Is That You?
Recorded in 1989,Is That You?is very much a studio session, making ample use of overdubs and Bill Frisell's highly selective doubling on bass, banjo, ukulele, and clarinet, as well as his usual guitars. ProducerWayne Horvitzadds keyboards and some drum programming, withJoey Baronplaying drums and Dave Hofstra appearing occasionally on tuba and electric bass. It's Frisell's ability to construct novel musical zones that stands out, mixing acoustic folk-derived materials with distorted big-beat electric guitars in what sometimes feels like a one-man culture clash. Much of this genre evasion takes place at slow tempos, making the method even more impressive, and sometimes one of Frisell's long bends seems to span continents. The ethereally beautiful "The Way Home" sounds as if it's straddling a picturesque Japan and steel-guitar country, wandering slowly between the two without ever taking up a definite residence. Those qualities appear frequently here, and there are also a couple of terrific covers, a slow solo-guitar version ofHenry Mancini's "The Days of Wine and Roses" filled with a wandering tonality, and a very funky version ofAretha Franklin's hit "Chain of Fools."--Stuart Broomer