Small Hours — A Love Like This Is Hard To Find’
Yes, that’s right...Kenny Fucking G! Perhaps the world’s best (or worst...given your point of view) smooth jazz artist. Full disclosure, I really dislike Kenny G. I had so associated Kenny G with jazz during my adolescence, that it completely turned me off from exploring the genre for many years. I have to admit, the pure absurdity of the concept made it difficult to review this album. Approaching this album was like heading into a job interview with something funny on the brain. You try to remain focused and serious in your replies, but this funny thought keeps popping in your brain, forcing you to bite your tongue, lest you bust out laughing in the face of your interviewers. I had a similar experience reviewing this album. Of course, as a “professional” here at Musique Machine, I had to suck it up and focus on the matter at hand...that matter being Kenny G themed noise walls.
All four discs stay fairly static, though not without a lot of subtle changes, audible to the discerning listener.
Disc 1 presents “A Love Like This is Hard to Find,” which starts off with a sample from Kenny G’s duet with Lenny Williams “Don't Make Me Wait For Love.” It doesn’t take long before the sample is engulfed by a rolling mass of static rumble. Through the static is a buzzier frequency weaving it’s way through the wall. At times the static mass solidifies some and takes on a chunkier texture the punches around in a jagged wave. Laying down and immersing myself in the wall, the sounds generated almost feel tangible. While listening, I imagined if I could only grab hold of the bouncing mass of sound it would have the force to drag me out of bed. A very powerful start to this collection.
The second disc presents the track “Rescue Me Tonight.” The track starts with a sample from perhaps Kenny G’s most well known piece “Song Bird”....yes the piece from the “Pretty Woman” soundtrack or as my friend’s and I used to mockingly call Weather Channel music. It’s not long before the sample is taken over by an active static crackle with a thick buzzier wave fighting for prominence. There’s an interplay between the sounds, each overtaking the other throughout the track. The buzzier wave bounces around, like an aggressive insect trapped in confined quarters and sounds as if it’s being produced through the good use of an octave pedal. However, it’s the static crackle which is the highlight for my sonic pallette. The whole track has the feeling of a tightly controlled ball of energy trapped inside an inescapable container. It’s a furious pulsating mass of energy, skillfully crafted by a master at work.
Disc 3’s track “I Close the Blinds” starts off with a sample from Kenny G’s “Forever in Love.” After effective use of the sample, it slowly dissolves into ambient territory with a repetitive static crunch atop a white noise background. At about the 6 minute mark, more of the static crunch is released making the track pick up a bit in tempo and take on a chunkier texture. At around the thirteen minute mark, more static seeps through the floodgates and the wall takes on a granular property. The remaining 40+ minutes seem to ebb and flow a lot, but is it really changing or is my immersion in the wall tricking my brain to hear changes that aren't really occurring?
The final disc presents “I’m Hanging on a Notion,” which is a rather fixed long slice of wall noise. It’s based on mid-range static rumblings and a dense atmospheric backdrop. There’s nothing particularly harsh about the track, but it’s rather a relaxing dive through an unmoving wall of static, both meditative and cathartic. The 1 hour long track ends with the wall revealing a sample of the Kenny G duet with Lenny Williams, “Don’t Make Me Wait on Love,” once again. I generally find themed wall noise working better with a sample starting at the beginning as it starts you off in a particular mind frame and the noise takes on some properties of the source material. However, ending with the sample was fine on this track. The samples being the same for both disc 1 at the beginning and disc 4 at the end, made for an effective pair of bookends.
Whew...that was a long slog, although a rewarding one. Mr. Killick affirms himself as being a master at the sounds he sculpts. The 4 walls present in this set are an interesting collection of sonic textures. I would easily give this a 5/5 if not for my disdain for the source material. But as they say, “haters always hatin”...and for Kenny G my hatred remains deep.