THE KNEE PLAYS - DAVID BYRNE
A CD reissue of music originally released on vinyl and cassette in 1985, “The Knee Plays” collects short pieces that David Byrne created for Robert Wilson’s famously unproduced avant-garde opera “The Civil Wars” (which also featured music by Philip Glass). Much of the material is Byrne’s brainy version of New Orleans-style brass-band music; think honking horns and swinging rhythms. Byrne provides spoken-word narration on a handful of cuts; other selections, like the droning “Winter,” don’t really go anywhere without Wilson’s theatrical accompaniment. Nonesuch’s reissue appends seven instrumental tracks to the original program, none of which make “The Knee Plays” anything more than a handsome curio for devoted Byrne fans.
