We Are Everywhere - Page 2

Listening to a musician follow his desires, if you can put aside your demands as a fan, is rewarding for both parties involved. A listener to The Intercontinentals is advised to wisely put aside any hopes of hearing Frisell break out with a moaning, sighing solo at any point in the album, as he would do on earlier albums. What the listener will get, however, is another rewarding slice of Americana, tinted this time by a very slight Latin slant in places with the addition of some percussion elements and vocals of Vinicius Cantuaria, in others by more ethnic instruments such as the oud and bouzouki of Christos Govetas and calabash, djembe, and congas of Sidiki Camara. This is not to say that the album is significantly Latin or Indian in nature - they are simply touches here and there. Frisell's fascination with the down-south backwoods is still loud and clear, and is accentuated by Greg Liesz' soulful slide and pedal-steel guitars and the violin of Jenny Scheinman.

In many ways, The Intercontinentals serves as a worthy counterpart to Blues Dream, following a similar slow-burn approach that will continue to reward the listener the more familiar it becomes. Both albums draw the same first impression - that there is much here to comprehend and it may take some warming up to. Several years later, Blues Dream, after having initially elicited a cold response, has become a clear gem among Frisell's stunning releases. There is no doubt that The Intercontinentals will summon the same feelings soon too.

Article Author: Tom Johnson

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