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Overview
U Totem, both the band and the eponymous album, is the result of a merger between two avant-garde bands of progressive rock/Rock-In-Opposition allegiance: the David Kerman-led 5uu's and the James Grigsby-led Motor Totemist Guild. U Totem is a two-headed beast, a wonderful beast that is. But the integration of the two creative forces wasn't complete and one can feel important style shifts between the Grigsby-penned tunes and the Kerman collaborations. Grigsby is classically trained and shows great interest in contemporary music and Japanese culture, something that would become a leitmotiv in his future works with U Totem (Strange Attractors) and with his Motor Totemist Guild (All America City). Therefore, his pieces are full of complex and contrasting textures with a lot of emphasis put on acoustic instruments like flute and bassoon. Kerman's interest resides more into rock, but a rock derived from Henry Cow. His pieces share affinities with Grigsby's on the complexity level, but his are more structured in terms of rhythm, more driven by powerful drumming and lightning-fast keyboard chops. These differences can be very well felt in the album's highlights, the orientally-inclined "One Nail Draws Another" (although for a Grigsby tune, it rocks!) and the News from Babel-feel of Kerman's "The Judas Goat." This first album is very strong and has become a requirement to any avant-prog fan but, as a band, U Totem will deliver an even stronger opus, the conceptual album Strange Attractors.
Product Details
Release Date: | 03/29/1995 |
---|---|
Label: | Cuneiform |
UPC: | 0045775002422 |
catalogNumber: | 750024 |
Rank: | 116917 |
Tracks
Album Credits
Performance Credits
U Totem Primary ArtistGreg Conway Guitar
Herbert Diamant Soprano Saxophone
Georgia Grigsby Vocals,Voices
James Grigsby Bass,Guitar,Vibes
Emily Hay Flute,Piccolo,Vocals,Voices
Becky Heninger Cello
Kaoru Vocals,Voices
Dave Kerman Percussion,Drums
Sanjay Kumar Piano,Keyboards,Sitar
Dave Lizmi Guitar
Mirian Meyer Violin
Maria Moran Guitar
Rod Poole Guitar
Howard Shepard Vocals,Voices
Curt Wilson Vocals,Voices
Herb Kiamant Soprano Saxophone
Eric Johnson Bassoon,Soprano Saxophone,Contrabassoon
Technical Credits
Eric Johnson ComposerBob Drake Engineer
Georgia Grigsby Producer
James Grigsby Producer,Artwork,Graphic Design,Illustrations
Kaoru translation,Calligraphy
Dave Kerman Producer
Curt Wilson Engineer
Rigobert Dittmann translation
Customer Reviews
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