Drag City
Sir Richard Bishop : Polytheistic Fragments (US,2007)****°
It is great to notice how Richard Bishop in this collection spans and uses a very wide range of possibilities of expressions, which brings us also back to the first chapter of his works, and the now sold out album “Salvador Kali”. It is incredible how he sounds intuitive, inspired and skilled in so many semi-genres and areas, which always seem to be chosen at will. I will try to describe the featured tracks shortly, to give an idea of which kind of excursion is travelled to, the next. The title “Polytheistic fragments” I guess refers to this variety, from different origins, which are all founded by some kind of spiritual ground of foundations to live, to encourage, and to inspire. If someone, like a guitarist, adapts himself to that essence to live, he captures that spirit also in his creative force, like small flames of inspirations.
“Cross My Palm with Silver” has a certain Spanish flavour, with use of certain heavy brushing strokes that seems to wish to wash away the chords of resonance, as well as with fast played pickings and rhythmic wheels ; performed as if like by a gypsy who you can not fool with the limitations of musical patterns. “Hecates Dream” is a multi-track excursion on electric guitar, using echoing pickings –I will describe it as if picking flies from the sky, with the specific cries that follow-. “Elysium Number Five” is an up tempo acoustic track, which is more dancing and swinging. It lasts two minutes only, but is rich enough to contain a whole story. “Rub’al Khali” sounds a bit like an oud improvisation, but I guess is played with guitar. “Free Masonic Guitar” follows greatly after this. It is a strange combination of heavily resonating chords that could recall many traditions without belonging to any of them (Spanish, American, Middle Eastern, blues …). This track is full of instant invention, and captures the genius possibility of the moment. It increases its energy like the best flamenco, raga or whatever developed musical form is able to do so, while this is more avant-garde than any ethnic style, while still holding the middle between melody, rhythm, and invention. Not out of its place is the track after this, called “Cemetery Games” arranged with piano, percussion and guitar. This sounds more like prepared notes of piano with guitar, as if taken from a Cage composition, mixed with a simple ritual rhythm. After this short track and idea, “Quiescent Return” returns to a guitar composition piece, slightly classical in nature. “Saraswati” with piano (slightly resonating) and tampura drone refers of course to Indian music, and makes a raga sound like a moody random piano improvisation. “Tennessee Porch Swing” brings us back, with a melodic composition of a variation of its origins, to some good ol’ American pickings. Also “Canned Goods & Firearms” with amplified guitar, and a hump stomp double bass rhythm Swing on the background, gives a variation of …-I am not absolutely sure what to name this context or genre-. It is as if suddenly one guy in that genre has so much pleasure in what he’s doing, jazz-swing almost becomes Hawaiian, in a way a cowboy magician could hypnotise people so much (with his playing) they would see him swing with a Hawaiian skirt on (not true, but the feeling remains). “Ecstasies in the open air” is a calmer closer. It features also flute sounds, and sounds more like the ending of a classic early 70s pop album, perhaps with some Beatles associations.
Maybe everybody would see these tracks a bit differently, or will have different associations while listening, perhaps even depending on the moment and the degree of concentration. But in any occasion, I think every listener must be convinced that this is not a regular journey. In daily reality, it is hard to notice so much on any single occasional trip, without the right feeling for the backgrounds of things and people and facts someone meets on their way. Just imagine that someone could really capture so much variety when meeting things in the world..
