BILL LASWELL

DECONSTRUCTION: THE CELLULOID RECORDINGS

 Disc one :
  1/  World Destruction - Time Zone              (Bambaataa,Laswell)           5.30
  2/  Killing Time - Massacre                    (Massacre)                    2.52
  3/  Mean Machine - Jalal Nuriddin & D. ST.     (Nuriddin,Showard)            4.40
  4/  Electric Africa - Manu Dibango             (Dibango)                     10.23
  5/  Worksong - Bill Laswell                    (Laswell,Beinhorn,Lewis)      7.16
  6/  Memories - Material                        (Houston)                     3.58
  7/  Death Rattle - P. Brotzmann & B. Laswell   (Brotzman,Laswell)            4.24
  8/  Reduction - Material                       (Material)                    5.30
  9/  Uprising - Bill Laswell                    (Laswell,Beinhorn,Lewis)      1.08
  10/ Boat Peoples - Deadline                    (Dibango,Turre,Wilson)        7.02
  11/ For A Few Dollars More - Material          (Morricone)                   4.22
  12/ Get Movin' - The Last Poets                (El-Hadi,Worrell)             5.58
  13/ Busting Out - Material                     (Laswell,Beinhorn,Maher)      8.03

 Disc two :
  1/  Oh My People - The Last Poets              (El-Hadi)                     6.50
  2/  Cross Examination - Fela Anikulapo Kuti    (Kuti)                        11.53
  3/  Interlock - Ginger Baker                   (Baker)                       4.55
  4/  Harima - Mandingo                          (Suso)                        6.03
  5/  Locomotive - P. Brotzmann & B. Laswell     (Brotzman,Laswell)            3.33
  6/  Change The Beat -  Fab Five Freddy         (Zekri,Material)              7.43
  7/  Shango Message - Shango                    (Material,Bambaataa)          7.44
  8/  Legs - Massacre                            (Massacre)                    2.03
  9/  My Balls/ Your Chin - Last Exit            (Last Exit)                   2.20
  10/ Square Dance - Material                    (Frith,Laswell,Maher)         4.29
  11/ Natalia - Toure Kunda                      (Toure)                       4.56
  12/ O.A.O. - Material                          (Material)                    4.43

          Disc one, track 1 produced by Bill Laswell & Afrika Bambaataa
          Disc one, track 2 produced by Massacre
          Disc one, track 3 produced by Bill Laswell & D.ST
          Disc one, tracks 4,7 & 12 produced by Bill Laswell
          Disc one, tracks 5,6,8,9,11 & 13 produced by Material
          Disc one, track 10 produced by Bill Laswell & Phillip Wilson
          Disc two, tracks 1,2,3,5 & 11 produced by Bill Laswell
          Disc two, track 4 produced by Bill Laswell & Foday Musa Suso
          Disc two, tracks 6 & 10 produced by Material
          Disc two, track 7 produced by Bill Laswell & Afrika Bambaataa
          Disc two, track 8 produced by Massacre
          Disc two, track 9 produced by Last Exit
          Disc two, track 12 produced by George Gomelski & Material
Disc one:
Bill Laswell: bass (1,5,6,9,11,13), DMX (1,10,12), 8 string bass (2,11), 6 string bass (8,11), pocket trumpet (2), shortwave (3), Fairlight CMI (4), AMS (4,10,12); Afrika Bambaataa (1): vocals; John Lydon (1): vocals; Bernie Worrell: synthesizer (1,10,13); Nicky Skopelitis (1): guitar; Aiyb Dieng: percussion (1), jimbe (4), congas (10), chatan (13), cowbell (10,13); Fred Frith: guitar (2,10), voice (2), Cassiotone (2), violin (10), string console (10); Fred Maher: drums (2,8,13), percussion (2,8), guitar (8); Jalal Mansur Nuriddin: vocals (3); D. ST.: vocals (3), DMX (3), Prophet 5 (3), Moog Rogue (3), Moog source (3), turntables (3,11); INFINITY - the Fliest Booski God Father KC: Background vocals (3); King Pin Shahiem: background vocals (3); Manu Dibango: vocals (4,10), saxophone (4,10); Herbie Hancock: Yamaha DX-7 (4), piano (4); Valerie Lobe & Brice Wouassy: drums (4), percussion (4); Joseph Kuo: Simmons; Jerry Malekani & Vincent Nguini: guitar (4); Francis Mbappa: bass (4), vocals (4); Florence Dimbeng & Sissy Dipoko: vocals (4); Segona Peter Tholo: trumpet (4); Michael Beinhorn: Prophet 5 (5,9), shortwave (5,9), prepared piano (8), percussion (8), synthesizer (5,6,8,9,11,13), tapes (5,8,9,11), radio (11), guitar (11), drums (11), voice (11); George Lewis: trombone (5); Ralph Carney: bass saxophone (5), contrabass clarinet (5); Daniel Ponce: congas (5), percussion (11); Philip Wilson: drums (5), DMX (10), percussion (10); Whitney Houston: vocals (6); Archie Shepp: tenor saxophone (6); Raymond Jones: Yamaha CP-70B (6), electric piano (6); Yogi Horton: drums (6); Peter Brotzmann: bass saxophone (7); Henry Kaiser & Robert Musso (11): guitar; Anton Fier: drums (11); Suliaman El-Hadi: vocals (12).

Disc Two :
Suliaman El-Hadi: vocals(1); Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin: vocals (1); Jamal Abdus Sabur: bass (1); Kenyatti Abdur Rahman: congas (1); Aiyb Dieng: talking drums (1,3,4), chatan (1,2,3,11), cowbell (1,2,11), Yamaha DX-11 (2), bells (3), djimbe (11), percussion (11); Phillip Wilson: cymbals (1), percussion (1,6); Fela Anikulapo Kuti & Egypt 80 (2); Bernie Worrell: Hammond B3 (2), organ (3), Prophet 5 (11), synthesizer (11), fairlight CMI (11); Sly Dunbar: drums (2); Ginger Baker: drums (3); Foday Musa Suso: dousongonni (3,4), kora (4,11), kalimba (4), lead vocal (4), talking drum (4,11), DMX programming (4); Shankar: violin (3); Nicky Skopelitis: 6 & 12 string guitars (3,11); Bill Laswell: bass (3,5,6,7,8,9,10,12), DMX programming (4,6), percussion (7), pocket trumpet (8); Daniel Ponce: bata (3), bells (3); Herbie Hancock: Yamaha DX-7 (4); Joe Thomas: bass (4); Abdul Hakeen: guitar (4); Adam Rudolph: congas (4), Morrocan bongos (4), frafra bell (4), Gnouan clappers (4), shekere (4), turtle shell (4); Hamid Drake: drums (4); Reymond Sillah: dundungo (4); Isatou Walker & Nora Harris: backing vocals (4); Peter Brotzmann: bass saxophone (5,9), alto & tenor Saxophones (9), taragato (9); Fab Five Freddy: vocals (6); Michael Beinhorn: synthesizer (6,10,12), Prophet 5 (7), percussion (7), tapes (10,12), radio (10), voice (10), guitar (10), drums (10), piano (12), clarinet (12); Roger Trilling: voice (6); Afrika Bambaataa: vocals (7); Bernard Fowler: vocals (7); Fred Frith: guitar (8,10), voice (8), violin (10), xylophone (10); Fred Maher: drums (8,12), percussion (8), rhythm box (12); Sonny Sharrock: guitar (9); Ronald Shannon Jackson: drums (9), voice (9); Henry Threadgill: alto saxophone (10); George Lewis: trombone (10); Ismaila Toure, Sixu Tidiane Toure & Ousmane Toure: vocals (11), percussion (11); J.C. Bonaventure & Roger Chico Dru: guitar (11); Michel Abissihra: drums (11); Ben Benlinga & Michel Billez: saxophone (11); Nabou Diop: vocals (11); Albain Ehrlich: piano (11); Lionel Jouot: trombone (11); Christian Martinez: trumpet (11); Cliff Cultreri: guitar (12).

          1993 - Restless (USA), 7 72665-2 (2CD)
          1994 - Celluloid (Europe), CELCD 5100 (2CD)

REVIEWS :

A more than adequate overview of Laswell's work at Celluloid, where he successfully blurred the division lines between hip-hop, rap, reggae, African music, jazz, and avant-garde, this two-CD anthology includes his work as a producer as well as solo and band recordings. Laswell displays both his strengths and weaknesses (brilliant bass playing, over-reliance on some technotoys, an ear for combinations, a tendency to lock down in one place). One of his strongest pieces, "World Destruction" (Timezone, featuring Afrikaa Bambaataa and John Lydon) kicks the album off, and after that it's a true roller-coaster ride that sails through various line-ups of Material via Manu Dibango, Massacre, Fela Anukulapo Kuti, The Last Poets, and Ginger Baker, amongst others. Some listeners will explore further, which they will most likely find beneficial.

Steve McDonald (courtesy of the Get Music website – originally from the All Music Guide)