Finaly got the album last friday and it's growing more and more as i
listen to it. Love the track with the spoken word from Richard
Burton, remind me sometimes on Rain Tree Crow.
Anway it's a great album

Bytheway i just read this on: http://www.thinkpress.net/news.html

Quote:
SEPTEMBER 2006 - Michael Brook announces North American tour
beginning Setpember 11 in Montreal. Band includes Richard Evans and
Lisa Germano. Full itinerary and details TBA


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?
> >
>