Monthly Archives: September 2009

Rob Blackledge: Inside These Walls

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RobBlackledge_InsideTheseWallsContemporary pop with a singer-songwriter feel

Though based in Nashville, a product of a Music City’s Belmont University, and a co-writer of Love and Theft’s pop-country hit single “Runaway,” Rob Blackledge isn’t a country music artist. The success of “Runaway,” with its strummed acoustic guitars and America-styled vocal harmonies, gives a clue to the singer-songwriter milieu from which his original work stems. You could fit him into a broad category with contemporaries like Daniel Powter and James Blunt, but Blackledge’s southern roots make his music more soulful, and there are jazz tinges that lean towards the funky pop of Ben Folds. The piano-based opener, for example, starts with a chugging, old-timey sound that recalls Gilbert O’Sullivan before blossoming into full-fidelity and a horn chart.

Blackledge sings soaring power ballads, McCartneyesque pop songs, acoustic blues, and summery vocal pop. He includes several love songs, but also regrets lost romance, questions his emotional availability, and laments the psychic toll of touring. The album closes with Blackledge looking outward and calling for personal social action to make “Our World” a better place. The song’s labored tempo complements the wearied view of a world whose mess has no simple solution. Producer Jeff Coplan mixes lush pop and rock instrumentation with strings and deft hints of electronica that add a contemporary touch. Blackledge’s songwriting mostly sticks to well-thumbed topics, but he breaks out on a few songs and sings with passion throughout. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | Should Have Known Better
Rob Blackledge’s Home Page
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Left Lane Cruiser: All You Can Eat

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LeftLaneCruiser_AllYouCanEatGreasy and gritty guitar-and-drums two-man blues

Two-man blues bands have become their own genre, blossoming from the font of the White Stripes and a dozen others. Left Lane Cruiser is a Fort Wayne, Indiana duo that offers roaring storms of electric slide playing by Freddy J IV (Fredrick Joe Evans IV) and powerful, driving drumming by Brenn Beck. Though the songs often settle into standard blues progressions, the raw, shouted vocals and in-your-face electric guitar force is quite unsettling. Beck is constantly in motion on his snare and kick drums, adding cymbal crashes for texture, while Evans alternates between greasy power chords, low-string riffs and slide licks that alchemize electricity into music. The torrent of distortion clears momentarily as the duo turns the volume down for finger-picking and washboard percussion on “Ol’ Fashioned.” But mostly the duo rages, with Evans’ growl sufficiently distorted to obscure many of his lyrics. But with titles that include “Black Lung,” “Hard Luck,” and “Broke Ass Blues,” the pain isn’t subtle. This is very much what you’d expect from a band that thanks Jim Beam and Pabst Blue Ribbon for “keeping us feelin’ good.” [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | Crackalacka
Left Lane Cruiser’s MySpace Page

The Mumlers: Don’t Throw Me Away

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Mumlers_Don'tThrowMeAwayMesmerizing old-timey soul music with a mysterious touch

The Mumlers’ music seems to float from a Victrola wedged into a dark corner of a mysterious antique shop. Will Sprott sings like a megaphoned apparition, and the group’s horn arrangements have the languor of a New Orleans funeral parade that accidentally marched into a morning-after session at Stax. Even when the band adds a psychedelic organ groove, such as on “Coffin Factory,” the vibe still draws one to the beyond. This is surprising, given the Mumlers home base of San Jose, California, the population anchor at the south end of the San Francisco Bay that’s christened itself the Capital of Silicon Valley. You don’t know the way to this San Jose.

The group’s second album stretches even further than their debut (Thickets & Snitches), including the trad jazz and blues of “Tangled Up With You” and slinky second-line of “St. James Street.” The latter echoes the standard “St. James Infirmary,” but is actually a straight-up description of Sprott’s urban San Jose neighborhood. The group connects to loungecore with a slowly careening instrumental cleverly entitled “The Instrumental.” The band drifts between jazzy melodies for movie scores, circus music and the swinging-60s vibe of Bob Crewe’s “Music to Watch Girls By.” The genre mash-ups are terrifically organic, and in addition to guitars, stand-up bass, drums, keyboards, and horns, the Mumlers include euphonium, clarinet, French horn and pedal steel.

“Fugitive and Vagabond” features piano, harmonica, cymbal crashes and a whistled solo that seems to have been skimmed from aspaghetti western, and the set closes with the soulfully crooned “Don’t Throw Me Away,” an original that should have graced many a 1950s school dance. The Mumlers’ unusual influences and free-wheeling approach result in the sort of shape-shifting one would expect from a group named after a nineteenth century charlatan who made a living selling photos of ghosts to bereaved families. The Mumlers are the real deal, however, and their second album is one of the year’s most eclectic spins. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

The Mumlers’ Home Page
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Haroula Rose: Someday

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HaroulaRose_SomedaySolo acoustic folk from LA-based newcomer

When Chicagoan Haroula Rose returned from two years in Spain as a Fulbright scholar, she relocated to Los Angeles and subsequently recorded this debut EP. There’s a traveler’s eye in her evocations of things she’s seen, and a yearning for movement. But Rose’s travel is marked on an internal landscape of emotion and relationships, rather than a geographical map. Her dreams of elsewhere are anchored in a change of heart rather than a change of location, being lost is mental drift rather than physical disconnection, and leaving is in a matter of the heart. Accompanied by finger-picked guitar, piano and light percussion, Rose’s songs are dreamy and introspective. She sings with a placid sweetness, occasionally adding harmony lines but keeping the tone wistful and the tempos slow. As a sampler of her wares this is quite compelling, but the passive vocals leave one to wonder if she’s got a second gear. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

Haroula Rose’s MySpace Page

Elvis: Love Me Tender – The Love Songs

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DVD_ElvisLoveMeTenderTheLoveSongsElvis’ career refracted through some of his love songs

This made-for-DVD (and PBS pledge night) special traces a line through Elvis’ career by examining the love songs he performed and the reaction they provoked from his fans. Depicted early on as a hip-swiveling instigator, Elvis’ balladry, though present at the very start of his hit-making career (e.g., 1956’s “I Want You, I Need You, I Love You” and “Love Me Tender”), didn’t make for sensational headlines. Still, his ballads were hits, regularly evoked shrieks and swoons from his female audience and became an essential part of his television appearances, film soundtracks and live shows. Early clips here feature Elvis crooning on the Steve Allen and Ed Sullivan shows, the latter a sublime version of “Love Me” in which Elvis plays to the girls in the balcony. There’s a post army clip of Elvis goofing with Frank Sinatra on a television special, and the ’68 comeback special yields Elvis reconnecting with “Are You Lonesome Tonight” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

Much of Elvis career in the ‘60s is painted through musical clips drawn from his films. This provides ready-made widescreen color footage, but shortchanges many classic hit ballads in favor of lesser soundtrack material. Luckily, with Elvis’ reentry into live performing at the end of the decade, live footage is once again introduced, with Las Vegas performances of “I Can’t Stop Loving You” and “The Wonder of You” finding Elvis fit and energized, and Aloha From Hawaii yielding “What Now My Love” and “I’ll Remember You.” When there are no film or live performances to draw from, the producers switch to photo montages to accompany studio recordings, such as Elvis’ take on “For the Good Times.” The video closes with a Vegas-era live take of Elvis coming full circle to his early ballad hit, “Love Me Tender.” Elvis prowls the stage and kisses women in the audience as he sings.

The special is narrated by Ashley Judd, who provides background on songs, recording sessions, career machinations and a variety of Elvis trivia. There are also interview clips with Gordon Stoker of the Jordanaires, Joe Moscheo of the The Imperials, Ed Enoch of the Stamps Quartet, and Myrna Smith of The Sweet Inspirations. Thirty-five minutes of additional interview footage is included as an extra, and the stories from those who knew and worked with Elvis are often more compelling than Judd’s scripted narration. Three short commercials for Graceland are also included. Fans will enjoy this 79-minute collection of previously released performances and clips, songs and photos, but if you want deeper analysis, you’ll need to read Peter Guralnik’s biographies. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

Elvis Love Songs Home Page

Raquel!

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DVD_Raquel!Fantastic 1970 Raquel Welch TV special

Originally aired in 1970, this filmed television special captures Raquel Welch at the peak of her stardom. The bulk of the forty-nine minutes are staged song-and-dance numbers shot on location in Paris, Mexico and a ski resort, featuring Welch solo, with dancers, and with guest stars Tom Jones and Bob Hope. John Wayne also appears for a short sketch on a Western back lot set. Welch is radiant throughout, whether wearing high-end fashions or a space-age bikini and boots.

Welch sings hits of the day, including “California Dreaming,” “Everybody’s Talkin’,” “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head,” “Here Comes the Sun,” “Good Morning Starshine,” “Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In,” “The Sounds of Silence,” and a rock ‘n’ roll medley with Tom Jones that includes “Rip it Up,” “Slippin’ and Slidin’,” “Lucille,” “Tutti Frutti,” and “Jenny Jenny.” Tom Jones adds a solo version of “I Who Have Nothing.” Welch and Hope sing and dramatize “Rocky Raccoon,” with the former pulling off a credible imitation of Mae West and the latter hamming it up.

This was a high-budget special with excellent location footage, generous helpings of helicopter shots, extravagant costuming for Welch and the dancers, and A-list guest stars. The choice of middle-of-the-road material and tried-and-tested mainstream guest stars show Welch aiming square at the heart of middle America. Welch’s beauty often obscured her talents as a singer, dancer and comedienne, and then-contemporary clips of a British press conference show her to be witty and bright, to boot. This is a superb time capsule of  late ‘60s hippie culture finding a cleaned-up and watered-down place in the mainstream. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

Mike & The Ravens: No Place for Pretty

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MikeAndTheRavens_NoPlaceForPrettyObscure early-60s rock band continues their comeback

Is it possible that an obscure early-60s garage rock band that broke up after a few regional singles could find their mojo forty-five years later? Last year’s Noisy Boys: The Saxony Sessions proved the answer a definitive ‘yes,’ and this year’s No Place for Pretty shows they have even more hard-driving pre-British Invasion frat stompers to bestow upon the world. Hailing from the Northeast Northfield/Plattsburgh scene, the Ravens early years can be found on the collections Nevermore: Plattsburgh 62 and Beyond and the broader Heart So Cold!: The North Country ‘60s Scene, but unlike just about any sixty-year-olds who’ve set out to recapture their youth, the Ravens actually rock harder and meaner and looser than they did in 1962.

Bassist Brian Lyford and drummer Peter Young lay down primal rhythms that are embellished by the hammering rhythm guitar of Steve Blodgett and decorated with screaming leads from his brother Bo. Mike Brassard’s vocals may not have the range or flexibility of his younger years, but they have just as much passion, and passion is what counts here. The Ravens pump out the dark strain of rock that flourished briefly between the original ‘50s innovation and the ‘60s British Invasion reinvention. It’s got the urgent DIY feel of mid-60s garage rock, but without the reactive counterculture pretensions. This is sledgehammer dance music for frat parties, teen dance clubs, roller rinks and dark, sweat-filled bars.

The band’s originals, written with their producer Will Shade, are the sort of elemental rockers that would sound at home on Wailers, Sonics and Kingsmen records. There are crunchy guitar riffs, Bo Diddley beats, a driving guitar instrumental, and plenty of vocal swagger. The album loses a bit of focus in the second half, with the six-minute practice room jam “Dum Doovi,” a loose instrumental coda on “Broken Boy,” and psychedelic inflections that occasionally drift from the rock fundamentals. The album closes strongly with the bass-riffing, “I’ve Taken All I Can,” reminding listeners that well after the novelty has worn off of sixty-something rockers relocating their mojo, these boys are still making some rock ‘n’ roll noise. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | Sister Raeven
Mike & The Ravens’ Vintage MySpace Page
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The Clean: Mister Pop

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Clean_MisterPopKiwi legends resurface for a laid-back reunion LP

Thirty-one years after their formation, this Dunedin, New Zealand trio is still breathing life into original compositions. Their formation spurred the creation of the legendary Flying Nun label, they drifted apart, broke up and reformed a few times to release singles and EPs throughout the 1980s, and finally waxed their first full length, Vehicle, in 1990. The group’s career continued to be marked by dissolutions, side projects and occasional reunions for albums and tours (and live albums of tours), culminating in the 2-CD overview, Anthology, in 2003. This latest reunion album brings together the classic lineup of Kilgour, Kilgour and Scott back to the studio.

The DIY punk-rock and organ-driven pop of the band’s lo-fi 4-track works have been refined over the years, with properly recorded studio sessions that include chiming guitars and keyboard drones. Many of these new productions have a psychedelic (or at least lightly drugged) feel, including the Eastern inflected guitar of “Asleep in the Tunnel” and the thick, Pink Floyd styled instrumental raga “Moonjumper.” The bulk of “Are You Really on Drugs” and “In the Dreamlife You Need a Rubber Soul” are fashioned by repeating their titles as lyrics, the former hypnotizing in the manner of a long stare at ceiling tiles, the latter suggesting time for philosophical rumination. Their music is sinewy and muscular, modern but with the spark of their punk roots.

The Velvet Underground’s influence is heard in the monotone dispassion of “Back in the Day,” and a variety of instrumentals and instrumental backings include breathy female choruses, dark organ chords, folk-electronica and droning modernism that sounds like a garage rock version of Stereolab. The Clean has evolved organically from its late-70s roots but also taken in the second-hand influences of its members’ outside projects. You could draw a straight line back to the melodies of their earlier works, but they’re packaged here in slower tempo and trippier tones that are more thought-provoking than mere punk provocation. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | In the Dreamlife You Need a Rubber Soul
MP3 | Tensile
The Clean’s Home Page
The Clean’s MySpace Page

The Laughing Dogs “The Laughing Dogs / Meet Their Makers

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LaughingDogs_LaughingDogsMeetTheirMakersHarmony-rich power-pop from 1979 and 1980

Power pop’s late-70s resurgence, particularly the commercial breakthrough of The Knack, spawned a lot of one- and two-album major label deals. This New York quartet issued two albums on Columbia: 1979’s eponymous debut and 1980’s Meet Their Makers, reissued here as a two-fer with a bare-bones four-panel insert and no bonus tracks. Unlike some of their better remembered peers, the Laughing Dogs didn’t have a singular sound. At turns their debut rings with Beatlesque pop, Huey Lewis bar rock, rockabilly fervor, bombastic arena rock and the mid-tempo balladry of Billy Joel and Boz Scaggs. Most of the tunes are washed in precise, multipart harmonies that bring to mind the Raspberries, Rubinoos and Utopia.

The band’s charms are amply displayed in the lead vocal harmonies of “Reason for Love,” and its lyric of undying dedication and drifting harmonica create a terrific summer vibe. Also memorable is the rocker “It’s Just the Truth,” opening with a drum beat that threatens “Come on Down to My Boat,” before launching into power chords and harmonies. The group’s punk associations are heard in the pop thrash of “I Need a Million” and the driving rhythm of “Get Outa My Way,” but the sophomore album smooths away the rough edges and indie spirit developed during the group’s CBGB days. The song list dips into cover versions for The Animals’ “Don’t Bring Me Down” and Dionne Warwick’s “Reach Out for Me.” The former suggests the direction Tom Petty would take with his later live cover, while the ;atter is neatly turned into power-pop with vocal harmonies and an urgent tempo.

The second album’s originals reach further from the jangling guitars of the debut, with a funky bottom line on the opening “Zombies,” a reggae-tinged rhythm under “Formal Letter,” and a bluesy charge to “What Ya Doin’ It For?” The polished productions lose some of the club cred of the debut but show the band to be a talented studio unit. Though neither album is truly a holy grail of power pop, the Laughing Dogs’ strong harmony singing and sophisticated arrangements stand out from the raw punk and commercial new wave of their peers. Pop fans will find some ear pleasing harmony and chime here, and those who lean to the progressive pop of Steely Dan and Utopia will find some pleasant surprises. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

Jackie DeShannon: Jackie DeShannon

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JackieDeShannon_JackieDeShannonStellar singer-songwriter’s debut caught in the folk revival

Jackie DeShannon’s renown as a songwriter (“When You Walk in the Room,” “Don’t Doubt Yourself Babe,” “Come and Stay With Me,” “Bette Davis Eyes,” “Break-a-Way”) has generally overshadowed her hits as a singer (“What the World Needs Now is Love” and “Put a Little Love in Your Heart”). But despite her lack of broad commercial success as a performer, she recorded numerous singles (including a superb pre-Searchers version of “Needles and Pins”) and albums that suggest a few breaks could have turned her into a bigger singing star. Her husky voice is well suited to a range of material, including country, R&B, pop, folk, folk-rock and singer-songwriter balladry.

This debut album from 1963 followed a string of non- and low-charting singles, including a barely-top-100 cover of “Faded Love.” Without a hit single upon which to hang the album, with the folk revival in full swing, and with DeShannon lobbying for an album of Bob Dylan songs, Liberty agreed to three Dylan tunes and a mix of contemporary and traditional folk songs. Of the three Dylan covers, her impassioned take of “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” is the strongest and unmarred by the backing vocals deployed on the other two. In addition to Dylan’s own work, DeShannon covers a song closely associated with (but not written by) Dylan, “Baby, Let Me Follow You Down.”

Other folk revival favorites covered here include the Weavers’ “If I Had a Hammer,” Peter, Paul & Mary’s “Puff (The Magic Dragon),” and Bob Gibson’s celtic waltz “Betsy From Pike.” More interesting is Bobby Darin’s woeful “Jailer Bring Me Water” sung full-throated and backed by hand-clap percussion and a broken and desperate rendition of “500 Miles.” Jack Nitzsche employs guitars, bass, banjo and harmonica throughout, and the heavily strummed 6-strings of “Oh Sweet Chariot” perfectly frame DeShannon’s folk-gospel testimonial.

DeShannon’s folk roots carried through to her rock and pop songwriting. The chime in the Searchers’ “When You Walk in the Room” came from DeShannon’s original, and her contribution to the Byrds debut album sprang from the same well. As for her own debut, there are some fine performances, and DeShannon’s voice is always worth hearing, but the all-covers format reveals little of the greatness she’d achieve as a singer-songwriter. Fans should pick this up this first-time-on-CD release, but those new to DeShannon’s catalog should start with a greatest hits or an anthology of others singing her songs. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]