Fine Young Cannibals plunder “Treat Her Like a Lady” and Spencer Davis Group’s “I’m a Man”. Damn, Roland Gift has packed on some pounds!
Mar 052008
KingEd
Feb 082008
Under glass?
Please stay with me tonight until I fall asleep. I’m afraid I may be entering the belly of the beast. Unlike you, I’ve never gotten into Cat Power. I’ve got enough of my own troubles; I don’t need to live vicariously through hers. The sultry voice only goes so far with me. The coffee-table soul she’s been getting into over the last couple of releases is better than what she used to do, but I don’t entertain too often. Those few I do entertain want to check out the real stuff. So here goes, an Insta-Review of Cat Power’s second album of covers. Is the well running dry, or is she revisiting her newfound roots? Either way, I’m scared.
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Feb 072008
A simple preview I wrote up for Phawker of a sold-out Vampire Weekend show in Philadelphia has set off rock critic/Pop Cesspool blogger Joe Warminsky. It’s comments like Joe’s that make my occasional “work” all worthwhile. Thanks, Joe!
Have you heard this band?
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Jan 152008
Blurp, blurp, blurp, blurp, blurp…
I’ve been looking forward to this one for a couple of years, since a friend turned me onto Malkmus’ last album, Face the Truth. I haven’t anticipated an artist’s next release like this one for some time. My hope and optimism are bound to let me down. Here goes!
“Dragonfly Pie”: I’m digging the rumbling fuzz guitars and the overall sinister vibe as this one gets underway. Wait a second! It’s getting light and airy, with falsetto singing and a cheap electric piano sound. Ah, back to the distorted, double-stop guitar licks and the sloppy buzzing sound. Truth be told, this is a pretty lame song, but so many modern albums start out with sloppy mood pieces. Shoot, he’s back to the falsetto-$20 electric keyboard chorus, but now he’s back to the the simplistic, mind-and-string-bending solos I so crave. Dig those analog synth noodlings. All right, ended just in time.
“Hopscotch Willie”: This song title scares me. I’m sensing a Steely Dan song of some sort, maybe by way of Frank Zappa. So far this one’s meandering along in a poor man’s Steely Dan way. The song is still young, though. There’s plenty of time for some fuzzed-out string bending. Here’s a different kind of solo, more ’70s, a bit like the solo in Face the Truth‘s super “No More Shoes”. One big difference: the slight “Hopscotch Willie” tune surrounding the solo doesn’t go anywhere. Patience, Ed, patience… Now the song has broken down to a little rickety piano and vocal section before Malkmus takes it into some almost Santana-like jamming. Come on, man, I’ve been counting on this album.
“Cold Son”: This song may grow on me. It’s a bit stilted with a smooth chorus stuck between all the jagged edges. Don’t know what else to make of it on first listen.
“Real Emotional Trash”: Ooh, the title track promises something special! It starts out delicately, the tension building ever so slightly only to get sidetracked by some pretty chord or melodic twist. I’m telling you, though, it’s going to kick any minute now. Ah, listen to those tasty guitar runs. “Daddy’s on the run…” Can you feel it building? Yeah, check out this dual-guitar climb, like the gateway to some extended Television jam. Yeah, baby! Stomp on those effects boxes, play that guitar! Blurp blurp blurp blurp goes my bong. “I’m gonna start doing something with my life, mannnn!” Now the wah-wah pedal has been initiated! Blurp blurp blurp blurp… Pick up the pace, a chooglin’ piano is playing what sounds like The Doors’ “L.A. Woman”! Malkmus is back on vocals, singing of “Frisco” and other Doors-worthy nonsense. This is what I need! Now another dual-guitar solo segment kicks in, this one in a scale that The Allman Brothers might play. I think it’s winding down. I’m fried, man. Tender section, like something Lou Reed and Robert Quine might have played on The Blue Mask. Wonder if they stuck stereo mics on a Styrofoam dummy’s head?
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Jan 022008
Happy New Year, Rock Town Hall!
Before I share my burdens with you in the coming year, I thought I’d butter you up with a few tracks that have been rocking my world the last few weeks. Perhaps you know them. Perhaps you don’t. My hope is they will find a place in your heart over the coming days and buy me a little favor with you in the coming months.
Here’s a track that I believe fits Mr. Mod’s recently stated preference for productions that don’t shoehorn the listener into one point of view, or hear, as the case may be. It’s too bad the album from which this track appears, New Picnic Time, is easily written off as the beginning of Pere Ubu’s walk down David Thomas’ more impressionistic side. Certainly it has its moments hinting at the shapes of things to come, but tracks like this one rock in a way few have ever rocked.
Pere Ubu, “49 Guitars & One Girl”
Talk about musicians headed for a walk on the impressionistic side, Captain Beefheart quickly abandoned his garage-rock foundation shortly following Safe as Milk. This 1966 demo, from the Grow Fins box set, is nice to have around.
Captain Beefheart, “Just Got Back from the City” (1966 Demo)
Finally, this track reminds me of the childhood joys of eating sugar-loaded breakfast cereals.
Music Explosion, “Sunshine Games”
Dec 202007
My gift of music today is from an album and artist I’d never heard of until stumbling across it on eMusic last week. You can shake the package, sniff it, what have you, but until you unwrap it and have a listen, you probably won’t know what’s coming.
As Mr. Mod requested, let me tell you a little about what this humble track means to me. It’s got an open-hearted, no-bullshit vibe about it that’s nestled somewhere between dry, early ’70s singer-songwriter stuff packaged in textured, sepia-toned sleeves and Pub Rock. As much as I love rock ‘n roll that blasts out of the speakers and grabs my family jewels, it’s a welcome relief these days to find something sincere and innocent – and pretty catchy, if a minute or two longer than necessary. This song sounds like something a friend would play for me, with the knowledge of that friend right on the surface of the recording, for better and for worse.
Thanks for a fun year, Rock Town Hall.
Nov 172007
Today I set out to listen to and share my thoughts on the Robert Plant/Alison Krauss album, Raising Sand. This collaboration, which the artists have taken great pains to say is not an album of “duets,” was produced by T-Bone Burnett. I’ve been looking forward to hearing it in its entirety. I must note that unlike most of my Insta-Reviews, I couldn’t help but hear snippets of some of these songs on the artists’ recent radio interviews, but I’ll try to keep my thoughts as fresh as possible. You have counted on me to fire from my gut, and with 2 eggs over light and a few strips of bacon still rattling around in my innards, I’m in tune with that ample part of my anatomy.
“Fortune Teller”: Right from the start, producer T-Bone Burnett’s deliberate, futuristic-retro hands are all over the production of this chestnut. It sounds like it’s more of a set-up piece than all that this collaboration promises. Is Krauss anywhere to be found other than on the backing vocal tracks? Cool guitar solo.
“Gone, Gone, Gone”: I love this Everly Brothers song! Just seeing the title scroll across the Phawker Radio player gets me excited. Plant and Krauss sound good, but what happened to the groovy beat of the Everlys’ orginal? Burnette’s insistence on seeing through his musical designs can be his strength as well as his weakness as a producer (think the ups and downs of Sam Phillips’ Martinis and Bikinis). Watch it, T-Bone! When this version needs to cut loose and hit a new dynamic, the same beat and grinding rhythm guitar carry on, as if programmed in long before any of the players got cooking in real time. Not bad, though, not bad.
“Killing the Blues”: Here’s a tender ballad featuring sweet harmony; pedal steel guitar; and a low, twangy guitar solo. Folk Scientist Burnette lets the musicians play on this one without the need to adhere to any grand concept. AAA radio was built on such dignified takes on earlier works. Maybe getting old’s not so bad!
“Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson”: Krauss takes the lead on this track, and this woman’s got pipes! The guitar work is really nice, which I’m finding is a consistent theme throughout this album. I guess Plant is sitting this one out.
“Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us”: This track’s got that straw hat/overalls rolled up/bare feet in the pond feel. I’m afraid of it. Mischievous boys should be whitewashing a picket fence. T-Bone probably wore suspenders while producing this one. Plant looks stupid with a waxed handlebar mustache. Don’t get me wrong – this is a beautiful little song, but I have no business listening to it.
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