The BQE is a dilapidated road in Brooklyn, but one that has the faded appeal of the American dream, with some of the danger of the old west.
Stevens, a modern-day polymath, has written this orchestral score to accompany an exhausting film he directed and filmed. He also designed the sleeve and over-wrote the liner notes.
The score is interesting, reasonably varied, but lacks a strong theme. Unlike, say, Frank Zappa, there are no ear-splitting modernisms to contend with, rather a hybrid between classical and lounge music. Many of the pieces, while fully realised and expertly performed, lack much in the way of development.
It is unclear why this 2007 performance needs to be released now, and it seems destined to be a footnote in Stevens’ fascinating career, filed alongside other curios such as Prince’s Kamasutra and Zappa’s The Yellow Shark.
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