Upper Limbo

AMG Review of Upper Limbo

Sean Carruthers
All Music Guide

Stitched together from two live shows recorded about a year apart, Upper Limbo contains a selection of new material that continues from where his early-'90s "comeback," Devout Catalyst, left off. As on Devout Catalyst, Ken Nordine relies more heavily on rhyme here than he did on his early recordings, and his voice has taken on a deeper and slightly more menacing cast. Both of these things strip Nordine of a substantial amount of the charm that made the early Word Jazz albums so compelling, which means fans of the older material will have to delve a bit deeper here. The band has a jazzier sensibility here, which fits Nordine's material far better than the Grisman/Garcia backing on Devout Catalyst, though it's still not the same as with his material of yore: On "Charlie Bing Bang" he tries to sing, somewhat successfully, though his voice is a bit shaky (perhaps appropriate considering the subject of the song is the suicide of an acquaintance). "Ripples" sounds like it's going to be a revisit to the Nordine of yore, with a beginning that features the easygoing storytelling of his early years; shortly after the track gets going, however, he falls into verse again, and is joined by a female backing singer. Even stranger, "Operator" departs from Nordine's typical method almost altogether, with a sketch at the start featuring Nordine trying to get information from the operator, but that's quickly interrupted when the piece turns into another song, complete with chorus; he doesn't actually try to sing this time out, but the insistent beat and the repeated chorus almost make it seem like he's trying to craft a single instead of a song. Overall, it's interesting listening, but if you're expecting old-school Nordine wonkiness, Upper Limbo may leave you feeling a bit unsatisfied.