1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die #10 Thelonious Monk - Brilliant Corners (1957)

THELONIOUS MONK – BRILLIANT CORNERS

Track Listing (standout tracks listed in bold)

1. Brilliant Corners
2. Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are
3. Pannonica
4. I Surrender, Dear
5. Bemsha Swing

Brilliant Corners is a TERRIBLE album. Seriously – I hate to give bad reviews to anything – but this album is just plain BAD. I could not wait for this record to be over. Perhaps you noticed that I did not list any tracks in bold as they are all so bad I wouldn’t recommend you play any of them – nor will I ever again.
The tracks are so long, and at times so ‘abstract’ there is no cohesion to them and you feel lost during the entire album.
I suppose on this one, I just don’t GET IT – as there are names here that are all ‘saintly’ in the jazz world – Thelonious himself, Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, etc.. so this is considered one of the best jazz albums ever! The alpha and omega of post-World War II American jazz.
But fresh off a listen to Count Basie – this just doesn’t compare to the way that lp’s music engages you!
Pass on this one…

ABSOLUTE ROCK TOP 10 CD'S/DOWNLOADS FOR THIS WEEK:
1. METALLICA...Death Magnetic
2. KID ROCK...Rock 'N' Roll Jesus
3. SLIPKNOT...All Hope Is Gone
4. JACKSON BROWNE...Time The Conqueror
5. BUCKCHERRY...Black Butterfly
6. DAVID GILMOUR...Live In Gdansk
7. STAIND...The Illusion Of Progress
8. DISTURBED...Indestructible
9. JOURNEY...Revelation
10. SAVING ABEL...Saving Abel

ABSOLUTE ROCK BIRTHDAYS FOR ROCKTOBER 2:
Don McLean is 63; Mike Rutherford from Genesis and Mike + the Mechanics is 58; Sting is 57;