Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Last Thoughts on Rilo Kiley's Under the Blacklight
My initial review failed to mention the last two tracks on Under the Blacklight. “Tell the Angels Hung Around” is a beautiful ballad with a gangly wingspan. It makes me want to feather my hair or put my hand out the window of a moving car. “Give a Little Love” has too much drum machine and effects which sound cheap next to Jenny Lewis’ stellar voice. The chorus is almost enough to save it, but ultimately I can’t get past the Wesley Willis bad Casio keyboard effects.
It's OK to buy Rilo Kiley, even the new one!
Before picking up Under the Blacklight I knew nothing of Rilo Kiley. I thought it was a person, perhaps mistaking them for Ike Reilly who I had checked out at various points due to Springsteen comparisons. Going in I wasn’t sure if Rilo Kiley was a he or a she.
Turns out they’re a band, or sort of a band. More like a remarkable lead singer who has people playing music with her. You might have seen Rilo Kiley on the cover of the new Spin magazine proclaimed as the next Fleetwood Mac. Wow, strong words indeed. That got my attention.
With the Rilo Kiley record I had something happen I hadn’t yet experienced doing the blog. Several people went out of their way to let me know that Under the Blacklight was nowhere near as good as Rilo Kiley’s previous efforts. Target didn’t stock Rilo Kiley when I went to buy it all I could find was R. Kelly which I thought was quite funny and actually considered reviewing just for the fuck of it. When I went down to Barnes & Noble (my Tuesday music Plan B), and told the clerk I was looking for Rilo Kiley, he asked me in sort of a panicked way, “Which one?” He then went on to try and steer me towards one of their previous records that he had displayed on his personal collection of cool music on a table in the corner of the store. At one point I had to actually ask him if he thought there was a chance I might actually like the new record if I hadn’t heard the band’s previous work and was oblivious to how far they had fallen. He wasn’t sure. He sort of washed his hands of the whole affair as if to say he couldn’t guarantee I would like that one like the others.
Having spent considerable time listening to Under the Blacklight I find these exchanges pretty funny now, because Under the Blacklight is really a nice little record., especially if it’s your introduction to Rilo Kiley.
The first track “Silver Lining” is my standout number. It’s a breath of fresh air songbird track. And lead singer Jenny Lewis should be huge. Wow, she’s like some sort of vintage female vocalist wrapped up in sexy Indie charm. Bet she blows minds live. I could listen to her all day long. Given the right opportunity I think Lewis can make music that we listen to for years instead of seasons.
“Silver Lining” is a cruising song that sounds like velvet. The apex is about 2:20 in where we hear the tingle of the triangle over “and the grass it was a ticking and the sun it was alive, and I never felt so wicked as when I willed our love to die” lyric. Killer stuff.
You’ll also want to check out the little disco ditty “Breakin’ Up.” It’s sort of a modern “I will survive,” opening with a great first person lyric, “it’s not as if New York City burnt down to the ground once you drove away.” “Breakin’ Up” sounds as fresh as starting over feels with a little groovy tossed in for good measure. Close your eyes and you’ll see Rene Zellweger singing into a hair dryer. The movies and Fall TV will be lining up to use this one. When Lewis sings “Feels good to be free!” from the other side of the relationship you can’t help but believe she’s telling the truth.
“Close call” is nothing special, a plodding number beyond the “funny thing about money for sex, you might get rich, but you die by it” lyric that is sure to stick to your ribs. “The Moneymaker” gets the band out front a little bit with a swanky guitar groove and will sound great under the colored lights live. The title track “Under the Blacklight” starts big before ultimately letting you down, but there are hints of Fleetwood Mac here for sure.
“Smoke Detector” is another fun Scissor Sisters type dance groove, and if someone hasn’t already come up with the silly dance that goes along with this song it will be on YouTube shortly. “15” is a great little country song but it’s tough to listen to the story of this ill advised hookup with an underage girl too loud or too many times before you start expecting Dateline to show up.
In short, there’s no reason to avoid Under the Blacklight. And you should check out Rilo Kiley the band for sure. Even if you don’t, you’ll likely hear from Jenny Lewis. She’s bound to get her Gwen Stefani groove on eventually and explode on the mainstream scene. Songs like “Dejalo” and lyrics like “He was deep like a graveyard, she was ripe as a peach” show her considerable range and potential. I’d like to see her spread her wings and fly, and that may or may not involve the rest of the band.
Turns out they’re a band, or sort of a band. More like a remarkable lead singer who has people playing music with her. You might have seen Rilo Kiley on the cover of the new Spin magazine proclaimed as the next Fleetwood Mac. Wow, strong words indeed. That got my attention.
With the Rilo Kiley record I had something happen I hadn’t yet experienced doing the blog. Several people went out of their way to let me know that Under the Blacklight was nowhere near as good as Rilo Kiley’s previous efforts. Target didn’t stock Rilo Kiley when I went to buy it all I could find was R. Kelly which I thought was quite funny and actually considered reviewing just for the fuck of it. When I went down to Barnes & Noble (my Tuesday music Plan B), and told the clerk I was looking for Rilo Kiley, he asked me in sort of a panicked way, “Which one?” He then went on to try and steer me towards one of their previous records that he had displayed on his personal collection of cool music on a table in the corner of the store. At one point I had to actually ask him if he thought there was a chance I might actually like the new record if I hadn’t heard the band’s previous work and was oblivious to how far they had fallen. He wasn’t sure. He sort of washed his hands of the whole affair as if to say he couldn’t guarantee I would like that one like the others.
Having spent considerable time listening to Under the Blacklight I find these exchanges pretty funny now, because Under the Blacklight is really a nice little record., especially if it’s your introduction to Rilo Kiley.
The first track “Silver Lining” is my standout number. It’s a breath of fresh air songbird track. And lead singer Jenny Lewis should be huge. Wow, she’s like some sort of vintage female vocalist wrapped up in sexy Indie charm. Bet she blows minds live. I could listen to her all day long. Given the right opportunity I think Lewis can make music that we listen to for years instead of seasons.
“Silver Lining” is a cruising song that sounds like velvet. The apex is about 2:20 in where we hear the tingle of the triangle over “and the grass it was a ticking and the sun it was alive, and I never felt so wicked as when I willed our love to die” lyric. Killer stuff.
You’ll also want to check out the little disco ditty “Breakin’ Up.” It’s sort of a modern “I will survive,” opening with a great first person lyric, “it’s not as if New York City burnt down to the ground once you drove away.” “Breakin’ Up” sounds as fresh as starting over feels with a little groovy tossed in for good measure. Close your eyes and you’ll see Rene Zellweger singing into a hair dryer. The movies and Fall TV will be lining up to use this one. When Lewis sings “Feels good to be free!” from the other side of the relationship you can’t help but believe she’s telling the truth.
“Close call” is nothing special, a plodding number beyond the “funny thing about money for sex, you might get rich, but you die by it” lyric that is sure to stick to your ribs. “The Moneymaker” gets the band out front a little bit with a swanky guitar groove and will sound great under the colored lights live. The title track “Under the Blacklight” starts big before ultimately letting you down, but there are hints of Fleetwood Mac here for sure.
“Smoke Detector” is another fun Scissor Sisters type dance groove, and if someone hasn’t already come up with the silly dance that goes along with this song it will be on YouTube shortly. “15” is a great little country song but it’s tough to listen to the story of this ill advised hookup with an underage girl too loud or too many times before you start expecting Dateline to show up.
In short, there’s no reason to avoid Under the Blacklight. And you should check out Rilo Kiley the band for sure. Even if you don’t, you’ll likely hear from Jenny Lewis. She’s bound to get her Gwen Stefani groove on eventually and explode on the mainstream scene. Songs like “Dejalo” and lyrics like “He was deep like a graveyard, she was ripe as a peach” show her considerable range and potential. I’d like to see her spread her wings and fly, and that may or may not involve the rest of the band.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
One Time At Band Camp . . .The Arcade Fire took us water skiing
I like The Arcade Fire. The feeling was good from the start from the low-fi bio-degradable packaging. Their 2004 debut Funeral contained no liner notes, which surprised me. But I did love the “MADE IN CANADA” sticker proudly displayed on the back of the disc.
The Arcade Fire has made quite a stir as of late. Their experiential live show is supposed to be quite the thing to see. And the band has kept it interesting even doing things like setting up to play in the middle of night on the sidewalk in Union Square, for no one.
I’m not quite sure what to make of The Arcade Fire. Perhaps my inability to classify them is the ultimate compliment. When people have asked me what they’re like all I can muster is something like “Rusted Root only cool” or “Talking Heads but not dorks.” I guess my only hesitation going into The Arcade Fire was that there was a bit of a “band-camp” vibe to them. Maybe they were a little too mousy, a little too Cedar Cultural Arts Center, 10-sided dice—for me. I could smell the incense.
I was told Funeral was a concept album. And I must say I’m not quite sure what the concept is perhaps it’s a funeral story? Something else? All I know is half the songs are titled “Neighborhood,” and I’m not quite sure what the story is. I owe it to myself to print the lyrics and try to figure this part out. But I must say I enjoy the CD.
The Arcade Fire has a very cinematic vibe to their music. It sounds like music from a commercial. I’m personally a huge fan of the wind chime epic guitar sound (Copyright The Edge), and songs like “Rebellion (Lies)” have this in spades with a nice drum beat from Howard Bilermon to pull you along for the ride. The Arcade Fire seem to be their best when plodding along,. My favorite stuff on Funeral is when it’s almost as if they’ve harnessed the music. Lush songs with a pulsating drum beat, the chime of the guitar, and even a little hint of rusty alt-country jangle in there. I could cut an iMovie or slide show to Funeral.
The only thing that surprised me is the music sounds very flat on CD. The promise of The Arcade Fire was this full-bodied sonic experience, and I must say it doesn’t come across on the disc itself. Suppose this is why the live show is such a big deal. Because on the CD the music sounds a lot more 2-D than it should. Specifically Win Butler’s vocal is pushed into the instrumentation too much. He rarely gets a chance to preside over tracks and for that reason most of his words are totally lost in the wake of the music.
The water ski wake of the music is probably the best description of what I really like about my initial discoveries on Funeral. You really feel that on tracks like “Rebellion (Lies),” “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out), and the last forty five seconds of the otherwise sleepy “Une Annee Sans Lumiere.” The Arcade Fire is at their best on these head bobbing songs where the music is in a hurry to go somewhere. It’s a ride. And I bet at a live show it’s an over the top magic carpet ride. I can see the Roy Wilkins crowd pulsating in my head when I listen to the last minute build of a song like “Crown of Love.”
The Arcade Fire do that a lot, take a song and give you a completely new song for the last minute. It’s pretty cool. Sort of like they’re saying, “don’t like this. . .will just stick around, it gets better.”
The only song I was familiar with off Funeral was “Wake Up” which U2 used to open their Vertigo tour. It’s a great song filled with anticipation. “Wake Up” may be the most complete, or should I say finished sounding track on Funeral. Butler’s lead vocal gets up on top of the music for once, and everyone and everything seems to be in the right place. Not easy when you have nearly a dozen musicians chipping in. Even “Wake Up” takes a turn at the end adding a ‘50s bee-bop groove for the last minute.
There’s something a little new age, spiritual, or maybe fantasy based about The Arcade Fire. The music has an evening, memory sound to it. The only thing similar for the blog has been Interpol. It’s a heavy sound.
Clearly The Arcade Fire is original. Just listen to a song like “Crown of Love,” a gem. The catchy sing-a-long “If you still want me, please forgive me,” the string arrangement, and the vocal build up to a passionate scream. Then for the last minute it turns into a disco explosion. Awesome.
Can’t say much for any of Regine Chassagne’s vocal. I basically would skip any of the songs she sings. And with nine off and on members in the band, I think The Arcade Fire could trim here. But that could be a problem as she’s married to lead singer Win Butler. When Regine is singing you should expect Mazzy Star, Natural Born Killers weird tracks, that don’t sound very nice.
I’m also less interested when The Arcade Fire slow things down (“Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)) or start sounding a bit like the B52s or even Talking Heads like they do on “Neighborhood #2 (Laika).”
In summary, The Arcade Fire is a band for the future. I do intend to catch a live performance. If I did, I suspect I would be completely hooked. But without that there’s still a hint of the weird lady doing the “drug dance” barefoot at the outdoor concert, and the dimension of the music doesn’t come through on the CD like it should. I’m guessing the budget wasn’t there for the big production in 2004. With this talent, I suspect The Arcade Fire will keep getting bigger and bigger –and the music will too.
The Arcade Fire has made quite a stir as of late. Their experiential live show is supposed to be quite the thing to see. And the band has kept it interesting even doing things like setting up to play in the middle of night on the sidewalk in Union Square, for no one.
I’m not quite sure what to make of The Arcade Fire. Perhaps my inability to classify them is the ultimate compliment. When people have asked me what they’re like all I can muster is something like “Rusted Root only cool” or “Talking Heads but not dorks.” I guess my only hesitation going into The Arcade Fire was that there was a bit of a “band-camp” vibe to them. Maybe they were a little too mousy, a little too Cedar Cultural Arts Center, 10-sided dice—for me. I could smell the incense.
I was told Funeral was a concept album. And I must say I’m not quite sure what the concept is perhaps it’s a funeral story? Something else? All I know is half the songs are titled “Neighborhood,” and I’m not quite sure what the story is. I owe it to myself to print the lyrics and try to figure this part out. But I must say I enjoy the CD.
The Arcade Fire has a very cinematic vibe to their music. It sounds like music from a commercial. I’m personally a huge fan of the wind chime epic guitar sound (Copyright The Edge), and songs like “Rebellion (Lies)” have this in spades with a nice drum beat from Howard Bilermon to pull you along for the ride. The Arcade Fire seem to be their best when plodding along,. My favorite stuff on Funeral is when it’s almost as if they’ve harnessed the music. Lush songs with a pulsating drum beat, the chime of the guitar, and even a little hint of rusty alt-country jangle in there. I could cut an iMovie or slide show to Funeral.
The only thing that surprised me is the music sounds very flat on CD. The promise of The Arcade Fire was this full-bodied sonic experience, and I must say it doesn’t come across on the disc itself. Suppose this is why the live show is such a big deal. Because on the CD the music sounds a lot more 2-D than it should. Specifically Win Butler’s vocal is pushed into the instrumentation too much. He rarely gets a chance to preside over tracks and for that reason most of his words are totally lost in the wake of the music.
The water ski wake of the music is probably the best description of what I really like about my initial discoveries on Funeral. You really feel that on tracks like “Rebellion (Lies),” “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out), and the last forty five seconds of the otherwise sleepy “Une Annee Sans Lumiere.” The Arcade Fire is at their best on these head bobbing songs where the music is in a hurry to go somewhere. It’s a ride. And I bet at a live show it’s an over the top magic carpet ride. I can see the Roy Wilkins crowd pulsating in my head when I listen to the last minute build of a song like “Crown of Love.”
The Arcade Fire do that a lot, take a song and give you a completely new song for the last minute. It’s pretty cool. Sort of like they’re saying, “don’t like this. . .will just stick around, it gets better.”
The only song I was familiar with off Funeral was “Wake Up” which U2 used to open their Vertigo tour. It’s a great song filled with anticipation. “Wake Up” may be the most complete, or should I say finished sounding track on Funeral. Butler’s lead vocal gets up on top of the music for once, and everyone and everything seems to be in the right place. Not easy when you have nearly a dozen musicians chipping in. Even “Wake Up” takes a turn at the end adding a ‘50s bee-bop groove for the last minute.
There’s something a little new age, spiritual, or maybe fantasy based about The Arcade Fire. The music has an evening, memory sound to it. The only thing similar for the blog has been Interpol. It’s a heavy sound.
Clearly The Arcade Fire is original. Just listen to a song like “Crown of Love,” a gem. The catchy sing-a-long “If you still want me, please forgive me,” the string arrangement, and the vocal build up to a passionate scream. Then for the last minute it turns into a disco explosion. Awesome.
Can’t say much for any of Regine Chassagne’s vocal. I basically would skip any of the songs she sings. And with nine off and on members in the band, I think The Arcade Fire could trim here. But that could be a problem as she’s married to lead singer Win Butler. When Regine is singing you should expect Mazzy Star, Natural Born Killers weird tracks, that don’t sound very nice.
I’m also less interested when The Arcade Fire slow things down (“Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)) or start sounding a bit like the B52s or even Talking Heads like they do on “Neighborhood #2 (Laika).”
In summary, The Arcade Fire is a band for the future. I do intend to catch a live performance. If I did, I suspect I would be completely hooked. But without that there’s still a hint of the weird lady doing the “drug dance” barefoot at the outdoor concert, and the dimension of the music doesn’t come through on the CD like it should. I’m guessing the budget wasn’t there for the big production in 2004. With this talent, I suspect The Arcade Fire will keep getting bigger and bigger –and the music will too.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Last Thoughts on Brad Paisley 5th Gear
5th Gear is a nice country record. To enjoy it, you’ll need to be open to new country in the first place, but if you’ve ever dabbled in Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, Shania, Faith, even The Dixie Chicks—I think you’ll find some redeeming qualities in Brad Paisley’s 5th Gear. Let’s highlight a few:
A Real Duet:
I found the duets to be contrived and corporate on Bon Jovi’s Lost Highway record. My feeling on duets is they should feel like an art house movie. The reason Harvey Keitel and Parkey Posey show up in some little indie picture is both actors thought the script was too good to pass up. A duet should be the same, only the script is the song. There needs to be a sense that both singers regardless of their fame simply couldn’t pass up the chance to sing this one. It’s not about singing with the other person as much as it is a mutual admiration for the song itself. Both singers must truly love the work.
5th Gear has this with a Carrie Underwood duet titled “Oh Love.” The lyric is Hemmingway sparse, and the song manages to sound both simple and important at the same time. It doesn’t hurt that Carrie Underwood has the same nose as Elvis either. I’m not joking, check it out. I’m a big fan. There’s a moment in “Oh Love” where I thought to myself that they should let the lyric explode a bit, but that wouldn’t have been right for the song. And a good duet is all about the song. “Oh Love” hits all the marks.
Again there are plenty of stories and plenty of guitars on 5th Gear. “If Love Was a Plane” shows how amazing our resolve is to keep falling into love when the success rate would be unthinkable when applied to anything else –in this case air travel. “With You, Without You” allows Paisley to riff a bit more on his guitar. And “Better Than This” carries on 5th Gear’s overall glass half full theme as Paisley imagines several hyperbolic ways (Waylon and Willie showing up to play requests for instance) things could, in fact, get better.
There’s a term hockey players use a lot when describing other players. They’ll say he’s a “tough, honest player.” In many ways 5th Gear is a “tough, honest” album. It has a prevailing theme in optimism. It has the country stories. It has the had-to-be-there duet. It has some masterwork picking (“Throttleneck”). It contains 16 hard working songs, albeit a few of them silly. But I can see why it’s tough to keep for Target to keep this CD in stock. Especially up here in Minnesota during cabin season.
A Real Duet:
I found the duets to be contrived and corporate on Bon Jovi’s Lost Highway record. My feeling on duets is they should feel like an art house movie. The reason Harvey Keitel and Parkey Posey show up in some little indie picture is both actors thought the script was too good to pass up. A duet should be the same, only the script is the song. There needs to be a sense that both singers regardless of their fame simply couldn’t pass up the chance to sing this one. It’s not about singing with the other person as much as it is a mutual admiration for the song itself. Both singers must truly love the work.
5th Gear has this with a Carrie Underwood duet titled “Oh Love.” The lyric is Hemmingway sparse, and the song manages to sound both simple and important at the same time. It doesn’t hurt that Carrie Underwood has the same nose as Elvis either. I’m not joking, check it out. I’m a big fan. There’s a moment in “Oh Love” where I thought to myself that they should let the lyric explode a bit, but that wouldn’t have been right for the song. And a good duet is all about the song. “Oh Love” hits all the marks.
Again there are plenty of stories and plenty of guitars on 5th Gear. “If Love Was a Plane” shows how amazing our resolve is to keep falling into love when the success rate would be unthinkable when applied to anything else –in this case air travel. “With You, Without You” allows Paisley to riff a bit more on his guitar. And “Better Than This” carries on 5th Gear’s overall glass half full theme as Paisley imagines several hyperbolic ways (Waylon and Willie showing up to play requests for instance) things could, in fact, get better.
There’s a term hockey players use a lot when describing other players. They’ll say he’s a “tough, honest player.” In many ways 5th Gear is a “tough, honest” album. It has a prevailing theme in optimism. It has the country stories. It has the had-to-be-there duet. It has some masterwork picking (“Throttleneck”). It contains 16 hard working songs, albeit a few of them silly. But I can see why it’s tough to keep for Target to keep this CD in stock. Especially up here in Minnesota during cabin season.
The Country Eddie Van Halen
My apologies. The way I write these reviews tends to be in sections. On the Brad Paisley disc I had focused my attention on the front half (first 8 songs) for my first post. As it turns out Paisley does fly his freak flag with impressive guitar work on both “Mr. Policeman” and the instrumental finisher “Throttleneck.”
It’s almost as if Paisley is brown nosing me by including a guitar instrumental like “Throttleneck” to closeout the 5th Gear album. It’s a good one too, enough to set teenage boys’ imaginations on fire like “Eruption” did for the Van Halen generation. Too bad Paisley included some goofy outtakes on the album after “Throttleneck.” The record should have ended after this explosion of harmonics and finger tapping. Awesome stuff. “Throttleneck” must have them screaming “Yahoo!” live. The world needs more crazy ass guitar instrumentals with titles like “Throttleneck,” thanks for listening Mr. Paisley.
It’s almost as if Paisley is brown nosing me by including a guitar instrumental like “Throttleneck” to closeout the 5th Gear album. It’s a good one too, enough to set teenage boys’ imaginations on fire like “Eruption” did for the Van Halen generation. Too bad Paisley included some goofy outtakes on the album after “Throttleneck.” The record should have ended after this explosion of harmonics and finger tapping. Awesome stuff. “Throttleneck” must have them screaming “Yahoo!” live. The world needs more crazy ass guitar instrumentals with titles like “Throttleneck,” thanks for listening Mr. Paisley.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Brad Paisley is as American as a Tootsie Roll at a Parade
Early returns on Brad Paisley have been good. I found myself in a crowded elevator right after buying his new CD 5th Gear. When someone asked me what CD it was I said, “The new Brad Paisley.” This was followed by awkward silence.
But when I walked out of the elevator a guy did his best Wolf Man from Top Gun (“Gutsiest move I ever saw man”), pulling me aside to say, “Brad plays a mean guitar man. I’m not into the whole new country thing but I’ll always check out Keith Urban and Brad Paisley because they can flat out play.”
So that’s what I heard a lot about, Brad the ax man. I was also informed early on that Brad writes his own music which is damn near impossible in the manufactured Nashville country scene. And does he ever, 5th Gear boasts 16 tracks.
Having flirted with country, and never having got there on the Bon Jovi record. I nearly rejoiced when listening to the opening track “All I Wanted Was A Car” and this letter jacket of a lyric:
My buddy Blake was all-state with dreams of the NFL
Jenny McClain had big brains
She got a scholarship to Yale
And there was Hershel who did two commercials
And he was going to be a movie star
But all I wanted was a car
All I wanted was a car
Bring on the stories. Don’t get me wrong, the Bon Jovi record is nice. I was just in a guy’s office and he had it playing. It’s a good late years Bon Jovi record. But it’s not a country record. It’s not country because it’s missing the central ingredient of stories, and it’s not country because at the end of the day you still must acknowledge you’re listening to Bon Jovi. And when that happens, the cowboy boots don’t go all the way up the leg.
5th Gear is filled with stories. Including “All I Wanted Was a Car” and a nice ballad “Letter to Me” where we find an older Paisley consoling the 17 year old version of himself that a teenage break up isn’t the end of the world. I love the detail of country music, and Paisley does a nice job sprinkling nuggets like “a Skoal can and a playboy that no one else would know you hid” under the bed to confirm the letter is in fact being written by himself on “Letter to Me”, before dispensing advice like, “and when you get a date with Bridget make sure the tank is full
on second thought forget it, that one turns out kinda cool.” But while those lines get a smile, it’s the advice to not be blinded by the Friday Night Lights of youth that are the best parts of the track, and the more subtle lyrics like “p.s. go hug aunt Rita every chance you get” that makes “Letter to Me” a grand country song.
Another nice little story is “Online” about a tuba player who lives with his folks transforming into a Calvin Klein model online. I have trouble with “Online” because the lyrics sound like the script for a really bad country music video. But the song itself is catch as hell. It’s the one you’ll find yourself going back to. And the transition at the end where an entire marching band is playing the melody is fantastic. There’s just a touch too much cheese on the curd here, or I could really get into this one.
“I’m Still a Guy” and “Ticks” are classic new country with Paisley offering to check his lady’s back (and front) for ticks, and a refusal to apologize for still “having a set” in an increasingly metro world. The problem is if Paisley would have written “I’m Still A Guy” for Toby Keith—it would have done a lot better.
The other issue I have with the Brad Paisley record is clearly this guy has the chops to be a major ax man. But nowhere on 5th gear does he ever truly fly his freak flag. He bends a nice little solo on “Some Mistakes” and they bury some guitar magic at the very end of several tracks. I suppose in the neutered world of Nashville, mad chops like Paisley’s are seen as some sort of genetic mutation –something to be concealed. Whenever Paisley’s eyes turn green and his jean shorts start to rip on 5th Gear, some producer is there to turn down the volume and keep everything on an even keel. Don’t want to lose the Hershey’s sponsorship . . .
I think my favorite part of 5th Gear is the middle-aged optimism. On songs like “It Did,” Paisley talks about life as one never ending crescendo. “It Did” is Paisley’s response to all those moments when you think “It doesn’t get any better than this.” Paisley’s just keep livin’ spirit of optimism permeates the disc, and is an interesting point of view. Instead of waxing poetic about youth or the best days gone by, Paisley tends to go the other way telling his 17 year old self on “Letter to Me”:
“you should see your kids and wife
and I'd end by saying have no fear
these are no where near the best years of your life.”
Paisley lays down 16 tracks on 5th Gear, writes some nice songs with his writing partner, Kelley Lovelace, and gives enough of a glimpse of the guitar to know he’s got a beast inside waiting to come out. Most importantly, 5th Gear has the storytelling necessary to be a summertime country record, and you don’t need to explain away the Bon Jovi part.
But when I walked out of the elevator a guy did his best Wolf Man from Top Gun (“Gutsiest move I ever saw man”), pulling me aside to say, “Brad plays a mean guitar man. I’m not into the whole new country thing but I’ll always check out Keith Urban and Brad Paisley because they can flat out play.”
So that’s what I heard a lot about, Brad the ax man. I was also informed early on that Brad writes his own music which is damn near impossible in the manufactured Nashville country scene. And does he ever, 5th Gear boasts 16 tracks.
Having flirted with country, and never having got there on the Bon Jovi record. I nearly rejoiced when listening to the opening track “All I Wanted Was A Car” and this letter jacket of a lyric:
My buddy Blake was all-state with dreams of the NFL
Jenny McClain had big brains
She got a scholarship to Yale
And there was Hershel who did two commercials
And he was going to be a movie star
But all I wanted was a car
All I wanted was a car
Bring on the stories. Don’t get me wrong, the Bon Jovi record is nice. I was just in a guy’s office and he had it playing. It’s a good late years Bon Jovi record. But it’s not a country record. It’s not country because it’s missing the central ingredient of stories, and it’s not country because at the end of the day you still must acknowledge you’re listening to Bon Jovi. And when that happens, the cowboy boots don’t go all the way up the leg.
5th Gear is filled with stories. Including “All I Wanted Was a Car” and a nice ballad “Letter to Me” where we find an older Paisley consoling the 17 year old version of himself that a teenage break up isn’t the end of the world. I love the detail of country music, and Paisley does a nice job sprinkling nuggets like “a Skoal can and a playboy that no one else would know you hid” under the bed to confirm the letter is in fact being written by himself on “Letter to Me”, before dispensing advice like, “and when you get a date with Bridget make sure the tank is full
on second thought forget it, that one turns out kinda cool.” But while those lines get a smile, it’s the advice to not be blinded by the Friday Night Lights of youth that are the best parts of the track, and the more subtle lyrics like “p.s. go hug aunt Rita every chance you get” that makes “Letter to Me” a grand country song.
Another nice little story is “Online” about a tuba player who lives with his folks transforming into a Calvin Klein model online. I have trouble with “Online” because the lyrics sound like the script for a really bad country music video. But the song itself is catch as hell. It’s the one you’ll find yourself going back to. And the transition at the end where an entire marching band is playing the melody is fantastic. There’s just a touch too much cheese on the curd here, or I could really get into this one.
“I’m Still a Guy” and “Ticks” are classic new country with Paisley offering to check his lady’s back (and front) for ticks, and a refusal to apologize for still “having a set” in an increasingly metro world. The problem is if Paisley would have written “I’m Still A Guy” for Toby Keith—it would have done a lot better.
The other issue I have with the Brad Paisley record is clearly this guy has the chops to be a major ax man. But nowhere on 5th gear does he ever truly fly his freak flag. He bends a nice little solo on “Some Mistakes” and they bury some guitar magic at the very end of several tracks. I suppose in the neutered world of Nashville, mad chops like Paisley’s are seen as some sort of genetic mutation –something to be concealed. Whenever Paisley’s eyes turn green and his jean shorts start to rip on 5th Gear, some producer is there to turn down the volume and keep everything on an even keel. Don’t want to lose the Hershey’s sponsorship . . .
I think my favorite part of 5th Gear is the middle-aged optimism. On songs like “It Did,” Paisley talks about life as one never ending crescendo. “It Did” is Paisley’s response to all those moments when you think “It doesn’t get any better than this.” Paisley’s just keep livin’ spirit of optimism permeates the disc, and is an interesting point of view. Instead of waxing poetic about youth or the best days gone by, Paisley tends to go the other way telling his 17 year old self on “Letter to Me”:
“you should see your kids and wife
and I'd end by saying have no fear
these are no where near the best years of your life.”
Paisley lays down 16 tracks on 5th Gear, writes some nice songs with his writing partner, Kelley Lovelace, and gives enough of a glimpse of the guitar to know he’s got a beast inside waiting to come out. Most importantly, 5th Gear has the storytelling necessary to be a summertime country record, and you don’t need to explain away the Bon Jovi part.
Friday, August 10, 2007
31 Reasons The White Stripes Icky Thump is the best album of 2007 (thus far).
21. The whole are Meg and Jack White siblings or were they once married thing came up again yesterday. Best I can tell they are brother and sister. But I’ve heard from others that they used to be married, and the whole brother sister thing is a little joke. I’m not going not going to try and find out for sure. I actually don’t care either way, the whole thing totally amuses me.
22. I need to call out track 12 “Catch Hell Blues” again. That song is also completely unreal. It is so raw, but so perfectly crafted. The drums, the Zombie guitar riff—it’s one giant spiral of a rock song. I can’t wait to play it for my kids, it will melt their minds.
23. I’d be remiss not mention the other half of the duo. I must say Meg kills it on the drum kit on Icky Thump’s biggest songs including “I’m Slowly Turning Into You” and “Catch Hell Blues.”
24. Someone once said this to me about the White Stripes. “It’s like you’ve found the worst Led Zeppelin record. It might be the worst one, but hey it’s still Zeppelin.” I think that might even be selling them short, but in a world of Zach Braff shoe-gazer rock, I must say anything that rubs against Zepp or AC/DC is just fine by me.
25. The back half of Icky Thump is southern fried. Like the first couple Kings of Leon records, the Stripes get their woods on. This side of the album, the music suddenly has a crinkly brown paper bag on it.
26. On songs like “Rag & Bone” Jack sounds like Tommy Lee Jones in the Fugitive, “Doghouse! Outhouse Old folks house!” – holding court over the music like Johnny Depp playing Boss Hog.
27. “Rag & Bone” is also reminiscent of old Van Halen stuff (“Hot for Teacher”) with it’s tap-tap intro and loose top-hat vocal.
28. Another plug for “Catch Hell Blues” is how it sounds like they laid it down in one take. But if you listen to Jack it’s just taunting. He knows this song kills it. “If you’re looking for hot water, don’t act shocked when you get burned baby,” “If you really want some hot water I can help you find it” and “Try and catch me!” make me thing he knows The White Stripes are the heavyweight champion of the world. And the water is boiling.
29. The White Stripes continue to populate their tour with the most random places on the planet. Deciding to visit states and provinces they haven’t been to previously. Last I read when they had to postpone the tour for Jack’s new baby they were playing in some small town in New Mexico.
30. The solo in “Catch Hell Blues” leading into the final riff.
31. Even “Little Cream Soda” – not the best song on the album has guitar big enough to be played on the Apaches flying into Baghdad. God bless The White Stripes.
22. I need to call out track 12 “Catch Hell Blues” again. That song is also completely unreal. It is so raw, but so perfectly crafted. The drums, the Zombie guitar riff—it’s one giant spiral of a rock song. I can’t wait to play it for my kids, it will melt their minds.
23. I’d be remiss not mention the other half of the duo. I must say Meg kills it on the drum kit on Icky Thump’s biggest songs including “I’m Slowly Turning Into You” and “Catch Hell Blues.”
24. Someone once said this to me about the White Stripes. “It’s like you’ve found the worst Led Zeppelin record. It might be the worst one, but hey it’s still Zeppelin.” I think that might even be selling them short, but in a world of Zach Braff shoe-gazer rock, I must say anything that rubs against Zepp or AC/DC is just fine by me.
25. The back half of Icky Thump is southern fried. Like the first couple Kings of Leon records, the Stripes get their woods on. This side of the album, the music suddenly has a crinkly brown paper bag on it.
26. On songs like “Rag & Bone” Jack sounds like Tommy Lee Jones in the Fugitive, “Doghouse! Outhouse Old folks house!” – holding court over the music like Johnny Depp playing Boss Hog.
27. “Rag & Bone” is also reminiscent of old Van Halen stuff (“Hot for Teacher”) with it’s tap-tap intro and loose top-hat vocal.
28. Another plug for “Catch Hell Blues” is how it sounds like they laid it down in one take. But if you listen to Jack it’s just taunting. He knows this song kills it. “If you’re looking for hot water, don’t act shocked when you get burned baby,” “If you really want some hot water I can help you find it” and “Try and catch me!” make me thing he knows The White Stripes are the heavyweight champion of the world. And the water is boiling.
29. The White Stripes continue to populate their tour with the most random places on the planet. Deciding to visit states and provinces they haven’t been to previously. Last I read when they had to postpone the tour for Jack’s new baby they were playing in some small town in New Mexico.
30. The solo in “Catch Hell Blues” leading into the final riff.
31. Even “Little Cream Soda” – not the best song on the album has guitar big enough to be played on the Apaches flying into Baghdad. God bless The White Stripes.
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