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| Value for Money | 6/10  |
|---|---|
| Overall rating | 6/10 |
Full review by
jfderry
on 25th Jun 2007
User Rating : 6
Respect :
0
Gary Husband, Diary Of A Plastic Box
1 Invocation
2 England Green
3 The Signpost Maker
4 View from the Scaffold & Dream of Love
5 2 mins 16 seconds for Miles Dewey
6 Talking Traffic Light
7 Something She Said
8 The Stranger
9 Alan Murphy & White and Dark Ribbon
10 Young Mice & Moviehouse
11 Flashback
12 Le Petit Chemin de Fer
13 Blue Dreams
14 Savoy
15 The Photograph
16 Eyes of a Clown
17 Promises Promises
18 Little Harbour & Night Star
19 Some Splintered Road Jazz Pt. 1&2
20 Shapes in the Snow & Quiet Street
21 D j Express
22 ...A Last Word
Recorded in hotel rooms throughout the world.
Also during tour bus journeys, years '89 thru
to '95 to Casio or Sony portable DAT tape recorders.
Compiled and Conceptualised - Gary Husband April 98
It's been clear for some time that Gary Husband is operating in a plane of conciousness several feet above most of the rest of us, and now you can steal a peek at some of the machinations behind his success. "Diary of a Plastic Box" is a sketchpad of ideas that Husband has been carrying around with him while touring over several long years; camped out in hotel rooms and during studio downtime were his only opportunities to get any of it recorded. Then it's release was plagued with publishing contracts and conditions (this is something he's having to get used to!) but his tenacity paid off and his fans were grateful, its first release quickly sold out, but now here's another chance to grab this rarity while stocks last.
In his own words ...
I had been avoiding wasting time in hotel rooms and dressing rooms etc. literally writing and recording Diary Of A Plastic Box, which turned out to be my first release actually. It's an album I would like to put out again by the way, with the addition of extra material I found. This was all a private pursuit around this time though, but a very fulfilling one. I hold a tremendous amount of personal attachment actually to that music I was forming then with the one synthesizer, and I think a lot was really coming together on my keyboards side generally during those years and that album, as strange and idiosyncratic as it is, remains a very good documentation of a lot of that development. It actually really documents my soloing style coming together as it was around then. Anyway, it'll probably be a double CD package version this time when I find a way to do it, and this time it'll be called The Complete Diary Of A Plastic Box.
Although this album is vital in understanding the amazing route Husband has taken to get the formidable reputation that he has today (he is very much more than an excellent drummer) it is not a particularly satisfying album - more intriguing than entertaining. That's not to criticise the musicianship, the compositions are first class and Husband's keyboard playing is a mixture of ethereal landscapes and funky hardnose, and alone would make him stand out. However, because of the limited resources he had to produce this recording, his ideas were worked out only on a synthesizer which is ironic that we're reduced to synth drums from a master drummer. This and the overall tacky, temporary synth feel get in the way of the music which is otherwise packed with great ideas and strong melodies along the lines of colleagues Allan Holdsworth and John McLaughlin, with some Frank Zappa-style orchestration thrown in for good measure. So, now that he is increasingly being given chances to display his writing skills (for example, on Jason Smith's "Think Like This" and on his own "A Meeting Of Spirits") and, generally, patience with his career is proving worthwhile (he is receiving that hard-earned recognition), "Diary of a Plastic Box" feels premature as an official release, and now Husband has more leverage he would do well in patiently developing this music under more favourable conditions in the studio with his new trio or some such future outfit. "Diary of a Plastic Box" is definitely worth a listen, but it lacks finish. Let's hope that "The Complete Diary Of A Plastic Box" is a bit more ... er, well ... 'complete'.
jfderry's review and ratings | 685 words
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