Reviews (page 5 of 7)
Ornette Coleman was a great jazz musician and his work deserves to be celebrated…but I’m not sure this is the way to do it. The beauty of the arrangements is lost in a cacophony of blistering drums and screeching trumpets.
It was a struggle for me to finish this album, but I pulled through, knowing that I will never listen to it again! To me that’s just noise and it managed to gave me a slight headache.
hmmm
Wow this may be to Avant Garde fir it's own good. It's difficult to think of a situation where I'd ever voluntarily put this on again, certainly not in a public setting. Could not be setbreak music, it would freak way to many people out. That said, they were definitely going for IT and trying something weird and new so theres that.
I mean good for them for trying something new? But really difficult to follow
Potser s'ho van passar d'allò més bé mentre l'enregistraven. Per l'oient, però, escoltar-ho és més un repte que un plaer. I per disfrutar-lo s'ha de ser molt fan del free jazz o de les improvisacions de caire més provocatiu. Entremig de les improvisacions i enfrontament d'instruments, hi ha algun tema que destaca, com 'Feet Music' o 'Mob Job', però tot plegat és força complicat de pair
An interesting selection for this list, I had thought the list was based on what are considered the best or landmark albums, not sure this fits either category and perhaps added for shock value. I read elsewhere that Ornate Coleman has not made the list and yet this has, very odd and I wonder on the integrity of the selection. As to the album, it is a very tough listen for those unfamiliar with the more free-form / avant garde styles of jazz. The first few tracks are particularly challenging with a cacophony of noise seemingly each trying to outplay the other band members. However it becomes more accessible with later tracks and even sometimes a tune breaks through. I am intrigued on the appeal of this type of jazz and will consider exploring further.
This isn’t it. I’m not into these instruments, except the drums.
Not for me
Nic moc
While I can recognize the importance of the work in the Sphere of All Musical Endeavor.... I really just do not enjoy hearing these noises. I've even seen John Zorn in concert, and it's just as unbearable.
interesting that there are no Ornette Coleman albums on this list, but John Zorn's tribute to Ornette Coleman... Dimery's bias towards white, critically lauded artists continues? John Zorn has carved out a little niche for himself in music, but I disagree that you really need to hear his stuff to lead a fulfilled life. I feel like Wynton Marsalis spent the 1980s championing 'straight-ahead' jazz, attempting to set jazz in aspic and stifle any sense of innovation in the form. But Zorn showed that there were still people pushing the form into genuinely new areas that built on the traditions of the form (in this case, free jazz). Zorn's crossover between free jazz and hardcore is convincing, even if borderline unlistenable. Moments of melody poke through the noise to hint at structure, only to disappear again into the unrelenting aggressive noise. It has been influential -- I am going to see Party Dozen this week, I'm sure they were highly influenced by this album. But it's exhausting to listen to. The only track I came close to really enjoying is Feet Music.
1 punkt
I like this in theory but I'm not going to listen to it again
well, they tried something different and while it's not particularly good or enjoyable, it's still a way more interesting inclusion in the overall 1001 list than the ninth fuckin' Neil Young album or whatever. I liked how about 22 minutes in, the album got much more listenable. I could swear I heard bits of the hawaii five-o theme in there too... interesting. favorites: I'm not currently looking at the track list but I think it was called like feet music or some shit? what the fuck haha
I had no idea what to make of this! Not really my thing tbh... chaos total chaos! Sorry I still don't get jazz
- Hey! The first album I've gotten that I'd literally never heard of before! It's also not available on Spotify! This is a deep cut, is what I'm saying. - John Zorn is a name that's familiar to me, but I've never heard his music. Ornette Coleman I have delved into on occasion, though he's an artist whose work I tend to respect more than love. - So, as an experiment, I thought I'd try to reconstruct the tracklist of this on Spotify with Ornette Coleman's original recordings. See how they compare with Zorn's covers. Spotify's missing a couple of the Ornette tracks (like Feet Music and Space Church), but putting together the stuff they DO have, the playlist is about 1 hour 45 minutes. "Spy Vs. Spy" is 41 minutes. Zorn really must've cut these compositions to the bone. - Here's a good thing I'll say: the drums are immaculately produced. They just THWACK in a really satisfying way. - Here's a negative thing: this is just noise to me. I truly don't get it. I accept that it's probably going over my head, that Zorn may be operating on a level I just can't comprehend. But 15 minutes in this is just a bunch of sounds. Every track is the same. There are no dynamics. Everything is at a 10 all the time, in chaos, in volume, in speed. I'm sure some people like that! And that's great! But oh boy am I finding it unpleasant. - I'd be interested to know the reasoning behind putting this in the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. I mean, I'm guessing the answer is "a bunch of people who contributed to the book like it." But a quick glance at its Wikipedia shows little critical activity; 2 reviews, one of which seems to have a lot of qualms with it. It doesn't seem to be a particularly revered classic. Though I'm not a free jazz aficionado, so maybe I'm wrong. - Okay, "Ecars" and "Feet Music" are good. There's like, a groove to these, kinda, if you look really hard! It's not a lot, but it's enough to ground the chaos and give you something to latch onto. - Okay, so this actually picks up a lot in the back half. Instead of trying to obliterate any sense of melody and rhythm, Zorn and crew start allowing for moments of tunefulness to offset the chaos, and it makes the whole thing a lot more interesting. - Still not really my thing, but a very interesting curio nonetheless. Glad to have listened to it, even if I liked it more in theory than practice. - Great fucking album art.
It was an interesting listening experience, and I didn't hate it, but I don't think I ever need to listen to it again.
Honestly just bizarre. Not really something I would listen to normally but kind of glad I listened to it this time. Added to playlist: not on Spotify
not my kind of jazz
Pretty chaotic energy in this one, not a lot to love for me personally aside from some generally nice drum action
20 Minuten Kakophones Saxophon, dann teils melodisch/rythmisch interessant.
Very avant-garde stuff, the description as jazz from the perspective of hardcore punk is very apt. I think this was more fun for the artists to make than it is for listeners to sit through. I added one more star because they are clearly virtuoso saxophonists.
unbearable listen 🔥🔥🔥it’s cool but it’s just a bunch of covers. if you’re going to subject me to free jazz at least give me ornette coleman himself and not some dick rider i’ve never heard of.
It’s cool stuff that I’m glad exists. Works especially well for things like soundtracks. But listening to a whole album all the way through is a bit much
This is either genius or awful and I am not smart enough to decide which. So I guess the question i need to ask myself is... did i enjoy listening to it? And again, I don't really know how to answer that. The first track was like a worldwind of noise, i felt like my brain wanted to leave my head, not sure if it was in a positive way or not. Then a few tracks in at 'Good Old Days' there was a run of somewhat enjoyable and melodic noise occurring for a while, which eventually just mushed up into one big lump. I feel like I've become less intelligent after listening to this. I am questioning what melody is, what music do i actually like? IS this music? Is this noise? I just don't know. Am I better having listened? The album isn't on spotify or amazon music currently, so i had to find it on youtube, i may not revisit this again, is that because of what it sounds like or because it's not handy to stream? I just don't know. I don't know anything, i don't know how to rate it, i don't know if i like it? is it a 1 or is it a 5? it can't be a 3, because it is not middle of the road. As someone born with a heart defect, i could imagine having a heart attack while 'Word for Bird' played. I think I'm going to give it a 2/5, but it could be a 10/5, i just don't know anymore
Interesting because it has bright moments but overall is a little busy for my tastes
Ich mag Jazz, aber dieses Album hat mich nicht abgeholt.
Well that was something. plus ca avancait, mieux j'appréciais. highlight Feet Music. But hey, drugs were implied for sure 4/10
Wow. I couldn’t find on Spotify or Apple Music. Tracked it down on YouTube. When I started I thought someone was playing a joke on me. Sounded like a cat fight. I listened a while longer and by another 20 minutes I started to think it was brilliant. Then about 10 minutes later thought it was awful again. This one is a ride.
Ecars, Feet Music, Broadway Blues, Zig Zag and Mob Job. The last 5 songs are great but the first 10 is a cluttered piece of a trump diaper. Two sax and two drums do not sound good.
Hard to enjoy this style of freeform jazz. It is very complex. I like it more than many other albums on this list though. 2.5/5
Not enjoyable
Dna
- Jazz on crack honestly - Couldn't find it on Spotify, L - Entertaining, but would definitely not go back to
- Frantic, aggressive, free jazz - Sometimes the dueling saxophones reach a nice groove, other times it’s chaos - Disclaimer: only listened to 30 minutes of it
I....um...I....oh god it just keeps going, why? What did I do to deserve this. Am I supposed to hate it? Is is supposed to be some sort of test to see if I'll listen to the whole thing? It's clearly more abstract and important then Kid Rock, but I'm still going to have to hard pass on this.
Jazz rápido.
Oef, deze was vrij pittig om te luisteren. Wel heel ongestructureerd en chaotisch. Toch ook wel cool bij vlagen.
Truly a heartbreaking album. Story goes that a recording room filled with Jazz musicians were about to record and all suffered fatal heart attacks. They immediately started to blow air into their instruments and flail around near the drums trying to signal to the people outside the recording room to call 911 for help. Unfortunately, the sound engineering thought this was Free Jazz and kept recording. This album is a product of that fateful day.
Well, that was certainly an experience. I've never heard of John Zorn or Ornette Coleman before, and I'm not a big jazz listener, so this album was pretty much lost on me. I did enjoy a few of the songs though: "Good Old Days," "Feet Music," and "Broad Way Blues" were the standouts to me, and everything else pretty much sounded the same. This album was different from the few other jazz albums I've encountered on this list, but it just wasn't for me.
Chaotic, frenetic, and unable to finish the album.
Listened to part of the album. I thought it was just noise, definitely an acquired taste.
What a cacophony of insanity, which seems to never slow down the whole way through. And now of course I’m curious about the original, which somehow inspired this remake.
Whoa, that's got some real frenetic stuff on it! I definitely appreciate what the artists are doing here, but it's a bit much for my ears.
The first half is a solid 1, way too much noise. The second half of this album was just listenable enough to appreciate the musical ability and earn an extra star but is was very close.
Way too experimental for me but has some nice moment every once in a while
Difficult one to like. Free Jazz is so unlikable to the average user. I have no clue if this is good or bad....
I'll just start by saying, there are no innovations of thrashcore and grindcore, I mean wtf!! lol On the other hand this was not as terrible as it may have been, it has its moments and you can hear the commitment to their music even if it’s pretentious and not that good. I'll give it a couple of stars because I was able to finish it lol. That feet piece was a nice rest in the middle of the storm. Who of you uploaded the record to YT and then blocked the comments? lol
Jesus fucking christ. I like me some Jazz, I like me some punk, I like me some experimental music. But the three combined?!? This should be interesting! Despite being 17 tracks and each song having an average of about 2 minutes, this thing flies by in a heartbeat. I can't follow the music for shit, even with regular jazz i face this problem. But this gives me a good laugh. It just sounds like one big flurry of let's play 100000000000 notes in a second and sound as ugly as we possibly can. Ecars sounds like an actual jazz song though, thumbs up. I appreciate the effort, but yeah, this ain't my bag. Key tracks: Word For Bird, Peace Warriors, Feet Music, no just kidding, I just like the titles. 4 out of 10
Lopetin kolmannen biisin kohdalla
Hengästyttävä pläjäys. Vaikea saada noin kompleksista setistä ite irti, kun musa ottaa susta kaiken irti
I like the same. But this is too frantic for easy listening. I appreciate its existence but won't be listening to it much more to be honest
A challenging listen. Part genius, part endurance test, part Stockholm Syndrome, part jazz band falls down staircase.
This is chaotic evil!!!
I know this is one of those lowest rated albums, so pretty keen to hear just how shit it is lol. Ok could only find a few songs on YouTube, and yeah it's pretty anti music. 2/5.
Completely insane. Compelling, true, but almost unlistenable. 2 stars.
Typical not-quite-chaos of OC, hard to listen to
Not on Spotify, big L because it sounded cool
Chaos! That's the first thing that comes to mind during the opening track of Spy Vs Spy, an aural assault that continues through the album. It reminds me of before band class when everyone blows on their instrument independent from one another, trying to drown each other out. If you made a movie about a character that goes on an extended bender, then their life spirals out of control, freaking out until they die, this would be the "music" for that soundtrack! I was going to stop listening during the first track, but the masochist in me kept me from turning it off. Bad decision!
Some of this isn't godawful, but most of it is.
this is pretty chaotic for me but giving credit where credit is due, these are talented musicians
It sounded like a bunch of 1st graders got released into a room full of jazz instruments and were graded on who could make the loudest noises. There were moments of harmony far and few between, I will slide this though as a 2. Could only find this album on YouTube.
Had some moments when it was less manic, but this is way too avant-garde for me
I see what they were doing and its value to the world of music as a whole. Punk jazz does seem like it'd be cool. Honestly though it sounded like 40 minutes of a raccoon playing on a trash can lid.
Meh
My parents did it
i mean, i'm impressed by it and its left a mark on me, but fucking hell that is an assault on the senses. stressed me out but still better than any country music and john fucking lennon.
Very much not for me. I can appreciate the talent of the music, but cannot listen to the full album. Sends my ADHD into overdrive.
1/17, 6%
Jazz instrumental. Disonante. Difícil de escuchar
Too experimental
Difficile d’évaluer la musique, parce que le mix est un vrai fouilli, principalement les deux batteries qui ont tellement de réverbération, que je ne distingue à peu près rien. La musique d’Ornette Coleman est généralement interprétée de façon très dense. Quand on ne distingue rien, ça fait une grosse bouette et on peine à imaginer que les musiciens s’écoutent et on est sirpri que tous arrivent en même temps à la fin des pièces. Point positif, il y a beaucoup d’énergie dans l’album. Ça recrinque !!
When I started this album, I thought that it was quite a tough listen (and it is) but as it went on I realised that it sort of forces you to listen to it and do nothing else but listen to it and once I did that I did end up enjoying it. It's clear that the various musicians are incredibly talented. 2/5 Absolute chaos. Definitely not for everyone
If you were to call an album punk/thrashcore jazz - this would be it. Like all good thrashcore music Spy vs Spy is a wild ride that doesn't let up. The frenetic pace of it all and, the fact there are two saxophonists isolated in each ear make it feel like you don't know which direction you're being pulled in, or really what you are listening to. At times it can feel like a noise explosion. I'm quite used to hearing thrashcore when it's coupled with metal music, however with the type of instrumentation used here it's something that is completely foreign and a little grating at times. Best: Ecars Worst: Peace Warriors Note: This album was not on Spotify at all, so had to resort to ol' mate YouTube.
VERY BUSY. Technically obviously a very strong performance, but overall just not very enjoyable to listen to. And music needs to be enjoyable to listen to
Weird as hell and I think would be fun to see live but definitely not my jam
Spastic. I'm not sure I've ever heard jazz played with such ferocity. It's an interesting experiment - like someone thought "what if we tried to play jazz not like jazz at all"? I know of free jazz thanks to some earlier albums on this list and this album is like free jazz on speed; tempo cranked up a bunch of notches and like they're trying to hit the drums as hard as they can or play the sax as loud or whiny as they can. It is different, I'll give it that. Nice to know it exists but not sure I need to listen to it again - Good Old Days and Feet Music being two cool exceptions. I can see how the album is on this list for its uniqueness but it's not for me.
Whoa. Exuberant sonic assault. I mean, I'm pleased for them and all that they were able to have fun, but this just smacked me in the goolies. For half an hour.
difficult
Sounds like a mental breakdown. Did not hate it.
idk if audio-induced epilepsy is a thing, but if it is, there should be a warning at the beginning of this album
I wanted to like it but it’s too hard for me
Listen...just because you "can" get together with a drummer and trumpeter in a fluorescent-lit office at 4 am on a tuesday, inhale a 1'' x 8'' line of [redacted], and have an epileptic episode into a saxophone until the room is drenched in sweat and [redacted], doesn't mean you "should"... Though I do appreciate that kind of explosion of sound is contemporary art, raw emotion tripping over itself in an avalanche of controlled chaos. I don't dislike it, but it does not bring great pleasure to my ears. Intrigue? Yes. Pleasure? No. Do I respect it? Yes. Do I want more? No.
I like jazz, but I don't posses enough wisdom and genre understanding to find this album satisfactory. I couldn't find any pleasure in the cacophony of sounds, aggressive drumming in these interpretations of Ornette Coleman (original is much more like my cup of tea). However, in all this musical chaos it had some somewhat enjoyable moments, which corresponded with the band gaining (perhaps unwanted) harmony. Overall it wasn't a good album for me, but I understand the reasons to put it on the list.
This was too stressfull
Plainly, this is way outside of my normal quite eclectic musical boundary. Life's too short unfortunately.
Kind of cool if hard to listen to. Top trolling having this on here honestly.
Artsy, fartsy, knarzi. Ich bin ja ein großer Fan von solcher Art Musik, aber das ist einfach nur Schrott.
John Zorn can fuck right off, but not in a hateful way. You hear the first track, you've heard them all. Best Tracks: Chronology; Good Old Days; Blues Connotation
I couldn't find this record anywhere. The only thing I could find was a Spotify playlist of the Ornette Coleman songs on this record. The playlist is titled "Spy vs Spy: Ornette Coleman Plays the Music of Ornette Coleman That John Zorn Would Later Play Faster." HAHAHAHA! So, taking this music on its merits - It's some great jazz. But I can't really rate Zorn's version, so I'll give it a 2.5, rounded down to 2.0 for not being available. And, for seemingly trying to improve upon something already great.
Noise
I hated listening to this, but I respect this album for being what it is and just going for it
not my bag baby
Hmmm
Ouch. What cacaphony
Wtf
Didn't like tbqh
It’s a lot of racket. I’m sure the reviews absolutely dumpster this one and I gotta say I didn’t hate it. However I did feel lost at what I was supposed to gather from such raucous violent sax, it’s how I image what non Jazz listeners think what regular Jazz sounds like
Not my thing. I guess I don't get this kind of jazz. No emotional connection. It's forgettable.
Um . . . I said the previous album was unchallenging to listen to. That is not the case here. I’ve always found jazz a kinda gimmicky genre and never really felt the desire to do a deep dive into it, which I’m sure is what would give me an appreciation for it; and this is that only more so. In the global stats for the website I’m getting these album suggestions from, which lets you rate them, this is the 6th lowest rated album. Favourite track: “Good Old Days.”
Man I just can’t subject myself to this. The proficiency of playing is impressive but this is just too much loud, angry chaos.
Intense as fuck
Meh. It’s decent but not very interesting
Puh
Production: 10/20 Songwriting: 6/20 Innovation: 12/20 Bangers: 0/20 Emotional response: 2/20 =30 It was very lucky to get two stars because it sounded like a fucking headache. I had to give it relatively high for innovation because I’ve literally never heard anything like this before, and I gave it half marks for production because I could only find are YouTube playlist of it, some of them are quite badly compressed so it was hard for me to tell what was going on production wise
I just didn’t get it. I could keep listening to it just to appreciate some of the technical proficiency (only reason I didn’t go 1 star) but it definitely didn’t appeal to me. Also I’m led to believe he maybe just ruined Ornette Coleman’s music lol ?
Unremitting. I didn't mind it when I was concentrating/working but not the kind of thing I'd put on a lazy Summer evening.
Jazz rápido.
Je n’ai pas ecoute, la 1ere chanson sur youtube etait too much pour moi. Et l’album n,est pas sur spotify.
I can appreciate it but I didn't really enjoy it
Can't feel it, pure torture. Impressive playing nonetheless.
Too chaotic for my taste.
Wikipedia says the album "approaches free jazz from the perspective of hardcore punk, particularly taking note of the contemporary innovations of thrashcore and grindcore." FOH with that horseshit. There's a ton of technical skill on display, but it's masturbatory and painful. Those words shouldn't go together. Best track: Good Old Days
Not gonna lie, this one was a bit too jazzy for me
Hardcore Punk Jazz, sounded exactly as chaotic as it sounds...
Feels like pure noise. Didn't like it at all
I remember someone once comparing Napalm Deaths music to a metal band falling down the stairs with their instruments for 30 seconds. That is exactly what came to mind when this album started so reading that the artist thanked them (amongst others) in the liner notes surprised me as much as I felt it was kind of expected. The album just never stops. It just keeps going and at no point did I hear anything that I would go back to and listen to again. I have heard worse albums on this list and I enjoy my occasional grindcore but as much as a jazz version of that is a new and a fun concept for me It didn't resonate at all. Perhaps its me knowing to little about jazz to understand why the playing is impressive like when others listen to technical death metal and cant understand it one bit.
no lo pude encontrar así q lol
17/06/2026 I have no idea what happened here with this album of noise. It was hard to tell when one song finished and the other started. Was it just one long song?! Spotify listeners: 6,235
2026.06.29.
Yikes! Way too chaotic and repetitive for my tastes, although I am sure there is some brilliance hidden in the chaos... Honestly, was it just one long song?
Well, that cleared my ears out.
too dumm to appreciate it
Du meine Güte was ist das ? Organisiewrter Krach?
Last weekend, Aaron said to me, "True freedom is frightening." And I think his maxim gets at what makes Spy Vs. Spy instantaneously and relentlessly repulsive (but no less interesting). The notes are dissonant, it's true. But the "music" is also completely unmoored from all structure and rule of law. Zorn gives us nothing to cling to. His album seems to blare, for over forty minutes, the message that "GOD IS DEAD, AND WE ARE ON OUR OWN IN THE VOID FOREVER." What could make us frantically kick our little baby feet more than that? This is like taking a ten-hour road trip with your parents while listening to St. Anger at full volume with a crappy pair of ear buds while simultaneously your dad plays Master of Puppets at full volume from the car speakers. The mash occasionally coalesces into an exciting new form, but generally, second by second, the whole experience pushes you closer and closer to bloody patricide. For whatever it's worth, I can now say, with the pomp of a foremost scholar of Medieval Italian poetry, *pushes glasses up* Lightning Bolt would simply not exist without the likes of John Zorn.
Ебать это что вообще нахуй такое))
Ideal para mentes muy abiertas y artísticas, no como yo que soy recontra estructurada y lineal.
there's no album on spotify, sorry Jhon
I gave it ten minutes, but I’m not going to be a martyr.
The drumming could have been toned down a bit, but other than that, this was awful. Favorite Track: "W.R.U."
the wikipedia description has me horrified. first minute? fuck you Would I listen again: this is hell Deserves to be on this list: the editor is a sadist 0
Pure torture! This was really loud jazz. Also, it wasn’t on Spotify or Apple Music, so I had to listen to it on YouTube. I don’t think I should have to listen to albums that are so obscure they’re not on Apple Music.
I am stressed. This was not a nice listen and it actually made my mens mental health worse during the day. It was like someone was sitting on my chest. However this is the sort of album I wanted to be exposed to during this list. Although it’s jarring and exhausting to listen to, it is really just an extreme, and without extremes, art is pointless. I won’t listen to this again, but John congrats on getting on the list. You have pushed my boundaries.
gibt's nicht...
Noise jazz is just not my thing.
Well holy shit! May as well get this out of the way right now. Just stated in another review, I'm saving my 1's for offensive to my ears stuff. Let me introduce you to John Zorn. On top of the banging noise that gave me a headache, I had to find on youtube and got ads addressing old age, losing muscle mass and sex problems and I'm only about 20-25 minutes in. Not sure I can make it much longer, but at least I got an appliance ad just now. Yea.......offensive to the ears. 1
Oh boy... A few days ago I described a John Coltrane jazz album as overstimulating. This is unbelievable. I'm beyond my limits. The jazz lover in the house described it as "a bit much"
This is actually an elaborate joke to see what's the worst music they could record and have critics fawn over it. I got this album right after Take Five and it's a good comparison of the worst album ever vs one of the best jazz albums ever.
This is a weird one in that I love when songs get crazy and cacophonous but many of the songs in this album are ONLY crazy and ONLY cacophonous. There's nothing tying many of the songs down to something more grounded to justify the outburst of sound. The first half of this album feels like the same song: drums wailing in the back and the sax going nuts for 3 minutes straight until the song resolves to a close. And again. And again. It's not until 'Ecars' comes around where the album finally comes around to something that you can follow along with and appreciate. There's a few more songs in the middle of the album that have a slower pace and are not full throttle which was appreciated... until the last third of the album blasts off again into that same wailing drums and whiny sax. This is one of those albums that takes incredible musicians to make but the end result is something that lacks any sort of theme or emotion. Unfortunately, this is my first 1 star album through my journey of about 130 albums so far.
Creo que podía morir sin haber escuchado esto
0/17
Couldn’t access in Apple Music.
I don't see the point of this sort on music.
Couldn’t make it all the way.
"Let's all play different songs!"
Dette var helt jævlig
What a mess. Awful noise. The sound of the non-stop saxophones were grating. First album I had to skip through. It was all the same mess. No structure, nothing memorable, just a cacophony of caca. Even Tidal didn't want it on their platform so had to listen to it on YouTube. 1/5
An attack on my ears
The best collection of random noises since Houmous & Chutneys infamous album ‘Noisy Noise’ 1.4 12/17 Ecars
Can’t listen, it’s not on Spotify
I had to find this one on YouTube. I went into it with an open mind because I'd already seen how divisive it is, and I was hoping I'd end up being one of the people who like it. I can absolutely appreciate the artistic merit and the talent on display here. These are clearly incredible musicians, and I don't doubt they know exactly what they're doing. The problem is that, for me, appreciating the musicianship didn't make it enjoyable to listen to. This honestly felt like a really long 40 minutes. It was so chaotic that after a while it all started to blur into one. I know people who are really into this style of jazz will probably hear loads of different ideas, but to my ears it felt like the same thing happening over and over again. I also just couldn't find any rhythm or structure to it. A lot of it just sounded like noise to me. That's not me saying it is just noise, because I know plenty of people love this album, but that's genuinely how it came across while I was listening. It honestly reminded me of that scene in Friends where Ross is showing everyone the different keyboard sounds and nobody knows what they're supposed to say. That's the closest comparison I could think of while I was listening. I do feel a bit harsh giving this one star because I genuinely respect the musicians and what they were trying to do. I'm glad I listened to it because it's so different from anything else I've heard on this journey, but I can't imagine ever wanting to put it on again.
No aparece en youtube, no lo pude escuchar
An assault on the ears and brain. The soundtrack to someone being on way to much cocaine. If you were to put a mile long train crash to jazz music. You can stop after the first 30 seconds. Thats the whole album
I had to go to YouTube for that?
Who knew that avant-garde jazz would be annoying as shit? Everybody? Yeah, everybody knew that.
I appreciate this the same way I appreciate any other abstract art: I understand the level of mastery required to make this is probably tremendous, but I also accept that it definitely isn't something I enjoyed. It was sad because there were nuggets of decent songs at times, but it just felt like wild noise to me.
What?! I'm not really sure what that was but it was not good. It's like someone knocked over a drum kit while stepping on 20 cats at the same time. Don't get me wrong, I like jazz but I did not like this.
N/a on spotify
It’s just too much for me.
This is just...noise? No real rhythm or timing, zero sense of structure, just chaos. I get being "experimental" and that's fine, there's some things I enioy that follow a similar suit of being chaotic (Devin Townsend Project - Deconstruction album I'm thinking of) but there’s still an underlying rhythm or melody of some sort to come back to. Not here. I'm sure they’re all great musicians, but this was just awful to listen to.
BRUHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
This is the strangest 1 star ranking I think I'll give. I don't hate it. There are moments in the second half of the album that I almost respect and understand. But so much of it is just noise to me. The research it forced me into, trying to understand where this sound is coming from, kept me interested enough. And I'll probably share this with a select group of friends. It is nothing if not a conversation piece.
I appreciate what this album did and is doing with challenging conventions and pushing boundaries. But I think that's where my appreciation ends unfortunately. I don't play any instruments myself so I don't get that appreciation of how difficult or impressive something like this is to pull of - to me it mostly sounds like 5 people who were completely sound isolated from each other and had been told to play the craziest thing they knew how to using their instruments. It sounds like how I'd expect most bands sound on their first ever practice session. But that's probably just ignorance on my part. Unfortunately that still stands as not a great experience in the end because I don't "get it". But I will say that I'll probably remember this album for the rest of my life, something I can't say for a lot of the other albums on here Standouts - 1/5
Not a good album. Very chaotic, but not in a good way. I don't feel like my music experience is better for hearing it tbh. Much better jazz and anarchic music out there.
Not for me.
I am an avid listener of black metal and I found this pretty interesting but in an experimental, yet absurd way. It is the ramblings of a mad man. It is bad, very bad.
0.5 - Please Kill Me
1/5
Oh fuck off
Jesus H. Fucking Christ.. This fucking list, man.. Yesterday sucked (IRL), so I really could have used anything but this chaos. Absolute trash. It sounds like they recorded it in a garbage compactor and then put it through a wood chipper before pressing it into vinyl. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions - No.. no, no no.
That’s garbage! No chance they can play it again… just vomiting randomly notes… 🤮
I had a hard time finding this album on my streaming service (Qobuz does Hifi), so I found it somewhere else. I can see why Qobuz doesn't have this album available. Anyone who gives this 5 Stars should seek psychiatric help, there's something not quite right going on there.
This was chaotic. The auditory equivalent of button mashing a keyboard. If anyone told me this was their favorite album, I would sideye them so hard. Grateful to never have to listen to this again. And that it’s not available on Spotify to possibly mess up my algorithm.
Lots of frenetic noise. Not my bag.
Definitely an assault on the senses in my opinion. Just not the best jazz album.
Thank God that's over.
The fact that it is not available to stream on Spotify is not a good sign to start off. The fact that is just a bunch of Whoville style instrument noises is confirmation that this is going to be a slog. Well, the songs suck, but at least they are short. This is like the jazz equivalent of hardcore punk/metal. And I don't like those genres any better than this. Good Old Days started with some promise and now has devolved into a cacophony of annoying sounds. Listening to this on YouTube makes figuring out which "song" I'm listening to impossible. The end of this cannot come soon enough. Feet Music is the first song that feels like it isn't trying to make me think it sucks. I don't know if I need to listen to Ornette Coleman to get a taste of his music or if it would just be subjecting myself to more of this torture.
1/5 - No thanks
It wasn't available on spotify and I wish I had bothered to track it down on youtube. Awful cacophony of brass. Some people love this kind of thing - they are wrong and weird
Chaotische Scheiße
chaotic
The worst so far.
I don't understand nor enjoy free jazz. I don't think I ever will.
One point for cover art One point for originality 2/100
Since jazz is pretty much the only music genre I can't stand, especially the saxophone, this is probably the worst music my mind can comprehend.
This is exactly the sort of unusual, out there, never-would-have-ever-listened-to albums that I wanted from this list. Hated it.
If Napalm Death made a jazz album.
This kind of difficult music has an important prerequisite: you need to have listened to Trout Mask Replica beforehand. Otherwise, there are still people in your life who will be disappointed in you
Fun fact: On Guantanamo's Top Ten Torture Albums this is number one with a bullet.
Nonsense
A 40 minute version of that 30 seconds at the beginning of every Saturday Night Live right before the monologue starts
Could not find it, but other reviews suggest that's not such a bad thing. (1 start simply to post the review.)
i really don't like experimental, noise-like music
Jazz but Jazz at 100 miles an hour. Not available on Spotify but found it on Youtube. Pity about the ads 'tho.
Absolutely dreadful. There's clearly some musical skill, but the music is barely better than noise as far as I'm concerned.
1 - TERRIBLE
Atrocious. Two saxophones improvising simultaneously, one in each ear. Please no.
This gave me a headache.
1.5 - the hectic jazz is cool for a bit but becomes exhausting to listen to
Jazzy noise.
Not enjoyable at all. Chaotic noise.
Experimental? I'm either going to love it or hate it. Jazz? Don't really get it. I have found a few jazz albums I like, but I don't enjoy most of them, Experimental Jazz? Hell No This is just noise. There are a couple of tracks near the end that approach sounding like a jazz album.
Fuckin drugs are doing it
The whole thing sounds like noise piled on top of noise. Everything feels mangled together with no real rhythm or groove to hold onto. Instead of swinging or even locking into chaos in a satisfying way, it comes off like everyone is just playing whatever they want at the same time. I get that it is supposed to be free jazz, but this felt less like experimentation and more like a mess.
This made my work day so chaotic in such a short amount of time, it was impressive. This is some jazz I'd hear on the Eric Andre show. But I didn't have the comedy of the show to go with it. It's way too much and I hated it.
I feel like this is supposed to be some sort of avant garde masterpiece but I don't get it. I love a lot of albums of this type that get a lot of negative reviews like Locust Abortion Technician but this album just fell flat for me.
Clearly, they know how to play their instruments well. They just don’t know how to make music. This album was hard to listen to.
Not on Spotify, Jazz
Musical Show-Off jam is not music
Yep that is impressive shit
First album I just could not listen to... I managed 10 mins. I'm sure there is a lot of talent here somewhere, but this is just unlistenable.
This sucks. Just because it’s jazz doesn’t mean it’s automatically good, this is unlistenable. I do absolutely love the cover art though.
Don't try to pretend this is anything but a room of arseholes trying to fart over the top of each other.
Great cover, but totally unlisteneable. Not just because it's hard to find, but because it's actually unlisteneable. I still very much support this album's inclusion on this list over another eg Elvis Costello album.
Straight booty cheeks 💔
what the actual fuck
No. Fucking. Chance.
Crazy how an Ornette Coleman tribute album made it to the 1001 albums to hear before you die list over an actual Ornette Coleman project, like what was the author thinking here? Are they stupid? Anyways I guess I have a very loud and obnoxious Avant-Garde Jazz album to here and I am not going to shy away from saying I know without even hearing this in full that I am not going to enjoy it. I am not saying I hate Free Jazz by any means but I am very particular about it and I can promise you without a doubt in my mind, if there was any Free Jazz album I'd enjoy it would definitely not be a cover album of Free Jazz music. There are some slight glimpses of something great here, much like with a lot of Free Jazz music, but as a whole project this thing is all over the place and extremely messy. I wish I had more to say here but other than the more Rock/Metal elements John Zorn brings to the table, there really isn't much to see or even really enjoy here unless you are already huge on both respective genres involved. Nuff said.
I get that this is probably avant-garde and creative, but I’d be lying if I said any of it worked for me. I would say I like jazz but I’ve never been a massive fan, so with that in mind I was hesitant already, however finding out this was an almost reinvention of it, scared me more. This was abrasive in all the wrong ways, and although the tracks were all very short they all just blended together for me, as dismissive as that may sound. Put simply it was an experimentation that didn’t work for me.
Horror. 3/10
Man you have got to be trolling with this shit. 90% of this shit sounds like the LeBrin in the studio with 2 Chainz meme
20 seconds was enough. Anxiety Jazz is not for me. I reckon this album is used in Guantánamo.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHtrumpetAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHsaxaphoneAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHjazz.
Free Jazz - Full Disclosure - I didn't find the complete album but based on the 13 songs I did listen to, I was able to form a solidified opinion on this album. This genre may be called "Free Jazz" but I would pay money to never hear this album ever again. If this music were a word, this album is what "Stress" sounds like - chaos embodied in saxophone form. The drums are somehow tight but willy-nilly. The good news is that each tornado of a song does end quickly. I will say that it did elicit a physical response out of me but that response was making my palms sweat. 10/10 not a good time if you have functioning ears.
Come on now. I think this epitomises my dislike of jazz. I mean, what the fuck is this. It's completely unlistenable. I can't believe I went out of my way to find this and what's more spent 41 minutes listening to it. There's zero structure that I can identify. There's no melody. Do people actually enjoy listening to this? I don't care if it's making some sort of artistic point I think this must be the the top 3 worst albums on this list so far and we've done over 900! 1, feel very harsh on Depeche mode now after this mess
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.
Två av de absolut jobbigaste musikstilarna att lyssa på, amerikansk HC-punk och frijazz, här kombinerade. Det blir för tufft för mig
Not for me at all.
Holy shit who can listen to this? I’m sure these musicians are some of the most talented people but this is horrible
So. This gave me a headache. I hate this.
Verry impressive from the technical point of view. The album is something for specialists - definitively not for me.
?/10 - скип, т.к. не нравится и нет на площадках(бутман пизже)
Unlistenable noise or high-concept brilliance? Definitely the former...
Absolutely awful experience. One of the worst things I’ve ever heard.
I appreciate experimenting but no. Extremely anxiety inducing.
Wtf nog nooit zo blij geweest met reclame
Was on a good streak until this!! Absolute carnage!
do you like big band style horn sections? what about a couple of them playing over each other with scattered drums behind it? terrible? of course it is!
To put it simply… unlistenable. But that album cover is pretty dope
Day 134 Not for me at all, struggled to get through this.
I was excited for this after I read what it was, thinking I'd get some uptempo jazz. This a true cacophony of sound. Apparently he was trying to make hardcore punk with saxophones? This is crazy. Ultimately it's too disorganized to enjoy, though I see why it's notable.
What in the world is this
A whole lot of effort went into hating this album. Nothing on Spotify so I tried YouTube Music. There was a playlist called Spy vs. Spy so I listened to that. But after I was through I determined that it was actually a collection that didn’t include more than two tracks from the album. Then I found some album called Spy vs. Spy on YouTube and started listening to that. This time I determined that it was not the real deal earlier. Anyway, all the tracks I listed to sounded like screeching saxophones over chaos. Sigh.
Didn't listen. Couldn't find album
Really bad. Not for the masses. I can appreciate free form jazz as a form of expression, but it just sounds terrible. Absolutely should not be on this list. Very hard to listen.
This did not pair well with the type of morning I had yesterday. I can’t imagine what it would pair well with. Maybe trying to rush around a supermarket with 5 minutes to close and a three week shopping list. My one star is based on approx. three minutes of listening.
Not on any streaming platform so wasn’t the easiest to listen to. Wasn’t worth the effort in the end. Awful noise
You know what, if you're into this sort of stuff, I take my hat off to you. One of the most insane albums I've ever listened to, and I'm a death metal fan.
“Now you must acquire a taste for freeform jazz.” - Patrick Star, Spongebob Squarepants S2E26 This album is my brain when I don’t take Ritalin. Like, I understand what the free jazz movement was doing, and I love some noisy shit, but perhaps I’m not an adult yet. Or maybe I don’t like alto sax as an instrument? Drums were absolutely killing this whole album, but it kind of sounded like an incredibly extended solo break. This album cover was...a choice. Why are we flogging a woman?
Not on US Apple Music.
Did not have a Spotify link :(
Goodness me as a Saxophonist myself I desperately wanted to go against what appears to be the norm and give this album (once I found it available to be streamed) a big thumbs up. Instead of thumbs up it became two index fingers into ears. 1/5 6/12/25
Pas ma came 🤔
Maybe the worst jazz yet
🙉
01) W.R.U. - 1,0 02) Chronology - 1,0 03) Word for Bird - 1,0 04) Good Old Days - 1,5 05) The Disguise - 1,0 06) Enfant - 1,0 07) Rejoicing - 1,0 08) Blues Connotation - 1,5 09) C. & D. - 1,0 10) Chippie - 1,5 11) Peace Warriors - 1,0 12) Ecars - 1,0 13) Feet Music - 3,0 14) Broad Way Blues - 3,0 15) Space Church - 1,0 16) Zig Zag - 1,0 17) Mob Job - 1,0 TOTAL: 1,32 (13/100) Current ranking: 736/738 How can this even be called music? When the commercial started I thought for a second, this finally sounds ok, and then I realized I was listening to it on YouTube...
Started out hating it at the beginning, but got used to all the cacophony that it got a bit interesting at the end. Probably most liked 1 star album :-)
It wasnt even on spotify anymore and had to look it up on yt. Listening to is was definetely an experience, but not a good one, though im happy I tried
haha, woah
Nur Jazz und Instrumente *Trompete gar nicht mein Fall
What goes through my head as I am studying for my complex analysis, differential equations and Fourier analysis exam =D
I don't care how technically proficient this is. I dont like it.
Well, I hated it.
Screeching sax, Dikshit no like
An experiment in cacophony that succeeds
jesus fucking christ god damn blast beats everywhere There's some crazy rhythmic/drum stuff going on that I don't think of when I think "jazz" (like the blast beats) and it would be really sick if it was explored more but the saxophone wailing is so fucking relentless. Don't get me wrong I can get behind full out chaos if it's being used in juxtaposition. 6 minutes in - can this be over yet? I GET IT. Is there more to say?? Just to be even more annoying they put a big ass reverb on the whole drum kit during Enfant. Intentionally obnoxious shit drives me bonkers, it reminds me of the twerpy kid in school who repeated the annoying phrase over and over because he knows it bugs people and he wants attention - this is why everyone makes fun of jazz. 15 minutes in and I just loudly exclaimed "UGHH" to no one. Imagine being the poor engineer who had to sit through these sessions? The drum reverb is killing me hahahah Woah Ecars actually feels slightly different (one notch more coherent) Feet Music - okay lets fucking go!! Actual discernible melody and harmony!! Performances felt a little one-note to me... get it? cuz there's a million fucking notes!!! 1/5 obviously. Truly torturous. My initial reaction to this is "this doesn't need to exist." But that's a knee-jerk reaction based on my preferences and is unfair. The longer I think on that (and the longer I was subjected to this record) the more I change my mind, surprisingly. I just don't understand it, I think is what it comes down to. Obviously there's a lot of noise music out there (and most doesn't require one ounce of the technique this monster does). So I KNOW there's a point - and maybe a lot of music I love has shared roots with this type of stuff, I just have a tough time seeing it. I'd be happy to get some more insight on this, more than happy to be proven wrong about any of it, but anyone rating this higher than 1 has some explaining to do.
Couldn’t review, not available on Spotify.
I couldn't get through it.
Puke. Noise.
panic attack inducing music. sure there’s talent somewhere in this but good lord…couldn’t make it past the first track
The first album in the list I could not hear. It wasn't available on Spotify. I had to look up on other platforms and... Too experimental for my taste.
Look I knew what I signed up for when I started 1001 albums, I was going to get weird stuff, and I wanted to widen my musical palette. That being said, this is a no for me, this is not fun to listen to in any capacity. This is what people refer to when they jazz is pretentious and then they make fun of you for ‘not getting it’. I’m sorry no, there are better jazz albums on this list that don’t and I’m quoting family guy insist upon itself.
Wow, where to begin. I had low expectations from what I’d read, and they were not wrong. I have never let ads play through without skipping. It was the only reprieve from the torture that was that album.
(20/100)
So that was a very long, unpleasant 41 minutes! These guys were very talented and undoubtedly doing what they wanted creatively in mixing jazz with hardcore punk as they free-styled on their instruments. But it took about three songs (out of seventeen!) for everything to start sounding the same. There are a total of 0 albums by Warren Zevon on this list purporting to represent 1001 albums we all "must hear" before we die. But this ear-crushing cacophony made it. You do the math. Listening to this has given me a headache.
awful
That was... busy?
It wasn’t available to stream
What a terrible day to have ears
A tough listen, pops sqwarks, arhtyhmn, I’m missing something.
I was previously familiar with Ornette Coleman but not John Zorn. I can sort of see the appeal of this in theory - it's a very interesting mashup of genres. I would even go so far as to say that it works, for a few tracks. But a full album of this is way too much. This could work as an album if alternated with some palate cleansing between the tracks. As it stands, it's a relentless assault on the ears. I could see a track here or there working within the context of something larger (particularly the track "Blues Connotation" which stood out in a good way), but this is not good as it is. I could not get through all of it and would not listen again.
Musical masturbation for guys who think they’re cool…played by guys who probably got their asses kicked a lot. Insulting to the ears, and insulting to the listeners on this exercise being forced to even acknowledge its existence. More like shit vs. shit. If only there were 0 stars.
Not on Spotify so I almost gave up. Found on YouTube but couldn’t listen very long. Gave me anxiety. I bet these guys are pretentious as shit.
No. 0/5
Pretty sure this album could trigger seizures. Listened to it on You Tube and the best part were the commercials.
Just no. For something to be considered “music” there needs to be structure. This is 40 minutes of a high school wind ensemble warming up.
That put me in seriously bad nick
I couldn't access this album.
Not for me
Wat een ellendige jazz kakafonie
A group of people come across a brick of cocaine and a pile of instruments. After doing all the coke they decide to see who can play an instrument the fastest. The German noise band was way more interesting than this one
Ricky Bobby: Nobody plays jazz at the Pit Stop! Jean Girard: Then why is the song on the jukebox? Bartender: We use it for profiling purposes. We also have the Pet Shop Boys and Seal.
Unlistenable.
This is junk
That sounded like a Middle School Band warming up - for like an hour straight, and then walking off stage. It’s not artsy and avant-garde to make noise and call it music, it’s just annoying.
I was on such a great streak! Five 4 or 5-star albums in a row, and you ruined it John.
Where do I get my "I survived the Spy Vs. Spy album" T-shirt? It sounded like someone threw a couple of jazz bands down a 40 minute long staircase with just a few flat spots to play music during. Like I get it, they had a concept and they hit it, but it was not all that fun to listen to.
Seriously not into freeform jazz
not listenable