tea!). Rated up for skill level.

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