Track Listing

1. Check Up
2. Zwielicht (Twilight)
3. Glitter and Be Gay
4. Basquiat
5. It's Over
6. Creepin'
7. Nessun Dorma
8. Soldier in the Rain
9. Reach Out (I'll Be There)
10. Ladies Who Lunch
11. Larghetto

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #90958 in Music
• Released on: 2000-11-07
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

New definitions for arias and Lieder
Creative is the word here. Innovative also fits. And fresh is another apt adjective. The result practically defies genre classification. "Classical crossover" might describe this CD the best.

The most important thing is the fact that this blending works, and it brings out a previously overlooked quality in such songs as "It's Over", "Reach out, I'll Be There", and "The Ladies Who Lunch". And on the other hand, this blending makes pieces such as "Zwielicht", "Nessun Dorma", and "Larghetto" more accessible to a larger audience.

A major consideration here is that neither the classical nor the popular works are compromised. This CD deserves to be a lot more popular than it is.

Don Byron's easy listening outing?
In the liner notes to this album, Don Byron poses the question "Has the art of writing arias and lieder been lost altogether?". His short answer is "I think not", and for his longer embellished response I guess one is required to listen to this album. Contained within are essentially a selection of his favourite songs, ranging from classical to show tunes to funk to pop.

There is no doubt that Byron is a brilliant clarinettist, and a fine composer. He has also created some of the finest 'concept albums' I can think of (Bug Music, Nu Blaxploitation, Tuskegee Experiments, etc). However on A Fine Line, as with his other albums, the concept is not always totally rigid, and there are a few spanners thrown in the works early on. Just take the first two tunes, for example - Ornette Coleman's "Check Up" and Robert Schumann's "Zwielicht". "Check Up" appeared on Coleman's '61 album Harlem's Manhattan, and obviously was originally an instrumental piece, while "Zwielicht" is originally a song, from the cycle "Liederkreis". Byron swaps the two, adding vocalist Mark Ledford to the former and taking the melody himself on the latter. Maybe I'm over-analysing, but I have to assume that what Byron is doing here is blurring the line between vocal and instrumental, and pointing out the lyrical qualities in an instrumental melody..?

That's all good and well, until track 4 - his original "Basquiat". It's a nice enough tune, but why record it for this album of 'songs'? Particularly since he had just recorded it a year earlier for his Romance With The Unseen album... Similar question with the final track, a solo clarinet version of Chopin's "Piano Concerto No.2", a fine piece but what's the connection? These little gripes aside, what about the actual songs? Well, vocally things are ok, though maybe a bit too corny for my tastes. Leonard Bernstein's "Glitter And Be Gay" is 8+ minutes of pure Broadway cheese (I guess what was I expecting with that title?). Stephen Sondheim's "The Ladies Who Lunch" features Cassandra Wilson, who does a fine job but her performance seems a little 'phoned in'. The stand-out vocal is Mark Ledford on Roy Orbison's "It's Over", though it is almost ruined by some over-zealous backing harmonies.

What is missing on this album is some 'real' playing from Byron or pianist Uri Caine. Everything seems so safe, and you can almost hear Byron struggling to solo within the chords rather than his usual penchant for harmonic exploration. One exception (surprisingly enough) is their duo version of "Nessun Dorma" which gets a relatively straight reading of the 'head' before the pair get a bit more playful and out, going off into uncharted waters.

All in all the album just sounds half-baked. The concept was to explore the idea of 'song' and then the 11 tracks presented are so patchy in doing so. There are certainly some great songwriters represented, but why not pick some more obvious ones like Lennon/McCartney, Brian Wilson, Burt Bacharach, etc..? The reason I still give it 2 stars (or probably 2 and a half if I was able) is that it is a relatively listenable album with some nice moments. If you're after some easy listening with a twist then this may be the album for you, otherwise I suggest trying Byron's debut "Tuskegee Experiments".

Creatively Clever
Interesting and creatively clever idea with equally clever play. Mellow and enjoyable from beginning to end, with Byron excelling throughout. This is an intriguing lineup of music and song which at first might seem a bit odd or disjointed, but it ain't. It actually sounds thematic, like an aural drama of some sort..., with one possible exception. The song "Reach Out I'll Be There" dosen't quite seem to fit the motif. It's well played, but seems misplaced within this lineup (so program it out). Patricia O'Callaghan stands out on "Glitter And Be Gay", percussionist Paulo Braga on "Soldier In the Rain", and Cassandra Wilson on "The Ladies Who Lunch". Money well spent.