Naked City Gallup NM

Naked City

Naked City

Nonesuch / Elektra Records, 1989

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 08/17/1998

I still remember being introduced to saxophonist John Zorn'scombination freeform jazz/grindcore side project Naked City when Iwas in college radio. The station's music director, Anthony (whomI've written about before on these pages) was in the studio doinghis show, and I happened to wander in to chat. Normally, our tastesin music were as different as night and day; I often thought thestuff he listened to was the musical equivalent of someonemasturbating with a chainsaw.

But he looked at me and said in a deadpan voice, "This is a songcalled 'Fuck The Facts'." Eleven seconds later, the track was over,and I stood there in dropped-jaw shock. I was hooked, no questionabout it.

Zorn, an eclectic bird in his own right, put together thiscombination of some of rock and jazz's best (albeit little-known)musicians and formed Naked City, a group that broke the mold andrules when it came to all forms of music. Their self-titled debutis the musical equivalent of a heart attack; you never really knowwhat's lurking around the corner as the next track, even if you'velistened to the album 50 times. But if you've got the stomach fortruly different music, you will love this album.

With Zorn on alto sax, Bill Frisell on guitar, Wayne Horovitz onkeyboards, Fred Frith on bass, Joey Baron on drums, and thecharming Yamatsuka Eye on vocals (or at least what Zorn callsvocals; others might disagree), Naked City merges the worlds ofjazz, rock, country, and a then-little-known form of music inAmerica called grindcore. In England, bands like Napalm Death (whomI got hooked on at the same time) were spewing forth an average ofthree songs in one minute, with rhythms that sounded like ahummingbird's heart hopped up with methamphetamines. To Zorn, thiswas just another new musical path to forge.