zaterdag 26 september 2015
Capsule review: David Bowie - Station to Station (1976)
Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks: 33/34 - 2003
33
2003/03/02, Radio Populaire, Italy
Craw song
Ramp of death
I'm not sure about the date. It's possible, but three days later Stephen would be onstage with the Jicks in Texas. And here he is, by himself, doing a radio session in Italy. It would almost be like a lost couplet from Dylan's 'When I paint my masterpiece'. Maybe it's the transmission date.
What's important is not the how and when. This is a welcome chance (the only one) to hear Stephen alone and acoustic in the Pig Lib timeframe. A kind soul sent me the recording after I wrote the first version of this career overview. I'm told it's only part of a longer session, but no information on what else was played.
Stephen is self assured and means business. No twiddling or improvisations, straight up, honestly felt renditions of two of the more likely candidates from the new album to be played in this format. They probably sounded like this when Stephen presented them to the Jicks for consideration. I sort of miss Mike's contributions, but the songs stand up well. 'Craw song' is the same structure as the album take. 'Ramp of death' shortened. Good singer-songwriter stuff.
34
2003/03/05, Emo's, Austin, TX
Sin taxi
Dynamic calories
(Do not feed the) Oyster
Ramp of death
Phantasies
Water and a seat
Vanessa from Queens
Vague space
It kills
Witch mountain bridge
Never my love
Church on white
1% of 1
100 years from now
The three full 2003 shows I've got are all of them amazing. It could be luck of the draw, but it's led me to picture the 2003 Jicks in near-mythical dimensions of concert prowess. Such force, such telepathy, such good-natured ribbing and stand-up comedy (John and Mike are coming into their own here – picking up the Bob Nastanovich mantle of running onstage commentary – sort of like at a sport event).
The troubles with the setlist are all taken care of. The solution: just attack everything with gusto, introduce a couple of b-sides in the set, and some well-chosen covers. Among the tracks here that benefit from that attack are the folk numbers from 'Pig lib'- the raw lead guitaring on 'Oyster' is excellent, 'Water and a seat' is itching along the road to 'Dragonfly pie'. Even 'Vanessa from Queens' gets amped up – there's an attractive (short) improvisation at the end, which would be further developed in later shows.
What a start to this set – the first three songs are a hell of an introduction. 'Sin taxi' – a nice surprising choice! It's broadly faithfull to the studio version (with all the cheesy synths), but this one is a heavy riff beast, not quite Led Zeppelin but heavy rock all the same. Nice! 'Dynamic calories' and 'Oyster' are just as great.
Of course the other track that immediately draws the attention is the first 'Face the truth' song to appear. Like '1% of 1' was for 'Pig lib', 'It kills' is the gateway song to the third album. In this incarnation (instrumental structure in place, lyrics still a blur) it's even called 'Face the truth' (according to Stephen's introduction): 'think about it', he says, and then another song 'nothing about facing the truth', 'Witch mountain bridge'. 'Pig lib'-era moving into 'Face the truth'-era with its heavy vision of the 'human shitpile' and then again, its 'seize the day' humanist philosophising.
There's some nice talk on the set:
Joanna: I'm here behind this pole in case anyone needs me. Stephen: It's like having a fifth band member. (Better 5th member than when I saw you in 2001! – – – sorry)
Stephen: I got someone to tune my guitars for me. Once you get one, you didn't know you needed it.
Stephen: I'm kind of an original punk... I like Green Day' John: 'Total punk.'
Joanna: 'I would get naked if everybody got naked. But I mean, it's not like it's exciting. I'm just saying.'
John: There's a guy with a beard. He's into it. You can always count on a guy with a beard.'
2003/03/02, Radio Populaire, Italy
Craw song
Ramp of death
I'm not sure about the date. It's possible, but three days later Stephen would be onstage with the Jicks in Texas. And here he is, by himself, doing a radio session in Italy. It would almost be like a lost couplet from Dylan's 'When I paint my masterpiece'. Maybe it's the transmission date.
What's important is not the how and when. This is a welcome chance (the only one) to hear Stephen alone and acoustic in the Pig Lib timeframe. A kind soul sent me the recording after I wrote the first version of this career overview. I'm told it's only part of a longer session, but no information on what else was played.
Stephen is self assured and means business. No twiddling or improvisations, straight up, honestly felt renditions of two of the more likely candidates from the new album to be played in this format. They probably sounded like this when Stephen presented them to the Jicks for consideration. I sort of miss Mike's contributions, but the songs stand up well. 'Craw song' is the same structure as the album take. 'Ramp of death' shortened. Good singer-songwriter stuff.
34
2003/03/05, Emo's, Austin, TX
Sin taxi
Dynamic calories
(Do not feed the) Oyster
Ramp of death
Phantasies
Water and a seat
Vanessa from Queens
Vague space
It kills
Witch mountain bridge
Never my love
Church on white
1% of 1
100 years from now
The three full 2003 shows I've got are all of them amazing. It could be luck of the draw, but it's led me to picture the 2003 Jicks in near-mythical dimensions of concert prowess. Such force, such telepathy, such good-natured ribbing and stand-up comedy (John and Mike are coming into their own here – picking up the Bob Nastanovich mantle of running onstage commentary – sort of like at a sport event).
The troubles with the setlist are all taken care of. The solution: just attack everything with gusto, introduce a couple of b-sides in the set, and some well-chosen covers. Among the tracks here that benefit from that attack are the folk numbers from 'Pig lib'- the raw lead guitaring on 'Oyster' is excellent, 'Water and a seat' is itching along the road to 'Dragonfly pie'. Even 'Vanessa from Queens' gets amped up – there's an attractive (short) improvisation at the end, which would be further developed in later shows.
What a start to this set – the first three songs are a hell of an introduction. 'Sin taxi' – a nice surprising choice! It's broadly faithfull to the studio version (with all the cheesy synths), but this one is a heavy riff beast, not quite Led Zeppelin but heavy rock all the same. Nice! 'Dynamic calories' and 'Oyster' are just as great.
Of course the other track that immediately draws the attention is the first 'Face the truth' song to appear. Like '1% of 1' was for 'Pig lib', 'It kills' is the gateway song to the third album. In this incarnation (instrumental structure in place, lyrics still a blur) it's even called 'Face the truth' (according to Stephen's introduction): 'think about it', he says, and then another song 'nothing about facing the truth', 'Witch mountain bridge'. 'Pig lib'-era moving into 'Face the truth'-era with its heavy vision of the 'human shitpile' and then again, its 'seize the day' humanist philosophising.
There's some nice talk on the set:
Joanna: I'm here behind this pole in case anyone needs me. Stephen: It's like having a fifth band member. (Better 5th member than when I saw you in 2001! – – – sorry)
Stephen: I got someone to tune my guitars for me. Once you get one, you didn't know you needed it.
Stephen: I'm kind of an original punk... I like Green Day' John: 'Total punk.'
Joanna: 'I would get naked if everybody got naked. But I mean, it's not like it's exciting. I'm just saying.'
John: There's a guy with a beard. He's into it. You can always count on a guy with a beard.'
Capsule review: Steely dan - The royal scam (1976)
Donald Fagen's name is misspelt on the back cover of my cd reissue. It's hard to believe it's not deliberate. Faultless, spotless productions about disillusionment and failure, but fun.
It's hard to say if I enjoy it. I just don't know.
Capsule review: Aretha Franklin - Sparkle (1976)
Yes, a Curtis Mayfield fan may miss his trademark open C guitar playing, or his social message songs. This is romantic stuff - ballads have titles 'Look into your heart' and 'Something he can feel', uptempo songs are called 'I get high' and 'Jump'. Orchestra provides a lush sound cushion for Aretha to inhabit. But this was the mid-'70s, Curtis is still a master arranger, Aretha still (just) the Queen. The record, yes, sparkles.
Capsule review: Band - Islands (1976)
After all this time surely we can agree the Band were best when they had no ambition. The ones to come back to aren't pink and brown, but Northern Lights, Southern Cross, Stage Fright and this one. An unassuming bag of covers, instrumentals, a Christmas song and some Robertson originals with no ambition but plenty of feel. 'Right as rain', 'Georgia on my mind', 'Livin' in a dream' and, wonderful, 'Christmas must be tonight'. They can drive down old Dixie forever. Give me the throwaway gold dust.
Capsule review: Rolling stones - Black and blue (1976)
Two great ballads 'Memory motel' (worth its full 7 minutes) and 'Fool to cry'. One good variation on their '70s disco-groove formula 'Hot stuff'' (it's no 'Emotional rescue' but what is?). Nobody should pride themselves on having 'inspired' any of the other songs. This is what Keith Richards means when he says they don't write songs, they wait to 'receive' them from the ether. He means they don't write songs.
Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks: 31/32 - 2002
31
Dynamic calories
Fractions & feelings
Old Jerry
Unlike the debut album's b-sides, which never had a chance at a normal career trajectory, these tracks from the 'Pig lib' bonus disc / the 'Dark wave' single are not just good enough to prop up any of his albums, but could've been highlights.
For an appraisal of 'Old Jerry' – one of my all-time Malkmus favourites – scroll back to entry 27.
I've mentioned 'Dynamic calories' and 'Fractions & feelings' before as well. Both songs written by an adult – looking back on a glorious summer of youth. The first song tackles the fate of an imaginary early '80s underground rock band – one of those bands Stephen and Bob Nastanovich collected the 7” singles from. Vocal panache, angular chops and those wet drums... We'll see the theme return in the coming years. 'Fractions and feelings' captures a more general high school feeling (when the cops foiled all our plots). I would basically kill for a Jicks song with a beautiful piano part like this now.
32
2002/12/07, Warsaw, Brooklyn, NY
Fly
JoJo's jacket
Water and a seat
Vanessa from Queens
Animal midnight
Vague space
(Do not feed the) Oyster
Church on white
Ramp of death
Dark wave
Never my love
Sheets
Witch mountain bridge
Jennifer & the Ess-dog
[Raffle]
Us
Third rate romance
Eagle rock (Daddy cool)
1% of 1
Probably the only recorded evidence of Stephen Malkmus acting as raffle host ('and another t-shirt for number 223 109...'). I know, everybody's a critic, but... he's not very good at all, is he? You can hear why he wasn't asked back ('ok, everyone without a ticket, talk to your friends')
Still a couple of months off from 'Pig lib''s street date of March 18, 2003, in december 2002 the new record seems set. At this date they play all but one song ('Craw song') from the album as it came out, and none of the sidelined material.
It takes a while to get going. Not that they need more practice to inhabit the songs, but there's something about the setlist that doesn't breathe. The new material and the old songs seem to come from different worlds, the covers seem too random and the whole set just sounds disjointed. I wonder what an audience that hasn't even heard the new record would make of it. This is not the most instantly catchy material of his career. It would be a challenge to arrive at an integrated set at this stage of the Jicks' catalogue – but they'd get there.
There's a great section running from 'Ramp of death' through 'Jennifer and the Ess-dog'. I get a kick out of 'Never my love' – not because they play it so exceptionally well, but it's just a great song (by the Association). 'Sheets' rocks way harder than on the record – great version. Just before starting the solo on 'Witch mountain bridge' they pause for a really long time and then they lean into the rhythm, starting really slow and speeding up to the correct tempo. It's a familiar trick, but pretty cool. Mike does his cruise ship piano player bit at the end of 'Jenny...' again.
Like the early 2001 shows there are a number of covers here. 'Fly' makes its last appearance that I know of – not the best version, but I'm kinda sad to see it go undocumented. 'Never my love' is beautiful. '3rd rate romance' and 'Steppin' out' (both unfamiliar songs to me – there's this whole layer of pop song knowledge that passes me by apparently) are intended as light fun (I suppose). The main difference is that the early 2001 covers were used as a springboard to generate the material for the next album. None of these songs point toward 'Face the truth', so there's less commitment there.
Amazing, long and jammed out version of '1% of 1' at the end -maybe not the all time best, but it certainly keeps me hooked for the duration.
One drawback of this recording – there's a bit of banter, but it's nearly inaudible (strangely the singing is perfectly fine). You get these long stretches between songs where you're straining to understand what they're saying, and it just stays frustratingly out of reach. One person in the audience yells 'F U too' loudly just before 'Animal midnight', but why and at whom?
Dynamic calories
Fractions & feelings
Old Jerry
Unlike the debut album's b-sides, which never had a chance at a normal career trajectory, these tracks from the 'Pig lib' bonus disc / the 'Dark wave' single are not just good enough to prop up any of his albums, but could've been highlights.
For an appraisal of 'Old Jerry' – one of my all-time Malkmus favourites – scroll back to entry 27.
I've mentioned 'Dynamic calories' and 'Fractions & feelings' before as well. Both songs written by an adult – looking back on a glorious summer of youth. The first song tackles the fate of an imaginary early '80s underground rock band – one of those bands Stephen and Bob Nastanovich collected the 7” singles from. Vocal panache, angular chops and those wet drums... We'll see the theme return in the coming years. 'Fractions and feelings' captures a more general high school feeling (when the cops foiled all our plots). I would basically kill for a Jicks song with a beautiful piano part like this now.
32
2002/12/07, Warsaw, Brooklyn, NY
Fly
JoJo's jacket
Water and a seat
Vanessa from Queens
Animal midnight
Vague space
(Do not feed the) Oyster
Church on white
Ramp of death
Dark wave
Never my love
Sheets
Witch mountain bridge
Jennifer & the Ess-dog
[Raffle]
Us
Third rate romance
Eagle rock (Daddy cool)
1% of 1
Probably the only recorded evidence of Stephen Malkmus acting as raffle host ('and another t-shirt for number 223 109...'). I know, everybody's a critic, but... he's not very good at all, is he? You can hear why he wasn't asked back ('ok, everyone without a ticket, talk to your friends')
Still a couple of months off from 'Pig lib''s street date of March 18, 2003, in december 2002 the new record seems set. At this date they play all but one song ('Craw song') from the album as it came out, and none of the sidelined material.
It takes a while to get going. Not that they need more practice to inhabit the songs, but there's something about the setlist that doesn't breathe. The new material and the old songs seem to come from different worlds, the covers seem too random and the whole set just sounds disjointed. I wonder what an audience that hasn't even heard the new record would make of it. This is not the most instantly catchy material of his career. It would be a challenge to arrive at an integrated set at this stage of the Jicks' catalogue – but they'd get there.
There's a great section running from 'Ramp of death' through 'Jennifer and the Ess-dog'. I get a kick out of 'Never my love' – not because they play it so exceptionally well, but it's just a great song (by the Association). 'Sheets' rocks way harder than on the record – great version. Just before starting the solo on 'Witch mountain bridge' they pause for a really long time and then they lean into the rhythm, starting really slow and speeding up to the correct tempo. It's a familiar trick, but pretty cool. Mike does his cruise ship piano player bit at the end of 'Jenny...' again.
Like the early 2001 shows there are a number of covers here. 'Fly' makes its last appearance that I know of – not the best version, but I'm kinda sad to see it go undocumented. 'Never my love' is beautiful. '3rd rate romance' and 'Steppin' out' (both unfamiliar songs to me – there's this whole layer of pop song knowledge that passes me by apparently) are intended as light fun (I suppose). The main difference is that the early 2001 covers were used as a springboard to generate the material for the next album. None of these songs point toward 'Face the truth', so there's less commitment there.
Amazing, long and jammed out version of '1% of 1' at the end -maybe not the all time best, but it certainly keeps me hooked for the duration.
One drawback of this recording – there's a bit of banter, but it's nearly inaudible (strangely the singing is perfectly fine). You get these long stretches between songs where you're straining to understand what they're saying, and it just stays frustratingly out of reach. One person in the audience yells 'F U too' loudly just before 'Animal midnight', but why and at whom?
360 records from the year 2000: 300 - 291
300. Sinead O’Connor: Faith and courage
On the basis of this record I’d say Sinead O’Connor has her heart in the right place. I hope she makes it through her issues, but she needs to stop making records as plainly autobiographical as this. Or at the very least I need to stop listening to them.
By the way, that late ‘80s sophisticated, lightly electronic, Nellee Hooper sound (you know, pillows of synths, polite ‘beats’, not much else going on) may have sounded ok back then –‘may’, because I’m not a fan – it sounds very plastic now.
And by the way, the Christian New Age Celtic Reggae tracks (‘The lamb’s book of life’, ‘Kyrie eleison’) that pop up at the end of this album are not an acceptable alternative.
At its best: The healing room, Jealous (the first great song we encounter in this list), Dancing lessons
At its worst: Daddy I’m fine – Alanis Morissette lives.
299. Courtney Pine: Back in the day
Funky soul-jazz with some classic soul covers, but…smooth and shallow.
298. DJ Food: Kaleidoscope
Tries so hard to be ‘Endtroducing’’s heir. Intermittently successful, but this one can’t squelch that question at the back of my head: ‘Does all this cut and paste, besides point at some great stuff other people did in the past, really add any new meaning in the now?’ If jazz is so cool, why doesn’t he go out and play some? The moody second half which strives for greatness, falls flat. Still, it has ambitions, nothing wrong with that.
At its best: The riff, The ageing young rebel, The crow…, Nocturne (sleep dyad 1) – on consideration, all of these are still too long
297. B.B. King / Eric Clapton: Riding with the king
There’s no reason this should have gone any further than every other Saturday in the garage. Maybe one show at the House of Blues. But not this record.
At its best: the title track has some groove to it
296. Armand Van Helden: Killing puritans
First I thought it was comically bad, but I grew into its blunt, caveman like qualities. Still, a little goes a long way, and most tracks are a long way.
At its best: Full moon
At its worst: Little black spiders
295. Bad religion: The new America
These guys are just never going to let the music breathe. It’s a solid set of songs, but every one of them is at the same level of intensity, has the same arrangement and the same speed. That’s not what I was hoping for from a Todd Rundgren production. It’s all so predictable.
294. Joan Osborne: Righteous love
I’m not giving in to the impulse to ridicule Joan Osborne. It’s just too easy. You know her (at least as well as I do – ‘One of us’, and that’s about it). Truth is, there’s nothing to ridicule on here. It’s perfectly competent, but it’s obviously the product of seasoned studio vets jamming it out. That’s not what I want. Here and there you get a couple of seconds of pleasant George Harrison-style slide guitar which is always over much too soon. And a perfectly serviceable cover of Dylan’s ‘Make you feel my love’. Serviceable.
At its best: Make you feel my love
293. Joi: We are three
A record made in tragic circumstances: Brit Haroon Shamsher of Joi travelled to Bangladesh to record local sounds to include on this, Joi’s second album in the short-lived Asian Underground genre. 6 weeks later he died, leaving the record unfinished. His brother finished the mix of British beats and Indian traditional melodies that became the record.
Story aside, there’s something wrong with this picture. The immediately appealing tracks here are those that have the most Indian sounds inserted (compare the otherworldly ‘Prem’ and ‘Triatma’ with the familiar, irritating and seemingly endless ‘Don’t cha know that’ or ‘Tacadin). In fact, it makes me wish to just hear the unadulterated recordings from India, which – I suspect from the excerpts – possess a spiritual, yearning quality (Course they could be singing about gambling and whoring for all I understand - but that’s what it sounds like to me). What (let’s cast this PC global village gibberish to the wind immediately) to make of this no doubt well-meant marriage of traditional, spiritual material with the pump of secular pop, stiff and precise, almost militaristic, Chemical Brothers-TM big beat, I do not know. I can’t really help but sound shallow and unwise. (That the writing credits for all this mix ‘n’ match music remain solely with Joi doesn’t help).
Edit: As time goes by, this record is starting to annoy me more and more.
At its best: Prem, Triatma, Flying with you
292. Lou Reed: Ecstasy
Ugh, pack it in Lou. Is it wrong to expect so much more?
At its best: Modern dance, Turning time around, Big sky
291. Los amigos invisibles: Arepa 3000
Too kitschy to be of any use. Aims for fun, but is just too boring.
By the way, that late ‘80s sophisticated, lightly electronic, Nellee Hooper sound (you know, pillows of synths, polite ‘beats’, not much else going on) may have sounded ok back then –‘may’, because I’m not a fan – it sounds very plastic now.
And by the way, the Christian New Age Celtic Reggae tracks (‘The lamb’s book of life’, ‘Kyrie eleison’) that pop up at the end of this album are not an acceptable alternative.
At its best: The healing room, Jealous (the first great song we encounter in this list), Dancing lessons
At its worst: Daddy I’m fine – Alanis Morissette lives.
299. Courtney Pine: Back in the day
298. DJ Food: Kaleidoscope
At its best: The riff, The ageing young rebel, The crow…, Nocturne (sleep dyad 1) – on consideration, all of these are still too long
297. B.B. King / Eric Clapton: Riding with the king
At its best: the title track has some groove to it
296. Armand Van Helden: Killing puritans
At its best: Full moon
At its worst: Little black spiders
295. Bad religion: The new America
294. Joan Osborne: Righteous love
At its best: Make you feel my love
293. Joi: We are three
Story aside, there’s something wrong with this picture. The immediately appealing tracks here are those that have the most Indian sounds inserted (compare the otherworldly ‘Prem’ and ‘Triatma’ with the familiar, irritating and seemingly endless ‘Don’t cha know that’ or ‘Tacadin). In fact, it makes me wish to just hear the unadulterated recordings from India, which – I suspect from the excerpts – possess a spiritual, yearning quality (Course they could be singing about gambling and whoring for all I understand - but that’s what it sounds like to me). What (let’s cast this PC global village gibberish to the wind immediately) to make of this no doubt well-meant marriage of traditional, spiritual material with the pump of secular pop, stiff and precise, almost militaristic, Chemical Brothers-TM big beat, I do not know. I can’t really help but sound shallow and unwise. (That the writing credits for all this mix ‘n’ match music remain solely with Joi doesn’t help).
Edit: As time goes by, this record is starting to annoy me more and more.
At its best: Prem, Triatma, Flying with you
292. Lou Reed: Ecstasy
At its best: Modern dance, Turning time around, Big sky
291. Los amigos invisibles: Arepa 3000
Abonneren op:
Posts (Atom)