Dirty Baby | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 12, 2010 (2010-10-12) | |||
Recorded | January 24–26, 2008 | |||
Genre | Jazz | |||
Length | 93:15 | |||
Label | Cryptogramophone CG142 | |||
Producer | David Breskin | |||
Nels Cline chronology | ||||
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Dirty Baby (stylized asDIRTY BABY) is an album by American guitaristNels Cline performing compositions inspired byEdward Ruscha, which was released in October 2010 on theCryptogramophone label.[1]
Dirty Baby is also the name of a multi-media book of Cline's music, paintings by Ruscha, and the poetry ofDavid Breskin, also released in 2010. It features sixty-six paintings by Ruscha, Cline's original music, and poems by Breskin that employ the ancient Arabic poetic form of theghazal.
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 74/100[2] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
All About Jazz | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Guardian | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
PopMatters | 8/10[7] |
Dirty Baby received mainly positive reviews on release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received a score of 74, based on 6 reviews which is categorised as generally favorable.[2] TheAllmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4 stars out of 5, stating "Dirty Baby is a singular accomplishment, presented in a fashion that demands more of the listener's attention but buy pays off handsomely. It adds immeasurably to the depth of Cline's contributions as a musician -- and offers another way of seeing and hearing this body of Ruscha's work".[3] Writing forAll About Jazz, Mark Corroto stated "Cline and his collaborators perform an encyclopedic array of styles and forms, the pieces clocking in from a half minute to three-and-a-half to explore noise, rock, free jazz and chamber classical, much like the work of John Zorn".[4]The Guardian's John Fordham rated the album 3 stars out of 5, saying, "Nels Cline has been an uncategorisable innovator for two decades, and certainly remains one".[5]Rolling Stone's Will Hermes rated the album 3½ stars out of 5, noting "Overall, it's less about abstract guitar heroics than his usual projects. But hearing Cline get freaky with such a wide palette and such a sharp ensemble (including twin brother Alex on drums) is a new shade of thrill".[6]PopMatters' John Garratt stated "the eclecticism ofDirty Baby makes for such a strong listening experience. You will be more fascinated than bewildered (though I can’t rule the latter word out for some listeners)".[7]
All compositions by Nels Cline
Disc One:
Disc Two:
TheDirty Baby multi-media book was published by Delmonico Books/Prestel Publishing in 2010. It features sixty-six paintings by Ruscha, Cline's original music, and poems by Breskin that employ the ancient Arabic poetic form of theghazal. The book consists of two parts or "sides": side A describes the rise of human civilization, and side B provides an account, in a variety of voices, of the secondIraq War.[8][9] The book includes four CDs, two featuring Cline's music and two of spoken-voice poetry.