Arthur Russell
First Thought Best Thought

"Arthur is one of the most surprising
and enigmatic composers of the 70s and 80s...
thanks to albums like this, music lovers
will have the chance to discover him for themselves."
P. Glass

There exist somewhat ambiguous and cross-genre figures in the world of music, about whom little is known, and that little is often incomplete or distorted, only to be later mentioned and publicly thanked by true Sacred Monsters (see P. Glass) who revive their glory and boost their standing.

Of this Arthur Russell, very little is known other than that he mingled in the alternative scene between the 70s and 80s, spanning various genres: from "disco" to early electronic house experiments, to reach purely experimental, minimalist, and "dissociated" music like the albums "World Of Echo" and "Another Thought," or the music contained in this recently released celebratory double work from Rough Trade titled "First Thought Best Thought."

The first CD contains unreleased tracks and quite rare gems gathered under the title "Instrumentals Volume 1," while "Instrumentals Volume 2" features tracks originally published in 1984 by Le Disques Du Crepuscule.
Defining these compositions as "brilliant" is, in itself, a brave and, in some respects, questionable venture, as these askew airs "on the verge of being off-key" played by few mostly orchestral instruments, present us with an artist completely outside any logic or metric commonly adopted by Western artists. It might be that Indian aftertaste heard in the first, hypnotic and suggestive track that lodges in the mind like an ancestral mantra of extraterrestrial nature, or that "modal" and "polyphonic" unsettling and unattractive style, despite a nod (and an ear) to "orchestral Beatles-like atmospheres in full psychedelic trip," the fact remains that these compositions (played mostly in minor chords on oriental scales) soar like strange creatures without sex or flag and won't leave us alone (listen to the unaligned minimalism of "Reach One" that makes reverberated percussion vibrate over bases played by two entirely alien and unclassifiable Rhodes pianos).

The second CD recovers "Tower Of Meaning," a long, almost lost and practically unfindable suite with tougher and more challenging music, arranged more pompously and monotonously, followed by "Sketch For The Face Of Elen," an unreleased composition paying homage to Philip Glass, Terje Rypdal, and heavier, more mannered minimalism.
In short, one emerges exhausted from this over 2-hour listening experience that offers little to no "easy grip" or "listening pleasure," all aimed at creating crystalline and tortuous weaves that, after the initial part of magnificence and charm, ultimately tire, creating that annoying and embarrassing sense of a "boring and often self-serving soundscape."
A double work that could comfortably have been condensed into a single album (perhaps less dispersive and more cohesive) and which, in its "bulk," proves exhausting and laborious in many parts, although at least 4/5 tracks from the first CD justify the entire cost!

Genius or not, this Russell still deserves a careful listen (especially the more inspired and enjoyable first CD) but be warned... always in small doses.
Bau Bye!!