Saints

Marc Ribot is my favorite guitarist and I'm interested in everything he does so I may not be a very objective reviewer, but overall I really like this CD. The majority of the album, Ribot is unaccompanied playing an inexpensive guitar with strings so light that his tuning is wavering and the whole song sometimes sounds wobbly. It's a really interesting sound and I think it makes his take on some of these songs really interesting. I especially like St James Infirmary and I'm Confessing. That being said, some other reviewers said that the songs tend to sound the same and I guess I agree. I find myself skipping to my favorites and passing over quite a few. It's not my favorite of his albums but I like it a lot. But again, I'm somewhat of a gushing fan so take that into careful consideration. I guess I recommend Silent Movies before this one if you don't have experience with Ribot yet and you're hungry for solo guitar.

I love this guys approach. I find his phrasings and what seems to be mastery over his instrument. However with the being said this is an album for musicians. I don't think anyone in the general music fan category would find this enjoyable. It is far more "musical" then some other releases of his but it is a guitar only album. Yes there are songs but there is also that brand meandering that he has done on others things. I find this to be an album that I can put on and hear while doing things that deviate my attention slightly so that when I listen to again I will hear something very interesting that may be didn't hit me the time before. So it sounds new almost every time I hear it.

Marc Ribot's "Saints" is one of those albums that proves that major record labels should not be allowed to ever distribute interesting music-- barely four years old, this one is already out of print, which is a travesty as it is a fantastic record.The album is Ribot performing solo guitar (mostly acoustic, though occasionally electric) over a series of standards and covers. Ribot approaches in an inside-outside fashion, often combining delicate theme statements with more eclectic and aggressive improvisations, coaxing a wide array of sounds out of his guitar. He really seems to dig in hardest on the Ayler material ("Saints", "Holy Holy Holy" and "Witches and Devils") taking the opportunity to stretch Ayler's music by inserting a lot of space-- not having any accompaniment allows for this easily enough certainly. Ditto for Zorn's "Book of Heads #13"-- on all of these, scratches, slides, rattles, bangs, are all common. And yet as outside as these are, they all possess a delicate beauty, one that can be similarly felt on his oddly phrased "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" or "Somewhere", where Ribot prevents the natural lushness of the piece from getting in the, or the sort of start-stop nature of his take of "I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)", that almost sounds like a bizarrely skipping record player. And finally, if "Happiness is a Warm Gun", with its overwhelmingly lyrical guitar, doesn't catch you, listen to it until it does. It should.This is not an easy album, people associate solo guitar with that. Nor is this an album that is not firmly lodged in the avant-garde, but it is a fantastic record where Ribot really gets a chance to shine.

This avant gard jazz guitar exercise by Mark Ribot is just a bit too avant gard for me. I'm a certified Ribot fluffer too.The first 7 tracks on the disc sound to me like a sub par practice session. I understand that great artists need the freedom to be able to explore and I wouldn't think of holding this against him, but...The fire in his playing--showcased on his recordings with Tom Waits, his own Cubanos Postitzos records, and with Zorn--shows up for the fist time on the 8th track on this disc, where he finally delivers some solid patented "Ribot" lines with his normal "country twang".But from there, it's back to the silly messing around that characterize the first 7 tracks. I really don't even know how to describe the stuff here. I guess it must be too hip for me, or something.God knows this guy has chops to rival anyone playing guitar these days--but this experiment is just way out there. Save yourself a buck and don't buy this one. Worth a listen if you can somehow procure a friend's copy, though ;-)Two stars cause it is Marc Ribot, after all.

this album is indeed an acquired taste. its easy to listen to this album once and give it a bad review like i feel some of the other amazon reviewers here did... but the truth of the matter is... ribot extends the vocabulary of the guitar beyond cheesy soulful solos and orthodox, predictable changes to create a vernacular all his own. i have found the best music usually is not immediately accessible and takes some time wrestling with it to reach its full capacity of enjoyment. don't be put off by the bad reviews.

I've heard Ribot on everything from Zorn to his latin thing to Elvis Costello and he continues to surprise me. This set seems at first to be an off-the-cuff little session, but after repeated listenings (I can't seem to stop listening) it reveals a great deal of thought. He manages to bring out the melodic side of Ayler songs while really messing with the Beatles and some "standards."This is a cd I can't fully describe. Its strange, beautiful and compelling, all at the same time.With the backing of a major label, the recording is like being in the same room and the packaging is quite nice. Lets hope he's not booted off the label the same way Columbia boots their artists.

Don't get me wrong, I love Ribot; his stuff with Medeski Martin and Wood was great. Based on what I had heard there, I went with this album. All I heard was guitar. Plucking of a guitar. It's one thing to have solo guitar, as in some strumming here and there, but this sounded as if it had no musical scheme whatsoever. Maybe this is just too experimental for me, I don't know.

When I listen to this album the sound makes me very happy. Brilliant. Listen to cut 5 Happiness Is A Warm Gun and tell me what you think, Delicate and so beautiful. One of my all time favourites. Ribot is genius.

It's Marc Ribot - of course it's brilliant!