Marc Ribot Albums (16)
'Party Intellectuals'
Release Date 5/13/2008
Tracks 12
Label Pi Recordings
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What The Critics Say
Marc Ribot calls Ceramic Dog (Ribot, Shahad Ismaily, Ches Smith) his first rock band since high school. Those familiar with his catalog might be surprised by that, since many of his albums have rocked pretty hard. True enough, there are more songs with words and the power trio format emphasizes the rock aspect, but Party Intellectuals is no less wide-ranging than albums like Rootless Cosmopolitans or Requiem for What's His Name. They bust out of the gate with a punked-up version of "Break on Through," then move into a weird video game-funk anthem with a "Gypsy Queen" coda and on to a goofy faux Brazilian boom-lounge track with hilariously painful rhymes and a too-brief Ernie Isley "Who's that Lady?" solo. "When We Were Young and We Were Freaks" is an atmospheric yet skronky sprechstimme epic with great production and squelchy electronics, while "Digital Handshake" is a wicked Krautrocker with a totally demented breakdown in the middle. "Bateau" is spooky and haunting with ghostly banjo wafting in and out before one of the harshest guitar tones known to man kicks in at the end. "ShSh ShSh" is another moody one with weird disembodied voices drifting in and out. "Never Better" races through several styles of music; imagine Naked City as a Marc Ribot-led power trio and you're in the neighborhood. Shahad Ismaily and Ches Smith are able to give Ribot just what the songs need whether it's hazy atmospherics or ferocious rocking and have no problem heading down whichever musical path Ribot chooses. And it should go without saying that there's plenty of great guitar playing on hand. "Midost" is another chance to stretch things out and features some massive fuzz bass, while "Girlfriend" humorously details a somewhat less than idyllic relationship with a really bent keyboard tone and nice Middle Eastern percussion break in the middle. Although Ribot has always displayed a great sense of humor, it's on full display here in a way it hasn't really been before. Party Intellectuals is easily Ribot's most fun album to date and one of his best. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide
'Exercises in Futility'
Release Date 2/19/2008
Tracks 15
Label Tzadik
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'Asmodeus: The Book of Angels, Vol. 7'
Release Date 6/26/2007
Tracks 10
Label Tzadik
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What The Critics Say
Albert Ayler compositions have been in Marc Ribot's book for many years, so it shouldn't really be a surprise that he put together a band to play Ayler tunes. However, when Ribot started playing Ayler songs he couldn't have dreamed that he'd be playing them with Henry Grimes, the original bass player on a number of Ayler's seminal mid-'60s recordings (Grimes walked away from music in 1967 and remained out of sight until 2002). Rounding out the group are Roy Campbell on trumpet and Chad Taylor on drums and percussion.The album is called Spiritual Unity, but it's not a direct cover of Ayler's Spiritual Unity album. In fact, Ribot's band only tackles one song from that particular album, "Spirits." Actually, although they do play Ayler's music, the band's mission statement says it's not about performing the tunes by rote, it's about seeking "a ritual process, through improvisation." To that end, although it sounds remarkably like an Ayler tune, "Invocation" is actually a group improvisation offered before the Ayler material. When they do get to that material, they work much like Ayler's quartets did, moving quickly from the head into fiery collective improvisation. This is free jazz to be sure, but Ayler's free jazz was grounded in marches and gospel music and those elements can come to the surface even during the roiling improvisations. Henry Grimes is remarkable. His ideas never seem to slow down and it's nearly incomprehensible that he didn't touch a bass for three decades. Chad Taylor has long been known as a supportive drummer and Ribot and Campbell's work probably needs no introduction. They operate here as a unit, not a collection of soloists, and they honor Ayler's musical process as much as the man or his compositions. Ayler's time on earth was far too short, but Ribot and company show that this music still lives on in the present moment, not simply as a relic of the past. Spiritual Unity isn't for the timid, but Ayler fans will find a lot to enjoy. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The already eclectic Marc Ribot may have released his widest-reaching album to date with Soundtracks, Vol. 2. From neo-Dixieland to spooky electronica to solo shakuhachi, Ribot turns in a head-spinning program of disparate genres that hang together surprisingly well as an album. There's also a faux-African highlife piece ("Flatbush Eyes"), kind of surfy klezmer ("House of Mirrors"), and a couple soul tunes ("Blue Party" and the aptly titled "Green Party," which sounds like Ribot's take on the Hi Records sound). "Nausea" sounds something like a circus carnival playing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," while "Pensando" is a pretty solo acoustic guitar piece. Ribot's guitar credentials have never been in doubt, but his recent works for Tzadik is showing him to be an impressive composer with a broad palette as well. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Marc Ribot's first entry in Tzadik's Modern Composer series allows him to further expand on an already wildly eclectic body of work. Several of the pieces are akin to film cues, more to evoke a mood than anything else. "Our Daily Bread" and "Batialle" are fairly Shrek-like and supply a large portion of the noise quotient for the album. Contrast those with the title cut, which sounds more like chamber music. The high points are probably the album centerpieces, "Pennies From Hell" and "Geese." "Pennies From Hell" is a slightly spooky piece, anchored by a somewhat percussive bass pattern and sparse piano chords with Ribot (using a very queasy tone) and Jill Jaffe (on violin) repeating and elaborating on a descending figure over the top. "Geese" is quite a showcase for Ned Rothenberg on clarinet and bass clarinet, a fabulous piece that's something like minimalism with a sense of humor. Rothenberg's performance on this one is amazing: circular breathing, tongue slaps, and some of the finest goose imitations you're likely to hear. All clarinet and strings, "Geese" really makes the case for Ribot the composer. Taken as a whole, Scelsi Morning is not really an easy listen (although a couple of the tracks are wonderful), but it certainly is impressive. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
There are many adjectives that describe Marc Ribot -- some of the ones that immediately come to mind include adventurous, experimental, fearless, and eclectic. But one adjective one won't hear in connection with Ribot is predictable. Capable of playing everything from jazz to rock to classical, the guitarist is one of music's more unpredictable figures. Released in 2001, Saints is an avant-garde jazz outing that finds Ribot playing unaccompanied solo guitar. There are no drums or bass on this CD -- it's just Ribot and his guitar, and the explorer successfully turns his attention to everything from the Beatles' "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" and Stephen Sondheim's "Somewhere" to the standard "St. James Infirmary" (which has been heard countless times in Dixieland and classic jazz settings, but lends itself equally well to an avant-garde makeover). Ribot also brings his distinctive guitar to the famous spiritual "Go Down Moses," as well as two pieces by '60s free jazz firebrand Albert Ayler: "Witches and Devils" and the title song. Although Ribot's playing is quite free, it's also quite musical. This isn't an album of atonal chaos; the guitarist favors an inside/outside approach, and even though his improvisations are left-of-center, Saints isn't as far to the left as an album by saxophonist Charles Gayle (just to give one example) would be. That isn't to say that Gayle's atonality isn't equally valid -- only that Ribot approaches avant-garde jazz in a very different way. Saints is full of discernible melodies; typically, Ribot will warmly embrace a melody before he ventures outside. And that inside/outside contrast serves him well throughout this excellent and very unpredictable CD. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Regrouping his Latin backing band Los Cubanos Postizos, Marc Ribot offers a sequel to his 1998 Arsenio Rodriguez tribute The Prosthetic Cubans in Muy Divertido! ("very entertaining"). While there are once again a few songs penned by Rodriguez, there's also a greater variety of composers represented, including three Ribot originals. Ribot's angular, visceral guitar style adds rock drive and avant-garde edge to these deep Latin grooves, and Anthony Coleman's spacy organ work adds a playfully strange texture to some tracks. Overall, it's a worthy follow-up for anyone who enjoyed the first installment. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
'A Yo! I Killed Your God'
Release Date 5/18/1999
Tracks 14
Label Tzadik
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What The Critics Say
Marc Ribot's second Shrek release showcases a live and onstage version of Ribot usually reserved only for those who live in the lower reaches of the 212 area code. This maddeningly eclectic release from the Wes Montgomery of the Downtown jazz scene is a continuation of his earlier self-titled Shrek release but features only two tracks from the first album: "Human Sacrifice," which receives preferential treatment on the studio release, and the evocative and powerful "Forthworld," the soundtrack for the post-Apocalyptic tribal drum circle feel of the album. In general however, this album is much of an improvement from the original, as the band members, featuring not only Ribot's virtuoso guitar work and New York-inflected vocals but alternately Chris Wood of Medeski, Martin, and Wood fame on guitar and bass, Sebastian Steinberg on bass, and Jim Pugliese and Dougie Bowne on percussion have meshed well together with greater exposure to each other and to the overall sound of the group. The band is still as transgressive and in your face as they want to be, but here Ribot shows his other sides as well, the sides that have earned him his keep as Zorn's right-hand guitar man in "Requiem for What's His Name," the side that has earned him a major-label deal with his remake of songs of the great Cuban bandleader Arsenio Rodriquez with "Jamon Con Yuca," as well as spots as a session player with rock legends Tom Waits and Elvis Costello with "The Wind Cries Mary." Shrek is, at its core, however, an avant-punk outfit, and they have lost none of their grittiness or edge with this release. Another highlight is the soulful "Softly As in a Morning Sunrise," a special treat from a someone who considers himself to be a soul musician. All in all, another fine effort from a virtuoso guitarist. Difficult listening, but worth the effort. ~ David Freedlander, All Music Guide
'The Prosthetic Cubans'
Release Date 6/16/1998
Tracks 10
Label Atlantic
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What The Critics Say
The mastery and vision of the enduring Marc Ribot shine through on this release. Although there have been many attempts to produce authentic indigenous music of various cultures, most have fallen short; this album succeeds in the wake of failure. Ribot delves deep into Cuban rhythms, and indeed the album is a tribute to the Cuban master Arsenio Rodriguez. Here Ribot finds an authentic Cuban sound employing traditional instrumentation: upright bass, wood blocks, cherke, and other percussion sounds. The performance is inspired, and the band consistently tears through Rodriguez's material, as well as some of their own. Ribot's guitar work nears perfection, and he proves himself to be the most soulful white alive. Songs like "Aqui Como Alla" and "Postizo" confirm these assertions. Although this album does not present the iconoclastic Ribot of The Book of Heads fame, it is an excellent album. ~ Marc Gilman, All Music Guide
