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Road Movies | 
| Creators: John Adams, John Novacek, Nicolas Hodges, Rolf Hind, Leila Josefowicz
Label: Nonesuch
Category: Music
List Price: $16.98
Buy New: $8.59
You Save: $8.39 (49%)
New (15) Used (6) from $8.48
Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 32504
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 79699
UPC: 075597969924
EAN: 0075597969924
ASIN: B0001XAO66
Release Date: May 4, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
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| Tracks:
| • | I. Relaxed Groove - Leila Josefowicz | | • | II. Meditative - Leila Josefowicz | | • | II. 40% Swing - Leila Josefowicz | | • | Hallelujah Junction | | • | Halleujah Junction | | • | Halleujah Junction | | • | China Gates - Nicolas Hodges | | • | American Berserk - Nicolas Hodges | | • | Part 1 | | • | Part 2 (A System Of Weights And Measures) | | • | Part 3 |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Here is a CD of chamber works by John Adams: Road Movies is for violin and piano, Hallelujah Junction is for two pianos, and the other three works are for solo piano. China Gates, the shortest piece, is simply beautiful: 4-and-a-half minutes of lyricism. American Berserk, the other miniature, is busy, jazzy and rhythmically rich. Hallelujah Junction, for two pianos, is named for a truck stop on the California-Nevada border, but Adams was thinking more of the area's past, filled with gold prospectors. Its 16 minutes are brawny and energetic; sometimes the pianos finish one-another's phrases, sometimes they form big-boned clusters. It goes through a section of plushness before a jagged last movement---it's as varied, Adams seems to be saying, as America's personality. Road Movies begins with a tempi and attitude evocative of driving down a highway, with billboards and dotted landscapes whizzing by; one might hear in the piano part the road and its turns and in the violin, the changing but much-the-same sights. The second movement is lonelier and more severe and the third is part pure minimalism sped up to a point of mania and part boogie-woogie. The CD's longest piece, Phrygian Gates, is peaceful and moody, with moments which alternately swell and ebb; the second movement goes nowhere and seems to be concerned with a tone cluster at time, and the finale is insistent minmalism, staying close enough to its original key at all times to be comfortable while rhythmically keeping us on out toes. The performances are beyond reproach, with Leila Josefowicz and John Novacek particularly splendid in their difficult Road Moves duos, but with very high praise going to the other pianists as well. This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but Adams always catches the attention. --Robert Levine
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Boring Road Trip September 10, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am admirer of Jonn Adam's works, but this is the worst of his material. His road trips must not have been very exciting, because this piece is about as bland as anything I've ever heard. I spent more time adjusting the volume than I did enjoying the music.
 Silly reviewers! Historical Adams June 14, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
What we have here is a hodgepodge of old and (one) new material for piano. "China Gates" and "Phrygian Gates" is actually considered to be Adam's Opus 1, so to find out that his very first mature work does not resound with the same punctuation and feeling that previously works have, like "Harmonielehre" or even the recently released "Naive and Sentimental Music," does not mean that Adams is in anyway losing his "touch" or is begin lose his creative spark. Instead, these two pieces should be listened to and enjoyed for what they represent in terms of John Adams' historical work, or the work which has gotten him to where he is today.
Similarly, "Road Movies" was composed in 1995, "Hallelujah Junction" was composed in 1996, and the newest work, "American Berzerk" was composed in 2003. "Road Movies" is actually a very soothing, contemplative work, but (true) does contain the same expressiveness felt in other works of art by Adams. "Hallelujah Junction" may be the most disappointing piece on the album, but I'm not sure that it's supposed to be taken as seriously as some Adams' fans would like to take it - such as on the level with "On The Transmigration of Souls" or "The Death of Klinghoffer." Adams himself acknowledged that "Hallelujah Junction" is the name of a truck stop on US 395 and that "it was a case of a good title needing a piece, so I obliged by composing this work for two pianos."
No, this isn't Adams' best work, but I definitely think that it surely lives up to his other greatest attempts. Plus, as an album containing solely works composed by Adams for the piano and not for orchestra, this is a nice breather and definitely an excellent addition to one's collection of piano music or for fans of Adams himself.
 With all due respect: boring February 5, 2005
5 out of 16 found this review helpful
I respect John Adams as a composer. He has done wonderful things, which are ultimately moving. But this CD is boring. Once you leave the violin behind, and in spite of the cute titles, all sounds pretty much the same. For those who want it, nothing more than an intellectual exercise.
 Response to frisbee95: July 8, 2004
8 out of 26 found this review helpful
I agree. His music is getting very stale (I actually found his violin concerto to be boring). Minimalism, which is a silly term anyway, is essentially gone. I've known the music of Reich, Glass, Adams, Riley, Young etc since the late 70's, and have interviewed and met all of them during my college years. A shame, since much of their earlier output is amazing. One of the best concerts I attended was the Chicago premiere of Harmonium, conducted by Felix Slatkin, at an outdoor Grant Park concert. Adams was there, and I had a great chat with him. For alternatives, there is always the music of Morton Feldman (particularly the works from 1977 on, which is arguably his best), some decent work by Charlemagne Palestine (Strumming Music is still the best, in my opinion) and a few others. Not to be self-promoting, but just to show that there is recent music with repetitive structures that I think, are of value, you may want to look at http://homepage.mac.com/dtoub/dbtmusic.html for some examples. Not putting my works in the same class as any of the others, but I'd like to think there's something new and interesting about it.
 A great composer with all his influences showing May 22, 2004
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
What I've come to love about John Adams is the way he borrows from everybody and everything. In many ways, he's the epitome of the Post-Modern composer, because he boldly appropriates other styles and idioms and finds a way to make them his own. This new CD is a prime example of how Adams uses the old to make new. "Road Movies" is clearly the work of John Adams, but the second movement resonates so close to the 2nd movement of the Copland violin sonata that it gives me the shakes. This isn't just a quote or rip-off, but a work that honors a powerful precedent: it's almost a love song to its predecessor. "American Berserk" evokes an array of composers that Adams clearly loves, especially Nancarrow and Ives. "Hallelujah Junction" is a genuinely great tune, with inflections of Gospel and Rock piano playing thrown in to make it tasty. And while this makes my third recording of "Phrygian Gates," I can't complain, as I think it's probably the best work for piano written in the last 25 years. None of these works are "easy" to play, and they're given dynamic performances and crisp recordings, making this CD a unique pleasure.
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