DOCTOR NERVE

Doctor Nerve is a project from guitarist and composer Nick Didkovsky who originally formed a large group of instrumentalists to perform his quirky compositions. The band itself has been around since the 80s. The music has been described as a hybrid of jazz, metal, avant-prog, but especially as a combination of all three.

"Loud" is a good way to describe the EP "Loud" from Doctor Nerve. It is a combination of heavy guitar and bass played against a cacophony of brass and wind instruments. The rhythm sections are pretty repetitive, but the guitar and brass is all mostly improvised, switching from normal to dissonant without warning, instruments played normally and then being abused crazily. It definitely takes a few listens for the sound to penetrate, and at first might seem like a bunch of chaos, but with practice, the individual tracks start to make a bit of sense.

What you have here is almost 18 minutes of music, 4 tracks that vary from 3 - 6 minutes and then 2 short tracks that barely make it to 10 seconds. It ends up being over rather quickly, so no one is really subjected to it for very long, at least that is how it looks on the surface. However, once you have downloaded the EP, you will notice that there are 11 bonus tracks included. Now, these bonus tracks are really just alternative versions of the tracks you have already heard, but the biggest difference is that the guitar solos are changed from the "normal" versions. That is because the solos are done by various guest artists like Mike Keneally, Shawn Persinger, Matt Hollenberg and others. There are also a few other tracks done solely by Doctor Nerve. It's pretty much more of the same. So, you can pretty much decide how much of it you can take.

While it is true that the music has a lot going on, it is quite angular and without a lot of dynamic, just loud and complex. As such, it can be hard to listen to, but with an album in EP format, that might just be the best way to listen to it. But with the bonus tracks, the band also shows how many different ways the music can be interpreted. Unfortunately, though it all sounds good on paper and in theory, it is not easy to listen to. The EP also doesn't really prove a lot for the music either. For that reason, this ends up being a 3 star release.

Found a used LP copy of this in a nearby Eugene, Oregon record store, and it really blew me away! I've been aware of Doctor Nerve since 1996, seen them described as something like "For those who no longer find Henry Cow challenging enough". I wouldn't say that, but it's still a wonderful and challenging listen like all the best in RIO. Armed Observation came out in 1987, on Cuneiform Records, a label which RIO seems to be a specialty (and it's nice to see Cuneiform Records is still around cranking out goodies). I remembered 1987 very well, being 14/15 that year. Mainstream music was pretty much a wasteland, you only needed to turn on to MTV or local rock station and get inundated with cheesy hair metal or synth pop. Debbie Gibson and Tiffany released their debuts, and Whitney Houston released her second album, which was equally popular as her debut. If, in the prog world, the best you can do is Big Generator by Yes, you're in trouble (Big Generator was a disjointed mess, and if you enjoyed 90125, you know that Big Generator just wasn't up to snuff). And of course Genesis still riding high from the previous year's Invisible Touch (but then Genesis hadn't really been prog since about the time Steve Hackett left, although you could argue about parts of Duke, though). Anyways, Armed Observation is just what I needed to hear from a 1987 release! Really twisted jazz-influenced RIO, that at times bring to mind the instrumental Zappa and Gentle Giant, both at their most "weird". The King Crimson influence has itself felt towards the end of the album with Fripp-like guitar. What I really love is the jazz approach. In the 1980s there was just way too much fuzak and smooth jazz infecting easy listening radio stations, and you can tell these guys wanted absolutely nothing to do with that, going for more of a late '60s/early '70s jazz influence. There's also a reminder of how Univers Zero may have ended up like if they were more jazz rock inclined. RIO is a genre that I don't always dig, as there is just way too much nonsense and messing about (too many groups trying to be "weird" for "weird's sake"), but I know good RIO when I hear it, and Doctor Nerve is one of those. This is just some crazy and demented stuff. The one Zappa song this album reminds me of is "The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue" from Weasels Ripped My Flesh, which was clearly Zappa going full-on RIO before it ever existed! I also really appreciate that Doctor Nerve avoided synthesizers like the plague, as much as I enjoy the sounds of synths, you have to bear in mind this was 1987, and pretty dreadful digital synths were the rule of the day, and these guys clearly wanted nothing to do with that. So much '80s music ended up dated, and these guys avoided those dreaded '80s production tricks that dated so much of the music of the era badly. I can see why this music was called "Rock in Opposition" (I realize the name was coined by Chris Cutler for some 1978 music festivals featuring Henry Cow and similarly like- minded bands), as it was truly "in opposition" to what was popular, where they refused to dumb-down their music to follow fads. Anyways, Armed Observation is truly one of the best albums I have heard from the 1980s and if the description sounds great to you, this is a required album in your collection!

Stravinsky meets Zappa and they're both on acid... Triple dose!

Truth be told, this description can easily encompass all of Doctor Nerve's live and studio albums, but then again the same summary also manages to emulate their diversity. But let us return to the review.

Nine years. That is the amount of time that took one of the most fascinating groups on the avant-garde scene to release its last album to date, the genuinely spectacular, The Monkey Farm. Recorded live at Roulette, a New York City venue renown for promoting contemporary innovative artists, The Monkey Farm, although possibly not the masterpiece its predecessor, Ereia, proved to be, still stands tall and proud, and very much unique among the albums Doctor Nerve have graced the world of music with.

For this 2001 Roulette gig, the mastermind behind Doctor Nerve, Nick Didkovsky, had conceptualised a musical setting for Charles O'Meara's comical, but sometimes rather sinister childhood recollections. As if wanting to continue in the tradition of Ereia which saw guests Sirius String Quartet honouring the audience with their presence and musical output, Didkovsky brought in theatre director Valeria Vasilevski to provide the narration for O'Meara's story. The outcome of this is a 36 track album which could have very well been a single mega piece as the episodes flow unaffectedly following the avant jazz rock sound Doctor Nerve has long acquainted its listeners with. Having the same line-up as on the previous album, the Doc lead by Nick Didkosvsky, precisely like in their prime with Out to Bomb Fresh Kings or Armed Observation, set to create an unbelievable amalgam of sounds which may seem to have no kinship with each other whatsoever, an acoustic anarchy which is simultaneously heading nowhere and all over the place, but which proves to be the perfect background for the equally twisted episodes about O'Meara's drunken father or the pleasures one finds as a child in harming animals. Furthermore, it is to be said that with the aid of a software which Nick himself helped develop, Vasilevski's voice is bent in real time so it would be in accordance with the instrumental parts.

All in all, after so many years of waiting, Doctor Nerve lives up to the expectations and manages to produce an album that is worthy of the band's name and legacy, an album that both has the sharp familiar sound and the right amount of twist which spells innovation in a time when the circumstances do not seem to facilitate it.

4 stars!

Jazz In Opposition

Coming together at Woodstock, this band sound slightly different than what you'd normally expect from this ancient hippie Mecca. CMS or the Creative Music Studio just outside of New York was a hot-bed for up and coming musicians that dared to be different. Starting way back in 1971, CMS was founded by Karl Berger, Ingrid Sertso and Ornette Coleman, which probably should give you a fair assessment as to how music in general was approached. The focus was largely on contemporary extravagant music - and how one would go about creating sounds and moods that mostly resided outside of the public radio sphere.

The different members of Doctor Nerve all met up at this place with head honcho Nick Didkovsky being the main instigator behind the proceedings - writing most of the music as well as handling the oddly cling clangy guitars. On this their sophomore release, the mood and unique 'Nerve' sound was finally attained - creating the sonic foundation for their future releases.

The music itself sounds like a loose fusion version of Henry Cow. The angular guitar motifs waffle around the atmosphere with a tight and somewhat mad rhythm section pulling the music into strange territories, where things are dissonant and fluid all at the same time. The thing is, that those drums sound like an infinitely long array of stop-starts - whilst the bass zooms very peculiarly and smooth underneath them - gluing this steam engine together like a tight bouncy vessel. Again, I am constantly reminded of Henry Cow with this band - and especially the combination of waffling guitar, stop-start drumming and that zooming bass - strongly echoes the mighty Cow - only much more focused on jazz.

If we're completely anal about this album - it'd be slightly wrong placing them in the RIO quarters, because RIO only really consists of those early pioneers that started playing at the original Rock In Opposition festivals back at the tail end of the 70s. THOSE are the real RIO bands, but the fact of the matter is, that there are many acts since who have carried on the flame - seeking to create music that spit in the face of contemporary radio hits and the whole media culture enveloping them. Doctor Nerve sound uncannily like a true RIO band to these ears, and people who find themselves allured by cling clang chords, dissonance and jumpy bizarre time-signatures should feel right at home with this wonderful band.

Over these aforementioned main ingredients though are some of my absolute favourite sprinklings the album has to offer, which incidentally also speak volumes about the fusion mask this band wears. Wind instruments! Trumpet, saxophone and bass-clarinet! All of these jazzy ingredients roam freely on the offering together with tumbling wild marimbas and other exotic and stuttering percussive spicings. Yes they are free to roam and roar like bats out of hell - yet at the same time they sport a somewhat loose childish approach to things - relegating an unsophisticated and at times purposely naive vibe to the feel. Kindergarden whistling perhaps - only here featured on grown up instruments played with vigour and power - supporting the meaty flavour of the rhythm section and guitar. Other times one of these tooting creatures breaks free in mad dashes that, I'll bet, would have dear old Ornette smiling proudly from ear to ear, by the fact that these youngsters were able to 'get it' and push the envelope - toot like the wind and shake things up effervescently and all over the place like he once did, back when all of this madness was in its pyjamas and but a mere exercise in futility and abnormal beauty. Well Ornette my man, we've come a long way since then, and most people may not feel comfortable around stuff like this, but to those of us who feel invigorated, electric and all tingly inside whenever the sounds of the opposition appear - we truly feel blessed and honoured to have music like this in our possession.

Doctor Nerve probably made Ornette proud - at least they continued the road he once walked - and each time I put this extravagant album on, I am reminded of this bond and heritage. This is essentially jazz in opposition with an affinity for the complex and hard hitting. It tears through flesh like a brute leaf blower, yet somehow all of this strange brutality feels oddly enamouring and bewitching. 4.5 stars and a big box of blue sandpaper.

Unlike most I prefer the debut to this the followup album released in 1987. I must say though that the three longest tracks on this one are killer and they make up almost half of the album. Again Didkovsky and company offer up a complex array of horn and guitar infested music while the drums and bass add a powerful foundation.

"Out To Bomb Fresh Kings" is uptempo with the horns honking. Nice bass and guitar too. It blends into "Mister Stiff Fries A Dozen" where the guitar leads and it stays uptempo. Drums and bass join in then dissonant horns.

"Sister Cancer Brother Dollar" has these strange vocal expressions and I love the bass / drum section too. Horns and dissonant guitar follows. "I Am Not Dumb Now" has this pulsating soundscape while "Keine Jazz Platte" is a brief German spoken word piece.

"Don't Be A Hog" features more music and more spoken words as horns end it. "Not Everyone's As Rich As Your Parents" is a top three for me. Drums, horns, bass, vibes and more lead the way. I like the horn and drum only section 3 minutes in. Big finish.

"Electric Guitar Solo" pretty much sums it up while "Three Curiously Instrumental Duets" follows.The second part is Chamber-like. "Portland Applauds The Radio" is a brief sample. "Atypical Tiple" has these intricate guitar sounds.

"Wir Sind Dickhauter" is better as we get a much fuller sound. Some vocal expressions too. Very complex stuff.Vocals end it. "Don't Worry Do" is a top three.We get intricate drums as angular guitar comes in. So good. Horns after 3 minutes.

"That Is When They Start To Have Their Own Way That Is When They Start To Get Out Of Hand" is the final track and my other top three.This one has plenty of violin in it startting after 1 1/2 minutes and it gets fairly dark too. It changes before 5 1/2 minutes as drums and horns take over.The guitar late lights things up.

An excellent album a worthy of a 4 stars rating.

Hard to believe this was released back in 1984. Nick Didkovsky is the leader of this American band and he plays a mean guitar. I first became aware of Nick through his collaboration with Hugh Hopper and FOREVER EINSTEIN's John Roulat and their project called BONE. Besides Nick there are 16 other people helping on on various tracks.This is powerful, dissonant, complex and usually uptempo. I didn't really appreciate it until I listened to it with my headphones on and gave it my full attention. Insane ! Lots of horns and vibes on this one.

"Mink Shadows" has these experimental sounds that come and go as the drums join in. Horns lead 1 1/2 minutes in and they get very dissonant.The guitar then leads as it trades off with the horns. "Unna" is uptempo with the vibes chipping in.

"It's A Tincture" is a short interlude piece with spoken words and laughter. Funny stuff. "Spy Boy" is catchy with the horns blasting away. "Spy Pie" opens with spoken words then this punchy beat comes in. Nice bass 1 1/2 minutes in as the vibes follow.

"Souls Of The Rich" is eerie to start then we get percussion and samples.Violin 1 1/2 minutes in. Such a cool track and a top three. "Nothing You Can Do Hurt Me" is another top three.Intricate sounds early as the horn and guitar play oposite roles yet they work together. I have no idea ? Then it picks up after a minute. Great sound. Guitar to the fore 3 minutes in. Amazing !

"A Hammer In His Hand" is uptempo and catchy. A change before 3 minutes as the bass and guitar lead.The horns before 4 minutes start to lead. Great sounding stuff. "A God That Can Dance" is more laid back for a change with horns and a beat.

"Personnal Dept." is a short spoken word piece. "Doctor Nerve" is the other top three tune for me.This just sounds so good with the beat, vibes, bass and horns. And when the guitar kicks in it's fantastic. Some crazy horns later.

A very solid 4 stars for this one. Man these people can play !

This is a fantastic album of mostly live songs. The three songs which aren't live are all created and performed by Nick Didkovsky's DrNerve.hsml software. These songs actually sound remarkably similar to Frank Zappa's Synclavier work on "Jazz From Hell". The live tracks are mostly from the first two studio albums, "Out To Bomb Fresh Kings" and "Armed Observation".

The recording quality is good, but not great for a live album. The horns and vibes are very clear sounding, but the guitar and drums sonetimes get lost under the rest of the band. The song selection is perfect. It contains all of my favorites from the first two albums. I especially like hearing "Mister Stiff Fries A Dozen", "Unna" and "Spy Boy".

This is a band that should be better known.

This, the third Doctor Nerve album, has a recording quality much better than the previous two studio albums, and, as usual, the music and artistry is spectacular. But this one loses point for a few details. First a few of the songs have vocals. By this I mean someone shouting at the top of their lungs. Second, the "Nerve Event" experiment. The last 44 tracks on the CD are very short snippets, notes and riffs, meant to be shuffled and played randomly. Since each has a second or two of dead space at either end, no matter how you shuffle them, they do not become a musical piece as intended, but remain a series of tiny edits.

But the bulk of the music is amazing. Much of it was composed with the assistance of a program created by guitarist Nick Didkovsky. There is even a "computer generated vibraphone piece which composes itself during the act of performance". I'm not sure how it was done, but it is an interestin concept. And a great listen. If you are not faint of heart.

Doctor Nerve's first album is a wonderful piece of RIO jazz rock. But that hardly describes it. Composer and guitarist Nick Didkovsky writes in the oddest time signatures, often at the same time. For example, in one song, "Spy Boy" most of the band is playing in 7/8, while the drums alternate between 6/16 and 4/4. And that's just one song.

The music is heavy with horns and vibraphone, often giving the band a sound that sounds like Frank Zappa on acid (sorry Frank, but it does). The music somehow manages to be catchy and alien at the same time.

The only downside is that some of the songs were recorded in less than optimal environments, and the sound suffers because of it. Otherwise, this is a must for the true RIO fan.

Back in 1987, during the dark years for progressive music, in the record store I worked in, we received a shipment of records from Cuneiform. In it was albums from Forever Einstein, Univers Zero, and Doctor Nerve. My life was changed. These were some of the most fantastic bands I had ever heard. And two, Doctor Nerve and Forever Einstein were going to play soon in a local club! There was hope for the prog fan.

This Doctor Nerve album is a masterpiece of RIO, sounding something like a big band version of Birdsongs From The Mesozoic with a big helping of Zappa. The music, all composed by guitarist Nick Didkovsky, features horns, vibes, violin, bass and drums playing frenetic music, often with unusual time signatures all piled on top of one another. If this is hard to picture, than you are on the right track. This music, although with the references I listed above, sounds like nothing you've ever heard before. It's worth hunting for.