Kramer: The Brill Building, Book Two Featuring Bill Frisell

Richard Gehr on February 26, 2018


Spirits shimmy and shudder throughout The Brill Building, Book Two, the hep and haunted second volume of psychedelicized cover versions of vintage American pop by the mononymic producer and one-man-band Kramer. He’s accompanied by Bill Frisell, who lays down an encyclopedia of suavely supernatural sounds on evergreens like Simon & Garfunkel’s “America,” Bacharach & David’s “My Little Red Book” and Goffin & King’s “Porpoise Song.” Kramer fashions little gothic mansions out of every chestnut, while Frisell wrests as much joy from the material as on his 2014 trip down memory lane, Guitar in the Space Age! Highly recommended.

Artist: Kramer
Album: The Brill Building, Book Two Featuring Bill Frisell
Label: Tzadik