Search - Jandek: Glasgow Monday on DVD

Lower your expectations...

Noodles | Chicago, IL | 03/15/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Let me start by saying I am by no means an expert on Jandek. I do own several of his cd's (for those who are interested they are: Ready For The House, Six And Six, Chair Beside A Window, Blue Corpse, You Walk Alone, and the DVD Glasgow Sunday - not to be confused with my review here for Glasgow Monday), and I generally like all of them. I think I expected too much from this DVD - especially when I read that there would be a drummer and a person playing upright bass, and Jandek playing piano... I was hoping for some weird experimental jazz - but that is not what this is at all... Now in all fairness to Jandek he just had different intentions for this piece and I respect him for that - but I find this to be unbearably repetitive and very uninteresting. Now any Jandek fan will immediately say that all of his recordings are repetitive - many entire albums contain the same guitar chords and same vocal style throughout - but oddly enough I am OK with that as the ones I have heard I actually find interesting - while this DVD leaves me completely empty. To describe the piano playing I could say it is like hearing a child play variations of the same scale over and over and over and over. Jandek does not sing but rather recites his poetry; the string bass player does not play in any free-form unconventional style but rather plays very nice-sounding slow low accompaning notes - many times actually in tune with Jandek's piano playing (!!), and the drummer barely ever hits a drum with a stick but rather experiments with other odd sounds that a drum kit can make - and I do find that interesting - but it is Jandek's repetitive simple-scale piano playing and dull uninspired delivery of his poetry that leaves me bored and uninterested. I believe Jandek intended for this performance to all be considerd a single "piece" with each track being part one, part two, etc - and again I respect him for writing and performing this piece of his - however I just do not find it interesting. If you are looking for a more out-of-tune free-form rock/jazz experience from Jandek I would suggest one of his other DVD's: Glasgow Sunday. I find that one MUCH more interesting, and one that I will play more regularly."