Burning Light

June 6 2007

Disappointment Comes in Different Sizes

No, this isn't another church lament. We're moving forward on that one, thankyouverymuch.

No, chilluns, this is about the first few releases of 2007 I've gotten around to reviewing. I still think this will be a better year than last year -- because, c'mon, how could it NOT be? The evidence to back that claim up just hasn't arrived yet. But it might be here soon. For now....

Modest Mouse I already briefly whined about a couple entries ago, so I won't bother again here, aside from adding that it's an early and strong entry for Disappointment of the Year.

So let's just work our way up from there....

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club -- Baby 81. If this was the first album I'd heard from them, the word "disappointment" might not even be relevant. Likewise, if this is your first exposure to them you might like it. Nice gritty sound, ample amounts of noise, and heck, great gene pool (Robert Levon Been's dad Michael, who's also producer here, was the voice WAY in front of the often wonderful yet sadly overlooked The Call).

Thing is, I've heard Take Them On, On Yr Own and moreso, Howl, and this ain't as good as either. Musically, it sounds more like the former but more polished (not necessarily a bad thing for someone who's not me) and more insipid lyrically (which IS a bad thing, 'cause the lyrics weren't that impressive to start with -- would that Father Michael stepped out from behind the board and handed them a REAL lyrics sheet, 'cause killer pipes aside the man could write too).

Some songs are better than others here, but there's nothing that pins you to the wall anywhere near Howl's "Ain't No Easy Way Out," or even "Sympathetic Noose" or "Six Barrel Shotgun" or "We're All in Love" (the latter two from TTOOYO) so I'll just leave it all at that. It's a good summer album, but come winter it'll leave you cold.

Derek Webb -- The Ringing Bell. 2005's Mockingbird (scroll down) was one of the more pleasant surprises of last year for me, and no doubt the beneficiary of having no expectations whatsoever attached to it. This time, there's expectations, and while The Ringing Bell rises to the occasion ON occasion, it's not the quiet but pretty consistently powerful experience Mockingbird wound up being.

Actually, speaking of quiet, it's not that terribly often either (again, not a bad thing, but worth mentioning). More specifically, somebody's clearly been playing the laser grooves off Revolver lately, and some of this album's best moments reflect that, particularly "A Love That's Stronger Than Our Fear" and "Name." (Actually, anyone remember Marshall Crenshaw?)On a more Highway 61ish note is "A Savior on Capitol Hill." In short, the amps are turned up on this one and Derek's more on the offensive -- as opposed to being offensive simply by telling the truth.

The above titles alone should reassure you that at least our hero hasn't gone soft in the against-the-evangelical-grain principles department, even if the lyrics aren't quite as strong this time around. Not that they're not worth following along with. Note, for example, the aforementioned "Love That's Stronger...":

what would you do

if someone would tell you the truth

but only if you torture them half to death

tell me since when do the means justify the ends

and you build the kingdom using the devil's tools

can time be so short

there's got to be a love that's stronger than our fear

of everything being out of control

everything being out of control

I also have a soft spot for the positively snarky couplet from "Can't Be Without You": "I'm not ashamed to tell you how I feel / That's not a crime / Even in Nashville." Sounds like somebody woke up on the wrong side of the CCM bed.

And also, give the guy credit for writing love songs that 1) are actually addressed to his wife, and 2) not only aren't insipid but rather quirky. I mean, "I Wanna Marry You All Over Again" ain't exactly "Love Cocoon"; then again, there ain't a whole lot of songs out there with lyrics like, "I’ll meet your parents at the airport bar / I’ll take you out in my rental car / I wanna court you on the record label’s dime... I wanna accidentally stay all night / I wanna read the Bible and I wanna make out... come on baby, let’s go back to the start / take it back, sugar, then gimme your heart / don’t you know, baby, I would do it all over again."

The one song that would've fit very comfortably on Mockingbird is the stately closer, "This Too Shall Be Made Right."

the earth and the sky and the sea are all holding their breath

wars and abuses have nature groaning with death

we say we're just trying to stay alive

but it looks so much more like a way to die

this too shall be made right.

there's a time for peace and there is a time for war

a time to forgive and a time to settle the score

a time for babies to lose their lives

a time for hunger and genocide

this too shall be made right.

I don't know the suffering of people outside my front door

I join the oppressors of those who i choose to ignore

I'm trading comfort for human life

and that's not just murder it's suicide

this too shall be made right.

If y'r already familiar with Derek Webb's music, there's enough here to enjoy (if barely -- only 30 minutes???). If y'r not, go find Mockingbird first and go from there.

Patti Smith - Twelve. I finally got the album back from Marion long enough to review it.

Let's start with the BIG disclaimer -- if you don't already know, this is an album of all covers. So right then, your expectations should rightly take a nosedive, especially given the cafeteria-sized can of prophetic whoop-ass Patti opened with Trampin'.

It simply CAN'T be anywhere as good as her own material and, equally simply, it's not. It's also worth noting that every song here is an FM staple -- which is also to say, it's really hard to avoid comparing Patti's versions to the originals the first few times you listen through this. That said....

1) I defy you to listen to this and tell me it sounds like a 60-year-old woman singing.

2) Several of these songs fit her like a glove. Ask yourself: So, what songs should a punk hippie who demands that the world be a better place be covering, anyway? See how close you get -- even if you don't guess a few, you'll still go "a-HA" when you come across them below. Although the best moments of Twelve (one in particular) come when she takes off the gloves and goes somewhere you weren't expecting.

So again, let's just work our way up from there....

The one bum cut here is Paul Simon's "The Boy in the Bubble." Great song, but Patti's version lacks the crisp and often ironic delivery of the original. At least it's just past the middle of the album, so you're either sold or not by that point. Enough said.

I looked very askance at the inclusion of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" here, and this version's very faithful to the Tears for Fears original, but she makes it work. Probably because you can actually hear the lyrics on this, and while Patti can write better ones in her sleep, they're still better than you remember them being. By the same token, Dylan's oft-overlooked "Changing of the Guards," while again faithful (although thankfully sans the shrieking of the Dylanettes) gets a nice revival here.

Kinda dead in the middle of all this: The closer "Pastime Paradise" has to overcome not only the Stevie Wonder original, but the Coolio lift-and-megahit "Gangsta's Paradise," AND Weird Al's parody of THAT (and almost as big a megahit) "Amish Paradise." (Guess which one I have the most problems with?) It's simply too much for our heroine to overcome, but nonetheless the lyrics are kept out front and the closing reminder, "Lets start living our lives / Living for the future paradise," feels totally right.

The opener, Hendrix's "Are You Experienced?" is even draggier (druggier? well, not in the literal sense, I'd bet, but it sure sounds like it anyway) than the original, but Patti definitely makes it her own. The Doors' "Soul Kitchen" has the benefit of being the song I'm least familiar with here, but I like it; it works well with that world-weary-but-still-ready-to-kick-yr-butt voice. And in the "I didn't see that one coming, but it works" department, Patti does a nice job of assuming ownership of The Allman Brothers' "Midnight Rider." If Jersey girl says she's got one more silver dollar, then she's GOT one more silver dollar, all right?

And on the really, really positive end of this particular spectrum: "Gimme Shelter" sounds like it was written for her. There's little difference from the Stones version musically, but it doesn't matter; the sense of the apocalyptic that's always bubbled near the surface of the song is brought front-and-center here by our favorite prophet chick. It is again at this point that I defy you tell me that this sounds like a 60-year-old woman, or even 40. I mean, dang.

On to the more original side of things. However brief, they provide some nice surprises. "Within You Without You" gets excavated from its psychedelic trappings to remind us that there's an actual song with an actual message beneath it, and she carries it through. (Actually, the results kinda remind me of "Beneath the Southern Cross" from Gone Again.)

And finally: Imagine the more subdued side of Nickel Creek covering "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Only with Patti singing it. Think about that one some more. A little more. OK, you can move on now. (I hasten to add that Mr. Thile & Co. are in fact NOT playing on this, but nonetheless...) She transforms THE song of the 1990s into something completely other, and the playful catch in her voice on the chorus lets you know that she's having a blast doing it. And after the song proper, she goes poetic on us and takes the song yet somewhere else. You wish the rest of the album had this much ambition to it, but at least now you've got something worth the price of admission.

And there you go. Twelve isn't a substitute for a real Patti album, but there's worse ways to spend your time and money until that comes, 'cause friends, even an albumful of covers in the right and clearly caring hands can provide enough evidence that when the next original one gets here, it's gonna be good.

Now let's get to the REAL 2007 stuff.... And hopefully soon....

Posted by: burninglight at 13:47 | link | comments

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Posted by: burninglight at 13:47 | link | comments