Never Stop (Deluxe Edition)

I first overheard this band in college as someone down the hall blasted live bootlegs of their covers of pop songs. These originals are great writing, weird writing, texture based writing that keeps you hanging on

From the first minute of hearing "The radio tower has a beating heart," I knew that I was in for a treat. This first track is a great example of what the Bad Plus are so genius at. Unpredictability. Was this song a supposed to be an avant/free jazz/improv session? Was it strategically written out, structured and arranged to sound completely de-structured and dis-arranged? I don't know. I don't think I even want to know. That's what makes this band so good is that they can make you think outside the box while being inside of a circle on so many levels. Then, at 3:58 of the track, one of the most awesome of all melodies comes out of nowhere and sends a chill through my body that could freeze time. Wow. Talk about being captivated by the power of music. Yet, as it plays on, I see how it ties into the first half of the song. What was a broken up scattered melody of the first half of the song comes together so good, and, so smooth. I love this band! Thank you for making music like this! I get chills just thinking about how good it sounds. This is just the first track. The rest of the album goes even further into the vast array of styles the Bad Plus are capable of conjuring and mixing into a sound that is truly their own. Amazing!

The ten year annivery shows the group in a set of all orgionals and shows that they have no intention of slowing down. The recording captures as best as possible how they sound live. There are two offerings of this album on iTunes but the deluxe version here is the one to get. All around top marks. -Bz

You guys are so HOT HOT HOT. 5 STARS!

As amazing as The Bad Plus's contemporary covers are, their originals tracks are most of my favorites off of their previous albums. This album of all originals is some of their best work.