Gary Lucas   press quotes  


The Essential Gary Lucas
The Ordeal of Civility
(Gary Lucas & Gods and Monsters)
Spanish-language "Dracula"
Rishte
(with Najma Akhtar)
Waxed Oop
(Fast 'N' Bulbous)
Beyond the Pale
(Gary Lucas Vs The Dark Poets)
Coming Clean
(Gary Lucas & Gods and Monsters)
Pork Chop Blue Around the Rind
(Fast 'N' Bulbous)
The Universe of Absence (with Jozef Van Wissem)
Operators Are Standing By
Diplopia
(with Jozef Van Wissem)
Songs to No One (with Jeff Buckley)
The Edge of Heaven
No Knowledge of Music Required
Street of Lost Brothers
Level the Playing Field
Improve the Shining Hour
@Paradiso
Busy Being Born
Evangeline
Bad Boys of the Arctic
Gods and Monsters
Skeleton at the Feast
Live Performances
"The Golem"
Work with Captain Beehfheart
 
Street of Lost Brothers FOR STREET OF LOST BROTHERS:

"THREE AND A HALF STARS...PERHAPS LUCAS' MOST PERSONAL PROJECT...LUCAS CONTEMPLATES FACETS OF HIS CULTURE, OFFERING HIS PERSPECTIVE THROUGH VARIED FORMATS."
DOWNBEAT, 09/01

"A SPOOKY MASTERPIECE...radical Jewish music of master guitarist Lucas."
DE VOLKSKRANT (Holland), 06/01

"COMPLEX HUMORISTIC AVANTGARDE...he practices witchcraft out of fantastic guitar riffs and rhythms. Most pieces are instrumental and excellent because of his fanatic and fantastic guitar art."
GONZO CIRCUS (Holland), 06/01

"MORE OF HIS REINVENTIONS OF JEWISH CULTURE, from the Marx Brothers to 'The Tel Aviv Ghetto Fighters Song,' plus his dizzying take on 'The Ride of the Valkyries.'"
THE NEW YORK TIMES, 12/00

"LUCAS' BRAND OF MORDANT HUMOUR COMES TO THE FORE...ostensibly a tribute to the man's Jewish roots and upbringing...INTENSE, UNSETTLING, REWARDING AND AT TIMES, HILARIOUS (READ THE SLEEVE NOTES), LUCAS GETS BETTER ALL THE TIME."
FOLK ROOTS (UK), 12/00

"TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2000...LUCAS' STRONG WRITING AND INVENTION PROVE THAT HIS BEST DAYS ARE NOT BEHIND HIM, BUT ARE IN THE PRESENT AND PERHAPS YET TO COME."
THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE, 12/00

"A GENIUS COMPOSER AND CONCEPTUALIST...LUCAS CONSTRUCTS AN EDIFICE OF JEWISH ORIGINALITY...the followup to his wonderful "Busy Being Born". An eclectic potpourri by the wizard instrumentalist, including updates of traditional tunes composed and played like you've never heard them before by his madcap band of confreres Gods and Monsters. His guitar playing, as always, is unique."
BERKSHIRES WEEK, 12/00

"MUCH MORE SATISFYING...matching the emotional range of great Jewish cantors like Yossele Rosenblatt, Lucas moves effortlessly through giddy Yiddish knees-ups like "Yigdal" and "Mahzel Means Good Luck" into much more blasted territory. "It's Like a Wheel" is a speedy acoustic fantasia on dream themes recalling the work of guitarists Robbie Basho and Leo Kotke. But the gravy here is Lucas' version of "Ride of the Valkyries", scored for the end titles of a spaghetti western, where he shreds Wagner's bombastic march with atonal machine-gunning guitar. It takes a medley of Marx Brothers tunes to clear the smoke."
THE WIRE (UK), 12/00

"5 STARS—ONE OF THE BAD BOYS OF JEWISH MUSIC...a follow-up to the inspired, wacky "Busy Being Born" and it pushes the envelope even further, but with astounding results. From the rock march "Yigdal" (don't laugh, it works), through a series of brilliant improvisations that run the gamut from delta blues to a deranged Hawaiian-cum-country "Ride of the Valkyries", Lucas puts his virtuosity to spectacularly expressive use. But the masterpiece of this set—worth the price of this CD by itself—is an 11 minute "Sh'ma", a stunning adventure in electric guitar dynamics, feedback and reverb aesthetics that combines the protean drive of Hendrix with the brute force of Glenn Branca. If you can handle the volume, this is a must-buy album."
JEWISH WEEK, 12/00

"EXTENDS THE PALETTE TO FAHEY-ISH FINGERPICKING, GOOFY SWING, AND A SMEARY, TREMBLING 'SH'MA YISRAEL'."
VILLAGE VOICE, 11/00

"4 STARS...RECOMMENDED...ANOTHER MAZY WORK DRAWING ON LUCAS' JEWISH HERITAGE."
UNCUT (UK), 12/00

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