Al Kooper - Black Coffee Favored Nations
Reviewed by Adam D. Miller
Even if all he had ever done was provide the infamous organ line on Bob Dylan’s pivotal “Like A Rolling Stone,” Al Kooper would still be viewed as a legend by most serious fans of rock music. Add that to additional session credits for The Rolling Stones (“You Can’t Always Get What You Want”) and Jimi Hendrix (Electric Ladyland), and Kooper has an impressive track record as a session player a role in some of the era’s most timeless recording sessions.
Kooper continued to have a behind-the-scenes role in the 1970s rock scene, when he discovered southern-rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd and produced their Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd, Second Helping, and Nuthin’ Fancy albums.
Despite their talent and versatility, few session musicians or producers have proven capable of releasing solo albums worth listening to, but Al Kooper has managed it on several occasions and despite its flaws, Black Coffee is your latest chance to see why he is revered in the music community.
What can you expect from an Al Kooper solo album? In the case of Black Coffee, it seems to mostly be 1960s and 1970s R&B influences and lots of great keyboard playing. His singing isn’t fabulous, but like his boss’s on “Like A Rolling Stone,” it suits the songs for the most part. And for someone who spent most of his career not singing, he does a damn fine job.
The most memorable track on the album is the opener. “My Hands Are Tied” finds Kooper backed by The Funky Faculty, his backing band on eight of the album’s fourteen tracks. It’s one of the better Kooper compositions on the album, and is a clear indication of why Kooper’s songs have been recorded by everyone from The Staple Singers to Ten Years After.
The six tracks recorded without the Faculty Faculty feature Kooper on all instruments, showing that more than just a keyboard player, Kooper is also a competent guitarist and do-it-yourself musician. The only drawback of some of these tracks are the synthesized instruments and odd keyboard noises (see “Another Man’s Prize”). Of these, the best is probably “Am I Wrong,” which sounds a lot like Eric Clapton in one of his more country-blues moments.
Unfortunately the album suffers from a few poor choices. The two live tracks, both of which were recorded at the Notodden Blues Festival in Norway in 2001 are good, but a bit on the long side and damage the flow of the album. Another mistake was covering Smokey Robinson’s “Get Ready,” which includes Kooper on all instruments except for drums. While I respect Al for his rockabilly re-imagination of the Temptations hit, it doesn’t work with this production or with his voice.
Depending on what kind of taste you have, the whole album may or may not do it for you. The songs are definitely strong, but the production is a little too dated at times. Still, you’ve got to hand it to Kooper. For over 40 years he has stayed true to his musical vision, and doesn’t seem prepared to stop anytime soon.
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Billy Corgan - The Future Embrace Warner/Reprise
Reviewed by Chris Catania
It has been said that a novel is actually a long letter written directly at one person. The Future Embrace, Billy Corgan’s first solo record, is a forty-five minute love letter that could be addressed to past fans, former band mates, future band mates, future fans, God, society or the music industry. Released just in time for the summer solstice, it is a musical treasure hunt where the clues are cloaked in Corganesque mythology and vague albeit chin-rubbing poetry. Each track is full of open confessions and vulnerability with which Corgan is now more than comfortable.
Embrace—a daring and ambitious venture since most Pumpkin-heads never really warmed up to Zwan’s joyfulness—is open to interpretation and deserves time to grow and make the full journey of album maturation, if it is to be fully understood. Don’t expect to “get” The Future Embrace after the first listen, after the second or third. Like life, it just might be an album that unfolds a little each day as your subconscious fiddles with the hidden meanings or obvious moments you just plain missed the first time around. On the other hand, Embrace might be Corgan’s swan song or the first step towards a triumphant return to his throne. Only time will tell.
Faith, hope and love are woven through the sonic fabric of Embrace. Jimmy Chamberlin provides, for one track, a polyrhythmic drum foundation which helps Corgan admit defeat in “DIA.” “I’m Ready” is an open hearted confession to God and is one of the few songs where it’s clear whom he is addressing. The Cure’s Robert Smith joins in on the pleading chorus of “Tolovesomebody.” A mixture of apologies, proposals, and soothing bedtime supplications, abound in “Walking Shade,” “Sorrows (In Blue),” “Pretty Pretty Star.” And with “Strayz” the curtain falls gently down on Embrace as Corgan assures; “you know I’m true/I was born to follow.” There is not one track that stands out or should be chucked. But the record is best served by looking at it as a collective whole. There are beautiful moments and there are ugly moments. A balance of blunt honesty and candid confusion. You get the feel, after the fifth listen, that’s how he wants it to be.
This album is an artist’s purposeful progression of sound and lyric; A courageous step forward. It’s not Zwan. It’s not the Smashing Pumpkins. But after each time through, you realize, it’s all of those, but then again, it’s not. That’s part of the joy of it. The multi-level textures, new wave pulses and drenching regurgitated guitars— co-created with Bjorn Thorshold and crew of others—hints at all of his previous work. Embrace is the result of the fertilization of seeds sown in previous Pumpkin albums and Zwan songs. It’s almost like he is tempting Siamese-dreaming fans into new unmarked territory while simultaneously beckoning D’Arcy and James Iha back to the studio but under new conditions.
Whether Corgan plans to continue down the path he has begun to pave is unknown. One minute he’s collaborative, the next he wants it all to his own. As one of the few remaining icons of the early nineties alt-rock explosion, Corgan clearly doesn’t want to fizzle away any time soon. He’s taken his time, after the fall of the Pumpkins and implosion of Zwan, to carefully construct an intricate explanation of who he was, is now and wants to be. With The Future Embrace, Corgan has high hopes for a future, he envisions as being full of making music—his way, on his terms, with it all in the hands of the “Divine Spirit.”
Like most musicians these days, Corgan is planning to spread his music by means other than selling records and touring. Listen carefully this summer; you might be hearing select songs from The Future Embrace when a Billy Corgan fan gets called on his or her cell phone. Look inside! Included with the album is an invitation to “get official ring tones” via the always handy and convenient WAP mobile content page. See your contract for details.
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Café Tacuba - Un Viaje Universal Latino
Café Tacuba - Unplugged WEA International
Reviewed by Russell Bartholomee
For fifteen years, Café Tacuba has been making incredible music, shattering preconceptions and building cultural bridges all along the way. The band defies easy categorization. From song to song and from album to album, the Tacubos are equally at home with the modern and the traditional and are completely unafraid of experimentation; it’s not odd to hear a punk track followed by a Tejano song on one of their discs. And yet the albums hold together perfectly. Huge stars in Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries, Café Tacuba has been slowly gaining popularity in the US as well, though American audiences are often slow to embrace non-English entertainment (most Americans seem daunted by anything beyond the Spanglish of Ricky Martin). But even for those who speak little or no Spanish (like me), the band’s music is endlessly enjoyable and inventive.
Even though their five studio records have been critical favorites and award winners (Cuatro Caminos won the Best Alternative Rock Album at the 2004 Latin Grammies), the band has received little commercial airplay stateside, and little concert promotion. As such, I’ve never managed to catch a live show, which I’ve always heard were phenomenal. Thankfully, in commemoration of their successful longevity, the band has just released two stellar live recordings that prove rumors to be completely true.
The first is a two-disc set that captures the band’s 1996 appearance on MTV’s Unplugged. They were the first Latino group to be featured on the acoustic show; the network admirably presented the concert in Spanish with subtitles during the between-the-songs banter. Disc One is the audio version of the show, while disc two presents a DVD of the same (in 5.1 with a little extra banter between songs). At that point in Café Tacuba’s career, they had only released their self-titled debut and the magnificent Re, and the 12-song set is culled mainly from the latter. The band is in top form, playing faithful renditions of many of the best songs from Re, the studio versions of which often feature effects and instrumentation which I wrongly assumed I would miss in the more stripped-down setting. Actually, the four Tacubos show amazing agility on their instruments, often doing double and even triple duty to fill out the sound. It’s jaw-dropping to witness Emmanuel del Real effortlessly switch between piano, melodica, and guitar (and his frantic, precise piano on “El Metro” is a highlight of the show). The band coaxes whatever sounds it wishes out of its acoustic instruments, evoking the Talking Heads one moment and a Mariachi band the next. And lead singer Ruben Albarran’s voice is a true wonder—savage and gravely one moment, dulcet and angelic the next. There are many highlights, including the frantic finale to “El Puñal y el Corazón,” the breathless call and response vocals of “Una Mañana,” and the show-stopping gorgeousness of “Esa Noche,” which is simply one of the prettiest songs ever written.
As good as Unplugged is, its generous offerings are completely eclipsed by the four discs of delights to be found in Un Viaje. The album is available as a two-disc set as well, without the DVD and with one less CD of songs, but there’s no reason to avoid the complete set. It’s only a couple of dollars more, and the DVD is so much fun to watch.
Recorded last October over a two-night period at the Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City, the set includes a lavish three CDs of music, encores and all. Disc four is a live DVD of the best moments of the show and includes some nice behind-the-scenes featurettes and interviews. Here we get material taken from every one of Café Tacuba’s studio records, presented to a huge arena audience that adores the band and sings along loudly with every word. Listening to the discs, it’s crystal clear that a Café Tacuba show would be a joy to attend.
The show begins with the four Tacubos standing in front of a curtain, singing “Maria,” from their debut. Albarran gets only the first few notes out before the crowd takes over, drowning him out. He smiles broadly and lets them take the verse, in an exhilarating exchange of love and gratitude between the artist and the audience. After being joined on stage by seven supporting musicians, the band has boundless energy, spending the next couple of hours tearing through their catalog to the sheer delight of the crowd. The performances are fantastic, and the band perfectly balances their obvious hits (like “Eres,” “Chilanga Banda,” and “No Controles”) with more experimental material (like a trio of instrumental tracks from the masterful Reves/Yo Soy). The band closes with the one-two punch of “La Ingrata” from Re and “Pinche Juan” from the debut before taking the stage for a killer encore set (disc three) that includes a medley of covers. It’s fitting that the band should end by paying tribute to the artists who pioneered the trail that Café Tacuba blazes, (like El Tri and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs). It’s an acknowledgement both of where they came from and that they are now the reigning act of rock en español.
Both sets are great, and they just might set a new standard for what a live album should be; I’ll find it difficult to buy a live CD without expecting a DVD of the show in the future. If you’re new to Café Tacuba, neither Unplugged nor Un Viaje is the right place to start. (That would be Re.) But if you’ve been a fan of any of the band’s previous work, both sets will be essential listening and viewing.
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Dredg - Catch Without Arms Interscope
Reviewed by Brent Farnham
The Californian quartet Dredg is among the most promising progressive rock groups of this generation. While that may not be saying much, the band’s recent emergence has been reassuring to skeptical rock fans (like me). They manage to stay fresh and innovative without jumping from one genre to another and maintain a steady intensity without resorting to awkward hip-hop collaborations or mindless metal cacophony.
Fans that fell in love with El Cielo and Leitmotif should not be wholly disappointed with the third LP release, Catch without Arms, although it is hardly their best album. Especially on songs like first two tracks, “Ode to the Sun” and “Bug Eyes,” this album is faithful to the Dredg standard of stirring riffs in a raw emotional atmosphere. These characteristics rarely become tiring because they always seem to be pushing forward and climbing with urgency toward some triumphant climax (which is usually accented by the superior execution of an irregular drum beat and some frantic power chords).
Lead singer Gavin Hayes’ vocals are a much more dominant instrument than they have been in the past. His voice is smooth, but stable and muscular, and stretches out in long notes over the much quicker rhythms of the instruments. The introspective lyrics are far from boring, as usual. They concentrate largely on personal struggles (overcoming addictions, for instance) and there are some dreamy supernatural themes invoked again this time.
Why doesn’t this new album meet the bar that was set by El Cielo? There are a few weak spots that are difficult to ignore, such as “Zebraskin,” which sounds like Incubus at one of their least inspired moments.
The most positive thing to be said about this album is that it will appeal to a much wider audience than Dredg has known before. There are few songs which would lend themselves to radio play very well; especially the ending ballad “Matroshka,” which is dangerously reminiscent of U2’s “One.” Also, the album is generally more upbeat than past efforts, despite the wide range of sentimental stages and themes.
As Dredg gradually gains some well-deserved credibility, they appear to be as artistically centered as they were when they created their first album, shrouded in obscurity. What’s more, there is cause to hope for more great music from them in the future, as evidenced by the reassuringly powerful songs “Hung Over on a Tuesday” and “The Tanbark is Hot Lava.” All things considered, Catch Without Arms is a great first impression of the band, and is highly recommended; especially for those fond of bands like The Music or Dream Theater.
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Iggy Pop - A Million in Prizes: The Iggy Pop Anthology Virgin Records
Reviewed by Mark Pittman
For those on a strict budget, A Million in Prizes: The Iggy Pop Anthology isn’t the compilation to get if you simply want the best of Iggy Pop. For that buy Nude and Rude: The Best of Iggy Pop which rightly has been considered indispensable since it was first released. This new Iggy Pop release is, rather, a true anthology that provides standout tracks from each of Iggy’s studio albums, along with a few above-average live tracks and outtakes.
If you have money to burn, however, you might consider A Million in Prizes. It has all of Nude and Rude’s tracks plus a few additional benefits only available here. Like what? Everything sounds better for one. Most of the songs were remastered this year (2005), with much of the older material sounding especially good. Another reason to invest in the new anthology is to get more of Iggy’s best work with both the Stooges and Bowie. (If the early Stooges material here doesn’t convince you to immediately pre-order the Stooges’ first two albums being re-released this month, I don’t want to know you.)
The downside to this anthology is that you also get more of Iggy’s work with lesser-known musicians. A Million in Prizes makes painfully clear that Iggy has not been lucky with his collaborators. If someone were to listen to this compilation and tell me that they didn’t like a single studio track on the anthology’s second disc, I wouldn’t be surprised. Iggy seemed surprisingly content, especially during the 80’s, to befriend the trendiest musicians at the time in order to keep himself up-to-date. Unfortunately, the songs resulting from these collaborations sound the most dated of all his output and the least like the unadulterated Iggy Pop.
Ironically for a performer with a wild man reputation, Iggy seems most convincingly himself on songs where he contains his energy. With the earlier incarnation of the Stooges he sounds like a snide, street-wise kid bored with life in the American Midwest—which is exactly what he was. His authenticity carries over and as a result he’s impossible to ignore. Alternately, on the later Raw Power tracks, his manic delivery sounds more like someone trying to land a record deal, his band’s backing now typical guitar-heavy 70s rock (“Search And Destroy” and the Doors-like “I’m Sick Of You” are notable exceptions).
On the Bowie material, too, he sounds like he’s actually trying to say something with his lyrics, instead of merely complaining. Whether these classic mid-70s songs (“Nightclubbing”, “Lust for Life”, “The Passenger”, “Funtime”) are more Bowie than Iggy is debatable. Still, it’s better than most of Iggy’s later output where he sounds like he’s trying to live up to his wild-man reputation, bellowing his obvious, wrong-side-of-the-tracks observations about the modern world. Even so, some of the songs on the second disc such as “I’m Bored”, “Candy”, and “Wild America” may inspire you to seek out their respective, highly-regarded albums: New Values, Brick by Brick, and especially American Caesar--an album many consider to be one of Iggy’s masterpieces.
The final reason to purchase A Million in Prizes is for its CD booklet, which contains several iconic images of Iggy performing throughout his career as well as tributes from many of his musician friends. Lou Reed, David Bowie, and most of New York’s original punk elite pay surprisingly worshipful tribute to their friend and idol. (Chrissie Hynde’s near-ecstatic tribute is particularly intriguing.) Unfortunately, the booklet’s track listing and credits are extremely confusing, with single and album information being listed in different parts of the booklet.
Still, if you’re feeling unusually adventurous and unusually curious about Iggy Pop, A Million in Prizes is great place to start catching up. It’s also a great source for your own “Best Of”…or at the very least a better sounding Nude and Rude.
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John Hiatt - Master of Disaster New West Records
Reviewed by Zayne Reeves
Produced by the great Jim Dickinson and featuring his sons Luther and Cody Dickinson (of the North Mississippi All-Stars) on guitar and drums, Master of Disaster finds John Hiatt keeping his skillet good and greasy, and the roadhouse grooves that the Dickinson clan bring to the table goosed Hiatt's game as he meets them head on with some of the best songs (and singing) of his career.
The title track rips through a classic Hiatt tale about a broke down musician who screwed up love one time too many and the opening four lines ("Close on there/Choking in clean underwear/Bleeding tongue/Eight ball pounding in my lungs") let us know that it isn't going to get any better for this guy. Great writers know that if you love your characters and want them to resonate with audiences, you have to put them through hell the way John Hiatt does to this poor jerk who’s "just a mean old bastard when he plays the blues." In the end though, we can't help but liking him in spite of the opium habit because, at some point, haven't we all been masters of disaster in our own lives? As a singer, Hiatt has grown considerably over the years and there is a texture and coarse grain to his voice that suits these hard-bitten observations of difficult love and what happens to people when it’s gone perfectly, while also having enough of a bounce to it to keep it from being a downer.
I can only hope that Hiatt doesn't pull a Steve Earle and sell "Thunderbird" out for a dumb commercial (a song about getting The Man's foot out of your ass, no less. For shame, Steve!) because it's the best car song since Tom Waits' "Ol' 55." Boasting a gorgeous, insistent melody with lyrics ranging from the drop dead romance ("Put your head on my shoulder/Don't say a word/We'll cut across the county in my Thunderbird") to the haunting, hilarious ("Willy Loman's saying something/I can't hear a word/I'm going too fast in my Thunderbird"), it's a song begging for another of those high profile B.B. King & Eric Clapton duets that work out so well for Hiatt's bank account and still allow him his credibility.
With Crossing Muddy Waters, The Tiki Bar Is Open, Beneath This Gruff Exterior and now Master of Disaster, John Hiatt continues to set the pace this decade among his peers by exploring the nooks and crannies (and jagged edges) of everyday love with a bracing lack of sentimentality and a gift for melody that is equaled only by his brilliance as a lyricist. His run with the majors a long time gone, Hiatt has chosen to simply go about the business of making great music for those who care to listen, and it will be your loss if you overlook this one.
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The Knitters - The Modern Sounds of The Knitters Zoe/Rounder
Reviewed by Adam D. Miller
When The Knitters released their first album, Poor Little Critter on the Road, in 1985, it was a radical departure for the musicians involved (X’s John Doe, Exene Cervenka, and D.J. Bonebrake, The Blasters’ Dave Alvin, and Jonny Ray Bartel). After all, this was an acoustic country record, and X and The Blasters had established themselves as a punk-rock and rock ‘n’ roll band, respectively. Even if both groups had hints of traditional and roots influences (and both did), the music on Poor Little Critter went much farther. Not only did The Knitters sound convincing as country musicians and vocalists, the musicians involved also proved they were capable composers of traditional acoustic music, throwing their original compositions alongside Merle Haggard and Lead Belly covers.
Twenty years later, The Knitters have released a follow-up to Poor Little Critter on the Road. Entitled The Modern Sounds Of The Knitters, the album once again collects a selection of covers and pairs them with original material by John Doe, Exene Cervenka, and Dave Alvin. The only difference is that while in 1985 the prospect of John Doe singing country songs was a little far fetched, today it really doesn’t really seem like that much of a novelty. Where Poor Little Critter found John Doe and Dave Alvin doing things musically that weren’t entirely characteristic of what they were normally doing, both have since moved deeper into folk and country territory. Doe’s latest solo album, Forever Hasn’t Happened Yet featured several country-tinged tracks, including a duet with Neko Case, and Alvin’s recent solo material could easily fall into the umbrella of Americana.
Still, it’s pretty entertaining to hear Exene Cervenka sing this kind of music in her off-key punkish drawl, and John Doe’s vocals and Dave Alvin’s guitars are sounding as strong as ever, even if the overall novelty of them tackling this type of music has worn off. “Give Me Flowers While I’m Living” finds Cervenka doing her best June Carter imitation, and musically, much of the album sounds a lot like 1950s Johnny Cash sides (credit is owed to D.J. Bonebrake’s . This is especially true of “The New Call Of The Wrecking Ball.”
Modern Sounds has found The Knitters getting better at creating this kind of music and delivering it more convincingly. Not only is John Doe’s voice in top form on “Try Anymore (Why Don’t We Even),” but the song fits in nicely next to covers of “Rank Stranger” and “I’ll Go Down Swinging.”
In a true move of novelty, Modern Sounds also includes several tracks that had appeared on X albums, such as “In This House That I Call Home” and “Skin Deep Town,” presented here in radically different arrangements. Also included is a new version of Dave Alvin’s “Dry River.”
But then they had to ruin it with the closing track. In a true Me First & The Gimme Gimmes moment, The Knitters decided to close an album full of great original material, reimagined X tracks, and a few decent covers with a country version of “Born To Be Wild,” clearly put on the album as a joke. It may have worked for The Folksmen on A Mighty Wind soundtrack, but it doesn’t work here. Maybe you should have left it at twelve tracks, fellas.
If you like traditional acoustic music, you’re much better off going for the masters of that type of music, but if you’re a fan of X or Dave Alvin, or are in the mood for something a little off-the-wall, Modern Sounds Of The Knitters should prove an enjoyable addition to your collection.
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Son Volt - Okemah and The Melody of Riot Transmit Sound/Legacy Recordings
Reviewed by Adam D. Miller
If Son Volt’s latest release sounds like a completely different band than the one that released 1995’s brilliant Trace, then it’s probably because it is. The recently released A Retrospective: 1995-2000 was obviously making a statement: The band we knew and loved as Son Volt has finished its first chapter.
In the years since Son Volt’s last album, 1998’s Wide String Tremolo, lead singer Jay Farrar released a string of solo albums that involved a gradual move away from the alt. country sound that Farrar had helped revolutionize with his original band, Uncle Tupelo. His most recent, 2003’s Terroir Blues was starker and more musically varied than anything Farrar had ever done.
With the release of Okemah and the Melody of Riot, Jay Farrar has revived the Son Volt name for an album that is quite different than anything the band released during its original run. And this shouldn’t be surprising once you discover that the only remaining Son Volt member is him.
It’s also quite different because, while the influence of Son Volt’s Trace can be heard on tracks like “Bandages & Scars,” many of the alt. country influences are left to the lyrics rather than the music. Okemah and the Melody of Riot is harder a rock album than anything Son Volt has ever done, despite its lyrical references to Highway 61 and Woody Guthrie, not to mention the use of a small Oklahoma town as the core of its title.
Although former collaborator Jeff Tweedy, who went on to form Wilco and explore musical terrain neither probably even dreamed of during the Uncle Tupelo days, has already outpaced Farrar by many miles when it comes to musical innovation, Jay Farrar remains just as strong a lyricist. On Okemah, he uses his lyrics to comment on current events. The last Son Volt album was released during the presidency of Bill Clinton, but Farrar quickly brings us up to date on his political views on songs like “Endless War” (“When morning brings news of wasted life/When video brings footage of children dying/No moral face to the endless war”).
At around 30 minutes in length, Okemah and the Melody of Riot is a short album by today’s standards, but is easily the best thing Son Volt has done since Trace. If you were hungry for another Son Volt album and are prepared to sacrifice some of the country and folk that typically went along with their work, then the album is a worthy addition to your collection. Just get over the fact that Jay Farrar is the only one who remains and be glad that he didn’t call his new group Son Volt Mark II.
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Sufjan Stevens - Illinois Asthmatic Kitty
Reviewed by Russell Bartholomee
Singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens has been a well-kept secret for the last several years, turning out four impressive and inventive albums with little fanfare. His last release, the critically lauded Greetings from Michigan, was composed of songs devoted to his home state in one way or another. The album was excellent, but it didn’t exactly make Stevens a household name. At the time of its release, he announced his intention to record an album devoted to every state in the US, which sounded like a funny-but-terribly unlikely bit of gimmickry. Well, evidently he meant it because his latest release is called Illinois, and it’s a brilliant song cycle all about Abe Lincoln’s home state. But this isn’t just hype-driven songwriting. Illinois is terrific, revealing the soul of the artist even while he plumbs the Prairie State for inspiration.
Sonically, the whole album is richly textured and satisfying, though difficult to describe. It’s not rock (though “Man of Metropolis” is bookended by fierce guitar rock). It’s not exactly folk or country (though several tracks feature Stevens on banjo). And it’s not prog rock or psychedelic pop (though elements of both appear in songs like “Black Hawk War” and “Come On! Feel the Illinois!”). Its most common musical thread is orchestral, employing as it does horns, woodwinds, strings, and a choir on many of the album’s 22 songs. One song flows effortlessly into the next, and I find it difficult to imagine listening to the album in pieces. In that regard, it reminds me of Brian Wilson’s SMiLE, though it’s not derivative of that masterpiece. And while it’s simple enough to draw comparisons to individual songs (“Chicago” would not be out of place on a Polyphonic Spree record), the truth is that the album as a whole sounds like it was cut from the same, multicolored cloth. Stevens’ complex arrangements are both congruous and tailored to whatever his subject matter.
Which brings me to the lyrical content. While all the songs loosely tie in to Illinois in one way or another, the array of topics is both staggeringly broad and deeply personal. And that would be no easy feat for any artist, considering that Stevens takes on Lincoln, Superman, John Wayne Gacy, Jr., and Casimir Pulaski (for starters). Sometimes whimsical, sometimes poignant, always honest, Stevens draws upon the legacy famous and infamous figures and characters of Illinois, sometimes revealing something of himself in the process. The infectious “Decatur” is an exploration of words that rhyme with “Decatur” and yields the pleasing couplet “Stephen Douglas was a great debater/But Abraham Lincoln was the Great Emancipator.” On the eerily beautiful “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.,” Stevens recounts some of the details of Gacy’s life in a way that humanizes the serial killer without creating sympathy. And with acute self-awareness and admirable honestly he states in a confessional tone that he could easily “be just like him” for all the “secrets I have hid.” There are a few instrumental tracks on the record as well, and one of them gets my vote for best song title ever: “A Short Reprise for Mary Todd, Who Went Insane, But for Very Good Reasons.”
As fine as the lyrics are, it’s the music that really shines on Illinois. The melodies are complex and yet instantly hummable; you’ll be singing along loudly by your second time through. Stevens has been a musical collaborator on records by Soul-Junk and the Danielson Famile in the past, and he is supported this time out by Famile members Daniel and Elin Smith (among others). The musicianship is flawless all around, and as strong as previous releases have been, Stevens has crafted a modern masterpiece with this record. Illinois is easily my favorite record of the year thus far, and I expect that it will be held in high regard in years to come. I don’t know if he really has 48 more states’ worth of albums left in him, but I’m excited about the prospect of any future Sufjan Stevens releases.
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Various Artists - A Compilation for Reach for the Rainbow Universal
Reviewed by Lisa Hood-Anklewicz
Reach for the Rainbow is a charitable organization that offers services and assistance to children and young adults with disabilities and their families. This compilation not only serves for a great cause, but also provides a peek into the great cross section of the independent Canadian music scene.
A number of the tracks are exclusive to this release, from artists such as the Rheostatics, Hayden, Great Lake Swimmers, Raising the Fawn, and Cuff the Duke to name a few. Starting things off with Hawksley Workman’s “My Delicious Chocolate Cake,” the album starts strong and never drops the ball all the way through each of the eighteen tracks, appropriately wrapping up with a remixed version of The Inbreds “The Right Time to Say Goodbye.”
One of the highlights of the album is “Cold Blue Light” from the Joel Plaskett Emergency. The song is slightly reminiscent of Plaskett’s last solo release La De Da, and may be a hint towards what is to come in the promised Emergency release later this year. Plaskett’s recent tour partner, Peter Elkas, adds “Wall of Fire,” which is a great song that would fit in nicely with his Party of One material.
“Emm & May” is a very addictive, sweet summer love song, recorded live from Craig Cardiff, the recorded version appearing on his recent album Bombshelter Livningroom. Another live tune on the album is Les Cooper’s “Lost.” It’s a quiet song, that captures your attention with it’s powerful lyrics: “Many are the times I thought were wasted in this town / times I thought were surely better spent / frozen to the ground / with eyes facing down / maybe all this time was heaven sent.”
Meanwhile, Ben Somer’s “Silent Strides” demo is a catchy folk-pop tune that will get you swaying along, and Five Blank Pages jump out and grab your attention with their pure pop “She Sleeps Soundly,” which may incite the desire to get up and dance.
This is one of the best assembled compilations I have come across in years. Every song is arranged with care so that they play off each other and provide a perfect sense of flow and movement from start to finish. Whatever your reasons may be for considering adding this to your music collection, remember that you will be giving to a great cause and you are getting a great musical package in return.
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Various Artists - Stryker: Motion Picture Soundtrack Arbor Records
Reviewed by Lisa Hood-Anklewicz
Riddled with clips from the film, the Stryker soundtrack quickly brings into focus the theme of the music, with a hard hitting hip-hop sound. Produced by Karmen Omeosoo (aka Hellnback), long-time member of the Canadian hip-hop community, Stryker brings together appearances from artists Dead Indians, Rezofficial, Stinkmitt, Winnipeg Filthiest, and Casanova, among many others.
Much like the film (see review here), Styker’s soundtrack focuses on the issues surrounding the Native youth in today’s Canadian society and the brutality and camaraderie of the gang families that exist in Manitoba. The music has a range which works to include elements that you wouldn’t think to find on a hip-hop album, such as traditional hand drums.
In addition to being a perfect sonic backdrop for the film, the soundtrack is an incredible opportunity to bring these issues further into a public spotlight. From the first lines of the opening track “Klose Kall” (“Come from Winnipeg, Manitoba / murder capital of Canada”) to the closing track, “Never Give Up” (“I see a Native who’s words I’d always follow / who I’d always help to get me to a better tomorrow”), there is a story woven here, and a constant thread of hope. There is a high level of emotion in the music, but no matter how aggressive or relaxed one track may come across, there is an overall positive feeling to the album.
“Riddle” is a track which expresses “It’s the life that you’re livin’ that’ll get you by / cold player, cold stares, nobody cares how / learn too much and live too little / write feelings on paper / explain life through riddle.” The sentiment of the song sums up the overall emotion of the album and the film very well: this is the way things are right now, but even the smallest hope and action can make a difference in the cycle. Director Noam Gonick said that the film “is for street gangs everywhere who are trying to make a world of their own” and the Stryker soundtrack is the perfect microcosm of that idea.
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