| Artist: | Track: | Rating: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Ayub Ogada | Obiero | | | | | |
| 2. The Meters | Keep On Marching | | | | | |
| 3. Peter Hammill | Oasis | | | | | |
| 4. Dmitri Pokrovsky Ensemble | Pine Tree & On The Street | | | | | |
| 5. William Orbit | Best Friend, Paranoia | | | | | |
| 6. Tony Levin | Lone Bear | | | | | |
| 7. Alex Gifford | Morecambe Bay | | | | | |
| 8. David Rhodes | Down By The River | | | | | |
| 9. Brian Eno | Triennale | | | | | |
| 10. Doudou N'Diaye Rose | Rose Rhythm | | | | | |
| 11. Manu Katche | Silence (remix) | | | | | |
| 12. Hossam Ramzay | Baladi We Hetta | | | | | |
| 13. Shankar'n'Caroline | Dreams | | | | | |
| 14. Kudsi Erguner | Suhelyn | | | | | |
| 15. Daniel Lanois | El Conquistador | | | | | |
As the title might imply, Plus From Us was released in 1993 as a companion album to Peter Gabriel's Us. Most of the artists who appear on this album also contributed to Gabriel's work; all of them have some affiliation with either Gabriel or the Real World label.
This album is successful on two levels. On one hand, it allows many of Gabriel's sidemen to step to the foreground, for a change. On another, it provides an effective survey of Real World's depth of talent, allowing various less-than-famous musicians to be granted further exposure to Gabriel's audience. About the only quibble that one might have about this release is the fact that some (but not all) of these tracks are available on other albums as well, and that some carry-over will necessarily occur for any completist. Still, this is not too serious of a complaint.
Please note that Peter Gabriel does not appear on this album.
As would be expected, the album explores several diverse musical pathways. The opening track is "Obiero" by Ayub Ogada, a lengthy and sparse African track featuring a prominent percussion role. Ogada's voice is obviously the focal point of this track; his voice resonates an experienced overview of the musical proceedings, and is sonically quite impressive. This work is extremely repetitive, but no less impressive as such (perhaps "hypnotic" would be a better choice of words). All told, this is an excellent introduction.
"Keep On Marching", by The Meters, is somewhat less impressive. Aside from the accents of the singers and the fact that this track features a more conventional "African" use of the guitar (ie. more for rhythm than melody), this could pass for a "western" populist-rock song without too much difficulty. This criticism only applies to the relative merit of the song in comparison to the previous track, however; whatever its form, its content is actually fairly good. Still, this isn't an essential aspect of the release.
Peter Hammill's "Oasis" (also available on Fireships) is one of the masterworks of this release. Despite its rather simple base of minimal keyboards and (seemingly programmed) percussion, this track unfolds in a way which vividly portrays the sensual release of the title theme (presumably after a lengthy period of dearth). The trumpet addition fits this theme remarkably well, and Hammill's vocals (and lyrics) provide the necessary thrust to make the song truly effective. An easy highlight.
Following this comes one of the more curious parts of this release. "Pine Tree & On The Street" is, quite literally, a medley of "Pine Tree" and "On The Street", two tracks from the Dmitri Pokrovsky Ensemble's The Wild Field release. The songs (Russian folk melodies, in both cases) are fine, but they simply don't work together: "Pine Tree" is a track for female solo, seemingly a lament -- "On The Street" is a much more Dionysian number, involving a choral performance. These tracks are "merged" via a rather obvious fade-in. The songs themselves probably deserve higher ratings; the mix deserves lower -- ergo, "* * * 1/2" seems the most appropriate rating.
William Orbit's "Best Friend, Paranoia" begins as an ambient electronica number in the style of The Orb and related groups (ie. various things are hidden in the background on several occasions). After a sparse, contemplative opening, a dance-oriented theme ultimately develops (with lyrics suggesting a "high art by the uneducated" motif). It seems rather derivative of other electronica, but, as Orbit is elsewhere described as a "pioneer" of the genre, this may simply be a case of mistaking innovation for subsequently common activities. A good track, nonetheless.
This track then segues smoothly to Tony Levin's "Lone Bear" (a stick solo, and the first solo track ever released by the notable progressive bassist). This track features numerous explorations of the low notes, minor accompaniment from the "guitar" range of the instrument, and some Fripp-like overlays (underlays?) against which the true soloing occurs. Much of this track is similar to King Crimson's Beat, in sonic terms. The primary disadvantage of this track relates to Levin's skills as an arranger; on some occasions, the track seems to be sacrificing musicality for the sake of either virtuosity or spectacle. But this doesn't apply to the entire track, and its fairly impressive in any event. The shift to a string bass effect at the end (over a melodic guitar passage) is a nice touch.
Alex Gifford's "Morecambe Bay" is next. This is another of the more impressive works on the album, featuring a string quartet with piano accompaniment. The piece is extremely moving and extremely melodic; the minimalism of its structure does not negate either of these. This piece doesn't require extended analysis, but is still quite impressive.
The greatest surprise of the album may be the high quality of David Rhodes's "Down By The River". Rhodes has always been a guitarist of limited skill; perfect for a rhythm-oriented position in Gabriel's band, he isn't the sort of individual one would rate on one's "top guitarists" lists for any given year. Rhodes get around this problem, however, by not focusing on his guitar-playing abilities -- the track is not an instrumental showcase, but a "song" in the proper sense of the word (telling the story of a poor African woman whose dreams are symbolized by the river which she eventually merges with). Rhodes proves himself as a lead vocalist of some ability (sounding rather like Gabriel at times), and the flute background provides the needed musicality. A surprising triumph.
Brian Eno's "Triennale" (also the leading track on The Shutov Assembly) is one of his ambient numbers, proving amazingly effective at producing the relaxed atmosphere which was obviously his intention. Similar in form to parts of Apollo, this is an extremely impressive work of instrumental texturing (despite, or perhaps because of, its profoundly minimalist nature).
"Rose Rhythm", by Doudoud N'Diaye Rose, is another of the album's highlights, though it evidently requires visuals for the full effect. This is an African drumming number, featuring a team of percussionists proving that high levels of experimentation can occur in a mostly 4/4 piece. One presumes that this is more appropriate experienced with a (dance?) performance as well, but the music itself is still fairly impressive.
Manu Katche's "Silence" isn't really that impressive of a song, but the production qualities on this track improve its rating considerably. Katche's voice isn't quite as good as the other musicians who appear on this album, and the song seems rather conventional; still, the Orb-esque effects and Eno-esque tones make for a reasonably enjoyable listening experience.
"Baladi We Hetta", by Hossam Ramzay is a piece for percussion and accordion, with the former eventually coming to dominate the piece completely. This is another very impressive work, with both players creating an impressive musical mood through their performances.
One might expect any song by a duo named "Shankar'n'Caroline" to feature a violin-heavy melodic line with female lead vocals. Instead, "Dreams" turns out to be a a highly spiritual number, with a primary emphasis on vocal performances (Shankar is by far the better singer of the two, though Caroline's role is generally kept within decent manners of expression). This track has strong ties to the music of Passion, and sounds extremely impressive as such. Another easy highlight.
Kudsi Erguner's "Suhelyn" is a piece for (presumably North) African flute. The melody of this piece is quite enjoyable, and is most notable for the seeming ease in which Erguner is able to reach some of the higher notes here.
Finally, Daniel Lanois's "El Conquistador" shows the world-famous producer using his "more-concrete-than-Eno-but-otherwise-similar" talents to a strong effect. The lush atmospherics are merged with some dissonant section; what Eno would have done on synthesizers, Lanois does on electric guitar. Somewhat amorphous, this is nevertheless an extremely fitting ending the release.
Somewhat uneven and extremely diverse, Plus From Us is nevertheless recommended listening for all Gabriel fans (and most progressive fans as well).
(review originally posted to alt.music.yes on 17 January 1998; updated 25 January 1998)