Originally posted by teamsaint
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"Climate of Hunter" could have been the consequence of very many things. Boredom, imagination, dissatisfaction, artistry, artistic pretension, laziness, a wish to be challenging, the zeitgeist, worries about a fading voice, disilluionment with the industry or the need to be taken seriously in the much longer term. Who knows? It was compelling for its difference and its bloody mindedness. If the classical guys were getting away with it, why shouldn't those in the mainstream? He too could be almost a classical composer. There would probably be automatic acclaim. A body of work followed at leisurely pace. It was to show that the record wasn't a novelty but the long gaps were also a signal that it hardly mattered. He would do precisely what he wanted to do. Fair enough.
Still, if a musician is going to be cutting edge, there are potential pitfalls. It doesn't necessarily work as well as it might do if he becomes stuck in a groove. Where this latest offering possibly differs is that it is more acutely absurdist. The overwrought nature of the music and the lyrics are offset with questionable witticisms. There is still that somewhat atonal approach, there are the usual slabs of percussion and expect the same wacky interludes with unexpected musical instruments. There are also vague world music leanings in this one. They haven't been as obvious before. At times, it reminds me of the earlier records by 23 Skidoo.
The structures are typically loose and fit around the lyrics which are poetical in character. The way they are scattered suggests the beatniks but the content might be nearer to Blake. I have to say that regular references to veins and entrails can lead to deep sighing in me. While I find his choice of language often interesting - he locates good words - and he has thoughtful angles on the excesses of power, there is also an aggression that is flattening. Age wise, he is coming up to 70. That mix of bludgeoning and bodily fluids is more commonly a theme in post-adolescent material. As indeed is smashing things up. I am not in principle against the deconstruction of a persona, any myths surrounding it, the concept of music or listeners' comfortable expectations. However, what passes for complex and substantive is often what can easily be bashed out though that isn't wholly true in his case.
Clearly there is thought alongside the apparent absence of thought. There is subtlety in the sledgehammer assault on the senses. But by all accounts there was a serious Scott Walker ballet in the latter part of the last decade. It wasn't wholly well-received by the classical music press and that would have put a spanner in the works. I think it is the reason for the humour in this CD. It is as if he has gone past caring. And I do think that there is something rather wilful in the man. He was blessed with one of the finest voices and decided even that wasn't good enough for him. The truth is that there is ego in the non-ego too. He turns his back on celebrity and disappears for decades. For all of the artistic standing in dark shadows, I think he still wants his presence to be felt.
Looking forward to them - and enjoy. My comments were a bit harsh and I was using a bit of poetic licence on the composers I mentioned. I do like Gordon Crosse. On balance, I would give the CD 3 out of 5. At least he always gives us something to consider.
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