Arthur’s Landing (self-titled)
LABEL: Strut

Although it has become customary in the media to portray Arthur Russell as being endearingly awkward and hermetically absorbed in his music, the late composer, singer-songwriter was no misanthrope. The somewhat intangible sonic mélange of World of Echo and other works is rendered tangible in the diverse array of friends who worked steadfastly to preserve what may have been the legacy of a Julius Eastman or a Henry Flynt in less trenchant hands. The fellowship and camaraderie between his closest musical collaborators transcends mere music to encapsulate a veritable epoch in time. Think of this as a slipstream of sorts where the verite, ramshackle nature of the early punk ethos combined with some last utopian vestiges of the psychedelic era. After all, it was Ernie Brooks of the Modern Lovers who sold Russell on the notion of pop music after nearly a decade of eschewing the Stones in favor of Ali Akbar Khan and John Cage.

“Arthur’s Landing is the sound of some of the most important musicians of a pivotal era reclaiming their métier after a long and somewhat involuntary absence”
 
Led by the ever-gregarious guitarist Steven Hall, a follower of Allen Ginsberg, and one of Russell’s closest friends, Arthur’s Landing reunites the core of the ensemble and the core of the current group with the aforementioned Brooks, composer/trombonist Peter Zummo, vocalist Joyce Bowden, percussionist Mustafa Ahmed, drummer Bill Ruyle and pretty much anyone else who played with Russell and happens to be in town for the gig. Other new music types such as Peter Gordon, Ned Sublette are all involved in various capacities.
 
Released under the imprimatur of Strut Records (hot on the heels of recent Walter Gibbons and Bob Blank retrospectives), Arthur’s Landing’s self-titled debut LP is not for those who relish the sacrosanct nature of Dinosaur’s (a previous Arthur Russell project) “Kiss Me Again,” however, it does sound a hell of a lot like what I would imagine a 2011 Arthur Russell album to sound like. Indeed, the ensemble’s rendition of “Your Motion Says” borders upon the definitive. Although he was the requisite “rock guy” of the bunch and never saw face time on Russell’s dance records, Brooks lays down a supplicant funk groove worthy of Larry Graham or Wilbur Bascomb. “Is It All Over My Face” recorded under its original moniker of “Love Dancing” is equally revelatory—Hercules and Love Affair vocalist Nomi Ruiz preserves the song’s central lyrical ambiguities without a coked-up Ingram brother behind the skins and the jam congeals into a playfully languorous, chicka-wah sex groove that would have gone down quite well at 5 a.m. at the Paradise Garage and will find a place in your Balearic mixes this summer.
 
It is on the more ethereal second side where the band hits their stride. Led by Hall, Bowden, and Russell’s ghost, this album moves into a slightly lachrymose, slightly jazzy space. It culminates in the interstellar instrumental weirdness of “This Is How We Walk On The Moon” and “Singing Tractors 12”, which recalls the trippy insouciance of John Martyn’s cover of “Eibhli Ghail Chiuin Ni Chearbhail” from Inside Out. This aesthetic is anticipated on “Go For The Night” in the first half, where they hit a luminiferous peak not at all unlike a collective rendition of “Being It” from the World of Echo suite. On “It’s A Boy” where Hall translates the Russell aesthetic into something quite palatable for those who have recently driven bands like The Decemberists and Iron and Wine to the top of the Billboard charts. One shudders to think the possibilities of a Russell-led version of “I’ll Be Fencing”, which is presented here with an inimitable Zummo horn arrangement melded to smoky vocals and a strummed guitar reminiscent of Neil Young at his On the Beach peak.
 
As the pop game skews increasingly younger and ephemeral, it’s easy to forget that musicians like Sonny Rollins, Ornette Coleman, Alejandro Escovedo, and Russell’s own peer Steve Reich are still producing the most vital music of their respective careers at the dawn of the 2010s. More than a tasteful tribute to an old friend, Arthur’s Landing is the sound of some of the most important musicians of a pivotal era reclaiming their métier after a long and somewhat involuntary absence, and one can only hope that this project will bear more fruit in the years to come.
 

REVIEWED BY SEAN MURPHY
SEAN’S FAVORITE TRACKS: “Love Dancing” • “It’s A Boy” • “Your Motion Says”

FREE MP3: “Love Dancing” (right-click & save)

+ Check out the Arthur Russell playlist on Groovemine's YouTube channel