Go West: Music for the Films of Buster Keaton

Guitarist Bill Frisell's exploration of 20th-century Americana has led him to many places, but the films of silent-screen comedian Buster Keaton have been a special inspiration. What makes this "background" music so compelling is Frisell's ability to reimagine the particular landscape of Keaton's Wild West, its wide-open spaces and doomed humor. His compositional materials are almost minimalist. A few short melodies recur throughout, and the bass motif that appears with the brief "Box Car" appears again and again, in "Train," "Bullfight," "New Day," and "Cattle Drive," until it assumes the inexorable momentum of narrative. In his handling of these materials, Frisell is able to suggest a host of other musics (like the blues of "Card Game" and the dissonant near-flamenco of "Ambush") and a range of complex emotions. His then-regular partners make essential contributions: Kermit Driscoll provides rock-steady bass lines, while Joey Baron's creative use of percussion extends to using woodblocks for both humor and foreboding. Like Keaton, Frisell has the ability to take the expected, even the cliché, and make it resonate with subtle and sometimes disturbing dimensions. In the process, he has created a score that not only enriches the film but is able to stand on its own. For another Frisell take on Keaton, check out the shorter High Sign/One Week. --Stuart Broomer

All compositions by Bill Frisell.

"Down on Luck" – 4:11
"Box Car" – 0:57
"Busy Street Scene" – 0:44
"Go West" – 1:00
"Train" – 3:06
"Brown Eyes" – 4:21
"Saddle Up!" – 2:41
"First Aid" – 0:51
"Bullfight" – 2:25
"Wolves" – 3:14
"New Day" – 5:27
"Branded" – 1:20
"Eats" – 1:13
"Splinter Scene" – 2:33
"Cattle Drive" – 4:36
"Card Game" – 5:03
"Ambush" – 4:02
"Passing Through Pasadena" – 1:52
"To The Streets" – 3:11
"Tap Dancer and Confusion" – 6:42
"Devil Suit" – 2:08
"Cops and Fireman" – 3:58
"That a Boy" – 1:31
"I Want Her" – 2:13