Released
1998
Label
Materiali Sonori
Reviewed by
Michael C. Lund
Contact
Via Tre Novembre, 2
52027 San Giovanni Valdorno
Italy
Visit
Fred Frith
Bill Laswell
Last Edit/Update
17 september, 1998
Percy Howard Charles Hayward
Fred Frith Bill Laswell
MERIDIEM
Track Listing
1. The 7th
2. Mingle
3. Interference
4. Frozen
5. Iurodivii
6. Votive Rhythm
7. Lunarsa
8. Anesthesia
9. Crucible
Being the collaboration of four extremely talented and reputable musicians, who,
individually, walk quite separate musical paths, Meridiem is almost bound to become
a classic. It is an album that leaves each artist enough room to display his unique style,
while also emerging as a powerful unified work. And, whereas the solo efforts of some of
these artists not necessarily appeal to me, their work in this context certainly does.
The project was conceived by -- and
is centered around -- Percy Howard (perhaps better known as the front man of Nus),
who delivers a tour-de-force vocal performance, ranging from exceedingly subtle passages
that carry with them the sensation as of silken fabric caressing naked skin, to moments of
true fury, as if the red-hot coals of hell itself were burning beneath his feet. And,
indeed, as is evident in Howard's lyrics, the conflict between purity and desire,
innocence and lust, faith and fall, is the source of his inspiration.
If any of the other three musicians
on the CD comes close to rivaling the sheer power of Howard's vocals, it is Fred
Frith. On every song Frith's inspired guitar work alternately accentuates
and counters the emotions established by the vocals, thereby in effect further empowering Howard's
words. Frith's performance also breaks with that of the other musicians by being
decidedly more experimental. If it was not for Frith, Meridiem would be a
reasonably conventional jazz and blues inspired work; with him, it becomes something a lot
less tangible, and ultimately much more interesting to listen to.
The mercurial musical sensibility
of Bill Laswell notwithstanding, he here assumes a rather subdued role. Remaining
largely in the background, he provides a steady flow of tempered bass pulses that on many
tracks serve as the glue that holds everything together. As such, Laswell plays
his part to the tee, yet, one inadvertently misses his usual striking and powerful
presence.
Charles Hayward stands for
the percussion, and although his work is both extremely accomplished and energetic, the
jazzy style of his drumming appears somewhat out of context at times, and seems more showy
than the arrangements warrant. Again, this is strictly a personal bias, and many will
probably find Hayward's drumming the spice that makes this musical meal perfect.
In the end it hardly matters who
steals the spotlight, and who remains in the shadows. Meridiem is above all a great
collaborative effort, and no matter how powerful each of the musicians' performances are
individually, the final result is greater than the sum of these individual parts.
