Bill Frisell, Elvis Costello - The Sweetest Punch: Songs Of Elvis Costello And Burt Bacharach

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Music reviews of The Sweetest Punch: Songs Of Elvis Costello And Burt Bacharach

Music Review: Frisell Shows Chops as an Arranger
Rating: 4 Stars

If you asked the average Bill Frisell fan what Frisell does, the answer would probably be about his guitar playing. Pressed further, the fan might mention his song-writing and compositional ability, the versatility of his repertoire, his ability to assemble just the right musicians for each CD, etc., etc. But I'll bet you'd get pretty far down the list before his abilities as an arranger would come up, even though his arrangments are always masterful. Maybe that's because most of his albums contain mostly his own songs and we think of the arrangements asjust part of the compositions themselves. "The Sweetest Punch," with the compositional focus on other songwriters, shows off Frisell's skills as a master arranger.

Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach sent Frisell a tape of the songs that ended up on their collaborative "Painted From Memory" record. The tape contained only rough piano/vocal versions of the tunes, and Frisell arranged and recorded his interpretations at the same time Costello/Bacharach were developing and recorded theirs. Neither heard what the other was doing until they were both finished.

The songs themselves are, as you would expect, wonderful. If your snobbish side thinks the music of Mr. Bacharach to often be a bit...light, you might remember that he is one of the great masters of melody in the popular song during the last four decades or so. If you think his fare might be too light for interesting interpretation by someone of Frisell's depth, remember that you might arch an eyebrow if you heard a jazz great was arranging songs from Disney movies, too, until you heard Coltrane's readings of "My Favorite Things" and "Chim Chim Cherree." Frisell takes the beautiful raw material of these songs and shows he is as skillful an arranger as he is a guitar player.

I am reminded of Gil Evans's work with Miles Davis when I listen to this record. Just the right blend of harmonic and textural complexity and spareness reveal the sweet essence of these songs while developing the passion at their, core. The arrangements are for mostly winds, no strings except those on Frisell's guitar. Strings would have made these songs too sappy, but the wind arrangements allow sonorities and a percussiveness that bring out the dignity in them and an Elvis Costello edginess. Frisell's guitar, always restrained and tasteful, is downright self-effacing here, with only a few screamer, Frisell-guitar moments. No matter. Frisell's special genius is here anyway, realized largely through other instruments, but with his unmistakable signature touch just the same.

Description of The Sweetest Punch: Songs Of Elvis Costello And Burt Bacharach

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