PUBLIC MARKS with tag ""First Thought Best Thought""

Yet another posthumous Arthur Russell release from Audika, this two-disc set collects rare and unreleased orchestral material by the late NYC artist. Because the material presented here is, at least ostensibly, the most "avant-garde" in form and content yet released from the Russell archives, I expected the music to be difficult, abstract and academic. However, nothing could be further from the truth, as Russell again utilizes avant-garde techniques only as a method of approaching popular music obliquely, creating music that is as ingratiating as it is unique.