Andy Summers - The Last Dance of Mr. X

ALL MUSIC GUIDE

Though perhaps best (or at least better) known for his work with the Police, guitarist Andy Summers seems to be doing rather well for himself. He may not be filling arenas and attracting screaming teenage girls, but their mothers can scream pretty loud as well, and as it is to them that Summers now appears to be playing, his maturity and ability to look forward work in his favor. Backed by bassist Tony Levin and drummer Gregg Bissonette (except on "Big Thing," which features the touring band of Jerry Watts on basses and Bernie Dresel on cymbal-laden drum set), Summers works well as a frontman. In fact, the lack of single-named eco-conscious smoothies and relatives of famous composers allows Summers to spread out and explore his music. Summers puts his "Soul-O" amp to good use in the original tracks "Big Thing," "Strange Earth," "Mr. X," "Rumplestiltskin," and "The Somnambulist." However, through the predominance of covers of tunes such as Horace Silver's cleanly swaying "Lonely Woman," the sprightly swing of Thelonious Monk's "We See," the samba tinge of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints," and an easy-going take on Charles Mingus' "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat," Mr. X demonstrates a solid grasp not only of jazz (albeit 'smooth jazz"), but also of a number of other streams as well. This is especially evident on the title track, which repeatedly rolls in like an ambient Latin tide, then flashes sharply and smoothly to such diverse styles as polka and surf (Mr. X must be quite a dancer indeed!), in addition to a sampling of Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love." Whether Summers was underappreciated in the '80s remains to be seen, but his solo work definitely deserves attention. ~ Matthew Robinson, All Music Guide

Though perhaps best (or at least better) known for his work with The Police, guitarist Andy Summers seems to be doing rather well for himself these days. He may not be filling arenas and attracting screaming teenage girls, but their mothers can scream pretty loud as well, and as it is to them that Mr. Summers now appears to be playing, his maturity and vision work in his favor. Backed by bassist Tony Levin and drummer Gregg Bissonette (except on “Big Thing,” which features the touring band of Jerry Watts on basses and Bernie Dresel on cymbal-laden drum set), Summers works well as a front man. In fact, the lack of single-named eco-concious smoothies and relatives of famous composers allows Summers to spread out and explore his music.

Summers puts his “Soul-O” amp to good use in the original tracks ”Big Thing,” “Strange Earth,” “Mr. X,” “Rumplestiltskin” and “The Somnambulist.” However, through the predominance of covers of tunes such as Horace Silver's cleanly swaying “Lonely Woman,” the spritely swing of “Monk's We See,” the samba tinge of Wayne Shorter's ”Footprints” and an easy-going take on Mingus' “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat,” Mr. X demonstrates a solid grasp not only of jazz (albeit 'smooth jazz'), but also of a number of other streams as well. This is especially evident on the title track, which repeatedly rolls in like an ambient Latin tide, then flashes sharply and smoothly to such diverse styles as polka and surf (Mr. X must be quite a dancer indeed!), in addition to a sampling of Cream's “Sunshine of Your Love.” Whether Summers was underappreciated in the '80's remains to be seen, but his solo work definitely deserves attention!

Matt Robinson





		THE LAST DANCE OF MR. X
		Andy Summers: Guitar Tony Levin: Bass Gregg Bissonette: Drums and also on "Big Thing" Jerry Watts: Bass Bernie Dresel: Drums Produced by Andy Summers & Eddie King Assisted by Dennis Smith Recorded by Eddie King at Ocean Studio, North Hollywood, CA January 20-28, 1997 assisted by Kenneth A. Van Druten and at Hill Of Beans, Venice Beach, January 30 - February 4 1997 "Big Thing" recorded at Right Track Studios, Manhattan, NY, May 19, 1997 by Michael O'Reilly Mixed by Eddie King and Andy Summers at Castle Oaks, Calabasas, CA February 13-18, 1997 Mastered by Steve Hall at Future Disc, Los Angeles. Art Direction & Design: Norman Moore Photographs of Andy: Norman Moore Black & white photographs: Andy Summers Thanks to the following: Gregg Bissonette, Tony Levin, Jerry Watts & Bernie Dresel for their immaculate musicianship and creativity on this album. To Eddie King and Dennis Smith for the scaffolding. To Hot Licks for permission to use the track "Big Thing" from the Hot Licks Video - "Andy Summers - Guitar" To Groove Tubes for the two "Soul-O" guitar amplifiers used for this recording. And to Kate, Layla, Mo & Anton for everything Big Thing - (A. Summers/D.Hentschel/D.Smith) The Three Marias - (Wayne Shorter) Strange Earth - (A. Summers) Afro Blue - (Mongo Santamaria) The Last Dance Of Mr X - (A. Summers) Lonely Woman - (Horace Silver) We See - ( Thelonius Monk) Rumplestiltskin - (A. Summers) The Somnambulist - (A. Summers) Footprints - (Wayne Shorter) Goodbye Pork Pie Hat - (Charles Mingus) RCA VICTOR 1997
		ALL MUSIC GUIDE Though perhaps best (or at least better) known for his work with the Police, guitarist Andy Summers seems to be doing rather well for himself. He may not be filling arenas and attracting screaming teenage girls, but their mothers can scream pretty loud as well, and as it is to them that Summers now appears to be playing, his maturity and ability to look forward work in his favor. Backed by bassist Tony Levin and drummer Gregg Bissonette (except on "Big Thing," which features the touring band of Jerry Watts on basses and Bernie Dresel on cymbal-laden drum set), Summers works well as a frontman. In fact, the lack of single-named eco-conscious smoothies and relatives of famous composers allows Summers to spread out and explore his music. Summers puts his "Soul-O" amp to good use in the original tracks "Big Thing," "Strange Earth," "Mr. X," "Rumplestiltskin," and "The Somnambulist." However, through the predominance of covers of tunes such as Horace Silver's cleanly swaying "Lonely Woman," the sprightly swing of Thelonious Monk's "We See," the samba tinge of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints," and an easy-going take on Charles Mingus' "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat," Mr. X demonstrates a solid grasp not only of jazz (albeit 'smooth jazz"), but also of a number of other streams as well. This is especially evident on the title track, which repeatedly rolls in like an ambient Latin tide, then flashes sharply and smoothly to such diverse styles as polka and surf (Mr. X must be quite a dancer indeed!), in addition to a sampling of Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love." Whether Summers was underappreciated in the '80s remains to be seen, but his solo work definitely deserves attention. ~ Matthew Robinson, All Music Guide Though perhaps best (or at least better) known for his work with The Police, guitarist Andy Summers seems to be doing rather well for himself these days. He may not be filling arenas and attracting screaming teenage girls, but their mothers can scream pretty loud as well, and as it is to them that Mr. Summers now appears to be playing, his maturity and vision work in his favor. Backed by bassist Tony Levin and drummer Gregg Bissonette (except on “Big Thing,” which features the touring band of Jerry Watts on basses and Bernie Dresel on cymbal-laden drum set), Summers works well as a front man. In fact, the lack of single-named eco-concious smoothies and relatives of famous composers allows Summers to spread out and explore his music. Summers puts his “Soul-O” amp to good use in the original tracks ”Big Thing,” “Strange Earth,” “Mr. X,” “Rumplestiltskin” and “The Somnambulist.” However, through the predominance of covers of tunes such as Horace Silver's cleanly swaying “Lonely Woman,” the spritely swing of “Monk's We See,” the samba tinge of Wayne Shorter's ”Footprints” and an easy-going take on Mingus' “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat,” Mr. X demonstrates a solid grasp not only of jazz (albeit 'smooth jazz'), but also of a number of other streams as well. This is especially evident on the title track, which repeatedly rolls in like an ambient Latin tide, then flashes sharply and smoothly to such diverse styles as polka and surf (Mr. X must be quite a dancer indeed!), in addition to a sampling of Cream's “Sunshine of Your Love.” Whether Summers was underappreciated in the '80's remains to be seen, but his solo work definitely deserves attention! Matt Robinson