Emphasis (on parenthesis), the followup to III, features this same threesome in a much different creative place. It's clear from the eleven tracks that the trio has achieved a level of cohesion and confidence that no longer requires assistance from any other session guests.Emphasis (on parenthesis) is full of songs that stick. The set opens with the highly expressive "(late night at the) Maple Leaf," a tune loosely based on an instrumental improvisation that emerged during a gig that Moore and Walter played with bassist George Porter at the famed New Orleans club. "Robert remembered some of the stuff that we improvised - in particular, some of the chord structures that George was messing with at the time. Over time, Robert and I fleshed it out into more of a song."
Tracks like "(proper) Gander" and "(who ate the) Layer Cake?" are more riff-based and driving. "Those songs come from a heavier groove," says Moore. "We all listen to Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, so tunes like these lean more toward our riff-rock roots."
"Wissions (of Vu)" came about as the result of an interesting composing process. Moore and his trio donned headphones in the studio and improvised to the sounds of a favorite track by Wu Tang Clan. "The idea was to come up with parts to a song that would be assembled later," says Moore. "Once I was in the mix-down process, I just stripped away the track we were all listening to and started pulling out the parts that each of us played that I liked. Then I composed all the pieces into an actual song."
"(I have) Super Strength" was built around the exuberant exclamation of Walter's four-year-old son. "While Robert was demo-ing some ideas, his son was running around the house like a superhero," Moore explains. "He kept yelling, `I have super strength!' It made it on the tape, and we all thought it sounded pretty funny. I had Robert loop his son's voice, and then we improvised against that."
This sense of experimentation and exploration has always been the cornerstone of Moore's music, no matter who he's playing with or in what context. But Emphasis (on parenthesis) never loses its connection to its basic three-man core.
