10 Extreme Rock Albums That Will Blow Your Mind

Saxophonist and composer John Zorn is a singular figure in both the jazz and rock worlds. It's a measure of his respect on both sides that Rolling Stone and Downbeat have championed Zorn as an important and deeply influential musician, all this despite Zorn having always resolutely operated outside of the mainstream.

With Zorn, you never quite know what to expect, but what you get is never less than challenging, intriguing, and original. Naked City, released in 1990 on Elektra Nonesuch, is as good a place to start your Zorn journey as any.

For this album, the saxophonist assembled a top team of players, including legendary jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, Wayne Horvitz on keys, Fred Frith (from avant rockers Henry Cow) on bass and Joey Baron on drums.

This group was assembled with the intention of testing the limitations of a rock band format. In fact, so successful were the results, that Zorn would go on to name his band after the album.

Featuring original music plus covers of classic movie themes by Ennio Morricone, Henry Mancini, Jerry Goldsmith, John Barry and others, Naked City certainly does push the boundaries, with memorable results.