Sidebar: Six of Andy Summers's Best, sans The Police
1. "Soma, Pt. 1 & 2," (from Chariot Rising, 1967)
Unreleased for decades, Chariot Rising is the only album by Dantalian's Chariot, a psychedelic band from the UK that included Summers and keyboard player Zoot Money. On "Soma, Pt. 1 & 2," Summers proves his versatility via both strummed and picked guitar work, plus a languid sitar part—plus a jazz-inflected guitar solo that's beautifully crystalline, forgoing the fuzztone fashion of the era. It all still sounds adventurous and fresh 58 years later.
2. "China - Yellow Leader" (from I Advance Masked, 1982)
I Advance Masked is one of two albums that Summers recorded with Robert Fripp of King Crimson. (The other is 1984's Bewitched; a third, as-yet-untitled album with material from those sessions is scheduled for release later this year.) Thick with polyrhythms, "China - Yellow Leader" begins with unmistakably Crimson-esque herky-jerky arpeggios, then softens into lyrical, Chinese-scale territory as slow synthesizer waves roll across the background. Because Fripp and Summers both grew up in Bournemouth, they seemed destined to play together—and here, they do ... with relish and to great effect.
3. "Round Midnight" (from Green Chimneys: The Music of Thelonious Monk, 1999)
Summers's atmospheric-jazz side is present in full force here. Unlike a lot of his other solo work, which builds on sounds and textures, the parts on this recording are scrupulously in the service of Monk's song, and they're all gorgeously understated: the whisper-quiet drums, the hushed double bass, Summers's chordal work, his gossamer full-toned jazzbox solo, and Sting's gauzy guest vocal that almost sounds like a reprise of his "Moon Over Bourbon Street." It's a lesson in squeezing maximum life and beauty from a perhaps overplayed jazz standard.
4. "Say Goodnight" (from Circus Hero, 2014)
The album title is an amusing mondegreen of Circa Zero, the name of the duo Summers formed with Rob Giles of L.A. band The Rescues. "Say Goodnight" and the next track, "Gamma Ray," are standout power-pop songs that sound more like the Police than anything Summers had done since Synchronicity, the trio's last studio album. Punchy and loaded with strong hooks, Circus Hero was perhaps a bid to return to chart success. That it wasn't a commercial hit does nothing to diminish its delightful rock-romp spirit.
5. "Ishango Bone" (from Metal Dog, 2015)
Even when he uses distortion in a dark, cinematic piece like "Ishango Bone," Summers's guitar sounds clean and open. The track approximates the richness of symphonic rock but eschews the bombast and denseness that can drag the genre down; fans of Joe Satriani or Steve Vai will find little to like here. As is usually the case with Andy Summers's playing, it's all about mood-setting, never about speed or showing off.
6. "Triboluminescence" (from Triboluminescence, 2017)
Starting with eerie chimes that are somewhere between a child's toy and gamelan music, "Triboluminescence" builds into a sprawling instrumental piece that blends world music, experimental jazz, and ambient textures. Except for a brief interlude early on, it's a one-chord composition. For that reason, the track may not sustain itself over the full 10 minutes, but what it lacks in variety, it makes up for in drama and hypnotic flair. Also listen to "Pukul Bunye Bunye," which features two detuned guitars played simultaneously—with chopsticks!—and to "If Anything," a prog-rock exercise with a guitar solo reminiscent of Eddie Hazel's work on "Maggot Brain" by Funkadelic.
1. "Soma, Pt. 1 & 2," (from Chariot Rising, 1967)Unreleased for decades, Chariot Rising is the only album by Dantalian's Chariot, a psychedelic band from the UK that included Summers and keyboard player Zoot Money. On "Soma, Pt. 1 & 2," Summers proves his versatility via both strummed and picked guitar work, plus a languid sitar part—plus a jazz-inflected guitar solo that's beautifully crystalline, forgoing the fuzztone fashion of the era. It all still sounds adventurous and fresh 58 years later.
2. "China - Yellow Leader" (from I Advance Masked, 1982)I Advance Masked is one of two albums that Summers recorded with Robert Fripp of King Crimson. (The other is 1984's Bewitched; a third, as-yet-untitled album with material from those sessions is scheduled for release later this year.) Thick with polyrhythms, "China - Yellow Leader" begins with unmistakably Crimson-esque herky-jerky arpeggios, then softens into lyrical, Chinese-scale territory as slow synthesizer waves roll across the background. Because Fripp and Summers both grew up in Bournemouth, they seemed destined to play together—and here, they do ... with relish and to great effect.
3. "Round Midnight" (from Green Chimneys: The Music of Thelonious Monk, 1999)Summers's atmospheric-jazz side is present in full force here. Unlike a lot of his other solo work, which builds on sounds and textures, the parts on this recording are scrupulously in the service of Monk's song, and they're all gorgeously understated: the whisper-quiet drums, the hushed double bass, Summers's chordal work, his gossamer full-toned jazzbox solo, and Sting's gauzy guest vocal that almost sounds like a reprise of his "Moon Over Bourbon Street." It's a lesson in squeezing maximum life and beauty from a perhaps overplayed jazz standard.
4. "Say Goodnight" (from Circus Hero, 2014)The album title is an amusing mondegreen of Circa Zero, the name of the duo Summers formed with Rob Giles of L.A. band The Rescues. "Say Goodnight" and the next track, "Gamma Ray," are standout power-pop songs that sound more like the Police than anything Summers had done since Synchronicity, the trio's last studio album. Punchy and loaded with strong hooks, Circus Hero was perhaps a bid to return to chart success. That it wasn't a commercial hit does nothing to diminish its delightful rock-romp spirit.
5. "Ishango Bone" (from Metal Dog, 2015)Even when he uses distortion in a dark, cinematic piece like "Ishango Bone," Summers's guitar sounds clean and open. The track approximates the richness of symphonic rock but eschews the bombast and denseness that can drag the genre down; fans of Joe Satriani or Steve Vai will find little to like here. As is usually the case with Andy Summers's playing, it's all about mood-setting, never about speed or showing off.
6. "Triboluminescence" (from Triboluminescence, 2017)Starting with eerie chimes that are somewhere between a child's toy and gamelan music, "Triboluminescence" builds into a sprawling instrumental piece that blends world music, experimental jazz, and ambient textures. Except for a brief interlude early on, it's a one-chord composition. For that reason, the track may not sustain itself over the full 10 minutes, but what it lacks in variety, it makes up for in drama and hypnotic flair. Also listen to "Pukul Bunye Bunye," which features two detuned guitars played simultaneously—with chopsticks!—and to "If Anything," a prog-rock exercise with a guitar solo reminiscent of Eddie Hazel's work on "Maggot Brain" by Funkadelic.
