ORNETTE COLEMAN
Skies Of America (Legacy)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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In many ways, Skies Of America was a disaster. Ornette Coleman's score ran 167 pages and featured some mind-boggling dissonance. So mind-boggling that the London Symphony Orchestra members were baffled by it all. The powers-that-be in the London musicians union prevented Coleman from recording with his own quartet on the date, and if all that weren't enough, the record company (Columbia) made him cut the length drastically to fit on a single LP. Some historians like to argue whether it was a case of a brilliant idea being sabotaged by outside parties or an idea that was far too ambitious to have a chance in the first place. Whatever. Thing is, it's not a satisfying listen, but it is definitely interesting in places, and there are seeds of future themes to be heard. If you're a student of the avant-garde, it's probably totally fascinating for its complexity and because it was the introduction to "harmolodics," Coleman's much-discussed theory that I'm far too ignorant to grasp, let alone explain. Nobody ever accused Ornette Coleman of creating easy-listening music, but this one might annoy many. Those people won't care about the 24-bit sound, but some will be wowed.

© 2000 - DJ Johnson