Absinthe (Naked City album)

Absinthe
Studio album by Naked City
Released December 10, 1993
Recorded December 1992 at Electric Lady, New York City
Genre Ambient, noise
Length 46:17
Label Avant Avan 004
Producer John Zorn
Naked City chronology
Radio
(1993)Radio1993		 Absinthe
(1993)		 Naked City Live, Vol. 1: The Knitting Factory 1989
(2002)Naked City Live, Vol. 1: The Knitting Factory 19892002
John Zorn chronology
Radio
(1993) Radio1993		 Absinthe
(1993) Absinthe1993		 Execution Ground
(1994) Execution Ground1994

Absinthe is the final recording from the band Naked City. Unlike the band's other genre-mixing releases, the music on Absinthe is consistently in an ambient and noise style.

The titles of many of its tracks refer to the works of Paul Verlaine, Charles Baudelaire and other figures in the fin de siècle Decadent movement, and to the drink after which the album is named.

The album's cover and liner notes feature photographs by the German Surrealist Hans Bellmer.

The album was also released as part of Naked City: The Complete Studio Recordings on Tzadik Records.

From the official description on the now defunct Avant website:

Joey Baron plays bags of dry leaves, fishing reels and buckshot. Bill Frisell solos on a microtonal guitar. Wayne Horvitz samples everything from crickets to Giacinto Scelsi. Fred Frith does what he does best. Zorn doesn't even touch the saxophone.

The final piece, "...Rend Fou", is six minutes of Frisell and Frith running their guitar jacks over the inputs of their guitars.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

The Allmusic review by Caleb Deupree states "Naked City's final album is by far its most puzzling and enigmatic... Nothing in Naked City's previous oeuvre prepares the listener for this collection, a complete reversal from the hardcore and thrash, but looking forward to Zorn's interest in minimalist pieces like Redbird and Duras."[1]

Track listing

All compositions by John Zorn

  1. "Val de travers" – 6:19
  2. "Une correspondance" – 5:09
  3. "La fée verte" – 5:12
  4. "Fleurs du mal" – 4:06
  5. "Artemisia absinthium" – 4:31
  6. "Notre dame de l'oubli (For Olivier Messiaen)" – 4:48
  7. "Verlaine: Part I: Un midi moins dix" – 4:24
  8. "Verlaine: Part II: La bleue" – 6:01
  9. "...Rend fou" – 6:03

Personnel

Liner Notes

References

  1. 1 2 Duepree, C. Allmusic Review accessed March 16, 2009
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