These Are the Vistas

These Are the Vistas
Studio album by
the Bad Plus
ReleasedFebruary 11, 2003 (2003-02-11)
RecordedReal World Studios, September 30 – October 5, 2002
GenreJazz
Length52:28
LabelColumbia
ProducersTchad Blake, The Bad Plus
The Bad Plus chronology
The Bad Plus
(2001)		 These Are the Vistas
(2003)		 Give
(2004)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic81/100
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStar
Entertainment WeeklyA−
Pitchfork(7.0/10)
Rolling StoneStarStarStarStar
The Penguin Guide to Jazz RecordingsStarStarStarHalf star

These Are the Vistas is the second studio album by the jazz trio the Bad Plus, and the band's first album for a major label (Columbia Records). The album was the listening public's first widespread opportunity to hear the band, which Jim Fusilli of the Wall Street Journal called a "jazz power trio with a rock-and-roll heart." The album features three cover songs: Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Blondie's "Heart of Glass," and Aphex Twin's "Flim". In November 2009, NPR's All Songs Considered selected the album as one of the 50 "most important" recordings of the decade.

Production

According to JazzTimes, producer-engineer Tchad Blake "comes to [jazz] from the world of Los Lobos, Tom Waits and Pearl Jam" and "approaches These Are the Vistas with an ear for acoustic frictions. His firm but unobtrusive direction showcases the Bad Plus in a way that's somehow both huge-sounding and stripped-down."

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Big Eater"Reid Anderson3:53
2."Keep the Bugs Off Your Glass and the Bears Off Your Ass"David King5:49
3."Smells Like Teen Spirit"Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic5:57
4."Everywhere You Turn"Anderson4:56
5."1972 Bronze Medalist"King5:20
6."Guilty"Ethan Iverson5:35
7."Boo-Wah"Iverson3:55
8."Flim"Richard D. James4:05
9."Heart of Glass"Deborah Harry, Chris Stein4:47
10."Silence Is the Question"Anderson8:11
European and Japanese bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."What Love Is This"Iverson4:07

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ "THESE ARE THE VISTAS by The Bad Plus". Metacritic. metacritic.com. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  2. ↑ Jarnow, Jesse. "Review: These Are the Vistas". Allmusic. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
  3. ↑ Willman, Chris (May 2, 2003). "Music Review: These Are the Vistas (2003) by The Bad Plus". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved November 18, 2009.
  4. ↑ Leone, Dominique (September 14, 2003). "The Bad Plus: These Are the Vistas". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
  5. ↑ Fricke, David (March 20, 2003). "The Bad Plus: These Are the Vistas". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
  6. ↑ Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (9th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-14-103401-0.
  7. ↑ Fusilli, Jim (February 21, 2003). "Music Review: 'These Are the Vistas' from The Bad Plus". All Things Considered. NPR Music. Retrieved November 18, 2009.
  8. ↑ "The 50 Most Important Recordings: A-C". All Songs Considered. NPR Music. Retrieved November 18, 2009.
  9. ↑ Chinen, Nate (March 2003). "Bad Plus: These Are the Vistas (Columbia Jazz)". JazzTimes. Retrieved November 18, 2009.