Saints is a 2001 album of solo guitar recorded by Marc Ribot

Marc Ribot

Marc Ribot born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer.His own work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, and composer John Zorn.-Biography:Ribot was...

. It features several interpretations of compositions by Albert Ayler

Albert Ayler

Albert Ayler was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer.Ayler was among the most primal of the free jazz musicians of the 1960s; critic John Litweiler wrote that "never before or since has there been such naked aggression in jazz" He possessed a deep blistering tone—achieved...

, as well as traditional spirituals

Spiritual (music)

Spirituals are religious songs which were created by enslaved African people in America.-Terminology and origin:...

, jazz standard

Jazz standard

Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...

s, showtunes

Showtunes

Showtunes is the result of collaboration between Stephin Merritt with Chen Shi-zheng on three pieces of musical theatre; Orphan of Zhao , Peach Blossom Fan , and My Life as a Fairy Tale . Select tracks from these are featured on this album...

, and a song by The Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Alex Henderson states "Ribot approaches avant-garde jazz in a very different way. Saints is full of discernible melodies; typically, Ribot will warmly embrace a melody before he ventures outside. And that inside/outside contrast serves him well throughout this excellent and very unpredictable CD".

Track listing

1. "Saints" (Albert Ayler
   Albert Ayler
   Albert Ayler was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer.Ayler was among the most primal of the free jazz musicians of the 1960s; critic John Litweiler wrote that "never before or since has there been such naked aggression in jazz" He possessed a deep blistering tone—achieved...
   
   ) – 4:39
2. "Book of Heads #13" (John Zorn
   John Zorn
   John Zorn is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Zorn is a prolific artist: he has hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, or producer...
   
   ) – 3:33
3. "I'm Getting Sentimental over You" (George Bassman
   George Bassman
   George Bassman was an American composer and arranger.-Biography:Born in New York to a Russian Jewish émigré couple, Bassman was later raised in Boston and began studying music at the Boston Conservatory while still a boy....
   
   , Ned Washington
   Ned Washington
   Ned Washington was an American lyricist.-Biography:Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962...
   
   ) – 4:13
4. "Empty" (Marc Ribot, Francois Lardeau) – 2:21
5. "Happiness Is a Warm Gun
   Happiness Is a Warm Gun
   "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" is a song by The Beatles, featured on the eponymous double-disc album The Beatles, also known as The White Album...
   
   " (John Lennon
   John Lennon
   John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
   
   , Paul McCartney
   Paul McCartney
   Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
   
   ) – 4:32
6. "I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)" (Doc Daughtery, Al Neiburg, Ellis Reynolds) – 4:01
7. "Go Down Moses" (traditional arranged by Ribot) – 4:04
8. "St. James Infirmary" (traditional arranged by Ribot) – 3:42
9. "Somewhere" (Leonard Bernstein
   Leonard Bernstein
   Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
   
   , Stephen Sondheim
   Stephen Sondheim
   Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
   
   ) – 2:41
10. "Holy Holy Holy" (traditional arranged by Ribot) – 4:38
11. "It Could Have Been Very Beautiful" (John Lurie
    John Lurie
    John Lurie is an American actor, musician, painter and producer. He is co-founder of The Lounge Lizards, a jazz ensemble. Lurie has acted in 19 films including Stranger than Paradise and Down by Law, composed and performed music for 20 television and film works, and he produced and starred in...
    
    ) – 4:10
12. "Witches and Devils" (Ayler) – 4:24