Musique Mecanique is an album by American composer, bandleader and keyboardist Carla Bley recorded in 1978 and released on the Watt/ECM label in 1979.[1][2]

Musique Mecanique
Studio album by
Released1979
RecordedAugust–November 1978
StudioGrog Kill Studio, Willow, New York
GenreJazz
Length44:51
LabelWatt/ECM
ProducerCarla Bley
Carla Bley chronology
European Tour 1977
(1977)
Musique Mecanique
(1979)
Social Studies
(1980)

Reception

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The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4 stars and stated "Carla Bley's tentet performs some of her most colorful themes on this often-humorous and generally stimulating set".[3] The Penguin Guide to Jazz awarded the album 3 stars.[4] Robert Christgau commented, "I'm still attracted to Bley's humor, best displayed here in the title piece, a wry take on the charms and imperfections of the mechanical mode. But this is basically desultory, hinting at the feckless formalism an obsession with textures so often conceals. Beyond the jokes, and the deliberately aborted moments of lyricism, she really doesn't have much to say. Weill sure did. And so did Satie."[5]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [3]
Christgau's Record GuideB[5]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz    [4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [6]

Track listing

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All compositions by Carla Bley.

  1. "440" - 9:48
  2. "Jesus Maria and Other Spanish Strains" - 11:54
  3. "Musique Mecanique I" - 9:46
  4. "Musique Mecanique II (At Midnight)" - 7:02
  5. "Musique Mecanique III" - 6:28

Personnel

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References

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  1. ^ Carla Bley discography accessed August 3, 2010
  2. ^ ECM/WATT discography Archived 2016-09-16 at the Wayback Machine accessed August 25, 2016
  3. ^ a b Yanow, S. Allmusic Review accessed August 3, 2010
  4. ^ a b Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2008) [1992]. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (9th ed.). New York: Penguin. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-14-103401-0.
  5. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: B". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  6. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 66.