"In many ways, a collaboration between [David] Byrne and [Robert] Wilson was perfect," says Pitchfork's review of The Knee Plays. Bringing the material to CD for the first time, with previously unreleased bonus tracks, the Nonesuch reissue includes "a dense recollection of the pair's mind-meld by Byrne himself." And yet, even "extracted from its theatrical roots, Byrne's score holds up remarkably well."
In his review of David Byrne's The Knee Plays, Eric Harvey writes in Pitchfork that the collaboration between Byrne and Robert Wilson from which the piece developed was an inspired pairing. "In many ways, a collaboration between Byrne and Wilson was perfect," Harvey writes. Bringing the material to CD for the first time, with previously unreleased bonus tracks, the Nonesuch reissue includes "a dense recollection of the pair's mind-meld by Byrne himself." And yet, even "extracted from its theatrical roots," says Harvey, "Byrne's score holds up remarkably well."
For The Knee Plays, Byrne chose to compose for New Orleans–style brass band, "a perfect fit for a play inspired by the Civil War," says Pitchfork, and "from the opening track, 'Tree (Today Is an Important Occasion)' to the quintessentially Byrnian spoken-word closer 'In the Future,' the music is variously light, dramatic, authoritative, and empathetic."
Read the complete review at pitchforkmedia.com. For more information and sound clips from the above tracks, visit kneeplays.com.
