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LA RECENSIONE
John Zorn and his musicians, John Zorn and his music, John Zorn and his city, his naked city: New York City with its load of genius, madness, freedom, and violence, a violence that hovers in the grooves of the record and is unequivocally announced by the chilling beauty of the cover.
In just under an hour, Zorn distills twenty-six tracks marked by the power of inventiveness and interpretation, assisted in this crazy and intense journey by Frisell on guitar, Horovitz on keyboards, Firth on bass, Baron on drums, and Yamatsuka Eye on vocals. The album opens with the first gunshot that hits the mark right away: Batman, a sweeping piece, a true musical hurricane, and the sound storm continues, breaking down one by one all those barriers imposed to limit music, to divide it into genres in the name of the god of money and the goddess of ignorance. Thus, everything coexists perfectly in Naked City, from the interpretations of the soundtracks (The Sicilian Clan, A Shot In The Dark, Chinatown, and the James Bond theme) to the central tracks of the album that are halfway between manga culture and Death Metal. Also noteworthy is the cover of Lonely Woman and the exceptional Saigon Pickup, Graveyard Shift, and the final Inside Straight.
Naked City is one of those albums capable of changing the vital course of every individual's musical tastes, an unsettling album at times, soothing, almost magical at others, then from intensity it gives way to the playfulness of music only to suddenly leave it behind and embrace fiery emotions drawn from a thousand kisses deep. Aggressive, furious, and astonishing, Naked City is an album beyond all preconceptions and contains music without limits and without deception!
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Summary by Bot
John Zorn's Naked City album is a thrilling journey through musical innovation and genre fusion. Featuring intense performances and inventive soundtrack covers, it challenges musical norms with emotional and aggressive intensity. The album uniquely captures the spirit of New York City’s chaotic energy and diverse culture.Tracklist Videos
John Zorn
American composer, saxophonist and producer known for prolific, genre-crossing work (avant-garde, jazz, film music, klezmer) and founder of the Tzadik record label.40 Reviews
Other reviews
By Armand
The album is unsettling, an unbelievable punch in the balls for how logical this work is.
John does us the favor of making us understand the extent of our masochism, because at the end of listening there’s a mad desire to put this garbage back on.
