Search - Bill Bruford's Earthworks: Video Anthology, Vol. 1 - 2000s on DVD

Captivating peformance

Music maven | Amherst, MA | 11/25/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"These are really excellent performances of terrific songs, played by stellar players. Bill Bruford is easily the most distinctive and immediately identifiable drummer ever to sit behind a kit. His whole concept of what drums are and how to play them is unique, as is his compositional sense, which just keeps getting better and better with time. It's fascinating to watch his progression as a band leader and writer through the span of the two discs in this series. His most recent band, on the last five tracks of this DVD, is, I think, his best to date. They play with real passion and precision--a difficult combination, and one that makes Bruford himself so notable. The songs are devilishly complicated, but they don't wear their complexity on their sleeve, and everyone in the band navigates the odd time signatures and convoluted arrangements so gracefully that you don't at first notice how much is going on under the surface. It makes for very rich and repeatable viewing. The one and only disappointing aspect of this DVD is the video quality. It's shot and lit well enough, but the resolution is soft, as though the video was taken from a second or third-generation iteration. It's not horrible, just not as good as it should be. Music this sharp deserves production values that are also sharp. But the fact is, the playing is so enjoyable that you will quickly dismiss any shortcomings in the video quality. If you have any interest in jazz or in Bill Bruford, buy this one without hesitation."