Whatever you might think of U2, they do give good interview. And I’m not just talking about Bono, the dreamer with a fistful of facts. Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. often sheds light on the inner workings of a group of people who like to pretend that they’re still the four muckers who started out together some 33 years ago. I recently remembered a U2 interview from 1997 when they were making the distinction between records that are truly great and ones that con you into thinking they’re great because they remind you of another great record. These words have been resonating with me while listening to Japanese composer Ryuchi Sakamoto’s aptly titled new release “Playing The Piano”.
Although Sakamoto’s slightly lackadaisical attack and ponderous rhythm jarred with me from the get-go, there was something familiar about the album I liked, and it wasn’t just the Spartan re-workings of Sakamoto favourites like his theme
to “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence”, the 1983 war film in which he starred alongside David Bowie. The general atmosphere reminded me of one of my favourite jazz records, Bill Evans’ “Conversations With Myself” from 1963, an early experiment with multi-track recording that had the pianist layering his own playing track-by-track and revelling in his virtual interactions. What makes Evans’ musical shadow-boxing great and Sakamoto’s solo performances less so is the fact that “Conversations With Myself” was at the cutting edge of the then available recording technology and knew it while “Playing The Piano” surfs on a wave of nostalgic melancholy not supported by the playing.
It is a prime example of a record that only reminds you of a great record
rather than being one itself.
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