360 records from the year 2000: 190 - 186

190. Ravi Shankar: Full circle. Carnegie Hall 2000

Ravi may be the oldest musician in this list. He opens this record/concert with a recollection of the first time he played Carnegie Hall in 1938! Full circle, indeed. Now he’s back introducing his daughter Anoushka who performed a solo set (that’s another record from another year) and plays in her father’s band. Ravi’s playing has slowed down a bit, it seems to me (well, from my limited viewpoint anyway – I’ve got a couple of 60s and 70s albums but nothing like a complete view). It’s not hesitant or stumbling, don’t misunderstand, but it’s more like a slow thought process, each line of the story carefully considered before it’s uttered. That doesn’t bother me, in fact that’s what I like about it. Indian music can be a bit of a soloist game – sometimes you wonder why the other musicians bothered to show up, all the lights are on the soloist. Ravi does the opposite here, and these are very much group performances. From the introduction it sounds like a remarkable band, containing Ravi’s daughter, his pupil, the man who built the sitar Ravi is playing on, some old friends. They step in where Ravi leaves space, building a group conversation. Indian music can sometimes sound hermetic to me, I just don’t get what’s going on, but this is very open music and still very rich. The program is basically two half hour ragas (the first one is split in two parts, but not really as you’d notice). I can recommend both, but the first one which slowly builds up from slow and sparse beginnings into one of the few moments of stunning instrumental flash of the concert, has a slight edge.

At its best: two parts of the Raga Kaushi Kanhara

189. Hgh: Pignoise

File under: brand loyalty

Three side musicians from Norwegian rock bands take a holiday break in a log cabin in Hallingdal (I had to look that up) and record this amiable set of acoustic Americana on one microphone and no overdubs, just a lot of instrument being passed back and forth (banjos and mandolins are particular favorites beside the ever present acoustic guitars of course), backing vocals and in jokes. Charming stuff, and the quality of the material is higher than you’d expect for such a low-key side project, though ultimately only one song ‘Paranoia’ is up there. It’s a beauty though.

[No Youtube]

At its best: Old banjo, Excuses, Paranoia

188. Nick Harper: Harperspace

Roy should be proud. The ambition missing from his own record of this year, is all here. If there’s any flaw in here, it may be a little over ambitious: almost completely self-recorded, fusing British folk with rock and all sorts of influences, unapologetically poetic and virtuosic, aiming for the big song. With all that going on, no wonder he couldn’t find the time to get a decent front cover for the record. So yes, this is occasionally precious, he sometimes falters where he should soar, but for all that, I admire and enjoy the heck out of it. If it was still 2000, I’d say this guy has got a future. But I guess not much happened.

At its best: The verse time forgot, Roomspin, There is magic in this world, Watching the stars, Before they put me in the ground

187. Son Volt: A retrospective 1995-2000

Here’s a compilation that doesn’t do its job. About half of it seems to be comprised of representative (I assume) songs from their albums, half is made up of covers (Townes, Byrds, Big star, Springsteen, ’Ain’t no more cane’), demos and live tracks – strictly b-side material that never sounds necessary.
The record starts off promising though, with three tracks from the Son Volt debut album from 1995 – two roots rock tracks (with the accent on rock) and one sweeping country tune, ‘Windfall’ – what 90s Americana should sound like! But despite all those different sources and varied types of recordings, by track 6 or 7 you’re wondering if all of this is going to be stuck in the same mid-tempo rut.
I might have to check out that debut album.

At its best: Drown, Windfall, Route, Looking at the world through a windshield

186. Green day: Warning

Never heard one of their records, but I’ve got nothing against Green Day. Even when they first made it big, I knew they were the Beatles to the Offspring’s Rolli…, uhm, Offspring. Billy Joe isn’t blessed with the best set of pipes, but he’s got some tunes.
Except there aren’t enough of them here. On this album the singles are about as good as the album tracks should’ve been, the album tracks about as good as we could’ve expected the b-sides to be, and there are no obvious single candidates. Opener ‘Warning’ is ridiculously plagiarizing something very obvious that I can’t put my finger on right now (Edit: ‘Picture book’, of course). I don’t mind, it rocks. But too much of this is pants like ‘Blood, sex and booze’ or the 5 minutes of ‘Misery’. I’m aware this is not one of their better records, so I’m holding out judgment, but their better records better be a sight better.

Edit: ‘Warning’ and ‘Minority’ are great singles. The record’s not as good as it should be, but it’s fun.

Even more edit: It’s a fun pop record and yes, a keeper.

At its best: Warning, Castaway, Waiting, Minority, Macy’s day parade