Spy vs. Spy: The Music of Ornette Coleman

I'm pretty sure this can easily pass as a Dillinger Escape Plan interlude. Also, I have an insane urge to see if there are any live recordings of any of these songs and check them note by note besides the studio version. It's insane to just think that they can replicate this chaos, but they play jazz so they really might be able. It was so chaotic that it got me laughing, it made my head hurt, and somehow I liked it. It's just insanity. I feel like if I consider myself not stressed enough one day, I can put this on and go back to my normal stressed self. WHY DO I LIKE THIS CRAZINESS??

What did I listen to? Having scanned some reviews, I was expecting to hate it, but even my luddite ears can decent there's "something" here.

Not recommended whilst trying to spreadsheet though.

"Man I could really listen to Feet Music" said no one ever.

A 40 minute version of that 30 seconds at the beginning of every Saturday Night Live right before the monologue starts

At least it's different. I found the dissonant parts made the digestible parts hit harder.

5.9

Fav track: Feet Music

Spy Vs. Spy: The Music Of Ornette Coleman is easily one of the most chaotic albums i have ever heard. However, unlike something like War's The World Is A Ghetto, this one wasn't organized chaos, it's just chaos. Throughout the first half of the album, these people just didn't seem to know how to make proper compositions as they just wildly played their instruments with no rhyme or reason and it got extremely annoying. The second half was a bit more tolerable with them actually learning how to properly compose a song but they were still too noisy and abrasive to be anything that good. This album gets a 1.5, the extra 0.5 coming from the fact the second half was actually tolerable.
Best Song: Feet Music
Worst Song: C&D

I appreciate the energy but this album is for a very specific type of person that I am not.

HardcOrnette: A deliciously cataclysmic musical conflagration

"I have no kick against modern jazz. Unless they try to play it too darn fast."

These guys can play up a storm and the idea of thrash grindcore jazz is fascinating.

The tracks are short and are all individually brilliant. But because they're so relentlessly aggressive, listening to the album straight produces diminishing returns. But include this in a playlist set to random and it will certainly add a little piquancy.

But now go and listen to Ornette Coleman's "Free Jazz", which is the album that should have been on this list, and see why these guys are paying tribute to him. (Spoiler: Because Ornette is better)

Meh

Yep that is impressive shit

The sound of a saxophonist playing while falling up the stairs lined with rubber chickens. But in a good way?

I don't like or even really enjoy this (Honestly, what I've heard of Ornette Coleman I didn't care for, was already too experimental), but I respect it. The thought of playing jazz, but taking inspiration from hardcore punk and grindcore is interesting. Doesn't particularly "work", but I don't think that's necessarily the point. The experimentation and drive to push music "forward" is the point.

It does hit moments of enjoyability from time to time (fleetingly) when there are portions where I can actually make out some sort of beat or repeated phrases to lock onto (That basically sounds like the soundtrack to Mario Kart 8, haha), but mostly it's just free jazz noise through most of it.

Weirdly reminds me a bit of the later albums in Caretaker's Everywhere at the End of Time series. Where it's mostly noise, but once in a while a recognizable riff shows up.

So yeah. I don't particularly like this, but I respect it.

On the flipside, I've lost a shitton of respect for Dimery on his choices for this list. Why the hell is an Ornette Coleman cover album on the list and no actual Ornette Coleman? Are you telling me that this album is somehow more essential than the guy they're covering? This literally wouldn't exist without Ornette Coleman's music in the first place. Fuck man, just put The Shape of Jazz to Come on the list. No disrespect against Zorn, but honestly kinda insulting to Coleman to snub him but have this. I have no qualms with this being on the list, but without Coleman on as well is a bad look.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHtrumpetAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHsaxaphoneAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHjazz.

Enjoyed more than I thought and Jesus CHRIST the musical talent in display is crazy

Spy vs. Spy: The Music of Ornette Coleman by John Zorn is one of those albums that’s oddly hard to track down — and once you finally do, you start to wonder why you bothered.

I’ll be blunt: this is awful. It feels like lazy, chaotic jazz played at you rather than for you. The constant, overbearing drumming never lets up, smothering whatever ideas might have been lurking underneath. Instead of sounding exciting or confrontational, it just becomes exhausting. It’s noisy without being interesting, intense without being engaging, and genuinely hard work to sit through.

I get that this is meant to be abrasive and experimental, but for me it comes across as self-indulgent and joyless. There’s no groove, no hook, no moment where it clicks — just relentless clatter from start to finish.

Favourite tracks: None. I honestly couldn’t pick a single one.
Least favourite tracks: Every track — they all blur into the same unpleasant experience.
Album artwork: Genuinely brilliant. Easily the best thing about the album.

Skönt att få ett lugnt avslappnat album att ha på i bakgrunden. Borde vara ett självklart val alla spaanläggningar med någon som helst sinne för stil och smak.
Nåväl. Här var det gasen i botten från början till slut. Det här är frijazz av högsta klass. Lyssnar man med ett halvt öra verkar det råda ett totalt kaos. Men för den som tar sig är uppmärksam finns det en logik och symmetri. Varje tut har ett syfte. Den måste det ursinniga trumspelet lyftas fram.
Har inte skaffat prenium på YouTube, så tyvärr kommer sura avbrott för reklam med jämna mellanrum. Det enda stopp man vill ha är ju vid vändande av sida på grammofonen. Tyvärr har inte albumet gått att inbringa i någon av Halmstads alla välsorterade skivbutiker.

Actually kind of fun. Not a fan of squealy sax, but the murderous drums add a nice sassy little nuance.

Насправді це далеко не найбільш безумний альбом у дискографії Зорна і я не розумію чому люди на ютюбі (чогось видалили зі спотіка на жаль) так хейтять. Так, тут в принципі типовий фрі джаз, а-ля Ascensions Колтрейна, коли саксофони паралельно грають щось своє, але оскільки це музика Коулмана, то місцями воно звучить навіть "нормально". Коротше хз, я таке люблю та і загалом Зорн це легенда.

Holy fuck! This blew my mind. Absolute assault on the senses. So who’s forming the wall of death during the John Zorn concert with me? Perfectly controlled chaos.