Wikipedia

Queen of All Ears

Queen of All Ears is an album by the American band the Lounge Lizards, released in 1998.[2][3] It was the band's final album.[4]

Queen of All Ears
Studio album by
the Lounge Lizards
Released1998
StudioPower Station, New York City
LabelStrange & Beautiful Music[1]
ProducerJohn Lurie, Pat Dillett
The Lounge Lizards chronology
Live in Berlin 1991 Vol. II
(1992) 		Queen of All Ears
(1998)

"The First and Royal Queen" was used at the end of episodes of Painting with John.[5] The band supported the album with an international tour.[6]

Production

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The album was produced by John Lurie and Pat Dillett.[7] The tracks were written by Lurie, with bass player Erik Sanko cowriting two.[8] Jane Scarpantoni played cello on Queen of All Ears; in total, nine musicians played on the album.[9][10]

Released on Lurie's own label, it was originally intended for Luaka Bop; legal issues delayed the release for two years.[11][12] Lurie considered writing a book about the ordeal, to be titled What Do You Know About Music? You're Not a Lawyer.[13] The account was told in Lurie's memoir The History of Bones (2021), in which he also apologized to David Tronzo, because a song intended as a showcase for Tronzo was cut from the album and thus the guitarist did not perform a solo on the recording.[14]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [15]
Robert Christgau [16]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide     [17]

JazzTimes wrote that "the music relies heavily on group improvisation in the highly colored riffs and patterns that form the basis of most of the proceedings."[18] Esquire determined that Lurie's "alto and soprano saxophoning has become something rather nice: plaintive, searching, Colemanesque, quite at home (soaring) in the upper registers."[19] The Boston Globe opined that "New York's fringe-crawlers mature with impressionistic etchings of chamber jazz and world music."[20]

The Guardian stated that "the Lounge Lizards roll from moments of prayer-like intensity—Coltranesque flourishes over African pulsing—to Charles Mingus doing the music for scary Czech cartoons, to blasting Dragnet rumbles."[21] The Chicago Tribune opined that the album "embarks on an Amer-Euro-Afro fake jazz cruise brimming with trans-global eclecticism, defanged Mingus/Monk moves and sometimes striking instrumental explosions."[22]

AllMusic wrote that "John Lurie's so-called 'non-jazz' approach is in full flower on this fascinating record."[15]

Track listing

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All tracks composed by John Lurie; except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The First and Royal Queen" 3:59
2."The Birds Near Her House"John Lurie, Erik Sanko11:40
3."Scary Children" 4:07
4."She Drove Me Mad" 4:21
5."Queen of All Ears" 5:25
6."Monsters Over Bangkok" 10:13
7."Three Crowns of Wood"John Lurie, Erik Sanko4:01
8."John Zorn's S&M Circus" 6:13
9."Yak" 5:41
10."Queen Reprise" 3:46

Personnel

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Lounge Lizards

References

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  1. ^ Gallo, Phil (June 15, 1998). "Lounge Lizards". Variety.
  2. ^ Macnie, Jim (Oct 1998). "Go fish". DownBeat. Vol. 65, no. 10. pp. 38–40.
  3. ^ Guttenberg, Steve (Dec 1998). "Queen of All Ears/Din of Inequity". Audio. Vol. 82, no. 12. p. 86.
  4. ^ "Some Propositions concerning the Lounge Lizards". The Believer. June 1, 2006.
  5. ^ "A Guide to the Music of John Lurie". Pitchfork. March 3, 2021.
  6. ^ Bambarger, Bradley (Jun 20, 1998). "Lurie Casts wide net on strange & beautiful sets". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 25. pp. 13, 100.
  7. ^ Verna, Paul (Jul 4, 1998). "Queen of All Ears". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 27. p. 20.
  8. ^ Walls, Richard C. (Nov 1998). "Queen of All Ears/Din of Inequity/'Live' in Spain/Fishing with John". Stereo Review. Vol. 63, no. 11. pp. 111–118.
  9. ^ Davis, Clive (July 5, 1998). "Jazz – Music". Culture. The Sunday Times. p. 17.
  10. ^ Lozaw, Tristram (September 25, 1998). "It's been nearly 20 years since John Lurie...". Boston Herald. p. S23.
  11. ^ Johnson, Phil (2 May 1998). "Return of the lounge lizard". Features. The Independent. p. 34.
  12. ^ McLennan, Scott (24 Sep 1998). "Jazzman Lurie's Lounge Lizards flourish in chaos". Telegram & Gazette. p. C1.
  13. ^ Condran, Ed (25 Sep 1998). "Busy with His Music and Fishing Friends". The Record. Bergen County. p. O29.
  14. ^ Lurie, John (2021). The History of Bones: A Memoir. New York: Random House. p. 326-327. ISBN 978-0-399-59297-3.
  15. ^ a b "Queen of All Ears". AllMusic.
  16. ^ "Lounge Lizards". Robert Christgau.
  17. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 690.
  18. ^ Bouchard, Fred. "The Lounge Lizards: Queen of All Ears". JazzTimes.
  19. ^ Agovino, Michael J. (May 1998). "Music". Esquire. Vol. 129, no. 5. p. 30.
  20. ^ Robicheau, Paul (13 Dec 1998). "Boston Globe critics have been making their lists and checking them twice". The Boston Globe. p. C8.
  21. ^ Love, Damien (21 May 1998). "Any excuse to rock the boat". The Guardian. p. TO15.
  22. ^ Reger, Rick (18 Sep 1998). "Other concerts". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. 29.
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