Rake
The Art Ensemble Of Rake/The Tell-Tale Moog

Rake, an explosion of creativity. The Rake make a nice stew of music (with a drizzle of olive oil) and serve it up to us bold and brave listeners, who, like children, very often do not appreciate the nutritional properties of fruits and vegetables. And so we flush down the toilet fries, cutlets, and fatty meats, and for once, we savor the genuine taste of cabbage, potatoes, and beans. I mean, let us not be intimidated by these eighty-one (the tracks of this album) vegetable ingredients, sometimes a bit bitter, but which we know are a boon for our health; let this music cleanse our minds from banality like a good stew does with our intestines.

But who are the Rake? They are a band from Virginia founded in 1989 by Vinnie Van Go-Go (aka VVGG, aka OASTEM! Jim), Bill Kellum (owner of the label VHF), and C-Man (Carl Moller), a bunch of shameless pseudo-musicians. The fact that the group leader also owns the label gives them free rein for the creative development of their music. After releasing a cassette and then an album in 1994, the following year they created this majestic and intricate work. But what are the ingredients of this stew? Firstly, it's worth saying that their spiritual inspirators are the great figures of Krautrock, from the more cosmic ones like Klaus Shultze to the more devilish like Faust, and through the experiments of Can and Guru Guru. But if that is the inspiration, the attitude is the free and unrestrained one of the great eccentrics of rock. The noise style of Red Crayola is combined with the sense of disorder of Royal Trux, but also Coleman’s free jazz, Ayler’s jazz-I-don’t-know-what, genetic-sound manipulations worthy of the Residents, modern noise from Sonic Youth and the ancient kind  from Ammmusic, the latter perhaps the most evident reference. The spice of this exquisite dish is also the use of electronics, which is absolutely free, played mainly on the Moog. All of this serves only to give an idea of how their music is unconcerned with any regard for regularity, and you can find a bit of everything, including rattlesnakes and video game music.

So much improvisation, but also so many brilliant ideas, if in the first part there are long improvisations, the second part is made up of 75 tracks of one minute each, very often without continuity. Sometimes dispersive, sometimes direct, in this album you will find everything and nothing. Essential for those who want to understand the destructive effects of unbridled creativity.

Do not be afraid, but appreciate the organoleptic properties of this music. Diet of the week: Rake for lunch and dinner.