Angel Street is an album by the American musician Tony Williams, released in 1988.[1][2] He and his group supported the album with a North American tour.[3]
Production
All of the songs were written by Williams, who had spent the early 1980s working on his composition skills.[4] He was backed by Billy Pierce on saxophone, Charnett Moffett on bass, Wallace Roney on trumpet, and Mulgrew Miller on piano.[5][6] "Pee Wee" was recorded by Williams's former bandleader, Miles Davis.[7] Williams thought that his compositional abilities were stronger on Angel Street, and that he possessed a better sense of melody.[8] He preferred that the group record only two or three takes of a track.[9] Williams used a personalized drum machine to help him construct the songs; he included short drum solos between the tracks.[10][11]
The St. Petersburg Times concluded that "Williams is unquestionably an expert and innovative drummer, but his composing skills—a recent concentration—are shaky... Most of the tunes ... are fuzzy and obtuse."[16]The New York Times noted that "the music is easygoing, even at fast tempos; Mr. Williams knocks the tunes around with carefree mastery, but too often he allows his soloists ... to reel off the steady strings of 16th-notes and arpeggios that are hard-bop's common currency."[5] The Los Angeles Times said that "the music, composed by Williams, is powered by his crisp stick work: rapidly shifting layers of rhythms coming from carefully tuned drums that almost give his playing a melodic quality."[17]
The Windsor Star stated that the "group kicks and swings healthily ... on uptempo outings like 'Obsession' and 'Red Mask'".[15]The Globe and Mail opined that "the ballads sound like most quintet's ballads—his musicians play them in a way that falls halfway between the dutiful and the inspired—but the heavy slugging, with Moffett as bullish as his leader, could only be the work of Tony Williams."[6]The Times praised Williams's "breathtakingly sophisticated rhythmic and textural detail".[18]
Track listing
Angel Street track listing
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Angel Street"
8:20
2.
"Touch Me"
1:23
3.
"Red Mask"
7:08
4.
"Kiss Me"
0:54
5.
"Dreamland"
9:36
6.
"Only with You"
5:56
7.
"Pee Wee"
6:39
8.
"Thrill Me"
0:46
9.
"Obsession"
4:19
Total length:
45:01
References
^"Record labels are filling the jazz bins". USA Today. September 13, 1988. p. 2D.
^Macnie, Jim (March 8, 1997). "Renowned jazz drummer Tony Williams, 51, dies". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 10. pp. 10, 76.
^Nelson, Nels (May 26, 1989). "He Sticks to Drumming: Styles May Change, but Williams' Beat Remains Loud & Clear". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 62.
