(Post-Bop, Post-Rock/ Experimental) The Bad Plus - Blunt Object Live in Tokyo - 2006, FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

A turbulent foray into experimental terrain recorded live at the Blue Note in Tokyo, bassist Reid Anderson, pianist Ethan Iverson, and drummer David King, who together make up the The Bad Plus, explore a plethora of styles on their third Columbia release Blunt Object: Live In Tokyo. It is most certainly their most inventive, risk-taking session to date; a logical outgrowth of their rock and shock reputation.
Can you believe its been over two years now that the Bad Plus broke out with their hit record These Are the Vistas? And in that time, journalists and fans alike have struggled to pigeonhole their sound to no avail. Well, you can expect no help from Blunt Object. That's for sure.
It’s clear that the Bad Plus digs experimentation. Whether its punk, pop, grunge, garage, or jazz standards, the formula to success for this band is a philosophy that music is universal and applying the standard jazz trio to other categories is just as valid as your typical two guitars, bass and drums. Like Vistas and Give, the Bad Plus’ third album is not for the faint-hearted.
Another collection of originals and well-known tunes, Blunt Object has stuff previously released on Vistas but the trio breathes new life into these tunes making for a satisfying sonic experience. And honestly, how can the Bad Plus keep things any more interesting than giving us their take on everything from Queen to Aphex Twin, to Rodgers & Hart and Blondie.
Starting things off light and spacy, all of a sudden you find yourself humming a familiar tune. That's right. It's Freddie Mercury's “We Are The Champions” laid out off-kilter in a slow, deliberate fashion. When it reaches the end of the form they head into semi-free improv, eventually coming back to the theme with an inspired restatement of the theme. An uptempo romp entitled “And Here We Test Our Powers of Observation” follows with heavy interplay among all three members, most notably from King whose energy really makes the tune what it is. Iverson’s “Guilty” may be an apology for leading the listener down a strange path with much sound and fury, signifying nothing. What starts out a meandering solo piano flight builds into dawdling honky-tonk blues and before you know it you’re back to the land of the free.
Blondie’s “Heart of Glass,” another variations on a theme, is rather boring, while “Flim,” a plaintive ballad by Richard David James (a.k.a. Aphex Twin) is a done as a beautiful ballad (both were featured on the Vistas). The most intense and frenzied tune is paradoxically entitled “Silence is the Question,” which slowly builds up to a dizzying climax as the trio blares with great intensity and purpose. And don't let that old familiar warhorse of a tune, “My Funny Valentine” fool you. If you're looking for straight-ahead, don't expect to find it here. The Bad Plus minimalist form which opens on the bridge features an achingly annoying vocal serving only to make the album that much more hip for its eschewal of traditional recantations of tunes we all know..
What is most shocking, is that Columbia has given the Bad Plus virtually complete artistic freedom to do this project their way. Sure, there's probably some pressure to record songs people know if only for their crossover potential, but the way such familiar tunes and the originals are being executed by the Bad Plus is very unique. From this execution It is clear that Anderson, Iverson, and King have a deep appreciation for the developments in jazz since the end of bebop; primarily very liberal modifications of time signatures, intense interaction, and a certain disregard for conventional harmonies.
Blunt Object on the whole is an exciting album for modern jazz fans (especially those who also dig other stlyes). But it will most certainly be uninviting for many uninitiated in freer forms of music. It will shock some in its artistic self-indulgence and frequent harmonic impenetrability. But if you dig Ornette Coleman, Jason Moran and the Bandwagon, or virtually anything recently on Pi or Thirsty Ear, Blunt Object is right up your alley.

 

 

EAC extraction logfile from 10. January 2008, 0:50 for CD
Bad Plus / Blunt Object - Live in Tokyo
Used drive  : HP      DVD Writer 640v   Adapter: 7  ID: 0
Read mode   : Secure with NO C2, accurate stream, disable cache
Read offset correction : 618
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Used output format : G:\Program Files\MEDIA\filters\Flac official\FLAC\flac.exe   (User Defined Encoder)
                     192 kBit/s
                     Additional command line options :  -8 -V -T "ARTIST=%a" -T "TITLE=%t" -T "ALBUM=%g" -T "DATE=%y" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%n" -T "GENRE=%m" -T "COMMENT=EAC FLAC -8" %s
Other options      :
    Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
    Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
    Installed external ASPI interface
Track  1
     Filename F:\uTORRENT\ups\The Bad Plus - Blunt Object Live in Tokyo (2005) [FLAC]\01 - We Are the Champions.wav
     Pre-gap length  0:00:02.00
     Peak level 98.8 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC 5252A675
     Copy CRC 5252A675
     Copy OK
Track  2
     Filename F:\uTORRENT\ups\The Bad Plus - Blunt Object Live in Tokyo (2005) [FLAC]\02 - And Here We Test Our Power of Observation.wav
     Pre-gap length  0:00:03.18
     Peak level 98.8 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC CC2C8FB7
     Copy CRC CC2C8FB7
     Copy OK
Track  3
     Filename F:\uTORRENT\ups\The Bad Plus - Blunt Object Live in Tokyo (2005) [FLAC]\03 - Guilty.wav
     Pre-gap length  0:00:03.46
     Peak level 98.8 %
     Track quality 99.9 %
     Test CRC 597F9D24
     Copy CRC 597F9D24
     Copy OK
Track  4
     Filename F:\uTORRENT\ups\The Bad Plus - Blunt Object Live in Tokyo (2005) [FLAC]\04 - Do Your Sums ] Die Like a Dog ] Play for Home.wav
     Pre-gap length  0:00:03.25
     Peak level 98.8 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC FE65042F
     Copy CRC FE65042F
     Copy OK
Track  5
     Filename F:\uTORRENT\ups\The Bad Plus - Blunt Object Live in Tokyo (2005) [FLAC]\05 - Heart of Glass.wav
     Pre-gap length  0:00:03.65
     Peak level 98.8 %
     Track quality 99.9 %
     Test CRC E3F974BC
     Copy CRC E3F974BC
     Copy OK
Track  6
     Filename F:\uTORRENT\ups\The Bad Plus - Blunt Object Live in Tokyo (2005) [FLAC]\06 - Flim.wav
     Pre-gap length  0:00:03.32
     Peak level 98.8 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC 9844CCC3
     Copy CRC 9844CCC3
     Copy OK
Track  7
     Filename F:\uTORRENT\ups\The Bad Plus - Blunt Object Live in Tokyo (2005) [FLAC]\07 - Silence Is the Question.wav
     Pre-gap length  0:00:04.20
     Peak level 98.8 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC BBEA7643
     Copy CRC BBEA7643
     Copy OK
Track  8
     Filename F:\uTORRENT\ups\The Bad Plus - Blunt Object Live in Tokyo (2005) [FLAC]\08 - My Funny Valentine.wav
     Pre-gap length  0:00:02.36
     Peak level 98.8 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC 93E76255
     Copy CRC 93E76255
     Copy OK
No errors occured
End of status report

4114630729 64510700 01 - We Are the Champions.wav
3187276216 44095340 02 - And Here We Test Our Power of Observation.wav
1460080428 104323004 03 - Guilty.wav
3738267790 55391996 04 - Do Your Sums ] Die Like a Dog ] Play for Home.wav
542796618 60093644 05 - Heart of Glass.wav
1971207561 41962076 06 - Flim.wav
3105792920 139325468 07 - Silence Is the Question.wav
3343578430 27043340 08 - My Funny Valentine.wav
auCDtect: CD records authenticity detector, version 0.8.2
Copyright (c) 2004 Oleg Berngardt. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2004 Alexander Djourik. All rights reserved.
------------------------------------------------------------
Processing file: [01 - We Are the Champions.wav]
------------------------------------------------------------
This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%
------------------------------------------------------------
Processing file: [02 - And Here We Test Our Power of Observation.wav]
------------------------------------------------------------
This track looks like CDDA with probability 99%
------------------------------------------------------------
Processing file: [03 - Guilty.wav]
------------------------------------------------------------
This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%
------------------------------------------------------------
Processing file: [04 - Do Your Sums ] Die Like a Dog ] Play for Home.wav]
------------------------------------------------------------
This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%
------------------------------------------------------------
Processing file: [05 - Heart of Glass.wav]
------------------------------------------------------------
This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%
------------------------------------------------------------
Processing file: [06 - Flim.wav]
------------------------------------------------------------
This track looks like CDDA with probability 99%
------------------------------------------------------------
Processing file: [07 - Silence Is the Question.wav]
------------------------------------------------------------
This track looks like CDDA with probability 99%
------------------------------------------------------------
Processing file: [08 - My Funny Valentine.wav]
------------------------------------------------------------
This track looks like CDDA with probability 87%
------------------------------------------------------------
Final Conclusion:
------------------------------------------------------------
These tracks looks like CDDA with probability 100%