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Topic: In the Mood for, Music from the Balcony< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
nightspore Offline




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Posted: June 24 2018, 20:48

For some reason I'm really in the mood to listen to "Music from the Balcony" today. Perhaps it's because a lot of chattering monkeys have been bothering me lately, and MftB seems to scatter them quite well!  
:laugh:

Joking aside, the only piece in Mike's oeuvre that seems similar in style is "Music for the Video Wall".
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Platinumpty Offline




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Posted: Feb. 22 2021, 09:26

I'm listening to it right now and finding I may have underrated.  There are some lovely, understated piano passages and I actually like the squawking insanity of Mike plus Simon Phillips plus Courtney Pine.  It's the only time Mike really wandered anywhere in the direction of jazz.

As a fan of John Zorn and music concrete (now and again) I actually think it has a surprising amount of structure and texture.  Even the iffy hard rock sections are pushed so far they seem deliberately parodic.

I picture a man losing his mind on the balcony of a hotel in Quito, looking out over the Ecuadorian rainforest whilst hiding some sort of high-tech MacGuffin that's ultimately going to get him killed.  But that's what happens when you allow a screenwriter to take charge of the stereo.

The track is definitely way better than anything on the flipside (bar the album version of the title track, perhaps).
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Piltdownboy on horseback 22 Offline




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Posted: Feb. 24 2021, 16:16

Cool that you mention Music From The Balcony.
Awesome track. (I like the other 5 vocal tracks too!;)
I've liked it ever since I first heard it in the mid 90's.

Some parts make me think of a laboratory, with a weird scientist working in it. In other parts it sounds like you're in the jungle. Then there are three times when you find yourself running to the stereo to turn the volume down. But even these loud chaotic bits are part of its charm.

It's a bit like Amarok, but with more electronics.


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"And now we're going to play Platinum!"
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