If you've never heard of John Zorn, his is a name that you should know. If you're of age, and listened to anything that more challenging than rock 'n' roll in the eighties (you know, when your punk rock hangover was beginning to subside), chances are you've heard something by him, quite possibly without knowing his name. He is a one serious musician, a guy who really does defy classification. He's done hardcore, avant-garde, ambient, film scores, jazz, and about eighty other types of music, but what he's really known for is mixing everything together. His arrangements of familiar soundtrack themes are what brought him attention, The Big Gundown, a collection of music by Ennio Morricone, in particular. But these aren't your garden variety cover versions. Most of his re-recordings of film scores are so radically different from the originals that the songs are barely recognizable.
Here's a couple by him. "James Bond Theme" and "Exodus", along with more familiar versions of the same songs so you can hear how far he strays from the source material. That straying is what makes him so interesting, a stealth baddass.
You gotta check "Speedfreak" by his 1988 band Naked City, introduced as "33 styles of music in 45 seconds", Performed live, and tight as hell, it's just all over the place. A real gas.
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Listen:John Zorn - James Bond Theme mp3 at Pat's Lies
John Barry - James Bond Theme mp3 at ATumblr (?)
John Zorn - Exodus mp3 at Whiskey Fun
Henry Mancini - Exodus mp3 at ATumblr (?)
The Lively Ones - Exodus (streaming) at YouTube
John Zorn - The Big Gundown (streaming) at YouTube
Telling:
Naked City - Speedfreak mp3 at FFDM (?)
Visit:
John Zorn at Wikipedia
John Zorn discography at Wikipedia
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