| Product Summary | | Label: Sony/columbia | | UPC: 00074645273921 | | Release Date: 9/29/1992 | | Buy.com Sku: 60110857 | | Item#: MMSXNH | Format:  CD |
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| Song Listing |  |
Disc 1
| | Song Title | Sample | | 1. Canon (Part 1) ~ Various Artists |  | | 2. Meditations On Integration ~ Various Artists | | | 3. Canon (Part 2) - Robbie Robertson ~ Various Artists | | | 4. Jump Monk ~ Various Artists | | | 5. Weird Nightmare - Elvis Costello ~ Various Artists | | | 6. Work Song ~ Various Artists | | | 7. Self-Portrait In 3 Colors ~ Various Artists | | | 8. Purple Heart - Henry Rollins ~ Various Artists | | | 9. Tonight At Noon ~ Various Artists | | | 10. Gunslinging Bird Or If Charlie Parker Were A Gunslinger, There'd Be A Whole Lot Of Dead Copycats - Chuck D ~ Various Artists | | | 11. Weird Nightmare - (interlude) ~ Various Artists | | | 12. Reincarnation Of A Love Bird / Haitian Fight Song Montage ~ Various Artists | | | 13. Open Letter To Duke ~ Various Artists | | | 14. Shoes Of The Fisherman's Wife Are Some Jive Ass Slippers, The ~ Various Artists | | | 15. Oh Lord, Don't Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb On Me - Charlie Watts/Keith Richards ~ Various Artists | | | 16. Eclipse - Leonard Cohen/Diamanda Galas ~ Various Artists | | | 17. Pithecanthropus Erectus ~ Various Artists | | | 18. Freedom - Dr. John ~ Various Artists | | | 19. Weird Nightmare - (reprise) ~ Various Artists | |
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| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | This tribute to Charles Mingus features various artists backed by a house band. | | Includes liner notes by Sue Mingus, Bill Flanagan, Frannie Thumm, Jeff Rosen and Hal Willner. | | All music written by Charles Mingus. On a number of selections, the instrumentation and inspiration of composer Harry Partch. | | Producer Hal Willner had created a reputation as a fascinating instigator, organizing homages to composers as diverse as Nino Rota and Thelonious Monk wherein he conscripted the services of musicians from all over the stylistic map, allowing them to bring their unique interpretations and approaches to bear on the subjects. For his Charles Mingus project, his central idea was as inspired as it was loony: to incorporate the amazing instruments invented and designed by another equally maverick composer, Harry Partch, into reinterpretations of Mingus' work. By and large, it works, making Weird Nightmare a strange and wonderful one-off event. There's a central band at work based around bassist Greg Cohen and guitarist Bill Frisell, with guest stars, mostly from the rock world, including Robbie Robertson, Dr. John, Keith Richards, and Chuck D Highlights abound; when Partch's Marimba Eroica is struck during "Pithecanthropus Erectus," the floors of the listener's dwelling may buckle. Elvis Costello's reading of the title song is, well, eerily weird. One special high point is the version of "Gunslinging Bird" where text from Mingus' autobiographical Beneath the Underdog is angrily and righteously declaimed by Chuck D.; it's arguably as pure and forceful as anything he ever accomplished with Public Enemy and makes one wonder why he never pursued this seemingly rewarding path. There are several missteps as well, to be sure. Most egregiously, Keith Richards' sneering condescension on "Oh Lord, Don't Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb on Me," as though he had better things to do, is embarrassing. But eventually, it's simply the gorgeous music of Charles Mingus that carries the day, showing itself more than capable of shouldering the ghost of Harry Partch and the wayward inclinations of its interpreters. Most of the pieces glow in these unusual treatments, and make Weird Nightmare a must for any serious Mingus fan. ~ Brian Olewnick |
Producer: Hal Willner |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 09/29/1992 | | Original Release Date : 1992 | | Catalog ID : 52739 | | Label : Columbia (USA) | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Runtime : 74m : 15s | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00074645273921 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Entertainment Weekly (11/6/92, p.67)
- "...they seek the messy Mingus spirit through genre-bending collisions of attitude and sound that cast Elvis Costello as crooner, Henry Rollins as beat poet, and Chuck D as jazz historian..." - Rating: AQ (1/93, p.93)
- 3 Stars - Good - "...The results are odd in the extreme, but it is a strangely fluent and affecting body of music with an appeal to match any of [producer] Hal Wilner's previous multi-artist tributes..." Alternative Press (4/93, p.85)
- "...the listener can be totally unaware of [Charles] Mingus' music, and still find WEIRD NIGHTMARE compelling...it all feels right and warm...you don't listen to this music, you feel it..." Audio Magazine (11/92, p.124)
- Sound: B - Performance: B - "...Brilliant solos abound...more cohesive than [producer] Willner's past projects...weirdly wonderful music..." Vox (12/92, p.97)
- 8 - Excellent - "...Charles Mingus would undoubtedly have approved of WEIRD NIGHTMARE...Mingus was one of the greatest composers of the 20th Century--and these interpretations help to make that point..." |
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