X-Legged Sally - Eggs and Ashes (2015)

Aha, so these guys really are artists, not just members of a mere rock band, even of the avant-prog variety. X-Legged Sally might've made a couple of forays to record at Bill Laswell's Brooklyn studio, but back on their home turf of Belgium they had gotten their start as a vehicle for performing music that leader Peter Vermeersch had composed to accompany dance productions, including works by Flemish choreographer/director Wim Vandekeybus and the Ultima Vez dance company. Vandekeybus is internationally renowned for his groundbreaking works, and on the evidence of Eggs and Ashes, X-Legged Sally was ideally suited to playing music for a number of his Ultima Vez productions. Nine tracks from three works, dating from 1991, 1993, and 1994, are included on the CD. Taken together, the tracks illustrate the stunning range of the band's capabilities better than either Slow-Up or Killed by Charity. And Eggs and Ashes hangs together as an entity unto itself, despite the wide disparity in stylistic material as the tracks jump back and forth among the three Vandekeybus works. There are certainly plenty of surprises, starting with the opening, "Lulu," a deranged waltz from the 1994 production entitled Mountains Made of Barking. With an eccentric vocal performance by Carlo Verano (Evil Superstars), the piece becomes progressively more unhinged until it approximates something akin to a hellish mix of big band, jazz, and speed metal. "Laut und Leise," from 1991's Immer das Selbe Gelogen, is up next; it includes voice samples from Carlo Verano, an 89-year-old artist and hermit who Vandekeybus had befriended and who inspired not only the 1991 production but also Alle Größen Decken Sich Zu, a 1995 work undertaken after Verano's death. "Laut und Leise" introduces electronic percussion loops, noise guitar, and abrasive textures into the X-Legged Sally sound; Verano's voice and the muted trumpets of Bart Maris and guest Jan Weuts provide welcome organic touches. Later on, "Immer Carlo" is more successful in revealing Verano's charm, with its gypsy-flavored violin from guest George Van Dam adding a perfect touch to the elderly traveler's singsong delivery of a simple verse that seems to reflect satisfaction with a life well-spent.