On Saturday, February 22, 1992 at 3:12:45 PM UTC-5, stu...@vax1.umkc.edu wrote:   
   > In article <22620@scorn.sco.COM>, graham@ug.cs.dal.ca (Michael Graham)   
   writes:   
   > >   
   > > I wrote this review for our university paper, but I need some feedback. I   
   > > am not sure that I did a good job of reviewing an album that I find pretty   
   > > well perfect. Any constructive criticism would be great.   
   > >   
   > > thanks - it will be printed early next week.   
   >   
   > its a good review.  print it.  a bit technical, but it justifies itself with   
   an   
   > excellent explanation of the music.   
   > sharon turner, conservatory writer-University News, University of   
   > Missouri-Kansas City   
   >   
   >   
   > >   
   > >   
   > > Uzeb: 99.43104% Brilliant   
   > >   
   > > Michael Graham   
   > > Music   
   > > Uzeb   
   > > World Tour 90   
   > >   
   > > Ever heard of a band called Uzeb? If not, that's understandable - very few   
   > > people seem to know about them. You may have seen them on Much Music. They   
   > > have that video with all the milk. It gets played about once every month as   
   > > a time killer. They seem to get no exposure at all. This is truly sad   
   > > considering that they are Canadian and are one of the most interesting   
   > > instrumental bands around.   
   > >   
   > > Uzeb is a Montral trio who formed in 1977, released their first album in   
   > > 1981, and have been playing their unique flavour of fusion ever since. The   
   > > band consists of Paul Brochu (percussion), Alain Caron (basses), and Michel   
   > > Cusson (guitars and main composer).   
   > >   
   > > The band embraces technology, using midi instruments and such, but this is   
   > > never used as a crutch of any sort; just an extension to their already   
   > > phenomenal musical abilities. On World Tour 90 for example, Cusson will   
   > > occasionally play keyboard parts through his guitar, and on the song "Aprs   
   > > Les Confidences" Alain Caron plays a beautiful flute solo through his six   
   > > string fretless bass.   
   > >   
   > > World Tour 90, Uzeb's latest release, is a collection of recordings from   
   > > their last tour of Europe (where they find the most popularity), and it   
   > > shows the band at their best. Most of the songs off of this double cd are   
   > > from the two previous Uzeb albums Noisy Nights and Uzeb Club. The songs can   
   > > sometimes run as long as 14 1/2 minutes, but they never seem to drag. In   
   > > addition to their own material they also do covers of "Blue'N Green" by   
   > > Miles Davis, and Donna Lee (acoustically) by Charlie Parker.   
   > >   
   > > I cannot emphasize enough how musically brilliant these three guys are.   
   > > Alain Caron's fretless solos on such songs as "New Hit", "Perrier Citron"   
   > > and "Loose" are beautiful. His tone, fluidity, vibrato and chording are   
   > > truly amazing. Caron is no slouch on the fretted bass either. He has the   
   > > slap/pop technique down. "Wake Up Call", for example, is the funkiest bass   
   > > playing I have ever heard (yes, I've heard everything by the Red Hot Chili   
   > > Peppers). A further testimony to his bass playing abilities is heard on   
   > > "Donna Lee" where Caron plays some brilliant acoustic bass.   
   > >   
   > > Michel Cusson is a very talented guitarist to say the least. His playing on   
   > > World Tour 90 is original and diverse. He is well versed in jazz, rock and   
   > > funk guitar and he is, for the most part, responsible for the composition   
   > > of the 18 songs on this double cd. His playing throughout the album is   
   > > great. "Home", "Uzeb Club" and "Loose" are some standouts.   
   > >   
   > > Paul Brochu is a very solid, tight jazz and rock drummer with a lot of   
   > > finesse. He really shows his stuff on "Riff 55" and "Not Even the Shadow of   
   > > the Tail of a Lizard". He also makes excellent use of his array of   
   > > "effects" to create intense grooves and jungle-like rhythms on some songs.   
   > >   
   > > So we have three god-like instrumentalists - so what? Technical virtuosity   
   > > does not imply great music. In the case of Uzeb and World Tour 90 it does!   
   > > Uzeb works as a band extremely well. All three musicians combine their   
   > > talents to make each song as great as possible. And the songs are great! In   
   > > addition, the variety of songs is important to point out. Uzeb is not a   
   > > talented, but lifeless band. Some of their songs are wild, with screaming   
   > > guitar solos and slap bass. Others are the opposite. The rest of the songs   
   > > lie somewhere in between.   
   > >   
   > > The only complaint that I could find after scrutinizing/reveling in this   
   > > 116 minute double cd many times is that Michel Cusson's solo at the end of   
   > > "Spider" is very disjointed. He gets into Eddie Van Halen mode for a minute   
   > > and then seems to lose it for about 40 seconds. Maybe too much   
   > > adrenalin...I don't know. So that is my sole complaint about Uzeb's World   
   > > Tour 90. I tried very hard to find something to complain about too! To add   
   > > some more icing to the cake, this is the highest quality live recording I   
   > > have heard (DDD for those with cd players). So, overall if you can put up   
   > > with 40 seconds of not so great guitar  soloing (out of 116 minutes of   
   > > brilliant music!) buy this double cd!   
   > >   
   > > --   
   > > Michael Graham         |   Lifdu i lukku, en ekki i krukku.   
   > > graham@ug.cs.dal.ca    |   (Live in luck, but not in a jar.)   
      
   * Nice review Michael - I have been a huge fan since the early 80's and remain   
   so today. Uzeb is pure musical magic :)   
      
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