So, for my first freebie Thursday, I decided to offer the first two songs from David Byrne’s long out of print 1985 score, Music from the Knee Plays. For those of you outside New York area and/or off the Carnegie Hall mailing list, Mr. Byrne (who, like James Brown, now seems to be addressed in the most formal way possible), is performing the song-cycle for the first time in many moons tonight at Zankel Hall. He is being backed by the Les Miserables orchestra which may be the most high-brow sit-in I’ve reported in my three point five years handling the Jambands.com/Relix.com daily news. I am reviewing the show for the April/May issue of Relix, but for a more honest, and less sober, opinion, please track me down at the Galactic show tomorrow to hear my thoughts.
Unlike most fading rock-stars who embrace classical composition as a more cerebral version of scientology, David Byrne has actually done some pretty amazing things with his strings. Grown Backwards, his 2004 album on Nonesuch, is one of the best albums I’ve heard since graduating college. While Music from the Knee Plays doesn’t hold up quite as well on CD or, more accurately, on a pirated vinyl record imported into a computer, illegally traded through the web, and burned onto a disc, I’m hoping it will be more tangible in a live setting. I plan on selling caviar in the lot at 7 if anyone wants to join me…
Oh, and in a valiant attempt to protect my digital rights, here is a disclaimer. These tracks are for personal use only and should only be used to show off to overly pompous co-workers and lure unsuspecting girls with a serious Tina Weymouth complex into bed.
Track 1: Tree
Track 2: In the Upper Room
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