<<<  <<  -- 3 --  Ron Bierman    UNSETTLING

I'm seldom fond of music that requires a mathematical explanation. It needs to stand on its own. Perhaps the most approachable segment of Alabama Places describes the winding flow of the Coosa River.

Another performance with a touch of more conventional grounding is the reprise of the five-movement mini-suite titled 'In Pell City'. The repeat, accessible as an mp3 when the disk is played on a computer, adds spoken poetry to the original keyboard duet.

The performers are thorough professionals who make their best case for Golden's music, but I don't believe the average listener will or should run out to buy this one. Even those unchallenged by Ives' polyphony will need to crank up concentration several notches to track simultaneous musical lines in different tunings. Had I first heard Golden's impressions of Alabama, I might never have visited the state, at least not without a bedside night-light.

I won't go as far as Dana McCormick of The American Record Guide though, who in an otherwise mildly favorable review finished with a wonderfully memorable line, 'If you've ever really listened deeply to a piano being tuned and enjoyed it, this may be for you.' It may also be for you if you are intrigued by the subject of tuning, or are looking for something as much as 48 cents off the beaten path.