Colma (album)

Colma

Studio album by

Buckethead

Released

March 24, 1998

Genre

Ambient, alternative rock

Length

54:27

Label

CyberOctave, Higher Octave Music, Virgin, EMI

Producer

Buckethead, Extrakd and Bill Laswell

Buckethead chronology

The Day of the Robot
(1996)

Colma
(1998)

Monsters and Robots
(1999)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]

Colma is the fourth studio album by guitarist Buckethead. It was released on March 24, 1998, on CyberOctave records. The album was recorded for Buckethead's mother, who at the time was sick with colon cancer, and he wanted to make an album which she would enjoy listening to while recovering.^[2]

Berklee College of Music alumna Teri Untalan appeared as a guest musician on two tracks of the album. In a 2009 interview, she recalled Buckethead as being "an odd one, an elusive character."^[3]

YouTube Encyclopedic

1/5
Views:
286 449
149 823
28 907
1 426 190
2 364 833 939

Transcription

Background

Colma is somewhat of a departure for the artist, featuring more acoustic guitar than is typical of his albums.^[4] Additionally, Colma mostly contains simple bass guitar, lead guitar, and drum patterns, in contrast to much of Buckethead's music that emphasizes speed and virtuosity.^[5]

Reception

Critical reception was mixed to positive. James Lien of CMJ New Music Monthly writes that Colma's melodies are "geometric and mathematical-sounding, almost like Bach or modern classical music."^[5] Andy Gill of The Independent describes the mood of the album as "reflective" saying, "[Buckethead uses] the dry, neutral tone favoured by jazz guitarists on a series of discreet instrumentals."^[6]

Gill describes the tracks "Ghost" and "Hills of Eternity" as being "ruminative, sluggish pieces sprinkled with limpid droplets of guitar."^[6] He also thought the title-track, "Colma", closed the album "like the twinkle of a long-dead star."^[6] Reviewer Jeff Clutterbuck of The Daily Vault considers "Watching the Boats With My Dad" to be an authentic, emotional track writing that "[It] is so wistful and flows so gently, you have to believe it was inspired by a real moment."^[7] On the other hand, "Big Sur Moon" offers a change of style in guitar playing showcasing Buckethead's consistent quick rhythmic ability on acoustic guitar.^[7]

Rick Anderson of Allmusic gave the album three stars out of a possible five, writing "the material is surprisingly pleasant" for Buckethead, with a "contemplative" quality to most songs. Anderson criticized the "unimaginative production" and thought Buckethead's lackluster bass playing was disappointing compared to his guitar work.^[1]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Buckethead

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Whitewash"	4:44
2.	"For Mom"	5:10
3.	"Ghost"	5:29
4.	"Hills of Eternity"	5:07
5.	"Big Sur Moon"	1:13
6.	"Machete"	6:18
7.	"Wishing Well"	4:03
8.	"Lone Sal Bug"	5:32
9.	"Sanctum"	3:42
10.	"Wondering"	2:16
11.	"Watching the Boats with My Dad"	5:07
12.	"Ghost/Part 2"	2:31
13.	"Colma"	3:15
Total length:		54:27

Notes

The song "Hills of Eternity" is named after the cemetery, Hills of Eternity Memorial Park where Wyatt Earp is buried.
The song "Wishing Well" is identical to the Pieces song "Danyel", but excludes Buckethead's vocals.

Personnel

Performers

Buckethead – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar (on all tracks, except "Machete")
Brain – drums, percussion, tape loops
DJ Disk – turntables (on "Machete," "Hills of Eternity," and "Lone Sal Bug")
Bill Laswell – bass guitar (on "Machete")
Terry Untalan – cello, viola (on "Wondering" and "Lone Sal Bug")

Production

Recorded and mixed by Xtrack at Embalming Plant, Oakland, CA.
Track 6 recorded and mixed by Robert Musso at Orange Music, West Orange, New Jersey.
Produced by Buckethead and Xtrack. Track 6 produced by Bill Laswell and Buckethead.

References

^ ^a ^b Anderson, Rick. Colma at AllMusic. Retrieved 9 September 2006.
^ "CityPaper on Buckethead". Citypaper.net. Archived from the original on 2013-09-01. Retrieved 2011-11-10.
^ "From Berklee to Buckethead: The long strange trip of Teri Untalan, Outlook, January 2009". Theoutlookonline.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-14. Retrieved 2011-11-10.
^ Buckethead's New Album Due In June. CMJ New Music Report. 1999-03-01. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
^ ^a ^b Lien, James (May 1998). Buckethead: Colma. CMJ New Music Monthly. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
^ ^a ^b ^c Gill, Andy (1998-05-22). "Music: Andy Gill's album round-up". The Independent. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
^ ^a ^b Clutterbuck, Jeff (2007-05-31). "Colma Buckethead". The Daily Vault. Retrieved 2010-12-20.

v t e Buckethead
Buckethead Brain Dan Monti Travis Dickerson Bill Laswell Bootsy Collins Les Claypool Bernie Worrell Serj Tankian John Zorn Pinchface Extrakd DJ Disk Maximum Bob Efrem Schulz Saul Williams Gigi Maura Davis Azam Ali Bill Moseley Melissa Reese
Studio albums	Bucketheadland (1992) Giant Robot (1994) The Day of the Robot (1996) Colma (1998) Monsters and Robots (1999) Somewhere Over the Slaughterhouse (2001) Bermuda Triangle (2002) Electric Tears (2002) Bucketheadland 2 (2003) Population Override (2004) The Cuckoo Clocks of Hell (2004) Enter the Chicken (2005) Kaleidoscalp (2005) Crime Slunk Scene (2006) Electric Sea (2012)
Special releases	In Search of The (2007) Acoustic Shards (2007) From the Coop (2008)
Videos	Young Buckethead Vol. 1 (2006) Young Buckethead Vol. 2 (2006)
As Death Cube K	Dreamatorium (1994) Disembodied (1997)
Songs	"Big Sur Moon" (1998) "The Ballad of Buckethead" (1999) "Spokes for the Wheel of Torment" (2004) "Jordan" (2006) "The Landing Beacon" (2009)
Related	Buckethead discography Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains Cornbugs Deli Creeps Bolt on Neck Guns N' Roses Praxis Science Faxtion Shin Terai Thanatopsis
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This page was last edited on 22 June 2023, at 04:53

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