X-Legged Sally - 5 Studio Albums 1991-1997 (2015) {6 SHM-CD, Japanese Reissue, Remastered}

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X-Legged Sally - 5 Studio Albums 1991-1997 (2015) {6 SHM-CD, Japanese Reissue, Remastered}

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X-Legged Sally (XLS) is a Belgian avant-garde rock/jazz-band founded in 1988 by composer Peter Vermeersch, and disbanded in 1997. They were one of the first bands from Belgium to combine a set of very different musical styles (jazz, rock, improvisation and classical), becoming a starting point for the Belgian indie music scene that developed in the nineties.

Initially, X-Legged Sally was formed to compose and perform the music Peter Vermeersch wrote for dance productions, such as Immer das Selbe Gelogen (Always the Same Lies), released as a live cd in 1991. Vermeersch' composing style was becoming too demanding for the constraints of sheet music such as was used in his earlier band Maximalist! From the beginning, improvisation played an important role in XLS' songs. The first X-Legged Sally concert took place in November 1988. Soon, XLS became a band in its own right, although there would be cooperations with dance ensembles throughout the existence of the group.

Based on the international success of Maximalist!, X-Legged Sally had the chance to perform in the New York avant-garde Jazz club Knitting Factory, and a live track was included in the recording Live at the Knitting Factory, vol. 4 (1990). The New York connection proved fruitful, as the two first XLS recordings, Slow-Up (1991) and Killed by Charity (1993) were both produced by Bill Laswell. This also meant international attention and distribution, a rare thing for Belgian bands in the early nineties.

The third full album, Eggs and Ashes (1994), contained music written earlier for three different dance productions of Wim Vandekeybus' company Ultima Vez: Immer das Selbe Gelogen (1991), Her body doesn't fit her soul (1993) and Mountains made of barking (1994). This cd is also notorious for featuring the young Mauro Pawlowski on vocals in the waltz Lulu.

The music of X-Legged Sally was now slowly evolving into a more 'mature' sound. Larger concepts, melodious tunes and more vocals appeared in the next album, The Land of the Giant Dwarfs (1995). But by now, the musicians were also evolving into different directions, and on April 20, 1996 the band performed their farewell concert at the Cactus Club in Bruges. This concert was recorded by Radio 1 and released as Fired. It was not, however, their last cd, as 1997 saw the release of Bereft of a Blissful Union, once again an accompaniment to a dance production by Wim Vandekeybus from 1996.

The members of X-Legged Sally spread out in various musical directions, although mutual cooperations still happen. Peter Vermeersch founded A Group (together with Pierre Vervloesem), and later the Flat Earth Society, Eric Sleichim started Bl!ndman, and Pierre Vervloesem featured in a lot of bands and has a productive solo career.

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X-Legged Sally - 5 Studio Albums 1991-1997 (2015) {6 SHM-CD, Japanese Reissue, Remastered}

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It's easy to see why Bill Laswell was impressed when Peter Vermeersch sent him the demo from Belgium. This band was hot, hotter in fact than pretty much anyone the big, bad N.Y.C. producer/bassist was working with at the time. So X-Legged Sally was invited to record at Laswell's Greenpoint Studio in Brooklyn, and Slow-Up is the result. The band's debut full-length nearly overflows with energy, a sax-driven riff feast with full-tilt forward momentum from the rhythm section and no-holds-barred solos from reeds, guitar, and keys – all packaged in 15 concise tunes (mainly instrumental and mainly penned by bandleader/clarinetist/saxophonist Vermeersch) that reveal how hooks, melodies, and straightforward harmonic and rhythmic foundations can be an asset even in the jazz-rock or avant-prog worlds. The band's avant tendencies are balanced expertly with the plain satisfaction of nimbly executed unison and harmony lines, memorable themes, and the oft-displayed ability to accelerate from a standstill to light speed (and vice versa) in the blink of an eye. And while Vermeersch and company bring a certain Euro-style artfulness and serious avant jazz chops to the proceedings, the down and dirty influences of funk, blues, and even screamin' rock & roll (check out manic shredder guitarist Pierre Vervloesem's lung-tearing vocals on "Bacon & Eggs") crop up all over the place. Envision the members of Parliament/Funkadelic suddenly finding themselves on-stage with King Crimson running through those crazy stop-and-start unison passages in "21st Century Schizoid Man."

That's what a lot of Slow-Up is like. But if the album were merely fast, faster, and fastest music 100 percent of the time, it would ultimately be a bit of a bore – like a Hollywood big-budget action movie with five or six too many chase scenes. Slow-Up isn't that; Vermeersch expertly modulated the program and he knew when to…er…slow down, as in "Down at the Dinghy," a lovely little tango performed by the band's three reedmen with everyone else sitting out. And "Blackhead Blue Blues" is as moody and low in its slow groove as the blues can be, that is until Vervloesem unleashes a torrent of notes from mysterious depths right out into the stratosphere. Still, hard chargers like "34th Street," "Turkish Bath," and "Memphis" are the biggest stunners, with high-spirited energy, compact structures, and grooves that won't let go. If there's any fault whatsoever, it's with the album's somewhat bottom-heavy sound. The reeds could've been punched up when the entire band is cranked and cooking; perhaps engineer Oz Fritz forgot to tweak the knobs from one of Laswell's atmospheric ambient/world/dub productions. Or maybe the band frightened him and he ran out before he could tweak anything (naw, Fritz was back engineering the Laswell-produced Killed by Charity during the band's next U.S. visit). At any rate, it's a minor quibble. Slow-Up is difficult to find but worth a search, particularly by anyone interested in exploring the roots of Peter Vermeersch's longstanding avant big band Flat Earth Society, which started up after Vermeersch retired X-Legged Sally in 1997 and has continued to include a number of former XLS members into the 21st century.

~ Dave Lynch, All Music

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X-Legged Sally - 5 Studio Albums 1991-1997 (2015) {6 SHM-CD, Japanese Reissue, Remastered}

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X-Legged Sally - 5 Studio Albums 1991-1997 (2015) {6 SHM-CD, Japanese Reissue, Remastered}

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The lineup was changed a bit since Slow-Up, but these hopped-up Belgians seemed intent on displaying – right off the bat – that their predilection toward manic musical behavior was still intact. Killed by Charity begins with a literal wake-up call – a rooster crowing – and listeners are immediately jerked from their reveries by "Eddies," a minute and a half of pure mayhem executed with sublime precision. With rapid-fire runs from guitarist Pierre Vervloesem and off-kilter rhythmic punctuations blasting out from the rest of the band, the track seems intended to display how X-Legged Sally might just be the tightest band in the world, rather than the outfit with the most hot-wired groove. As the record proceeds, it becomes clear that saxophones are less important to the overall sound than on Slow-Up – Michel Mast is the only saxophonist remaining from the debut disc. Alto saxman Eric Sleichim is gone and bandleader Peter Vermeersch is now featured only on clarinet, dropping the tenor sax. Also notable is the first appearance by trumpeter Bart Maris, whose presence gives a brighter and punchier attack to all that riffing (and thankfully, Bill Laswell's production is now better-balanced and less bass-heavy). But more notable than the shift from three saxes to sax, clarinet, and trumpet is the generally harder-rockin' approach of Killed by Charity when compared to Slow-Up, as unbelievable as that may seem to anyone who's only heard the first disc. This is evident in the distorted metal-styled crunch of Vervloesem's guitar and the bigger role given to keyboardist Jean-Luc Plouvier, who contributes Hammond B-3 voicings to the rhythmically skewed "Am Tisch!" and who rocks out with a fiery piano solo on the infectiously danceable title track. And then there's Vermeersch's two vocal numbers: "Still Life With Ray" and "Break Too"; he yammers and yowls his way through the tunes in suitably over-the-top fashion, like a twisted new waver who took a few lessons from David Byrne in the eccentricity department (and with lyrics that have similar existential preoccupations). But harking back to the best moments of Slow-Up, the high points of Killed by Charity remain a batch of instrumental tracks that are remarkably written, arranged, and performed – complex and multi-dimensional yet with the types of melodies, hooks, and grooves that made the first album so engaging. "Spix & Chaco," "Bleedproof," and "It's a Baby" would all have been strong tracks on Slow-Up, and they are highlights here. Also noteworthy are the LP's occasional moments of subtlety (few as they are), including the jazzy waltz "Did You Get Your Milk, Stewart?," with its breakfast-time-with-baby vocal sample, and the brief album-closing "Shedded," a brass band-styled ditty scored for baritone sax, clarinet, and trumpet. And while there was humor in Slow-Up, here it is more overt, as in the irreverent cover of Hal David/Burt Bacharach's "The Look of Love" (the LP's only non-original track), played with dirge-like drums and nausea-inducing reharmonizations (they apparently were denied use of an alternate title, "The Look of Death"). Killed by Charity is about 20 minutes shorter than Slow-Up, but somehow the album seems to have nearly as many ideas crammed into its comparatively brief length. Not quite up to the peerless quality of the band's debut, but a strong offering nonetheless, Killed by Charity proved that there would be no sophomore slump for X-Legged Sally.

~ Dave Lynch, All Music

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X-Legged Sally - 5 Studio Albums 1991-1997 (2015) {6 SHM-CD, Japanese Reissue, Remastered}

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X-Legged Sally - 5 Studio Albums 1991-1997 (2015) {6 SHM-CD, Japanese Reissue, Remastered}

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Aha, so these guys really are artists, not just members of a mere rock band, even of the avant-prog variety. X-Legged Sally might've made a couple of forays to record at Bill Laswell's Brooklyn studio, but back on their home turf of Belgium they had gotten their start as a vehicle for performing music that leader Peter Vermeersch had composed to accompany dance productions, including works by Flemish choreographer/director Wim Vandekeybus and the Ultima Vez dance company. Vandekeybus is internationally renowned for his groundbreaking works, and on the evidence of Eggs and Ashes, X-Legged Sally was ideally suited to playing music for a number of his Ultima Vez productions. Nine tracks from three works, dating from 1991, 1993, and 1994, are included on the CD. Taken together, the tracks illustrate the stunning range of the band's capabilities better than either Slow-Up or Killed by Charity. And Eggs and Ashes hangs together as an entity unto itself, despite the wide disparity in stylistic material as the tracks jump back and forth among the three Vandekeybus works. There are certainly plenty of surprises, starting with the opening, "Lulu," a deranged waltz from the 1994 production entitled Mountains Made of Barking. With an eccentric vocal performance by Carlo Verano (Evil Superstars), the piece becomes progressively more unhinged until it approximates something akin to a hellish mix of big band, jazz, and speed metal. "Laut und Leise," from 1991's Immer das Selbe Gelogen, is up next; it includes voice samples from Carlo Verano, an 89-year-old artist and hermit who Vandekeybus had befriended and who inspired not only the 1991 production but also Alle Größen Decken Sich Zu, a 1995 work undertaken after Verano's death. "Laut und Leise" introduces electronic percussion loops, noise guitar, and abrasive textures into the X-Legged Sally sound; Verano's voice and the muted trumpets of Bart Maris and guest Jan Weuts provide welcome organic touches. Later on, "Immer Carlo" is more successful in revealing Verano's charm, with its gypsy-flavored violin from guest George Van Dam adding a perfect touch to the elderly traveler's singsong delivery of a simple verse that seems to reflect satisfaction with a life well-spent.

The rare gentle side of X-Legged Sally is also revealed in "Two Volcanoes"; another Immer das Selbe Gelogen piece, it features harp-like acoustic guitar voicings and a European folk flavor that would be right at home on a Mike Oldfield record. A completely different mood is set by Immer das Selbe Gelogen's live version of "Turkish Bath" – it's a rough and tumble reading of the tune that appeared in a studio take on Slow-Up, and sure to please those looking for touchstones to the band's earliest sound. Even better in that regard is "Midwave," from Her Body Doesn't Fit Her Soul, a 1993 Ultima Vez production that featured blind dancers. "Midwave" brings back the kind of funk-flavored arrangements, driving momentum, and incendiary front-line soloing that made the first two X-Legged Sally CDs such knockouts; the piece also incorporates a vocal sample of Muhammad Ali offering particularly cutting remarks about how even the words "white" and "black" can be used to reinforce racist attitudes. But the best is saved for the CD's finale: the 17-and-a-half-minute "Mask" (from Mountains Made of Barking), the longest and certainly one of the most ambitious X-Legged Sally tracks found on any CD (although admittedly sounding a bit more like a Vermeersch studio production using X-Legged Sally members than a full-band effort). "Mask" takes listeners on an extended burn through Middle Eastern-flavored motifs, wild guitar shredding, emphatic harmony clarinet punctuations, floating space jazz, and finally a series of episodes – fueled by relentless tribal-flavored percussion – that ratchet the energy level higher and higher before a final burnout. At the close of this third CD, it indeed appeared that Peter Vermeersch and company were capable of practically anything. And yet one thing had eluded X-Legged Sally to this point: a domestic release that could finally get the band out of the import bins in the U.S. That would come next.

~ Dave Lynch, All Music

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X-Legged Sally - 5 Studio Albums 1991-1997 (2015) {6 SHM-CD, Japanese Reissue, Remastered}

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X-Legged Sally - 5 Studio Albums 1991-1997 (2015) {6 SHM-CD, Japanese Reissue, Remastered}

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The Land of the Giant Dwarfs comprises 18 often very brief tracks, some of which hark back to the inspired mania and occasional subtle charm of X-Legged Sally's previous three albums. There are insistent grooves ("Skip XXI"), waltz and tango-flavored rhythms ("Yesbody 2" and "Yesbody 1"), inventive instrumental combinations (Pierre Vervloesem's heavy metal guitar and Bart Maris' muted trumpet on "Fes II"), atmospheric instrumental blues ("Poor Man's Rain," with some great clarinet from Peter Vermeersch), and even touches of swinging avant jazz and funk ("Starfinger," a showcase for keyboardist Peter Vandenberghe). There are two particularly strong tracks at the CD's close: "Quorns" is moody and ominous, with its tragic tale of doomed lovers (spoken in voice-over by Vermeersch) and stuttering, unsettling unison lines from keyboard and clarinet, and the evocative "Yesbody 1," which builds dramatically to become nearly thrilling before its subtle finish. But elsewhere, Giant Dwarfs – the band's first full-length CD released on a U.S. label (Knitting Factory Works) – feels either dumbed down or naughtied up for the American audience, as if bandleader Vermeersch decided that the best way to gain popularity in the U.S. would be to push the influence of Frank Zappa more to the forefront, and focus on Zappa's most calculatedly "outrageous" vocal- and song-based work. How else to explain the vocal samples on "Skip XXI" that fixate on genitalia and masturbation? And doesn't the shopworn sentiment about not judging a man by the length of his hair (in the cleverly titled "Hair") arrive at least 25 years late – or is there hopefully some sense of irony here? The overdubbed and heavily treated vocals of newcomer Thierry Mondelaers suggest a strategy to expand the band's rock-based audience. At times Mondelaers effectively takes the avant out of X-Legged Sally's avant-prog, turning the ensemble into – horrors! – a mere progressive rock band. But of course Vermeersch remains in charge, and his talents as composer, arranger, and clarinetist are fully in evidence even on this most wildly uneven of X-Legged Sally albums. Fully 36 of The Land of the Giant Dwarfs' 59 minutes are phenomenal and as strong as anything XLS ever recorded. And although picking and choosing among the tracks is a necessity, there is plenty of fine XLS playlist material here, making the album a worthwhile addition to any dedicated fan's library.

~ Dave Lynch, All Music

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X-Legged Sally - 5 Studio Albums 1991-1997 (2015) {6 SHM-CD, Japanese Reissue, Remastered}

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×

X-Legged Sally - 5 Studio Albums 1991-1997 (2015) {6 SHM-CD, Japanese Reissue, Remastered}

Close

×

X-Legged Sally - 5 Studio Albums 1991-1997 (2015) {6 SHM-CD, Japanese Reissue, Remastered}

Close

×

X-Legged Sally - 5 Studio Albums 1991-1997 (2015) {6 SHM-CD, Japanese Reissue, Remastered}

Close