Thanks for the links Chad sure it's a nice review from the Star
Ledger.
Can't wait for the tour. At Big Helium the told me in a e-mail that
he also will to a european tour so looking forward to that.
Still waiting till my copy of RockPaperScissors arrives.
Also looking forward to your review of the gig at Joe's Pub.
Looks like Brook had a great night.

Fred


--- In breakdown@yahoogroups.com, "Chad Ossman" <clo@...> wrote:
>
> I was there! I hadn't heard the new album yet, so it was an
interesting introduction to the
> new music. But the full band arrangement of Ultramarine sent chills
down my spine. When
> I have a chance, I'm going to write a mini review for my blog, but
so far you can see two
> utterly crappy photos I took with my cell phone:
>
> http://www.thedorkreport.com/2006/07/18/michael-brook-joes-pub-new-
york-city/
>
> My only complaint is that I hate venues that serve food. The wait
staff must walked in front
> of me and bumped into me an average of once a minute.
>
> Here's another positive review from the Star Ledger:
>
>
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/ledger/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-
1/
> 1153377822254570.xml&coll=1
>
> Oh, and one other thing. They were selling copies of
the "Inconvenient Truth" soundtrack,
> which I don't think has been released in stores yet.
>
>
>
>
>
> --- In breakdown@yahoogroups.com, "Fred Bruinenberg" <fred7691@>
wrote:
> >
> > Nice review!!
> >
> > http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/07/20/185525.php
> >
> > Renowned guitarist, producer, and composer Michael Brook has
become a
> > more visible figure during 2006 than he has been in years past.
Most
> > recently, he composed the soundtrack for Al Gore's acclaimed
> > documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, which released back in May.
And
> > now we are treated to RockPaperScissors, which is his first solo
> > album in over a decade.
> >
> > Brook has not been idle in the years since his previous solo
album
> > and instrumental epic Cobalt Blue in 1992. But his work as
producer
> > and songwriter, as well as guitarist and collaborator, has put
him in
> > a less public light. He first came to prominence with the album
> > Hybrid, a collaboration in 1985 with himself, Daniel Lanois, and
> > Brian Eno. Brook reportedly learned a great deal from both
Lanois,
> > whom he began assisting in the producer's studio, and Eno, in
regard
> > to an overall approach to songwriting and production sound, which
he
> > carried with him on to his later work.
> >
> > Musically, Cobalt Blue expanded on the music of Hybrid, and
showcased
> > the style of guitar work that had arisen from Brook and his
> > compatriot musician friends, The Edge and Lanois. It was a
shimmering
> > reverb that found as much punch from controlled use of echo
effects
> > as in the strumming of strings. He followed up the album the next
> > year with the ancillary release Live At The Aquarium. Although
his
> > fellow musicians took the sound on to more popular waters,
Brook's
> > stamp as a sound designer was unmistakable, especially as both
Edge
> > and Lanois used Brook's musical invention, the "Infinity Guitar"
to
> > help fashion much of their own sound and style.
> >
> > RockPaperScissors takes a different turn and showcases how Brook
has
> > been using his talents during these past few years. It finds its
> > direction as a soundtrack through various landscapes of texture,
> > light, and shadow. Brook's role becomes less a part of a
performance
> > showcase (although he still handless a good portion of the
musical
> > responsibilities) and more that of a composer and architect of
sound.
> > In fact, at its core, it works best as a passport through the
> > different styles and mediums Brook conjures for his various other
> > musical forms.
> >
> > The album opens with "Strange Procession," which begins with an
> > aleatoric choral prelude from the Bulgarian Classical Choir
before
> > finally kicking into a more orchestral-driven guitar track. This,
and
> > later "Doges," are the two selections that tie most closely to
> > Brook's previous solo outings, and feature him as more of the
> > instrumental lead. Richard Evans collaborates with Brook as
string
> > and choral arranger for much of the album, forces that help to
bring
> > a more lush feeling to Brook's palette.
> >
> > As a whole, RockPaperScissors is very classically oriented. Every
> > track features either strings or choir, or both. And not just
string
> > arrangements tacked on to existing songs, but music that is built
> > from the ground up to be a symphonic journey. It's not disimilar
in
> > scope to Craig Armstrong, for a reference point. In the same way,
> > Brook himself is bringing his considerable soundtrack and writing
> > work over to his own releases, and incorporating everything
together
> > into a larger musical vision. It's not one or the other (although
> > taken as a whole, Brook's guitar work does seem to take a back
seat)
> > but builds on top of both. Between this and Brook's previous
> > collaborations on world music, which all seem to come together
and
> > bolster the short and sweet "Tangerine," not only is everything
fair
> > game, but everything is essential.
> >
> > But collaborations are what form the bulk of the record. "Want"
> > features the vocals of Lisa Germano, and captures early on a
slower
> > and more restrained tenderness. Similar in tone, "Pond" is a
> > collaboration with the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, where a world
edge
> > meets with glacial strings and light percussion to produce one of
the
> > more moving tracks on the record. On the complete other side of
the
> > specturum, with "Dark Room," Brook creates a musical backdrop for
Sir
> > Richard Burton's reading of the Dylan Thomas poem, "Under Milk
Wood."
> > It's an interesting mix, but one that drastically sticks out from
the
> > rest of the album.
> >
> > The title track, "RockPaperScissors," is a writing parnership
between
> > Brook and singer-songwriter Shira Myrow, as well as a performance
> > collaboration with UK singer Paul Buchanan. It works reasonably
well,
> > but lyrically is a little convoluted, and has more of a standard
> > pop/rock song setup to it than the rest of the record.
Overall, "Dark
> > Room" and "RockPaperScissors" jar the flow of the album
considerably,
> > and although fine on their own, are too isolated as musical
thoughts
> > to complement the rest of the album.
> >
> > Closing out the record is the two-part composition, "Pasadena."
It
> > begins with a slow and sparse vocal from Ben Christophers, and
then
> > over the course of fourteen minutes, a slow epic of loss from the
> > Bulgarian Studio Orchestra gradually recedes and fades into
nothing.
> >
> > RockPaperScissors is a very creative and enjoyable album that
> > stretches how we generally view two of the more dominant forms of
> > western music: classical and rock. By balancing all these
varying,
> > and often disparate, strains of musical thought, Michael Brook
has
> > succeeded in crafting a sumptuous feast of a record. Although
> > containing instances of jarring inconsistency (as mentioned with
> > tracks four and five), the broader scope of the music wins out.
As a
> > soundtrack with no particular movie in mind, consider the
soundtrack
> > your own.
> >
> > Fred
> >
> > ps. anyone been to the cd release party at Joe's Pub NY last
tuesday?
> >
>