Radio

Radio is the fourth studio album by the band Naked City, and their first to be composed entirely by bandleader John Zorn. The album was also released as part of Naked City: The Complete Studio Recordings on Tzadik Records in 2005.

Radio marked a return to the eclectic, "jump cut" style of the band's 1989 debut album. The liner notes cite a wide range of musical influences including Charles Mingus, Little Feat, Ruins, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Colin Wilson, Albert King, Chuck Brown, Orchestra Baobab, the Accüsed, the Meters, Tony Williams' Lifetime, Anton Webern, Sammy Cahn, Frank Sinatra, Morton Feldman, Igor Stravinsky, the Melvins, Beatmasters, Septic Death, Abe Schwartz, Ivo Papasov, Naftule Brandwein, Repulsion, Led Zeppelin, Bernard Herrmann, Santana, Extreme Noise Terror, Conway Twitty, Siege, Ornette Coleman, Corrosion of Conformity, Massacre, Quincy Jones, Sam Fuller, Funkadelic, Carcass, Liberace, Jan Hammer, Eddie Blackwell, Charlie Haden, Mick Harris, Carole King, Red Garland, Boredoms, Jerry Reed, SPK and Roger Williams in addition to Zorn's previously identified touchstones.

In his 4 star review for the Allmusic website, Maurice Rickard states "Several genres and bands are skillfully evoked… and helpfully listed in the liner notes in order of occurrence. Jazz, surf, R&B, death metal, funk, acid rock, and serialism are grafted together in this collection, often into the same song, and the band shifts genres, tempos, and arrangements on a dime. Supposedly, Radio was conceived as a set for a college radio program, making it a kind of "Young Person's Guide to Naked City," beginning with accessible tunes, gradually building up listener tolerance to dissonance, and finally sandbagging the listener with evil blasts of dissonant metallic noise and convincing perpetrator-and-victim screaming."

Personnel:

John Zorn – alto sax
Bill Frisell – guitar
Wayne Horvitz – keyboards
Fred Frith – bass
Joey Baron – drums
Yamatsuka Eye – vocals

Inspiration/Refer (note: this list corresponds to the track listing)

Charles Mingus on Candid / Eric Dolphy / Paul Bley
Bob Demmon + The Astronauts
Little Feat
Ruins / Booker T. and the M.G.'s / Colin Wilson
Ennio Morricone / Albert King / Chuck Brown
Orchestra Baobab / Terauchi Takeshi / E.M. Elanka
the Accüsed / the Meters / Yakuza Zankoku Hiroku
Tony Williams' Lifetime / OLD
Anthony Braxton / Anton Webern's "Six Bagatelles" / Sammy Cahn's "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry" / Frank Sinatra / Morton Feldman
Carl Stalling / Igor Stravinsky
the Melvins / Beatmasters / Septic Death / Hellfire / Leather Folk (the Book)
Abe Schwartz / Ivo Papasov / Naftule Brandwein
Repulsion
Led Zeppelin / Akemi and Jagatara / Bernard Herrmann
Santana / Extreme Noise Terror / Conway Twitty
Agnostic Front / Siege
Ornette Coleman / Corrosion of Conformity / Massacre / Quincy Jones
Sam Fuller / Funkadelic / Carcass
Liberace / Jan Hammer / Napalm Death / Eddie Blackwell / Charlie Haden / Mick Harris / Carole King / Red Garland / Boredoms / Jerry Reed / SPK / Roger Williams

Credits:
Published by Theatre of Musical Optics, BMI
Executive Producer: Disk Union
Associate Producer: Kazunori Sugiyama
Recorded April 1992 by Alec Head
Mixed September 1992 by Roger Moutenot
Assistant Engineer: Hoover Le
Mastered by Bob Ludwig
Digital Editing by Scott Hull
Cover photos: Man Ray
Design: Tomoyo T.L. (Karath=Razar)
Typesetting: Lisa Wells
Special thanks to: Wadia F. Moses, Roger Moutenot, Ikue Mori, Kaoru, KimSu