Music CD - James Blood Ulmer: Black Rock

	Music CD: Black Rock Artist: James Blood Ulmer List Price: $29.49 Our Price: Your Save: $ 29.49 ( 100% ) Availability: Manufacturer: Psp
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Tracks: 1. Open House 2. Black Rock 3. Moonbeam 4. Family Affair 5. More Blood 6. Love Has Two Faces 7. Overnight 8. Fun House 9. We Bop
Binding: Audio CD EAN: 4988009937496 Format: Import Label: Psp Manufacturer: Psp Number Of Discs: 1 Publisher: Psp Release Date: 1998-04-02 Studio: Psp
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: THIS IS NOT HENDRIX Comment: I ALWAYS LAUGH AT THE WAY PEOPLE REVIEW ANY RELEASE BY A BLACK GUITARIST. THEY ALMOST ALWAYS REFER TO COMPARISONS WITH JIMI HENDRIX. LET ME STRAIGHTEN EVERYONE OUT ON THIS...HERE ARE THE COMPARISONS...MR. ULMER IS A GUITARIST AND HE IS BLACK. THAT'S IT. THERE IS NO - AND I REPEAT - NO COMPARISON WITH JIMI. ANY FIRST TIME LISTENER WILL HEAR THAT. SO DON'T BE SUCKED INTO THINKING THIS IS HENDRIX-LIKE MUSIC. IT IS,HOWEVER, MIND BLOWING STUFF AND THERE IS REALLY NO WAY TO DESCRIBE THIS MUSIC EXCEPT LISTEN AND HAVE AN OPEN MIND AND YOU WILL PLAY IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN. IF I HAD TO DESCRIBE IT, IT WOULD BE FUNK FROM BLACK MARTIANS. THAT'S ABOUT IT. (AND IF YOU WANT HENDRIX COMPARISONS LOOK FOR RONNIE DRAYTON, THE SECOND GUITARIST ON THIS ALBUM - HE USED TO PLAY WITH NONA HENDRYX.) Customer Rating: Summary: "black rock" rocks Comment: at last "black rock" is on cd.Ulmer combines funk, rock and free jazz into one unbelievable sound.his music is probably more accessible to rock fans but i recommend it to everyone who wants to hear unique high intensity music.i also recommend "tales of captain black", "are you glad to be in america?" and anything Ulmer did with music revelation ensemble. i hope that the album "free lancing", which Ulmer released prior to "black rock",will be released on cd also. Customer Rating: Summary: Intense Rock that blows you away Comment: If you are not familiar with James Blood Ulmer, you are certainly missing an important artist in your collection. This particular albumn is his best work though I would recommend some of his other albumns as well. With Calvin Weston as one of two drummers, the music drives forward at a frenetic pace, while Ulmer dives in and out with short riffs. Irene Datcher, who sings on a few of the cuts with the gravel voiced Ulmer, has the vocal power to rise above the busy music and is a real stand out. When it comes to guitar mastery, James Blood Ulmer should be better known. Pay particular attention to his work with the waw waw pedel. This album is not for the faint of heart, Ulmer's melding of Harmonolodic Jazz (a la Coleman) and rock takes some listening effort. I suggest that the listener relax and focus on James' Guitar as the rest of the band comes at you like a steamroller. More Reviews
Editorial Reviews: James "Blood" Ulmer is one of the most intense, original, and underrated guitarists of all time. It's a shame this man isn't feted as genius. His unique thumb-picking style blends the manic passion and expressive volume of Hendrix's best work with the exploratory verve of free jazz and the harmolodic approach of Ornette Coleman (with whom he played and studied) and a funky swagger that Sly Stone would've envied. During his career, his musical seeking has taken him all over the map, from jazz to blues to pop to world music, but it was in the early '80s that Ulmer absolutely rocked on Free Lancing and Black Rock, the later the most sonically massive and wild of the two. He put together his most solid combo on Black Rock, with the tub-thumping bassist Amin Ali and the drum heroics of Grant Calvin Weston. Though many of the songs are instrumental, when he sings, it's a joy; his deep, throaty rumble recalls Louis Armstrong on the restless boogie of "Family Affair." But Ulmer preferred to speak through his instrument, and speak loudly he does. It's hard to find a more powerful 10 seconds in rock or jazz than the opening bars of the title track. He kicks straight to the heart of the song with a blistering guitar run that hits with the force of a ball-peen hammer and a guttural "Unhh!" that says more about what he thinks of rock and black music than a thousand words. --Tod Nelson