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TREY GUNN
"Music for Pictures" (7d Media;
2008)
Reviewed by Christopher J. Kelter
Trey Gunn made his name playing touch guitar
with King Crimson. Apparently, Gunn has some solo projects and group
projects I wasn’t aware of until just now. Additionally, he’s got quite a
career going for himself involving scoring films and other video mediums. I am
familiar with Gunn’s work with King Crimson (which left me impressed) and
Quodia (which left me very puzzled).
“Music for Pictures,” properly classified as a Trey Gunn solo work, features
29 tracks of which the first 28 are short snippets – quite easy to imagine if
you think about music soundtracks that are made for scenes in films. Despite the
brevity of the tracks the creativity exudes confidence and appropriateness (even
lacking knowledge of the images that were supposed to go along with the music).
Soundtracks in the form of musical vignettes must quickly establish a theme,
create movement, and find closure in relatively short order – this mustn’t
be easy yet Gunn pulls it off in style.
The substance/root of what I hear with the majority of these tracks is what U2
might have sounded like if they ditched Bono and kept making instrumental music
like “Bass Trap” or “Endless Deep” in exploratory ways with an emphasis
on percussion and mood. I hear, among other things, the song of whales (“Isle
of the Blest”), car chases (“Hammerhead”), mid-summer Arabian dreams
(“The Magnificent Jinn”), and Wagnerian classical stomps (“Nausicaa”).
But I find it’s best to enjoy Gunn’s musical vignettes by simply letting the
music wash over the ears and cranial matter. No matter the length of the songs
the music is at all times intriguing and seductive.
The last piece, “The Ghosts Listen,” is a comparatively whopping 21 minutes
of minimalism that in all likelihood was probably originally scored for an
entire short film. This piece sounds most like a sonic companion to Kevin
Moore’s Chroma Key’s album “Graveyard Mountain Home.”
Gunn makes it known that the music heard on “Music for Pictures” is culled
from nine years' worth of musical scores for film that were ‘severely
manipulated’ for this disc. Regardless, Gunn’s work evident in the form of
“Music for Pictures” is remarkable.
“Music for Pictures” was produced by Trey Gunn.
Trey Gunn secures contributions from drummers Matt Chamberlain, Greg Gilmore,
Pat Mastelotto, and Phil Petrocelli and vocalist Beth Quist.
For more information visit http://www.treygunn.com.
Rating Guide:
A classic. This record will kick your ass.
Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.
So-so. You've heard better.
Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.
Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.
Copyright © 2008 by R. Scott Bolton. All
rights reserved.
Revised:
18 Mar 2024 13:45:57 -0500
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