Eugene Chadbourne + René Lussier – L’Oasis
Released in 2002 by Canadian improv label Victo, L’Oasis pushes nearly an hour’s worth of improvised guitar music out of your speakers from two longtime practitioners of the form, American Eugene Chadbourne on acoustic guitar, banjo and vocals, and Canadian René Lussier on acoustic and electric guitar. Culled from two separate live performances, one in October 1998 at Instants Chavirés in Paris and the other in May 2002 at the Festival International de Musique Actuelle in Victoriaville, Canada, the material alternates rather starkly between traditional song-based picking and total free form freak outs–sometimes even offering a combination of both. But, despite housing two seemingly opposing musical poles, this disc has a consistent flow and feel, thanks to the similar recordings and a smooth editing job.
The Victoriaville sessions are filled with lively, spirited, country hoedowns and other old time / good time ditties sprinkled with twisted, unexpected flourishes, while the Paris material mines the more abstract end of the sonic spectrum with scads of thorny, prickly acousti-shards, fuzzy balls of distortion and hectic crescendos of six-string chaos. And all of the enthusiastic audience applause for both forms of music is an unexpected and pleasant surprise. After all the sawdust has settled, this disc comes highly recommended for any and all fans of frisky fretboard fun.
Label: Victo Catalog Number: VICTO CD 084 Format: CD Packaging: Jewel case Tracks: 11 Country: Canada Released: 2002 More: Discogs
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