Zero Tolerance for Silence
Encyclopedia
Zero Tolerance for Silence is a controversial 1994 album
by American
jazz
guitarist
Pat Metheny
.
Recorded for Geffen Records
, it was performed entirely on guitar
, although all of the tracks were overdubbed ("Part 5" also contains an acoustic guitar amongst the overdriven electric guitars). Rather than Metheny's standard reportoire of fusion jazz, Zero Tolerance for Silence consists of frantic, overdriven, intricately textured guitar soloing
with occasionally distinguishable blues
-like melodies. The album caused a division of opinion among listeners, who had not expected the formerly accessible Metheny to venture into the avant-garde
. Some, including many of Metheny's most devoted fans, felt that the album was a cataclysmic artistic mistake
, and fan forums have from time to time attempted to pressure Metheny into disowning the recording. He has declined to do so, although Geffen quietly allowed it to fall out of print towards the end of the 1990s
. In a 2008 interview, Metheny was asked to respond to an internet rumor that the album was conceived as a "'poke in the eye' to Geffen records":
The cover carried an endorsement
by Sonic Youth
guitarist/singer Thurston Moore
, hailing Metheny as a "master". Critic
s have generally been less kind; Ben Watson
of the music magazine The Wire
described it as "rubbish," and Allmusic's Tim Griggs awarded it 1.5 out of a possible 5 stars.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Pat Metheny
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...
.
Recorded for Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
, it was performed entirely on guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, although all of the tracks were overdubbed ("Part 5" also contains an acoustic guitar amongst the overdriven electric guitars). Rather than Metheny's standard reportoire of fusion jazz, Zero Tolerance for Silence consists of frantic, overdriven, intricately textured guitar soloing
Guitar solo
In popular music, a guitar solo is a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, jazz, rock and metal styles such...
with occasionally distinguishable blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
-like melodies. The album caused a division of opinion among listeners, who had not expected the formerly accessible Metheny to venture into the avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
. Some, including many of Metheny's most devoted fans, felt that the album was a cataclysmic artistic mistake
Blunder
A blunder is a particularly bad mistake. Specific instances include:* Blunder , a very poor move in chess* Hopetoun Blunder, an event in Australian history.* Brand blunder, in marketing.* Draft blunder, in American sports....
, and fan forums have from time to time attempted to pressure Metheny into disowning the recording. He has declined to do so, although Geffen quietly allowed it to fall out of print towards the end of the 1990s
1990s in music
For music from a year in the 1990s, go to 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99This article includes trends in popular music in the 1990s....
. In a 2008 interview, Metheny was asked to respond to an internet rumor that the album was conceived as a "'poke in the eye' to Geffen records":
That rumor was started by a journalist who was seriously not listening to the album. All it would have taken was a quick phone call [to me] to find out that that wasn't the case. Besides, I would never do something like that. It isn't the way I operate, which I think has been pretty self-evident over the years. That record speaks for itself in its own musical terms. To me, it is a 2-D view of a world in which I am usually functioning in a more 3-D way. It is entirely flat music, and that was exactly what it was intended to be.
The cover carried an endorsement
Endorsement
Endorsement may refer to:*Testimonial in advertising, written or spoken statement endorsing a product*Political endorsement*a form added to an insurance policy, modifying the terms...
by Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
guitarist/singer Thurston Moore
Thurston Moore
Thurston Joseph Moore is an American musician best known as a singer, songwriter and guitarist of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside of Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label...
, hailing Metheny as a "master". Critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
s have generally been less kind; Ben Watson
Ben Watson (music writer)
Ben Watson is a British writer on music and culture of Marxist views, known especially for his books on Frank Zappa.Watson is well-known for his writing in The Wire , as well as the author of numerous books, often entailing studies of popular culture from a Marxist perspective...
of the music magazine The Wire
The Wire (magazine)
The Wire is a British avant garde music magazine, founded in 1982 by jazz promoter Anthony Wood and journalist Chrissie Murray. The magazine initially concentrated on contemporary jazz and improvised music, but branched out in the early 1990s to various types of experimental music...
described it as "rubbish," and Allmusic's Tim Griggs awarded it 1.5 out of a possible 5 stars.
Track listing
- "Part 1" – 18:32
- "Part 2" – 5:17
- "Part 3" – 4:19
- "Part 4" – 5:13
- "Part 5" – 5:53