''First Recordings 1973'' is a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...

featuring recordings that he made while still a student between 1973 and 1974 which was released on the

Tzadik Tzadik ( he, צַדִּיק , "righteous ne, also ''zadik'', ''ṣaddîq'' or ''sadiq''; pl. ''tzadikim'' ''ṣadiqim'') is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The ...

label in 1995.Tzadik catalogue
/ref>

Reception

The

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review by Stacia Proefrock noted: "Zorn calls this collection "the craziest stuff I've ever done" and he could be right, with the possible exception of the

Painkiller An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic (American English), analgaesic (British English), pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve relief from pain (that is, analgesia or pain management). It i ...

albums, which are perhaps just louder rather than crazier. That said, this work is, predictably, not Zorn's best, but it holds value for fans as an embryonic example of his innovation and style".Proefrock, S.

Allmusic Review AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

accessed March 10, 2009. ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by ...

'' observed: "The debut recordings see him navigating a solitary course through the shattered columns of avant-garde jazz... suggests where Zorn was artistically at the age of nineteen... ndoffer useful pointers to the years ahead and their obsessions".

Track listing

# "Mikhail Zoetrope" (1974): Act I - 22:13 # "Mikhail Zoetrope" (1974): Act II - 13:30 # "Mikhail Zoetrope" (1974): Act III - 11:00 # "Conquest of Mexico" (1973): Part 1 Warning Signs - 7:45 # "Conquest of Mexico (1973): Part 2 Confession - 3:39 # "Conquest of Mexico" (1973): Part 3 Convulsions/Abdication - 3:56 # "Wind Ko/La" (1973) - 3:04 # "Automata of Al-Jazari" (1974) - 1:16 # "Variations on a Theme by Albert Ayler" (1973) - 11:14

Personnel

– all instruments and sounds

References

{{Authority control John Zorn albums Tzadik Records albums 1995 albums Albums produced by John Zorn Sound collage albums