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I have had this recording on a cassette for over a decade. Take the opportunity to get the CD. Purportedly the instrumentalists are taken from the "Dirty Dozen Brass Band." The music is very repetitive - think Philip Glass if he'd grown up in New Orleans. The lyrics are a little bizarre, but rendered less so by Mr. Byrne's delivery of them. I have always been a fan of Mr. Byrne's non-Talking Heads music (goes without saying I love his TH stuff as well) and think it doesn't get enough attention. (This is, if I recall correctly, the man the New York Times once referred-to as the "coolest white man in America.") Mr. Byrne has long associated himself with the finest musicians, from the time he appeared anonymously on a Robert Fripp album as "Absalm el Habib" in the late 70s/early 80s, to the present. This CD makes available yet another of his brilliant collaborations and, thankfully, greatest achievements. I know nothing of Robert Wilson's "Civil Wars" of which this "Knee Plays" is a 1/5 part, except that other parts of the larger piece were apparently composed by Philip Glass.Read full review
I happen to think that David Byrne is brilliant, and I suppose I should have done some research on this title before making the purchase. It was a minor piece, early work, and not as sophisticated as the recent work Byrne has done as an artist, composer, singer. My recommendation is to concentrate on his recent work and let this one pass.
Spoken word meets New Orleans processional jazz meets early Chicago swing. First on ECM, and out of print on CD until recently, this version also includes a DVD of the work. A worthy addition to your eclectic collection.
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