Lurie, John (soundtrack) – “African Swim/Manny & Lo ” – [Strange & Beautiful]

This latest release from the great John Lurie combines two original film scores. Twenty-five tracks total, most of them short, featuring many of the usual downtown suspects: Marc Ribot, Calvin Weston, Doug Wieselman, Bill Ware, and even Medeski, Martin and Wood. The more atypical highlights have Lurie: plucking a banjo on track 1, recounting a humorous hard-luck tale in his best Barry White voice on track 3, and punking out on the all-too-brief track 17. Beyond that, the African-influenced title theme for “Manny & Lo” (tracks 13 & 25) ranks right up there with the very BEST Lurie compositions. Another wonderful release from John Lurie.