CREEDLE

The three-part title track (7 minutes) opens the album with a drifting psychedelic guitar waltz, abruptly stopping 2 minutes in and changing to a fast swing shuffle with unison sax/guitar. For the last half of the song, the tempo and volume jump to a higher level, revisiting the chord sequence of the intro but in more powerful rock fashion. The next two tracks, "Rabbi Steinman's Happy Hour Frito Boats" and "Stardust Hotel and Casino", are delightfully playful and energetic jazzy 5-minute instrumentals - the first built on a Hebrew-sounding melody with myriad variations, the second sounding a bit like a spy movie theme. A brief instrumental snippet called "The Gircle" follows, a funk-jazzy vamp probably edited out of a jam, sounding a bit like those funky instrumentals on the Beastie Boys' "Check Your Head". The album contains a few more instrumental jazzy numbers, in a variety of styles. "Los Calapalos, Los Capalapalos" adds a Latin flavor, "La Chanson de l'Espion Detectif" is total spy music, and "Bossa Me (You're Not The)" brings in a bossa nova beat. Not all of these are indispensable, and one could argue that they are a bit too similar to all share an album, but by themselves they're each great in their own way. Fans of John Zorn's Naked City should take note here.

"Fisher Price" offers us a clear album highlight - the vocals are back now, twisting a series of wordy tongue twisting verses over an acoustic Hebrew-Tango rhythm, with electric guitar and sax taking the instrumental lead melodies. If I had to release a single from this album, this would be my clear choice. Fun and accessible, while also exciting and complex (check out those speedy unison runs!).

Several songs on this album keep the music simple - kind of serving the function of keeping the album and band down to earth. "Wisdom Tooth", for example, is a simple, demo-level three chord lo fi indie rock song, and the brief "Kansas" acoustic goof a few songs later also lightens the mood. Later, "Film Co-Work Co" offers a more fleshed out indie rock song, starting simple but adding layers as it goes. And finally, "Golden Gate" offers a similar stripped-down approach.

Lastly, there are the two really long pieces, one sitting threateningly in the middle of the album (called "Middletown", appropriately enough), and one closing the album, the terrifying "Pretty Ugly, Act 1". "Middletown" (10 minutes) gives us a very different style from anything else on the album - it appears to be their take on the type of math rock song first introduced on Slint's deadly "Spiderland" album from 1991 (it reminds me a lot of "Washer" from that album). Quiet verses with suspenseful lyrics give way to roaringly loud choruses for the first half, and the whole band kicks in for a Kashmir-like riff in the second half.

The final track, "Pretty Ugly, Act 1" ("Act Two" perversely appeared earlier on the album, lasting under 30 seconds long) offers the album's most complex rhythms, most aggressive band attack, and just basically shows you every trick the band has ever had, all wrapped up in one monstrous 8 minute song. The way the song almost dies halfway through, only to gradually seep back through your speakers before coming to a roaring climax, is a wonder to behold. Probably the best possible way they could have ended this album, not to mention their career.

This is the album to start with for prog fans. Although it's their most seamless album, it still has enough flaws to make me hesitate giving it five stars. But suffice to say that there are enough "wow" moments on this album to please just about anybody interested in daring, aggressive, and eclectic rock music.

Much has happened in music since then, with progressive rock continuing to come in more and more aggressive, dissonant forms; yet this album still retains the ability to excite and raise an eyebrow. While not quite as tight and focused as their subsequent albums, its complex precision and fearless eclecticism still makes this an audacious debut.

Opening with the ominously quiet bass/drums/clanging guitar harmonics, the 7 minute opener "Super Moto-X" serves as a good encapsulation of this album, as it rares back two minutes in and delivers a punishing, dissonant riff around which the rest of the song is built. Vocals are shout/sung, yet still stress melody over cacophany (though vocals are admittedly not the band's strong suit). "Maiden" continues the album in a similar fashion, adding a few more odd-metered riffs and sudden stop/starts in differing tempos. "Pretty Girls" is the first of many short, abbreviated song segments that will continue to punctuate their albums. "Bark!" is a surprising turn into abstract group improvisation, a seemingly formless blob of restrained noise, and a bit of a waste of time.

"Really" puts the album back on track, a tough melodic mid-tempo rocker with a really strange riff in the chorus that seems to erupt out of nowhere - yet it qualifies as the song's "hook". Great melody/riffs everywhere in this song, and the song's coda catapults it to a new level, introducing a brand new musical theme that offers a cathartic conclusion. This song is followed by a bit of light punk/pop, a bit of nonsense called "The Haunted Pop-Tart", a wonderfully infectious piece of bubblegum punk that always gets me revved up. It even stops halfway through to go into a slow mock-reggae section, only to rev up again to full speed. Beautiful. "Llahmit" brings back the free form noise, this time at full throttle volume with squealing sax. OK. Exciting, at any rate, and not too long. "Family Sky" introduces a new kind of song that would continue to pepper their albums -- lo fi semi-acoustic, stripped down simple tunes. This kind of approach bears some affinity to the then-burgeoning alternative/indie rock scene. Nothing really progressive about it, but adds variety to the album.

AND THEN! Oh my God, "Mrs. Ip", one of the most incredible pieces of music the band ever produced. Beginning with a "Take Five" jazz guitar and piano introduction, it suddenly crashes into an extremely fast riff monster with time signatures designed to throw the listener overboard every sixteen bars or so, only to reel him back in to continue the roller coaster ride. The song appears to be about Mark Twain (with Mrs Ip being the Mississippi River) and the spelling of the word "Mississippi" forms the rhythmic basis of the piece. Don't even ask what time signature it's in. One of the most exhilaratingly complex punk tunes I've ever heard.

Unfortunately, the remainder of the album (and it's a long album) begins to drag after this. You get a couple more 6+ minute epics in "Trombino" and "Wild Kingdom", and a catchy rocker in the "Really" mode called "Pieboy", but very little that you haven't already heard by now. The album ends on a quizzical note, the lengthy "298-4869", which is mostly just a recorded telephone conversation.

An album littered with absolute classics ("Really" and "Mrs. Ip" in particular), but overall there's a bit too much here to stay consistently engaging. Also, for most prog fans, this album might lean a bit too heavy in the punk direction for your tastes. Future albums by Creedle would get more refined and incorporate more prog rock elements. I'll give it a strong three.