Friday, March 27, 2009
Shambolic (#1 in a Series)
This is the first entry in a new series on albums (and maybe other things) that I like despite (or because of) their shambolic nature. To qualify as "shambolic" in my definition, there has to be a touch of half-assedness or a sense that things are about to fall apart. Mere looseness or raggedness isn't enough.
I'm starting with two very divisive entries in the catalogs of beloved artists. Each of these has been called a trainwreck and a masterpiece, with strong opinions mounted on either side of the argument. Of course, they're a little of both.
Harry Nilsson's Pussy Cats
Like many albums that could fit into this category, Pussy Cats is wildly hit-or-miss. Its best moments ("Don't Forget Me", "Many Rivers To Cross", "Save The Last Dance For Me") approach greatness. At its worst, though, it's merely goofy ("Rock Around the Clock" with Ringo and Keith Moon adding up to less than the sum of their parts) or a bit pointless ("Subterranean Homesick Blues"). At times, though, as on "Mucho Mungo/Mt. Elga", the goofiness becomes almost transcendent.
Famous as the album where Nilsson shredded his vocal chords rather than stop the session and risk missing his chance at having John Lennon as a producer, you can hear the early, high, clear Nilsson voice being quite literally sacrificed in the raw-throated fadeout to "Many Rivers". "Don't Forget Me", recently covered in a multi-piano arrangment by Neko Case (I haven't heard the whole album cover by the Walkmen), is Nilsson at his songwriting peak, blending bitter, black humor and genuine heartbreak as no one else could. As with "Snow" on the reissue of Nilsson Sings Newman, the best thing on the album might be a bonus track, the solo, vocal-and-electric piano demo of "Save The Last Dance For Me". I don't think it's ever been sung better, not by the Drifters or Buck Owens.
Alex Chilton's Like Flies on Sherbert
Recorded at Sam Phillips Studios (the successor to the original Sun Studio, built with the money Phillips made by selling Elvis to RCA) with certified legend Jim Dickinson, it's difficult to determine how much of the chaos of this album was by design and how much was a natural outgrowth of Chilton's post-Big Star state of mind.
The WTFing starts with the first track, a totally cracked rant by way-underground Memphis sub-legend Ross Johnson. Chilton doesn't sing until track two, and from there on it's a mix of originals and unexpected and obscure covers (including a composition by Cordell Jackson, who appeared as the Rockin' Granny in a memorable Bud commercial) played in a deliberately unrehearsed, looser-than-loose style. Somehow, though, magic happens. The whole thing feels a little dangerous, even sleazy, which is to say it's rock'n'roll.
As with Pussy Cats, the cover is a classic - a William Eggleston photo of baby dolls on the hood of a Cadillac (that hood is the only thing connected with this album that could be called "polished") that perfectly compliments and completes the mood of perverse beauty.
Further reading:
Here's a great reminiscence from Will Rigby of the dB's about his adventures in Memphis, which included popping in to the Sherbert sessions with Chris Bell.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Musical Crime
The radio at work (which I do not control) just played "Golden Slumbers". Hearing it filled me with a wonderful feeling, until it ended and was followed immediately by a Ben Folds song.
Now, I have nothing against Ben Folds, but the transition was an utter, jarring, painful failure. The tempo didn't work. The tone was wrong. It made me angry. I wanted to walk over and smash the radio with a hammer, or a bat. I wanted to call the station and scream profanities.
If you're going to follow "Golden Slumbers" with anything other than "Carry That Weight" and "The End", it better be a f***ing great segue. If you picked the right song, it could conceivably be a pleasant, expectation-defying surprise. I'd like to hear that, but that's not what happened.
The medley is just over five minutes long. You couldn't just play the whole thing!?!?!?
!@&!$&*#%&*$#%*#&$@*&#!!!
Now, I have nothing against Ben Folds, but the transition was an utter, jarring, painful failure. The tempo didn't work. The tone was wrong. It made me angry. I wanted to walk over and smash the radio with a hammer, or a bat. I wanted to call the station and scream profanities.
If you're going to follow "Golden Slumbers" with anything other than "Carry That Weight" and "The End", it better be a f***ing great segue. If you picked the right song, it could conceivably be a pleasant, expectation-defying surprise. I'd like to hear that, but that's not what happened.
The medley is just over five minutes long. You couldn't just play the whole thing!?!?!?
!@&!$&*#%&*$#%*#&$@*&#!!!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Good Read re: Astral Weeks
I came across a great interview from last fall with the producer of Astral Weeks. He talks a lot about the bassist on the album, Richard Davis. I'd heard quite a few of Davis' recordings with Andrew Hill before I realized that he was the same guy who'd played on Astral Weeks. He's got an amazing resume for someone with so little mainstream name recognition, but I guess jazz bass has never really been a ticket to fame and fortune.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Paul Motian Trio 3 in 1 - Live at the Village Vanguard (performance)
This was my third time seeing the 70-something year-old drummer Paul Motian, each time with a different trio. First time was with Joe Lovano (tenor) and Bill Frisell (guitar), a long-standing group with several recordings and at least one run at the Village Vanguard each year. Then it was Motian and Frisell with bass giant Ron Carter. This time it was a relatively new group with Jason Moran (piano) and Chris Potter (tenor), each about 40 years younger than Motian. Their first album was supposed to be recorded during this run at the Vanguard, but I didn't see any recording equipment at this set. In any case, I hope the recording happened - this is a record I'll be watching for.
Moran and Potter are well-established players by now, but I'd only heard one album of Moran's (his solo Modernistic) and nothing by Potter. I knew Potter had an excellent reputation, and I was curious to see what Motian would do with these young players. I also wanted to see Motian with piano - I'd never seen piano at the Vanguard and Motian's associations with Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett are historical stuff (he also played, very briefly, with Monk).
The set was a good mix of up-tempo tunes and slow, ballad-y/atmospheric tunes. Most were probably Motian compositions, but there was at least one standard, which I'm fairly sure was Cole Porter's "Let's Fall in Love" (it was Valentine's Day). Motian seemed to do more straightforward (by his standards) swinging that I've seen him do previously*. Potter handled everything effortlessly, shifting with apparent ease from fiery to lyrical, soft to loud. Some of the best moments involved the interplay between Motian and Moran. At one point late in the set, Motian broke into a hard swinging tempo, pushing Moran, who seemed to be slowly stepping on the gas, heating up into a series of wild right-hand improvisations. The fast stuff was exciting. The slow stuff was beautiful. A very satisfying set.
A good recent interview with Paul Motian can be found here.
*As has been often noted, Paul Motian's approach to the drums goes way beyond time-keeping and the effect can be a bit jarring if you come in with preconceived notions of jazz drumming or if your only reference point is his playing with Bill Evans. Plenty of drummers have explored different approaches to rhythm, but I don't think anybody is doing quite what Motian is doing. It's certainly not bombastic, but it's definitely exploratory - he's not falling back on set patterns but seems to be constantly trying to find new ones. As a listener, you become used to certain conventions even when you're not consciously aware of them. Then, when someone tweaks those conventions you're forced to adjust and to really listen.
With Lovano and Frisell, perhaps because of their long association, Motian seems to get into his most exploratory mode, leading that trio to create some real equilateral 3-sided improvisation. When I saw the Motian-Frisell-Carter trio, made up of three "rhythm section" instruments, Ron Carter's bass was often the most traditionally rhythmic element of the music. On Valentine's Day at the Vanguard, Moran's left hand and Motian's drums often seemed to be working in combination to form the rhythmic basis of the trio's music.
Moran and Potter are well-established players by now, but I'd only heard one album of Moran's (his solo Modernistic) and nothing by Potter. I knew Potter had an excellent reputation, and I was curious to see what Motian would do with these young players. I also wanted to see Motian with piano - I'd never seen piano at the Vanguard and Motian's associations with Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett are historical stuff (he also played, very briefly, with Monk).
The set was a good mix of up-tempo tunes and slow, ballad-y/atmospheric tunes. Most were probably Motian compositions, but there was at least one standard, which I'm fairly sure was Cole Porter's "Let's Fall in Love" (it was Valentine's Day). Motian seemed to do more straightforward (by his standards) swinging that I've seen him do previously*. Potter handled everything effortlessly, shifting with apparent ease from fiery to lyrical, soft to loud. Some of the best moments involved the interplay between Motian and Moran. At one point late in the set, Motian broke into a hard swinging tempo, pushing Moran, who seemed to be slowly stepping on the gas, heating up into a series of wild right-hand improvisations. The fast stuff was exciting. The slow stuff was beautiful. A very satisfying set.
A good recent interview with Paul Motian can be found here.
*As has been often noted, Paul Motian's approach to the drums goes way beyond time-keeping and the effect can be a bit jarring if you come in with preconceived notions of jazz drumming or if your only reference point is his playing with Bill Evans. Plenty of drummers have explored different approaches to rhythm, but I don't think anybody is doing quite what Motian is doing. It's certainly not bombastic, but it's definitely exploratory - he's not falling back on set patterns but seems to be constantly trying to find new ones. As a listener, you become used to certain conventions even when you're not consciously aware of them. Then, when someone tweaks those conventions you're forced to adjust and to really listen.
With Lovano and Frisell, perhaps because of their long association, Motian seems to get into his most exploratory mode, leading that trio to create some real equilateral 3-sided improvisation. When I saw the Motian-Frisell-Carter trio, made up of three "rhythm section" instruments, Ron Carter's bass was often the most traditionally rhythmic element of the music. On Valentine's Day at the Vanguard, Moran's left hand and Motian's drums often seemed to be working in combination to form the rhythmic basis of the trio's music.
Monday, March 16, 2009
List Making #2 - Elvis Costello's Discography, Ranked
The list of albums is from the Elvis Costello Wiki. I added three semi-obscurities from my collection that the wiki did not include in the main album list. Then I put them in order.
I should point out that, in my opinion, there are no bad albums on this list.
1 Blood & Chocolate (1986) - My all-time favorite. Nick Lowe's production makes stuff that shouldn't work (splicing together two takes of a song with different tempos, letting anything bleed into anything else) work. Dirty where King of America is clean, B&C is a gut wrencher. EC's anger on his first records was snotty. Here it's almost scary.
2 King of America (1986) - Maybe EC's best collection of songs. I don't love every track, but the high points are as high as he ever got. EC was King of 1986.
3 Get Happy!! (1980) - All the short songs just blew right by me the first few listens. Then at some point, wham!, it all clicked. With 20 tracks on vinyl, EC used a lot of parts, but he built a helluva machine. Surprising how little guitar there is. An A+ Attractions showcase.
4 Imperial Bedroom (1982) - Geoff Emerick-produced, so you know it sounds great. Some of his very best songs here. Absolutely top shelf EC.
5 Armed Forces (1979) - The only one to get a (quite good) 33-1/3 volume so far. Seems more obviously like a Great Album or Big Artistic Statement than Get Happy!! or Imperial Bedroom, but I enjoy listening to those two just a bit more. All of my top five are serious contenders for Best EC Album.
6 Trust (1981) - Overshadowed by some of the great albums preceding and following it, Trust features a healthy portion of EC & the Attractions at their best.
7 This Year's Model (1978) - Just as I understand why some people prefer the first Clash album to London Calling, I understand why some people think this is EC's peak moment. In both cases, I'll take the improved songwriting of the later albums even if it comes with a slight dimunition in nervous energy (a similar point is made here). I won't deny that it's totally classic, though.
8 My Aim Is True (1977) - He had the songs. He just didn't have the band yet. Compare "Watching the Detectives" to everything preceding it to understand how much the Attractions brought to the table right from the start.
9 Brutal Youth (1994) - See this post below.
10 When I Was Cruel (2002) - Could've trimmed a bit of fat and ended up with a shorter, tighter, totally seamless album. Still, one of EC's best-sounding albums.
10a. Cruel Smile (2002) - I hitched this and Clarksdale Sessions to their "mother albums" as they seem more like bonus discs than stand-alone releases. If I threw this into the mix by itself, though, it would do pretty well. Odds 'n' sods, but good ones.
11 Spike (1989) - Lots of styles and collaborators here, but it stands on the strength of the songs.
12 Almost Blue (1981) - EC is too great of a songwriter for a covers album to rank in the top ten, but the high points here are high enough to beat out a lot of very fine albums.
13 The Delivery Man (2004) - The "concept" aspect of this album doesn't really work for me, but the country-soul, Dan Penn-inspired feel does.
13a. Clarksdale Sessions (2005) - Rawer versions of Delivery Man songs recorded with Jimbo Mathus. Not essential but fun to hear.
14 All This Useless Beauty (1996) - Strong, varied collection of songs. Good replay value. Not a beloved or frequently mentioned EC album, but the quality kind of sneaks up on you.
15 Momofuku (2008) - Obviously very solid EC. Sounds good. Good songs. The newest album on this list, I could see it moving up with time.
16 Punch The Clock (1983) - Horns, of-the-moment pop production, and some strong songs. Mostly I find this to be good-but-not-great EC. I keep expecting this one to grow on me the way some of the albums above have done, but it never really happens.
17 Deep Dead Blue (1995) - Brief live document of a performance with Bill Frisell at the EC-curated Meltdown Festival in London. Makes me want to see a whole show with these two.
18 North (2003) - Most of the tunes don't really stick with me, but it has a nice feel overall and closes with one of EC's best in his would-be-standard mode, "I'm in the Mood Again".
19 Kojak Variety (1995) - Maybe the only EC reissue with a bonus disc stronger than the original release. I wasn't sure whether to figure in the bonus disc, but since my experience with this album is as a twofer, I'm going to give it some weight.
20 My Flame Burns Blue (2006) - Live big band/jazz orchestra concert of rearranged EC numbers and Mingus and Strayhorn tunes with EC lyrics. Not everything works in this setting, and the whole thing is a bit of a novelty, but overall quite enjoyable.
21 Piano Jazz: Costello/McPartland (2005) - This is from the long-running and often excellent public radio series. Kind of an oddity in this list since it contains interviews between songs, but it's a nice mix of standards and EC tunes. The beautifully spare arrangements make this a real showcase for EC's singing.
22 Mighty Like A Rose (1991) - This one could move up with more listens, but most of the songs haven't made much of an impression so far. Check out the "Other Side of Summer" video for one of EC's strangest (and for this video, most incongruent) looks.
23 Painted From Memory (1998) - The Burt Bacharach collaboration. There are some good songs here, no doubt, but I've rarely found myself in the mood to listen to this.
24 The Juliet Letters (1993) - One of my more recent aquisitions on this list. EC w/ string quartet. Another one that could move up with more listens. He wasn't capable of writing this type of song ten years earlier, but perhaps his reach exceeded his grasp on this project.
-Unrated-
Il Sogno (2004) - EC's classical thing. If I recall correctly, a ballet score based on A Midsummer Night's Dream. Not bad at all, but I find it difficult to compare it to his song-based, vocal albums.
-Unheard-
Goodbye Cruel World (1984) - EC once referred to this as "our worst album", but I haven't heard enough to make my own judgment. I know it produced at least one good video (for "I Wanna Be Loved") and that some of the songs acquitted themselves nicely in later versions.
Costello & Nieve (1996) - This is the live multi-EP set from their duo tour, my most coveted EC rarity. I'm hoping for a reissue.
For The Stars (2001)
The River In Reverse (2006) - Post-Katrina Allen Toussaint collaboration. I imagine this is pretty good. Just haven't picked it up yet.
I should point out that, in my opinion, there are no bad albums on this list.
1 Blood & Chocolate (1986) - My all-time favorite. Nick Lowe's production makes stuff that shouldn't work (splicing together two takes of a song with different tempos, letting anything bleed into anything else) work. Dirty where King of America is clean, B&C is a gut wrencher. EC's anger on his first records was snotty. Here it's almost scary.
2 King of America (1986) - Maybe EC's best collection of songs. I don't love every track, but the high points are as high as he ever got. EC was King of 1986.
3 Get Happy!! (1980) - All the short songs just blew right by me the first few listens. Then at some point, wham!, it all clicked. With 20 tracks on vinyl, EC used a lot of parts, but he built a helluva machine. Surprising how little guitar there is. An A+ Attractions showcase.
4 Imperial Bedroom (1982) - Geoff Emerick-produced, so you know it sounds great. Some of his very best songs here. Absolutely top shelf EC.
5 Armed Forces (1979) - The only one to get a (quite good) 33-1/3 volume so far. Seems more obviously like a Great Album or Big Artistic Statement than Get Happy!! or Imperial Bedroom, but I enjoy listening to those two just a bit more. All of my top five are serious contenders for Best EC Album.
6 Trust (1981) - Overshadowed by some of the great albums preceding and following it, Trust features a healthy portion of EC & the Attractions at their best.
7 This Year's Model (1978) - Just as I understand why some people prefer the first Clash album to London Calling, I understand why some people think this is EC's peak moment. In both cases, I'll take the improved songwriting of the later albums even if it comes with a slight dimunition in nervous energy (a similar point is made here). I won't deny that it's totally classic, though.
8 My Aim Is True (1977) - He had the songs. He just didn't have the band yet. Compare "Watching the Detectives" to everything preceding it to understand how much the Attractions brought to the table right from the start.
9 Brutal Youth (1994) - See this post below.
10 When I Was Cruel (2002) - Could've trimmed a bit of fat and ended up with a shorter, tighter, totally seamless album. Still, one of EC's best-sounding albums.
10a. Cruel Smile (2002) - I hitched this and Clarksdale Sessions to their "mother albums" as they seem more like bonus discs than stand-alone releases. If I threw this into the mix by itself, though, it would do pretty well. Odds 'n' sods, but good ones.
11 Spike (1989) - Lots of styles and collaborators here, but it stands on the strength of the songs.
12 Almost Blue (1981) - EC is too great of a songwriter for a covers album to rank in the top ten, but the high points here are high enough to beat out a lot of very fine albums.
13 The Delivery Man (2004) - The "concept" aspect of this album doesn't really work for me, but the country-soul, Dan Penn-inspired feel does.
13a. Clarksdale Sessions (2005) - Rawer versions of Delivery Man songs recorded with Jimbo Mathus. Not essential but fun to hear.
14 All This Useless Beauty (1996) - Strong, varied collection of songs. Good replay value. Not a beloved or frequently mentioned EC album, but the quality kind of sneaks up on you.
15 Momofuku (2008) - Obviously very solid EC. Sounds good. Good songs. The newest album on this list, I could see it moving up with time.
16 Punch The Clock (1983) - Horns, of-the-moment pop production, and some strong songs. Mostly I find this to be good-but-not-great EC. I keep expecting this one to grow on me the way some of the albums above have done, but it never really happens.
17 Deep Dead Blue (1995) - Brief live document of a performance with Bill Frisell at the EC-curated Meltdown Festival in London. Makes me want to see a whole show with these two.
18 North (2003) - Most of the tunes don't really stick with me, but it has a nice feel overall and closes with one of EC's best in his would-be-standard mode, "I'm in the Mood Again".
19 Kojak Variety (1995) - Maybe the only EC reissue with a bonus disc stronger than the original release. I wasn't sure whether to figure in the bonus disc, but since my experience with this album is as a twofer, I'm going to give it some weight.
20 My Flame Burns Blue (2006) - Live big band/jazz orchestra concert of rearranged EC numbers and Mingus and Strayhorn tunes with EC lyrics. Not everything works in this setting, and the whole thing is a bit of a novelty, but overall quite enjoyable.
21 Piano Jazz: Costello/McPartland (2005) - This is from the long-running and often excellent public radio series. Kind of an oddity in this list since it contains interviews between songs, but it's a nice mix of standards and EC tunes. The beautifully spare arrangements make this a real showcase for EC's singing.
22 Mighty Like A Rose (1991) - This one could move up with more listens, but most of the songs haven't made much of an impression so far. Check out the "Other Side of Summer" video for one of EC's strangest (and for this video, most incongruent) looks.
23 Painted From Memory (1998) - The Burt Bacharach collaboration. There are some good songs here, no doubt, but I've rarely found myself in the mood to listen to this.
24 The Juliet Letters (1993) - One of my more recent aquisitions on this list. EC w/ string quartet. Another one that could move up with more listens. He wasn't capable of writing this type of song ten years earlier, but perhaps his reach exceeded his grasp on this project.
-Unrated-
Il Sogno (2004) - EC's classical thing. If I recall correctly, a ballet score based on A Midsummer Night's Dream. Not bad at all, but I find it difficult to compare it to his song-based, vocal albums.
-Unheard-
Goodbye Cruel World (1984) - EC once referred to this as "our worst album", but I haven't heard enough to make my own judgment. I know it produced at least one good video (for "I Wanna Be Loved") and that some of the songs acquitted themselves nicely in later versions.
Costello & Nieve (1996) - This is the live multi-EP set from their duo tour, my most coveted EC rarity. I'm hoping for a reissue.
For The Stars (2001)
The River In Reverse (2006) - Post-Katrina Allen Toussaint collaboration. I imagine this is pretty good. Just haven't picked it up yet.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
$7 Recession Beer
Let me say up front that Pacific Standard on 4th Ave in Brooklyn is a great bar. However, isn't it a bit insulting to sell 12 oz. of a beer called "Recessionator" for $7?
It's probably pretty good, but I don't think I've ever seen "alcohol" listed as one of the flavor components in a beer description.
Update 3/13: I broke down and tried one (at the $6 Happy Hour price). Pretty good, and pretty strong.
It's probably pretty good, but I don't think I've ever seen "alcohol" listed as one of the flavor components in a beer description.
Update 3/13: I broke down and tried one (at the $6 Happy Hour price). Pretty good, and pretty strong.
Pumpkinhead
I'm glad I never liked Smashing Pumpkins, so I don't have to feel disappointed by this. The most important sentence of this article is the P.S. at the bottom.
Will the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger create a company that's "too big to fail"?
Will the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger create a company that's "too big to fail"?
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