A world without Glissando would be a world devoid of a very special musical beauty. Elly Mae Irving and Richard Knox are Glissando, and The World Without Us is their second release for the Gizeh Records label. Between touring, and experimenting with various configurations of the band, the album took four years to record. It was worth it though, as The World Without Us is magnificent.

The term “glissando” is used to define the musical phenomenon of using “a sliding movement to create a smooth change in pitch between two notes.” In a larger sense, this concept applies to The World Without Us as well. There are two main approaches that the pair utilize. During some points we hear a very stark, minimalist solo piano; during others there are lush strings and orchestrations. In pairing these seemingly contradictory forms over the course of the disc,(or individual songs even), Glissando achieve a very special sound.

Two versions of “Still” bookend for the eight songs that comprise the disc “Still (I)” is the five-minute opening instrumental, and it perfectly encapsulates the two main qualities of Glissando’s music. Like so many of the tracks, “Still (I)” presents a sparkling solo piano, which is complemented by a variety of string backgrounds. It is a marvelously appropriate opening salvo.

At times, Elly Mae Irving’s voice bears an uncanny resemblance to that of the young Kate Bush. I first noticed this on “The Long Lost.” The fact that her voice has some similarities to Bush’s is mentioned only to provide a fairly well-known reference point. The music of Glissando may appeal to Bush’s fans, but it is very much their own creation.

There is never any question as to the melodic power Glissando’s music contains. Solo piano-driven gems such as “The World Without Us” and “Of Silence” might appear to be the polar opposite of the lush “Companion” or “Embers,” yet every song is driven by an uncanny knack for composition. In fact, the importance of the melody is key in understanding what makes this recording so special. While I may bet separating the styles of these songs into categories, the truth is much grayer. The music of The World Without Us knows no boundaries, and the various pieces are drawn from a vast number sources. Just to muddy the waters a little more, during “For the Light,” I found myself thinking of a favorite band from the legendary 4AD label, The Cocteau Twins.

The various tendencies of Glissando come together most effectively on the ten-minute closing “Still (II).” It is as if everything that came before was just a prelude to this outstanding piece of music. The song opens with the stark piano of Knox, then the dream-like voice of Irving enters. The track builds with strings and other instrumentation into an all-encompassing musical terrain of harmony and grace. I was especially drawn to the cello in the middle portion, yet it all moves with such a comfortable, yet deliberate pace that it is hard to pin down any particular “movements” for special mention.

The World Without Us is one of those rare recordings that can be listened to over and over, yet never quite get to the bottom of. I only hope that it does not take another four years for their next album, because the music Glissando have created here is something special indeed.

(The World Without Us is set for release on November 6, 2012)

View the original article on blogcritics.org

Photo by Francois Duhamel

COLUMBIA PICTURES
Daniel Craig makes his third appearance as Bond in “Skyfall.”

UNITED ARTISTS
Sean Connery, the first 007, practices detente with a Russian spy played by Daniela Bianchi in 1963′s “From Russia With Love.”

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS
The six actors who’ve played James Bond include Sean Connery (top row, from left), George Lazenby, Roger Moore, (bottom row, from left) Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.

Both as a spy and a film-series brand, James Bond is invincible. The franchise, celebrating its 50th anniversary with the U.S. release of “Skyfall,” is the longest-lived in movie history. Adjusting for inflation, it’s also the most lucrative.

The Bond formula of exotic locales, exquisite women, elegant tailoring and extreme danger spawned scads of imitators, but outlasted them all through sheer evolutionary agility. The films regained their youth and topicality with each new leading man, from “Dr. No’s” echoes of the Cuban missile crisis to “Skyfall’s” cyber-terrorism. That potent cocktail of old and new enables Bond to span a multitude of periods, locales and adversaries. Jason Bourne, John McClane or Ethan Hunt could never fit as smoothly in 1962 Jamaica and 2012 Shanghai.

Bond’s wide appeal began with Ian Fleming’s Cold War spy novels, which cast his hero as a lethal mix of British gentleman and blunt instrument. Cary Grant was approached to take the role. Fleming was displeased when Sean Connery was cast, calling him “an overdeveloped stunt man.” But as audiences embraced Connery, the novelist was won over. In later books, Fleming even gave 007 a partly Scots ancestry.

In the years since, Bond has matured from a gadget-equipped action figure to a three-dimensional character. M has morphed from Bernard Lee to Judi Dench. The more times change, the more the iconic spy endures. Though his monomaniacal enemies hoped to control the world, it’s Bond who achieved global domination.

Best Bond: Sean Connery and Daniel Craig

Six actors have played Ian Fleming’s lethal spy in the Eon Productions films. The best? It’s a tie between the man who launched the series and the man who rescued it. Sean Connery and Daniel Craig capture Bond’s ruthless cruelty and cold charisma.

Each knows that even an iconic role calls for some actual acting and when the scene calls for it they get deep in the game. And both men have a potent physical presence. They look as if they could flatten an adversary without help from one of Q’s chloroform-emitting fountain pens.

Fate dealt each actor an advantage in this sweepstakes. Connery established the Bond brand, setting the competitive bar high for those following him. George Lazenby was more athletic, Timothy Dalton brought a classical actor’s dour focus to the part, Pierce Brosnan had the best feel for devil-may-care humor. But they just weren’t Connery.

Craig’s casting ignited a firestorm of controversy (A blond Bond? Unthinkable!), but his brooding, muscular portrayal proved his critics wrong. His debut, the ambitious series reboot “Casino Royale,” introduced a stripped-down, modern, more thoughtful style to the franchise. Craig plays a spy who feels remorse when colleagues die, who sometimes blinks before he pulls the trigger, and struggles with his violent impulses. He’s a Bond who can deliver a crisp right cross, and a bruising emotional wallop. And he doesn’t give a damn if his martini is shaken or stirred.

-Worst Bond: Roger Moore

Roger Moore is the longest-running 007 to date, and the least suited to the role. More lounge lizard than cobra, incompetent in action scenes, Moore faced lightweight, forgettable villains, shifting the films’ tone from drama with a dash of irony to self-mockery. Hard to decide if Moore’s lowest point was donning a clown disguise in “Octopussy” or his drowsy, Austin Powers-quality sexytime with Grace Jones in “A View to a Kill.”

Best villain: Auric Goldfinger

He’s got the best henchman (silent, hat-flinging Oddjob), the coolest methods for snuffing enemies (paint them gold, crush them in a car-smasher), the clearest motivation (simple greed) and the greatest one-liners (“You expect me to talk?” “No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.”). German actor Gert Frobe spoke minimal English when he took the part, but his performance is full-bodied, by turns affable and chilling. And his laser-beam vasectomy machine? Sheer genius.

-Worst villain: Ernst Stavro Blofeld

The ultra-diabolical villain of a half-dozen Bond films, overplayed to the hammy hilt by Telly Savalas, Charles Gray and Donald Pleasence. Inspired Mike Myers’ Dr. Evil. Having a white pussycat, a Mao jacket and a secret volcano base full of minions in orange jumpsuits is not the same as having a personality.

Best Bond Girl: Honey Ryder

The central image of the original Bond movie isn’t the hero fighting Dr. No, or production designer Ken Adam’s striking, futuristic secret base. It’s surf-drenched Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) striding the Caribbean beach in her white bikini, all lips and stare and a big Bowie knife strapped to her thigh. She set the kiss-kiss-bang-bang template for the series’ women. They offered more in the way of va-va-voom than coherence or character development, yet through their confidence and comfort with their sexuality, they represented a new kind of female freedom. Honey was presented as a competent, resourceful, courageous, even dangerous woman, and her look became a classic pop-culture reference. Her appearance at the height of the Playboy era was rather tame, yet in a 2003 British TV opinion poll it was voted the sexiest moment in screen history. Andress became an instant sensation and went on to become one of the most photographed women of her time.

Worst Bond Girl: Bibi Dahl

In “For Your Eyes Only,” this nymphet skating star (Lynn-Holly Johnson, 22) meets Bond and promptly breaks into his hotel room, showers and offers herself to the irresistible spy (Roger Moore, 54 and looking it). Fortunately, 007 refuses, making Bibi the only girl to be chased out of bed by James Bond.

Best Bad Girl: Rosa Klebb

Frumpy Rosa Klebb, in “From Russia With Love” is the most formidable femme fatale of them all, no subordinate but the main villain of the piece. Played by Austrian actress Lotte Lenya, she is a genuine sadist. She tests Red Grant (Robert Shaw), the assassin chosen to kill Bond, by punching him in the stomach with brass knuckles, remarking coolly, “He seems fit enough.” Ultimately she goes after 007 herself, slashing at him with a shoe with a poisoned dagger in the toe. Lenya said that when she met people even years later, they looked at her shoes first.

Worst Bad Girl: May Day

Campy villain Grace Jones fails to energize “A View to a Kill.” The pop diva’s reedlike physique makes May’s superhuman strength a cartoonish absurdity, and her amorous grappling with Roger Moore scarred a generation of moviegoers.

Best gadget: Aston Martin DB5

The ultimate tricked-out ride. Accessories include rotating license plates, machine guns behind lowering headlights and passenger ejector seat. The dashboard mapping device predicted modern GPS systems, its rotating tire-slashers inspired the craze for spinny hubcaps, and its ability to lay down a trail of oil and smoke predated the Yugo by 20 years.

Worst: Crocodile mini-submarine

Plenty of competition here. There’s the missile-firing boombox from “The Living Daylights” (“a ghetto blaster,” Q explains). The invisible car from “Die Another Day.” The gondola-hovercraft in “Moonraker” that elicits a double-take from a nearby pigeon. But nothing tops the croco-boat Bond uses to infiltrate Kamal Khan’s palace in “Octopussy.” Because if you want to escape notice, the best way is to motor up in an inert reptile.