Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe hit the ground running on their most relevant album in fifteen years or so with “Living Well Is The Best Revenge”- possibly the rawest and punkiest they have sounded since Chronic Town back in ‘82 (Alternate descriptions: 1. It really puts the “rapid” back in rapid eye movement, 2. Accelerate indeed!). Things slow up to more traditional R.E.M. speed with the Monster-ous “Man-Sized Wreath” (Kinky gay sex reference or standard Stipe obtuseness? You make the call.) and the outstanding bubblegum-flavored single “Supernatural Superserious”, which features Mills’ trademark pitch-perfect background vocals on the chorus. Next up is “Hollow Man”, which is (thankfully) not a tribute to the Kevin Bacon movie of the same name. There are no stinkers here, people- just R.E.M. sounding like R.E.M….save for the oodles of distortion soaking most of the songs. One key exception to the pervading fuzz sound is the album’s masterpiece- “Until The Day Is Done”, wherein Stipe waxes state-of-the-union over Buck’s lovely acoustic with a Murmur-ed melody and declares that “the country’s in ruins.” It’s not the megadowner that it sounds like, though… so don’t fold your tent up just yet. The proceedings conclude (in a breezy thirty-six minutes, by the way- less is more where rock is concerned, kids) with “I’m Gonna DJ”, which happens to be the shiniest, happiest R.E.M. song of all time that won’t annoy the ever-loving shit out of you. Oh yeah, and it rocks. In conclusion, Accelerate is more than just a verb- it’s the best album of 2008, thusfar. Godspeed, R.E.M. Now, if we could just get Bill Berry (and his eyebrows) back behind the drumkit…
RATING (1-10): 9
Posted on May 7th, 2008 by Rob
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By 1980, Dire Straits were stuck. Their self-titled debut had attracted much praise with its pub blues/rock sound and had spawned a rock radio hit with “Sultans Of Swing”, but 1979’s Communique was a washout (save for the excellent “Lady Writer”) and the band seemed to be merely treading water as the Carter administration wound down. This climate made the third album put-up-or-shut-up time for The Straits (now reduced to a three-piece with the departure of guitarist David Knopfler), and put up they did. Making Movies ranks as one of the best rock albums of the 80’s and manages to sound simultaneously of its time but never dated. Jimmy Iovine’s production is top-notch as always, supplying pop veneer and rock heart in equal measure. Oh yeah, and the songs are like McAwesome, too.
The album gets underway with a faded-in, soap opera-y snippet of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “The Carousel Waltz” melting right into the driving “Tunnel Of Love”, with guitarist/vocalist/80’s headband-enthusiast Mark Knopfler inviting you to “take a long ride” with him. Next is “Romeo And Juliet”, which tips us off early on in the album that you are hearing the sound of Knopfler blowing his lyrical nut. “You can fall for chains of silver/ You can fall for chains of gold/ You can fall for pretty strangers and the promises they hold” warns Knopfler as he deftly weaves a tale of young lovers. He’s even cute enough to have the song’s Romeo try to woo his Juliet by quoting “the movie song” (”Somewhere” from West Side Story- itself a retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet), but sadly Romeo can’t remember the words… initially, at least. “Espresso Love” features Knopfler poetically claiming that he was “made to go with that girl like a saxophone was made to go with the night.” “Hand In Hand” could’ve been a hit if only it had been released a few years earlier in the heyday of 70’s AM pop, with its tinkling Roy Bittan piano (on loan from The E-Street Band) and Knopfler’s lovelorn lyric pulling on the listener’s heartstrings with killer couplets that fit like a glove (”I tried my best to be somebody you’d be close to/ Hand in hand, like lovers are supposed to”).
The album’s best-known song is probably “Skateaway”, a character study of a carefree “rollergirl” (Inspiration for Heather Graham’s character in Boogie Nights? Only PTA knows for sure.) who zips around the city with headphones on, the music “making movies” in her head. Down the stretch, the song opens up into a loose jam session with Knopfler providing inky faux-steel guitar that shades more than it shreds. The relaxed feel of that section is indicative of the kind of fun that Dire Straits seem to be having at every turn on Making Movies. Never again would Knopfler, Pick Withers, and John Illsley sound this effortlessly majestic. Sure, Love Over Gold (1982) and Brothers In Arms (1985) are fine albums, but they have a thick air of pretense about them and seem more like vehicles for Knopfler to show you what a great guitarist and composer he is rather than mere rock records. Sigh. At least for one moment at the dawn of a decade, it was all there, wrapped up in a tight, near-perfect package called Making Movies, which proved that Dire Straits were indeed ready for their close-up.
Posted on April 22nd, 2008 by Rob
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Here, I’ll just come out and say it: Consolers Of The Lonely by The Raconteurs is the worst album that Jack White of The White Stripes has ever been associated with. That being said, it’s really not that bad. The Raconteurs, if you’re not familiar with them, feature Mr. White and softy solo artist Brendan Benson, along with Patrick Keeler and Jack Lawrence from The Greenhornes, a fine band from Detroit. The ‘Teurs introduced themselves with the outstanding Broken Boy Soldiers two years ago, and wowed us with their mixture of classic pop/rock with 60’s trippiness. This, of course, ups the ante for Consolers and unfortunately it can’t quite meet the standard. Almost entirely gone is the psychedelic aspect, as the album seems to spend a bit too much of its time in the garage for its own good. Sometimes it works (”Attention”, “Salute Your Solution”), but a few times you’re left wondering if these are rejects from The White Stripes’ Icky Thump last year. Part of Broken Boy Soldiers’ greatness was the deviation it showed from the Stripes’ default bash/crash/blues rock, thus adding up to a side project that could stand aside and stand out. So again, the cream is in the curveballs- the best example being “Many Shades Of Black”, a classic pop song with tasteful horns and a delightful, expressive Jack vocal. Sadly, an alarming portion of the album lacks the effort necessary to get its B-grade material across effectively. Still, it’s amazing how even a phone-in job from Jack White sounds better than the best intended, most considered efforts of many mere mortals. Let the countdown to the next White Stripes album begin!
RATING (1-10): 6
Posted on April 8th, 2008 by Rob
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On her third and latest album, Canadian country girl Kathleen Edwards confesses that “choosing my words carefully has never been my strength.” It can only be assumed that she is singing about her private life and not her artistic persona, as her first two albums were winners for their lyrical content as much as their music. Her previous record, 2005’s Back To Me, seemed like a let-down only because her debut, Failer, was such a breath of fresh northern air in the female singer/songwriter arena. Coming off at times like Sheryl Crow’s cooler Canuck cousin, Edwards has proven that she is more than just a face in the aforementioned crowd, and her latest, Asking For Flowers, shows that she has no plans to start blending in anytime soon. The first pitch of the album is a curveball- “Buffalo” employs a slow-building, Coldplay-ish piano/percussion/strings tension to produce the kind of song that Edwards’ contemporaries (Tift Merritt, Kasey Chambers, etc.) couldn’t pull off and wouldn’t have the brass to even try. Things get back to normal on “The Cheapest Key”, a dude-burner that includes the thorny couplet “A is for all the times I bit my tongue, B is for bullshit and you fed me some.” Sadly, Flowers can’t maintain its momentum all the way through, as it fumbles to the finish line with back-to-back yawns (”Scared At Night” and “Goodnight California”), but one only needs to go back to track five to perk up again. “I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory” is the real prize this time out- a rare moment of cuteness from a woman who usually alternates between the profane and the refined. And while the Gretzky-checking lyric “You’re ’The Great One’, I’m Marty McSorley” pushes the corn envelope, it somehow manages to make Edwards even more lovable. Finally, there’s a chick who’s equally adept at baring her soul and talking hockey. Maybe she is just Asking For Flowers, but she can have our undivided attention as well.
RATING (1-10): 7.5
Posted on March 29th, 2008 by Rob
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Let’s begin with some obvious things about The Black Crowes:
1. They are led by brothers Chris and Rich Robinson- one is a loudmouthed beanpole, the other is cool as hell despite having chick hair.
2. They seem to be influenced almost exclusively by early 70’s Rolling Stones and The Faces.
3. They really love the wacky tobaccy.
That being said, the Brothers Robinson are back with their first album in five years- Warpaint. All three of the above statements seem to still ring true. “Daughters Of The Revolution” comes charging out of the gate and stands as an instant Crowes classic- a real moneymaker-shaker of a track. And while nothing else on Warpaint packs the same kind of octane, the songs find other ways to impress. “Josephine” is cut from the “Wild Horses”/”Thorn In My Pride” cloth, carried by tasteful slide guitar and rolling piano. The lovely mandolin on “Locust Street” gives it an alt-country flavor, and “Wee Who See The Deep” is a grimy groover with a god-awful title. Not everything hits the mark, though. For example, “Wounded Bird” was probably supposed to sound like late period Beatles, but instead comes off sounding like a lame King’s X track. The album closes with the wonderful “Whoa Mule”, which shows us the flipside of The Faces comparison that has always dogged The Crowes. Instead of sounding like Rod Stewart’s electric blooze, it sounds like one of the poignant, melancholy Ronnie Lane tunes that peppered The Faces catalog (”Ooh La La”, “Debris”, etc.) and offered counterpoint to simply having yourself a real good time.
You know, times change, nations go to war, and band members come and go (though drummer Steve Gorman has managed to hang on), but The Crowes manage to sound hopelessly stuck in 1972, er… ‘92 when they released their second and best album- The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion. The funny thing is that it somehow manages to make them sound timeless and render the Robinson brothers ageless due to the fact that their sound is as dated now as it was when Bush Sr. was president. But it’s alright, brothers and sisters- put your Warpaint on and face the day.
RATING (1-10):8
Posted on March 18th, 2008 by Rob
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