Charming Snakes

Charming Snakes is an album by the English musician Andy Summers.^[2][3] It was released in 1990.^[4] Summers promoted the album by opening the 1991 Montreal International Jazz Festival; he also played shows with John McLaughlin.^[5][6]

Charming Snakes
Studio album by Andy Summers
Released	1990
Studio	Beat Street Recording (North Hollywood, California) Red Herring (Venice, California)
Genre	Jazz rock, jazz fusion
Length	51:06
Label	Private Music[1]
Producer	Andy Summers David Hentschel
Andy Summers chronology
The Golden Wire (1989) Charming Snakes (1990) World Gone Strange (1991)

Production

The album was produced by Summers and David Hentschel.^[7] "Monk Gets Ripped" is a tribute to Thelonious Monk.^[8] Herbie Hancock played on "Innocence Falls Prey" and "Big Thing".^[9] Sting played bass on the title track.^[10] Bill Evans played saxophone on many of the tracks.^[11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
Calgary Herald	B−[13]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[14]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide	[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[15]

The Calgary Herald wrote that "the shift to jazz from rock continues," and praised the "vibrant, fluid guitar."^[13] The Washington Post determined that "Summers has progressed from the mood noodlings of his earlier solo recordings to solidly structured and arranged pieces."^[8] The Dallas Morning News concluded that, "this time out, he eschews most of his synthpop inclinations and puts himself in a studio of consummate session players... This nearly traditional jazz format results in his most lyrical instrumental album so far."^[16]

The Vancouver Sun noted that "the guitar is a little more frenetic, the bass faster paced, with strong jazz influences."^[9] The Gazette lamented that "Summers couldn't write a catchy melody to save his life."^[10]

AllMusic called the album "a strong jazz-rock statement," writing that "Summers's guitar covers the spectrum from in-your-face wailing leads to subtle background colorings, with much use of electronic effects."^[12] MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide considered it "Summers's first and best turn from ambient rock guitar noise to artful jazz fusion."^[7]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Mexico 1920"	Summers, David Hentschel	4:00
2.	"Charming Snakes"		5:14
3.	"Big Thing"	Summers, Hentschel, Dennis Smith	7:07
4.	"Rainmaker"		6:18
5.	"Charis"		3:19
6.	"Mickey Goes to Africa"		4:53
7.	"Innocence Falls Prey"		2:45
8.	"Passion of the Shadow"		5:10
9.	"Monk Gets Ripped"		3:57
10.	"Easy on the Ice"	Summers, Hentschel	4:34
11.	"The Strong & the Beautiful"	Summers, Hentschel	3:49

All tracks are written by Andy Summers.

Personnel

• Andy Summers – guitars, slide guitar (6), banjo (6)
• Brian Auger – keyboards (1, 10, 11)
• David Hentschel – keyboards (2-4, 8-10), organ (6)
• Herbie Hancock – keyboards (2, 3, 7), acoustic piano intro solo (3)
• Doug Lunn – bass (1, 3, 4, 6-11), high bass (2)
• Sting – bass (2)
• Darryl Jones – bass (4)
• Chad Wackerman – drums (1-4, 6-11)
• Ed Mann – percussion (3, 4, 6, 8, 11)
• Bill Evans – soprano saxophone (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8), tenor saxophone (6, 7)
• Mark Isham – trumpet (4, 6, 9, 10)

Production

• David Hentschel – producer, recording, mixing
• Andy Summers – producer, mixing
• Jan Lucas – recording assistant
• Dennis Smith – recording assistant
• Brian Gardner – mastering at Bernie Grundman Mastering (Hollywood, California)
• Norman Moore – art direction, design
• Merlyn Rosenberg – photography