His Name Is Alive Albums (19)
'Sweet Earth Flower: A Tribute to Marion Brown'
Release Date 11/6/2007
Tracks 8
Label High Two/Aum Fi.
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
In 2004, His Name Is Alive played a show at the University of Michigan Art Museum. That gig, intended as a one-off, was a tribute to vanguard saxophone great Marion Brown. The show featured an extended edition of HNIA, it was performed beautifully, and it was recorded. Warn Defever was pleased enough with the show itself that he decided to record an album of this material. Three of the eight selections on Sweet Earth Flower are taken from that 2004 gig, the rest are studio cuts. Brown came up during the free jazz explosion and recorded for Fontana, ESP, ECM, Impulse, Freedom, Improvising Artists, and Baystate, to name a few. For health reasons, he has recorded only sporadically since about 1990, and hasn't recorded an album under his own name since 1992, though he has been a guest with son Djinji Brown, and with his old friend Harold Budd. Brown's contribution to the vanguard jazz literature of the '60s and '70s is obscure but invaluable and is highlighted to great effect here. Brown, who could do the free improvisation thing as well as anyone (and did, as his ESP and Freedom records attest), was also given -- particularly after 1970 -- to more modal and melodic forms of improvisation and more structured composition. Unfortunately, few of the post-'70s recordings are available, and none of them in the United States. HNIA showcases much of the music from that period -- ignored even by all but the most ardent post-'60s jazz fans -- here with excellent results. Elliot Bergman and Justin Walter of Nomo are in the house, playing saxophones and trumpet, respectively (Bergman plays some Rhodes too), and handling the lion's share of the soloing. While they may be the obvious shining stars of this set, it is actually pianist Erik Hall who shines like an exploding star. The structure of Brown's tunes and even his solos are based on circular rhythm, where phrase, modality, and harmonics all are based on the science of a returning rhythmic place to bring the listener back into no matter how far she may travel. Hall, who plays Wurlitzer electric piano, is responsible for helping to create the hypnotic vibe, the steady stream and flow of harmonic ideas that give Bergman, Walter, and saxophonist Michael Herbst their flights of fancy. His playing is subtle, rooted in the structure and form, but also in pulse. He creates all the middle space that allows the rhythm section to be more fluid, though they don't stray too far from the home fires either. Defever, who plays guitar and piano here, is an utterly painterly guitarist, whether he's playing wonderfully warm reverbed chords and vamps, or soloing. The album is bookended with two different readings of "Sweet Earth Flying" from the 1974 album of the same name -- one studio, one live -- in that order. The skeletal chords, hand bells, and sparse percussion that follow the electric piano into the tune's unfolding in the opening jaunt are mysterious, not unlike Harold Budd's own ambient work, but ideas develop and move the tune toward more spacious terrain via Walter's trumpet. It wanders and meanders haltingly until it melts into the title cut from 1966's Juba-Lee. The beautiful upright bass work from Jamie Saltzman creates a loping kind of tension that unfolds moment by moment as the body of the tune emerges from a slow drone to a louder one filled with shimmering cymbals, and solos by Bergman and Walter, before it whispers out again. Defever's wah wah electric guitar introduces the live version of "Capricorn Moon," creating a well-established swampy groove before the horns enter. Over 13 minutes long, the tune unveils itself as a terrain of polyrhythmic interplay on virtually all instruments. The steadily shifting call-and-response between Defever, the percussionists, and the drummers is beautifully well-executed and the saxophone solo drips with spiritual soul. There are also two versions of "Geechee Reflections," from the 1973 album of the same name, both live and studio. Drums, drums, and more drums set the tune forth as an offering to the listener on the live read. It beckons, insists, cajoles, and demands the attention of body and mind, and is played with enough real passion to create a new interior space inside the listener. "Bismillahi 'Rrahmani 'Rrahim," made its original appearance on Vista in 1975, and then a subsequent one on Harold Budd's Pavilion of Dreams album in 1978 (on which Brown played the solo) from Brian Eno's Obscure imprint. The halting, wispy tone of the number is treated elegantly here with Hall's Wurlitzer work finding the same depth as Paul Bley's did on the original, and the same textural ambience of Budd's version. When Bergman enters to play the melody and Defever's controlled feedback winds around him, the effect is awe-inspiring. "November Cotton Flower" showcases the true worth of Brown's lyricism, which, outside of the emerging jazz-funk crowd's revelry in its soulful origins, did not exist in free jazz except -- in a very different way -- for Ornette Coleman's work. This is far more mysterious music, full of shadows and ostinato shapes that suggest more form than there is, but it never strays far enough outside it to challenge the emergent if impressionistic melodicism of the tune's body. As the record winds to a close with the slightly longer live version of "Sweet Earth Flying," the band's complete gift is unveiled: Brown's music translates to the modern era seamlessly when treated with this kind of interpretive gift. Moving inside and outside the contrapuntal dialogue between Walter and Bergman is a four-note pattern from Defever on electric guitar hovering in the background almost nervously, though the horns play languidly and sensually in the top frame dressed in short percussive adornments. Dynamic range becomes fluid, straying from middling tension to nearly invisible release, creating a space for the truly poetic in Brown's music. Sweet Earth Flower is one of those rare moments when a restless talent like Defever, whose musical interests are all over the map (and some of his recordings have suffered for that, too) can focus his vision on something outside the indie rock comfort zone and pull it off authentically. This is jazz, to be sure, but it's unlike jazz as well, taking into itself the full measure of Brown's own ambition to make a universal, reflective, meditative music that encompassed many traditions and notions of aesthetic evolution, from ancient folk traditions where stories are revealed to a future where space and quiet would walk hand in hand with something more chaotic and undefined. Under Defever's direction, His Name Is Alive has given us the full panorama of that vision and done it with elegance, grace, and spiritual toughness not normally associated with rock. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Arriving a little over a year and a half after His Name Is Alive's long-awaited comeback Detrola, Xmmer follows in that album's footsteps -- in fact, "Go to Hell Mountain" is a sequel to Detrola's "I Thought I Saw You Moving." Once again, it sounds like all of the band's previous albums rolled into one, although a die-hard fan could get really geeky and say that more of Ft. Lake, Mouth by Mouth, and Home Is in Your Head's influences stand out this time. The biggest difference is that sometime His Name Is Alive singer Lovetta Pippen doesn't make an appearance; while she is missed, Xmmer is still a shining example of the group's singular pop. His Name Is Alive is probably the only group around who could write a song about foreign soldiers invading a house and killing its occupants and have it come out sounding like "Youngblood," all shimmering strings, delicately plucked and strummed acoustic guitars, and deceptively angelic vocals. "The Wolf Put His Mouth on Me" mixes the electronic pulse that made Detrola so exciting with a jagged, bluesy acoustic guitar, chugging rock, and kalimbas and other African touches that feel as much like a nod to Warn Defever's work with NOMO as they do a tribute to Frances Bebey. On paper, it sounds like far too much to put in one song, but in His Name Is Alive's hands, it sounds natural. The Afro-pop influence fits in with the band's sound as easily as their gamelan experiments did in the past, especially on "Come to Me," which bolsters the song's dreamy vocals with brash brass and more of those kalimbas. Elsewhere, "Oh Miss Flower"'s exotic folk-pop, "Put It in Your Mind"'s slow-burning rock, and "Sangaree"'s tense rhythms prove once again just how effortless Defever and crew make their genre-hopping seem -- and more to the point, it never feels like dabbling. Xmmer might be His Name Is Alive's most overtly topical album: the riveting "What Color Was the Blood," with its martial drumbeat and lyrics that could be from an ancient battle song or only slightly less ancient folk protest song, sounds like some kind of war being waged; meanwhile, "Come Out the Wilderness" is a singalong for peace that's too urgent to be sung while sitting around a campfire. And as always, the band finds unique but clear-eyed ways of examining the more difficult side of love, whether it's unrequited ("When You Fall for Someone") or mysterious ("How Dark Is Your Dark Side"). Even if Xmmer's kaleidoscopic approach is similar to what His Name Is Alive has done before, that doesn't make it any less appealing or unique on its own terms. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
So, they are alive after all. Even the most die-hard His Name Is Alive fans could be forgiven for thinking that the band had broken up -- or at least gone into a deep hibernation -- after the release of their final 4AD album, Last Night. Though Warn Defever and Company were actually busier than ever with special MP3-only releases and albums and EPs on smaller labels like Ypsilanti, En/Of, and Defever's own Time Stereo, the lack of any widely released new material seemed ominous. Fortunately, Detrola, His Name Is Alive's debut album for the aptly named Reincarnate Music, puts to rest any worries about the band's existence and is definitely worth the four-year wait. Detrola sounds like the highlights of all of the band's previous albums chopped up and reconfigured into songs that sound familiar, fresh, and utterly His Name Is Alive; actually, it could make as good an introduction to their freewheeling musical invention as the 4AD comp Always Stay Sweet does. "Introduction" nods to the drama and spookiness of their earliest work: a heartbroken late-night lament surrounded by loops of noise and applause that turns into deafening noise, it sounds like it was recorded at Mulholland Drive's Club Silencio. "*C*A*T*S*," meanwhile, updates the ethereal atmospheres of Home Is in Your Head with meowing synths. "Your Bones" is a delicate acoustic ballad that could've easily appeared on Mouth by Mouth or Stars on ESP, while "Seven Minutes"' tight, sexy electro-jazz fusion proves that Lovetta Pippen is still a crucial part of the band's wide-ranging sound. Detrola finds the band exploring the same themes that have always run through their music: spirituality, sensuality, and mortality. It's doubtful that any other group could turn a simple statement like "you need a heart to live" into something as equally sweet and scary the way His Name Is Alive can. While Detrola sounds a lot like the band's earlier work, it's still inventive. The avant-pop on Mouth by Mouth, Stars on ESP, and Ft. Lake is still fresh-sounding, and this album's updates on that aesthetic are, in turn, a step forward. "After I Leave You" and "In My Dreams" use synth pop as an inspiration in a way that sounds futuristic, even alien, instead of stuck in the '80s. On the other hand, "I Thought I Saw" sounds like a slightly skewed take on "Wedding Bell Blues" and other sweet, sad soul classics, and "Get Your Curse" could be taken for '70s singer/songwriter pop if it weren't for unsettling lyrics like "Your house will burn for years and years." Detrola is slightly more subdued than some of His Name Is Alive's previous albums, but it's still a reminder of how much their beautiful, strange, oddly moving music has been missed. With any luck, their fans won't have to wait another four years before they make another album as good as this. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Culled from the dress rehearsals for a Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth tour that never materialized, Last Night, His Name Is Alive's final album for 4AD, actually does the late-night soul sound better than the album that sparked it. Allegedly, the group left the label because Someday My Blues... strayed too far from the eclectic dream pop that they spent the better part of the decade perfecting and reinventing; in a way, they were being punished for being too creative. While His Name Is Alive may not have been a success at the level of the Pixies, the Breeders, or even Mojave 3, they were one of 4AD's most enduring and consistently inventive groups. Granted, Someday My Blues... was a radical shift in HNIA's musical direction that found the group immersed in faithfully reproducing slow jams; it was an interesting idea, but the results were as uneven as they were intriguing. By contrast, Last Night sounds much sexier and livelier, more soulful and, paradoxically, more like a true His Name Is Alive album. If anything, Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth now sounds more like a rehearsal for this album rather than the other way around. Beginning with "Deep," a brief, brooding string piece, it's clear that Warn Defever and company are using their full musical palette; though the album isn't quite as much like switching from station to station on the radio or putting an entire jukebox on shuffle as albums like Ft. Lake and Stars on E.S.P. are, it is a nice balance of their eclecticism and newfound soulfulness. The ghostly chorus and strummy acoustic guitar on the cover of the Equals' "I Been Good up Till Now" make it sound a little like a gospel-tinged version of the ethereal style they perfected on Home Is in Your Head, while "Crawlin'," with its sax flourishes and lush electric pianos, is as gorgeously crafted and dreamy as any of their earlier work, albeit in a very different way. Defever's guitars sound as beautiful as ever, whether they're clear and languid on the album's title track, or with a bit of crunch on "I Have Special Powers" and the sweetly soulful cover of Ida's "Teardrops." Likewise, Lovetta Sharie Pippen's vocals fit the material perfectly and shine particularly brightly on "Maybe," one of the most accomplished love songs that Defever has written, and "Storm," a sexy, bluesy number. With tracks as beautiful as the jazz/folk/soul hybrid of "Train" and as incendiary as the funky "Someday My Prince Will Come," Last Night is both focused and diverse, and one of His Name Is Alive's most consistently impressive albums, regardless of whether it's a dress rehearsal or a swan song. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
'Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth'
Release Date 7/17/2001
Tracks 13
Label 4AD
See Album Tracklist and Review
'When the Stars Refuse to Shine'
Release Date 1/1/2000
Tracks 14
Label Time Stereo
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Since shedding their gauzy, ethereal, almost gothic sound, His Name Is Alive have picked up a number of adjunct members, left some old ones behind, and taken a path that one probably wouldn't have expected upon hearing their 4AD debut, Livonia. With When the Stars Refuse to Shine's rather minimal execution, there appears to be no more than three instruments accompanying Lovetta Pippen's glorious and soul-inflected vocals at any time. Truly, Pippen's inclusion in the band (she joined during the recording of 1996's Stars on ESP) seems to be a marker for His Name Is Alive's shift towards the bluesy, Motown-influenced sound that they possess on both When the Stars Refuse to Shine and 1998's Ft. Lake. When the Stars... is remarkably divergent from earlier albums, and certain tracks on the record are virtually unrecognizable as the group's music. The sparse violin and piano orchestration of "Why Is This Night Different Than All Others" and "Lotus Blossom 1" recalls Rachel's Music For Egon Schiele, and their cover of Van Morrison's "Moondance" seems suitable for performance in a seedy jazz club. This album helps to illustrate the depth of Warn Defever's musical lexicon with a fine mix of contempo classical and soulful blues. Not the typical HNIA fare, but a welcome departure nonetheless. ~ Ken Taylor, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
His Name Is Alive's fifth 4AD release, Ft. Lake, is their most complex and accomplished, pulling together the dreamy experimentalism of their early work with the poppy, soulful tendencies of Stars on E.S.P and Nice Day, and adding a few new twists. "The Waitress" adds drum machines and keyboards for a new wave sheen, while the slinky "No Hiding Place Down Her" has enough soul for a dozen Top 40 R&B singles. As on the Nice Day EP, Lovetta Pippen's voice sounds wonderful, whether she's dueting with Karin Oliver on "Everything Takes Forever" or taking center stage on the epic, Hendrix-inspired "Wish I Had a Wishing Ring." Steve King and Warren Defever's smooth, sonically rich production makes the most of the band's versatility, and Defever's guitar work sounds especially expressive on tracks like "Wishing Ring" and "Little Red Haired Girl," which shifts between bouncy rockabilly licks and noisy, neo-shoegazing leads. The retro-futuristic synth interludes, courtesy of Defever's Robot World side project, offer a nice contrast to the guitar-heavy aspects of the album. Despite the album's eclectic sound, Fort Lake's one constant is its elliptical, yet emotional songwriting; lyrics like "Answer comes from behind/I've been here all this time" from "Spirit Needs a Spirit Tool" (another of the album's highlights) are strangely poignant and resonant. "How It's Gotta Be," co-written by Defever and bassist Chad Gilchrist, has the sweet, sad feel of classic girl-group songs, while "Rock 'n' Roll Girl From Rock 'n' Roll City"'s repeated refrain of "Come and play/Don't make me wait" adds a new urgency to the band's sound. Though His Name Is Alive defy simple classification at any point in their career, Fort Lake might be the best example of their wide-reaching abilities. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
As usual, Michigan-based sonic envelope-pushers His Name Is Alive continue to boggle expectations with their beautiful, exciting music. On their fourth album for 4AD, Stars on ESP, the group mixes dub, dream pop, surf, country, and Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys into something altogether unique. The songs range from the deceptively simple, folky "Answer to Rainbow at Midnight" and "Famous Goodbye King" to bouncy pop like "Bad Luck Girl," "The Bees," and "Across the Street." Then there are the songs that defy easy description, like the beautiful, lilting "Dub Love Letter" and the "Good Vibrations" pastiche "Universal Frequencies." On the whole, Stars on ESP is their most acoustic-based since 1992's Home Is in Your Head and their brightest-sounding since Mouth by Mouth. However, the trademark strange, spacy noises that peppered the band's other releases can still be found on this album, particularly on "What Else Is New List" and "Wall of Speed." An eclectic, unique album -- it even includes a gospel song -- from an eclectic, unique band, Stars on ESP features His Name Is Alive at their most accessible and exciting. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
