Eugene Chadbourne - Vision-Ease

All Music Guide

Warning: archival material ahead. The sound quality on Vision-Ease ranks from acceptable to very poor, with tape hiss plaguing some selections, not to mention occasional tape recorder mishaps (like tape stops and something else that briefly climbs on top of the music). But once the listener is aware of the situation, this collection has a lot to offer. Released sometime in the late '90s/early '00s by Chadbourne himself, Vision-Ease culls low-budget recordings from 1977-1978. In the first half it focuses on complex group compositions. "Initials," "Return of Romance," and "The Shreeve" feature Chadbourne, future Rova saxophonist Bruce Ackley, guitarist Henry Kaiser, and John Zorn on saxophone and clarinet. These honorable attempts at juggling over the line between composition and improvisation hold more than historical interest: They are actually pretty good and sound as if the Doctor was trying to write the way Derek Bailey improvises, but for New York avant-garde musicians. "The Fling,..." with Chadbourne, Davey Williams on banjo, and LaDonna Smith on viola, and "Missing Persons," a duet with Ackley, are both highlights, illustrating two very different facets of the guitarist, his wild and sensitive ones. A string of duets with Zorn and solos follow, badly recorded for the most part. The sound quality prevents the newcomer from truly enjoying this material, but fans of Chadbourne, and especially Zorn completists since he is so well-represented here, should appreciate this mixed bag. - François Couture, All Music Guide Read more Less