LA WEEKLY, Aug. 7-13th. Review written by John Payne in his column Third Ear:
Robert Williams Date With The Devils Daughter (Casual Tonalities)
Former Beefheart monster drummer is also a nifty arranger fiddling about with drum & bass-inspired orgies of nervous-breakdown MIDI sound. The opening cut has guest "Wild Man" Fischer leaving voice-overs on Robert's answering machine (glad he doesn't know my number). The disc is a cool, intelligent and funkily cerebral stew of speedy polymeters, info-overload samples and crosswires, and guests like Mark Mothersbaugh giving vent to their urban fears. Exhiliarating...
On my answering machine former Zappa/Beefheart Drummer and Marimba Player extraordinaire Arthur Dyer Tripp the Third (Ed Marimba) left this message and here it is: "Hi Robert, Art Tripp...uh...how's it goin'? (chuckle) I finally listened to your album and I really really enjoyed it, uh it's quite a production there, very impressive. Uh, I don't know what to say, I think probably one of my favorites is the one that has the most potential is that one called "Proof" although it was a little long. I think some of them were a little long but of course you gotta fill the time on the (chuckle) on the thing. But I'll tell ya I was really quite impressed with the production and the way you put it together. I liked "Barbara and Jay," uh "Frank and Don and Me," "My Big Brother"... or "My Brother in Law..." (chuckle) Big Brother...you know what I'm thinkin.' Anyway I'll talk to ya later and thanks for sending me the album. I enjoy listening to it."
BAM MAGAZINE
June 5, 1998
Written by Arthur Brennan
Former Captain Beefheart drummer Robert Williams' solo CD is a largely insturmental affair, featuring slick techno-oriented dance tunes, off-kilter Beefheartesque kitchen-sink reveries and swirling Arabic/Led Zep soundscapes. Devo vocalist Mark Mothersbaugh makes a distinctive guest appearance on "Barbara and Jay", but the track that will probably recieve the most attention is "John Liar", a scathing attack on John Lydon featuring a letter perfect imitation of Mr. Rotten by Williams. Not unlike PIL's anti-Malcolm McLaren rant "Lowlife", actually. Why all the ill will, you might ask? Well, interestingly enough, Williams was the plaintiff in the infamous Johnny Rotten/Judge Judy showdown last year. The judge ruled in favor of the legendary punk rocker, so one can only assume Williams has quite a bone to pick.
Subject: blind faith
Date: Tue, 9 Jun 1998 09:55:51 -0700
From: Steve Wik bosco@rspinc.com
To: willlbr@aol.com
the CD finally arrived yesterday! Took long enough but it's here. The T-shirt and personalized autograph were a pleasant surprize! I've only had time to listen to the first two tracks but I had to tell ya what I think so far...The first track was... interesting (that sounds bad, but keep reading) at first I was thinking "argh, self indulgent sound collage", but luckily I had the foresight to listen with headphones and I quickly realized that I was "inside" something, like a psycho-acoustical cartoon representation of being inside your head, an "environment" not just a bunch of weird sounds and crap.
Once I realized that the first track was just putting me in the proper frame of mind for what would follow I started to get into it a lot more. The second track was AWESOME! I loved the percussive nature of the arrangement and the layering of sounds and textures seemed perfect! I can barely explain why I liked this, there was so much great stuff going on in it! Everytime a new sound is introduced it seems to arrive at the perfect moment, right where it's needed. Lots of great interplay between textures and masterful application of tension and release, and nothing is overused.
I'm really enjoying the disk so far! Hopefully I'll be able to sit down and listen to the whole thing soon! I'm sure that the headphones made all the difference though, I don't think the tracks would have nearly the same impact if I'd tried to listen to them as "normal" music. These tracks are the closest thing I've yet heard to the "air sculpture" concept that Zappa always talked about. The sounds close around you and you experience the structure from inside. Just having them blaring at you from speakers wouldn't do them justice (unless you've got a surround sound setup going). This stuff is not normal. Keep sculpting!
Steve
Subject:DWDD
Date: Fri, 12 Jun 1998 20:52:35 -0700
From: "Voot Zombo" <zombo@northlink.com>
To: "Robert Arthur Williams" <willlbr@aol.com>
Hello Robert?... Robert, are you there?
But really, you asked for feed back on your album so here goes:
First off, THANK YOU very much for the autograph and t-shirt!
My job requires me to do a lot of driving around central Arizona so I've had plenty of time to listen to your CD from start to finish. This disk isn't easy to grasp on the first time playing it through. That's because each song is very different. It's not a typical tube of processed cheese food where you know exactly where each song is going to end up. It takes a bit of work to understand the individual songs and that's EXACTLY what I like. Most of the songs are fast paced and make for perfect driving music (I'm talking about blitzing along on dirt roads in my 4X4 doing about 60. Makes the drive enormous fun.).
The music seems very tight. It's like you're taking the Van Vliet method of heavy control over your musicians. Nothing wrong with that! The result is beautiful. These compositions are carefully crafted. That's obvious by listening to the various injections of heavy fuzz guitar here and off-tempo angelic voices there mixed in with the canned laughter and sudden changes in time-signatures and even insturment changes across the board. This album dosen't come off like a typical product from a drummer at all. It's too melodic. Okay, okay, I know you play keyboards too. It shows. I'm saying I had my doubts at first but the more I play this CD, the better I like it.
Other random observations:
My favorite tune (subject to change) on the album is "Between a fork and a knife". I love the Japanese poetry at the start and finish. Also, it's a great song. Beautiful the way the middle eastern stuff comes off. I would have boosted the early guitar parts. They sound great but seem a little lost in the background. They are brought out better in the 2nd half of the song. Second fav is "Date with the Devil's Daughter". Trombones and marimbas just do something for me. Least favorite: "Private Conversation", probably due to the tonal quality of the vocals. It jars my vision like sitting in a bathtub with an electric eel. Don't get me wrong, I like ALL the songs. I like the album more than I thought I would and I like it better with each listening. I also liked the way you stuck a 3rd version of Barbara and Jay in at the end of the CD. Nice touch. One last thing: I know this is YOUR album, and you deserve complete control over the content. However, I would have liked to hear more of Tepper's guitar and Mothersbaugh's keyboarding (which is altogether missing). This is not a criticism, it's a suggestion for future projects maybe, eh?
Alright! I like it! It's got me! I jump in the truck and shove it in the stereo right away, so there! Happy now?
Thanks again!
Voot Zombo
Subject:
My "Date With the Devil's Daughter"
Date:
Wed, 17 Jun 1998 01:22:19 EDT
From:
JDolan2110@aol.com
To:
Willlbr@aol.com
Just received my copy of the CD today - signed by your good self! - and have to say that after 3 listens ( yes 3 already) it was Blind Faith well repaid! It is a superb album, and one I am sure I will revisit regularly. My favourite track at the moment is your ode to the neighbours from hell ( the regular mix), sung by my all time favourite artist ( please say Hi from me next time you speak to Mark M) , but there are so many high spots that may well change .
Over the years I have actually assembled pretty much of a comprehensive collection of your solo stuff (Nosferatu, Buy my Record and Late one Night) - ostensibly because of the DEVO/ Mothersbaugh connection, but also because you happen to make damn fine records! I also really enjoy your art work and would love to visit a show - have you ever exhibited in the UK? How about a joint exhibition with Mark M - that would be really something!
Thanks for your time, and best of luck with the album - I will wear my t-shirt with pride!
Regards
Jim Dolan
.
