Music Banter - View Single Post

Zarko · 04-02-2009, 04:22 AM

Iron Path – Last Exit (1988)

GENRES – Rock, Noise, Avant Garde Jazz, Experimental

Prayer – 4:38
Iron Path – 3:28
The Black Bat (For Aku Ikuta) – 4:33
Marked For Death – 2:21
The Fire Drum – 4:22
Detonator – 3:47
Sand Dancer – 1:56
Cut And Run – 2:30
Eye For An Eye – 4:54
Devil’s Rain – 4:15

I thought I would try and make some interesting triplet thing going, so I picked yet another Laswell project to review, from the 80’s, so we have 3 concurrent Laswell projects, one from 88/97/07 to give it a fascinating twist in regards to Laswell’s progression over the last few decades. Last Exit is another one of Laswell’s jazz super groups. He just has the talent to drag them all together. But as we know famous musicians does not equal a famous nor memorable performance. This time he has assembled some masters of their area; Sonny Sharrock - guitarist. Peter Brotzmann – Insane free jazz saxophonist. Ronald Shannon Jackson – drummer, and of course, Laswell himself. The band was together from 86-94, when they produced some of the most amazing life improvisational performances in the genre. They were loud, aggressive and never let up. Unfortunately, the band had to disband after Sonny Sharrock passed away in 94. This, along with Tony Williams’ early death, forced two amazing bands to stop production.

Iron Path is the best of the few studio albums they released. They put all of their live show power into a studio form, with great results. Unlike the ethereal space mood created by Arcana, Iron Path is no holds barred, crashing, stomping noise and violence. Brotzmann, despite being on sax adds more to the hard rock feeling that I could think possible for a saxophonist. This is an astonishing album, to say the least. NOTE – Best listened to full boar…

‘Prayer’ opens with some foreboding signs… Some far off animal call, a bell ringing… Before the pitter-patter of Jackson’s drumming hits the scene, Sharrock following suit. The ultimate goal is to make as much noise as possible, as quickly as possible. Sharrock is in stunning form Laswell all the while is doing his thing, as they introduce Brotzmann to the group… His trademark sounds are already in practice, the low pitch of the sax screaming out. The Machine Gun comes out to play, as Brotzmann rips out note after note, trying to out do Jackson behind the kit. Hardly a track that words a lone can describe.

‘Iron Path’ carries on the slowed lull that was present after the end of Prayer. True to Laswell form, the album is almost one long piece rather than a group of songs. Iron Path is a purely suggestive piece, as the four main artists avoid interfering too much. ‘The Black Bat’ follows on the themes of the previous track into rock form. The deep bass twangs, Jackson’s suggestive drumming of some hostile force, and before it all explode in a cacophony of violence. This process is repeated a few times, as the beast’s influence grows.

‘Marked For Death’ is a slow, melancholic drum piece to begin with… I am not normally big on drum solo’s, but its not really about the technical skill but rather trying to convey a mood, so it was okay… It is only a short piece used as a go between the previous and next piece. ‘The Fire Drum’ is a groovier, psychedelic chill session, thanks to Laswell’s laid back twangs and Sharrock’s non aggressive approach. Brotzmann is a bit bluesier than his usual self, which is an interesting twist. It carries the slow nature of the previous songs but it makes it more upbeat, a much needed change (Although I wish there was more noise sometimes). Brotzmann gets a bit sick of the slow and quiet approach and breaks out his screeching sax a bit in beaut fashion.

‘Detonator’ turns up the volume again, and attempts to make everything as raw as possible. Sharrock’s guitar and Laswell’s bass have some intense distorting effects going on, which is awesome to say the least. Brotzmann rips out a few lines here and there as everything picks up a bit of tempo, and he really gets going. ‘Sand Dancer’ follows on the blues elements of Fire Drum, and is another short interval to show off some skill, particularly Sharrock’s.

‘Cut And Run’ is a full on attack of noise as quickly as possible… Brotzmann is certifiably insane, and this track is what gave me the most love for him as a saxophonist (Hadn’t heard much else before). All four of them are trying to out do each other. It isn’t that structured, they know when their turn is, but other than, it’s just an amalgamation of their fastest playing… LOVE IT. I’ll leave it to the video (Though I am sure not everyone will love it).

‘Eye For An Eye’ sadly breaks away from the fast stuff once again and goes into the slower, droning, repetitive agitated state the album is directed to earlier. A nice track nonetheless. The production is awesome, as they layer three of Brotzmann timbre’s one upon another, before he hits out in a solo. ‘Devil’s Rain’, the final track on the album is an awesome ending to an awesome album. An amalgamation of a lot of sounds already, Sharrock is once again the standout, Laswell’s licks are quality, and Brotzmann gets all his frustrations out in an all out attack. Again, it is better for the video to do the talking.

Unfortunately, the album comes in at a meagre 36 minutes…

TOTAL SCORE

9.1/10

– Cut And Run
- Prayer
- Detonator
– Devil’s Rain

In regards to which was the best Laswell era? They are all different and great for their own reasons… I obviously prefer the jazz-rock era’s though, as obvious by the rating of Arc of The Testimony and Iron Path. It is a shame that both bands had to end due to the unforeseeable death of two jazz legends.

04-02-2009, 04:22 AM	#21 (permalink)
Zarko Barely Disheveled Zombie Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 1,196	Iron Path – Last Exit (1988) GENRES – Rock, Noise, Avant Garde Jazz, Experimental Prayer – 4:38 Iron Path – 3:28 The Black Bat (For Aku Ikuta) – 4:33 Marked For Death – 2:21 The Fire Drum – 4:22 Detonator – 3:47 Sand Dancer – 1:56 Cut And Run – 2:30 Eye For An Eye – 4:54 Devil’s Rain – 4:15 I thought I would try and make some interesting triplet thing going, so I picked yet another Laswell project to review, from the 80’s, so we have 3 concurrent Laswell projects, one from 88/97/07 to give it a fascinating twist in regards to Laswell’s progression over the last few decades. Last Exit is another one of Laswell’s jazz super groups. He just has the talent to drag them all together. But as we know famous musicians does not equal a famous nor memorable performance. This time he has assembled some masters of their area; Sonny Sharrock - guitarist. Peter Brotzmann – Insane free jazz saxophonist. Ronald Shannon Jackson – drummer, and of course, Laswell himself. The band was together from 86-94, when they produced some of the most amazing life improvisational performances in the genre. They were loud, aggressive and never let up. Unfortunately, the band had to disband after Sonny Sharrock passed away in 94. This, along with Tony Williams’ early death, forced two amazing bands to stop production. Iron Path is the best of the few studio albums they released. They put all of their live show power into a studio form, with great results. Unlike the ethereal space mood created by Arcana, Iron Path is no holds barred, crashing, stomping noise and violence. Brotzmann, despite being on sax adds more to the hard rock feeling that I could think possible for a saxophonist. This is an astonishing album, to say the least. NOTE – Best listened to full boar… ‘Prayer’ opens with some foreboding signs… Some far off animal call, a bell ringing… Before the pitter-patter of Jackson’s drumming hits the scene, Sharrock following suit. The ultimate goal is to make as much noise as possible, as quickly as possible. Sharrock is in stunning form Laswell all the while is doing his thing, as they introduce Brotzmann to the group… His trademark sounds are already in practice, the low pitch of the sax screaming out. The Machine Gun comes out to play, as Brotzmann rips out note after note, trying to out do Jackson behind the kit. Hardly a track that words a lone can describe. ‘Iron Path’ carries on the slowed lull that was present after the end of Prayer. True to Laswell form, the album is almost one long piece rather than a group of songs. Iron Path is a purely suggestive piece, as the four main artists avoid interfering too much. ‘The Black Bat’ follows on the themes of the previous track into rock form. The deep bass twangs, Jackson’s suggestive drumming of some hostile force, and before it all explode in a cacophony of violence. This process is repeated a few times, as the beast’s influence grows. ‘Marked For Death’ is a slow, melancholic drum piece to begin with… I am not normally big on drum solo’s, but its not really about the technical skill but rather trying to convey a mood, so it was okay… It is only a short piece used as a go between the previous and next piece. ‘The Fire Drum’ is a groovier, psychedelic chill session, thanks to Laswell’s laid back twangs and Sharrock’s non aggressive approach. Brotzmann is a bit bluesier than his usual self, which is an interesting twist. It carries the slow nature of the previous songs but it makes it more upbeat, a much needed change (Although I wish there was more noise sometimes). Brotzmann gets a bit sick of the slow and quiet approach and breaks out his screeching sax a bit in beaut fashion. ‘Detonator’ turns up the volume again, and attempts to make everything as raw as possible. Sharrock’s guitar and Laswell’s bass have some intense distorting effects going on, which is awesome to say the least. Brotzmann rips out a few lines here and there as everything picks up a bit of tempo, and he really gets going. ‘Sand Dancer’ follows on the blues elements of Fire Drum, and is another short interval to show off some skill, particularly Sharrock’s. ‘Cut And Run’ is a full on attack of noise as quickly as possible… Brotzmann is certifiably insane, and this track is what gave me the most love for him as a saxophonist (Hadn’t heard much else before). All four of them are trying to out do each other. It isn’t that structured, they know when their turn is, but other than, it’s just an amalgamation of their fastest playing… LOVE IT. I’ll leave it to the video (Though I am sure not everyone will love it). ‘Eye For An Eye’ sadly breaks away from the fast stuff once again and goes into the slower, droning, repetitive agitated state the album is directed to earlier. A nice track nonetheless. The production is awesome, as they layer three of Brotzmann timbre’s one upon another, before he hits out in a solo. ‘Devil’s Rain’, the final track on the album is an awesome ending to an awesome album. An amalgamation of a lot of sounds already, Sharrock is once again the standout, Laswell’s licks are quality, and Brotzmann gets all his frustrations out in an all out attack. Again, it is better for the video to do the talking. Unfortunately, the album comes in at a meagre 36 minutes… TOTAL SCORE 9.1/10 – Cut And Run - Prayer - Detonator – Devil’s Rain In regards to which was the best Laswell era? They are all different and great for their own reasons… I obviously prefer the jazz-rock era’s though, as obvious by the rating of Arc of The Testimony and Iron Path. It is a shame that both bands had to end due to the unforeseeable death of two jazz legends. Last edited by Zarko; 07-22-2009 at 02:30 AM.