Snark and Reverb

My first thought when checking this album out was, “With a title like that, this album had better deliver!”  Kenny Garrett begins with a free jazz piece, “Countdown”.  Interestingly, my brain first linked this to a similar sound I’ve heard from a Sonny Rollins album, The Solo Album.  Of course there were differences, including drums.  (There is also the track “Like Sonny”, which I’ll go into later on.) But when the second track, “Equinox” started, my brain instantly linked onto The Coltrane Express, and what a smooth ride it was.  The drums, bass and thick guitar are so tight that they seem to act as a defibrillator, pushing and pulling Kenny forward and back in an organic (yet controlled) manner.

Garrett is able to capture from the start, the devices often exploited by Coltrane, in regards to instrument layering, tone, attack and timing.  At times he may actually play in the pocket better than Coltrane did in his studio recordings, in fact.  In “Liberia”, for example, this is seen in the way he holds onto a note just a little to long, and gives it a tremolo with his breath, causing the note to waiver around in the air like a leaf slowly descending, that’s taken too long to reach the ground.  The note goes sharp, and begins to play with dissonance.  Another device used is his choice of riff clusters.  Several times in the same song, Garrett applies a quick triple note section, with a fourth note held out longer, which becomes a call to the band to kick off into its next progression.  As he takes the lead, his playing in the highest octave has a pinch of distortion to the tone, and is echoed by the bass which allows its own distortion to come through slightly, caused by string ricochets and thumb pull-offs.  The cymbals don’t mimic the tone, but rather provide a smoother counterpoint, and are allowed to slowly fade off in the distance, similar to the early sustained notes from Garrett described earlier.  After the progression has made a few rounds, Garrett again makes use of the combination to call everybody back to the verse line of the song.  Its things like that which make this album a veritable clinic in the effect of nuance.

“Dear Lord” has Garrett honing in on the slow, tender wavering notes that were such an integral part of the Coltrane sound.  They find that elusive spot between firm confidence and expressive vulnerability.  The rest of the band follows his example.  The drums take on a softer quality that reminds me of Joe Morello’s playing on Time Out.  The cymbal crashes don’t sound like ricochets, morel like leaves hitting the surface of some remote pond.  Pat Metheny plays off this with soft chord work that is often held just slightly behind the beat with sustained chords and pauses.  The places he doesn’t play really help give Garrett an enhanced airy quality at times, and prevent the mix from becoming too saturated or complicated.  Garrett returns the favor, giving Metheny a solo spot, where the dark, murky guitar lines share the same floating quality.  As the song winds down, the band executes a very satisfying tempo decrease, and Garrett finishes out the piece with the same wavering tremolo quality he started the song with, just before the band returns to share the last sustained bar.

“Lonnie’s Lament” is probably the quintessential rain day sountrack.  The combination of Metheny’s open arpeggios, the sustained cymbal splashes of Brian Blade, and the soft sax tones give the track a beautifully somber atmosphere.  The chief solo spot is given to Metheny, who offers up the album’s only distorted-guitar tones which shift the style over into the progressive genre, sounding like something Al DiMeola would conjure up.  While it offers a change of pace, it may be too big a change for such an album.

Ironically, the next track is titled “After The Rain”.  Continuing with the somber atmosphere, this one plays with the balance of modal, dissonant lines and offsets them with exotic percussion and several different strings.  The track sounds vaguely middle eastern as a result.  The exotic world instruments remind this listener of Dead Can Dance.  Its seven and a half minutes of world-jazz with a kind of troubadour-like quality to the solos.

Next up is six minutes channeling Sonny Rollins.  “Like Sonny” returns to more chord-based rhythm and modal based leads which works quite well juxtaposed off of the free jazz heard just before.  Its a fairly straightforward track, as is “Pursuance”, so there’s not much else to note on those.

While listening to both “Alabama” and Garretts’ cover of “Giant Steps,” Coltrane’s episodic quality really seems to come through, and its a quality shared by Garretts’ peers as well, not limiting itself to saxophone.  This is as good a time as any to briefly touch upon the album’s sonic qualities.  In short, they are excellent.  The album is not overly compressed, bass heavy or treble heavy, etc.  It does justice to Garretts’ great sense of dynamics, which are perhaps the highlight of the album for me.  While he doesn’t have Coltrane’s same instinctive projection, he counters with one of the softest touches in tone I’ve encountered in jazz.  Its a wonderfully intoxicating listen.  Even with the dissonant quality to the closer, “Latifa.”

I for one have every intention of getting Garrett’s entire discography, and would not be surprised to find myself reviewing more of his albums.

Musicians:

Kenny Garrett - Saxophone
Pat Metheney - Guitar
Brian Blade - Drums
Rodney Whitaker - Bass

Songs:

1. Countdown
2. Equinox
3. Liberia
4. Dear Lord
5. Lonnie’s Lament
6. After The Rain
7. Like Sonny
8. Pursuance
9. Alabama
10. Giant Steps
11. Latifa

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Phil Upchurch’s Darkness, Darkness has quickly become my current favorite electric guitar-based instrumental album I own.  I decided to check out the album on a whim while admiring the cover art, which for me gives off a Houses Of The Holy vibe.  Perhaps I was in more of a rock guitar mood than jazz that day.  Whatever it was, I’m glad my curiosity got the best of me.  Its not an album I can always just dive into, but when the mood strikes, it scratches an itch that straight ahead rock and traditional jazz just don’ t reach.  It also wasn’t a love-at-first-listen for me either.  Whether mood or my comprehension of everything going on in the album played into that, I’m not sure.  All I know is I had a much less neutral reaction the second and third time through.  I will say that some of these compositions are fairly organic in their dynamics and pace.  Its definitely not an instant gratification type of song structure, more often than not counting on a steady building of elements or instruments to finally get to the full-on pace of the music.

The album takes its name from the Youngbloods’ cover, which forgoes the haunting quality of the original in favor of some great minor-key funk comping.  Its a very strong track that has an awful lot going for it, likely the best on the album.  There is a sort of tactile like quality to Upchurch’s playing, almost as if the tone has physical texture.  Its likely encouraged by a bit of grit in his playing that never crosses over into the cliched distorted mess so many albums put on full display, though there is certainly no shortage of wah-wah pedals used.  Credit must be given to Arthur Adams for his rhythm guitar work.  The guitars are so consistent in tone that I mistakenly thought his work was actually multi-tracking work of Upchurch himself.

The album is very organic and natural sounding despite wah-wah use, both in the aforementioned gradual dynamic builds and through various devices utilized by Upchurch for leading the songs along, such as double stops, chord sweeps and staccato stops and starts, almost treating his guitar like a percussion instrument.  One fun surprise was the chord melody intro to Sweet Chariot that seems to channel Joe Pass directly, which also drives home the dynamic, organic pace further still.  At first blush several of the songs give off a brief impression of cheesy lounge music but it is a short-lived first impression that is quite far from accurate when all is said and done.  Its perhaps only on repeated listens where you begin to really appreciate the variety of tone and shades of gray present in the guitar sounds.  Often times with instrumental jazz guitar albums, I find myself ’studying’ the music, enjoying technical capability and/or song structure over most other song aspects.  Not so with this release.  Groove is laid on thick with this album, and I find myself nodding along over time as the songs progress, often unaware of little else.

With my relatively small experience with r&b and soul, and only minor interest in the blues, I really appreciated the album’s lack of bias towards any one musical genre.  There’s quite a lot of variety here, and ultimately makes the album that much more unique and fresh.  Marvin Gaye’s Inner City Blues was not even on my radar prior to hearing this reworking of the song.  Being an instrumental album, there is probably a bit of a melting pot effect, and I can tell you that Upchurch makes each song his own.  His cover of Fire and Rain (James Taylor), for example, is a completely different journey than the original, while still being true to the original in spirit.  As far as sonics go, I found it to be perfectly acceptable, if a little heavy in the bass.  I’ll note that I’ve only experienced the “SHMCD” version as opposed to the domestic release.  I’ve been told that SHMCDs tend to be overly bright at times, and perhaps compressed further than original releases.  If thats the case here, the brightness is probably for the better to offset the lower register’s prominence.  Though I won’t deny I would prefer less bass, which would give it a more balanced sound.  When listening to an album of cover songs, part of the fun is experiencing the surprises yourself, so I’ll forgo a detailed song by song account of the album so as not to spoil it for you.  Rest assured its a satisfying listen and its highly recommended.  ‘Its a grower’ and ‘YMMV’ both apply here.

Musicians:
Phil Upchurch - Lead Guitar/Main Guitar, Electric Bass
Donny Hathaway - Horn, Keyboard
Harvey Mason - Drums
Arthur Adams - Rhythm Guitar
Ben Sidran - Organ/Keyboards
Don Simmons - Organ/Drums
Bobbye Hall - Percussion
Bobby PorterHall - Conga, Tambourine
Chuck Rainey - Bass
Joe Sample - Piano

Songs:
1. Darkness Darkness
2. Fire And Rain
3. What We Call The Blues
4. Cold Sweat
5. Please Send Me Someone To Love
6. Inner City Blues
7. You’ve Got A Friend
8. Love And Peace
9. Sweet Chariot
10. Sausalito Blues

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Went to the Wanee music festival in Live Oak, FL this past weekend. My first time to Suwanee Music Park, and it is truly a beautiful place, and a badass setup for a fest. Two stages: the Peach stage in a large field, and the Mushroom stage in a natural amphitheatre filled with oak trees.

Friday:

The Radiators - Can’t believe I’ve managed to live this close to New Orleans for just under three decades and never see this band, but this was my first time. Good stuff, like a hippie bar band. I’ll probably go see them next time they come through Mobile.

Hill Country Revue - For those that don’t know, this is Cody Dickinson’s (of North Mississippi Allstars) side project. It’s basically NMAS sans Luther with a different singer. Musically they are very talented, honestly the singer gets on my nerves a bit. Very loud blues rock, good times.

Little Feat - Classic band of course, but it seems obvious they are playing the old stuff to their old fans. They drag “Willin’” waaaay out to the point that is a bit cheesy. Having said that they all were having fun, and it was cool hearing some of my favorite Little Feat singles.

Umphrey’s McGee - I’ve spent years knocking this band, saying they don’t write good songs and they don’t have any soul. Well after this brief performance I’m a bit humbled but pleased to admit they have a new fan. Last time I saw them was several years ago, opening for moe at the Orpheum in New Orleans. I was blown away then, and am blown away again. Soulful or not, these guys are ridiculously talented, and they have a blast on stage. My musician friend was explaining to me the hand signals they use to indicate where they are going in a jam, and pointed out the microphones standing behind them they use to communicate to each other’s earpieces. Neat stuff. They busted out a “Fool in the Rain” because they heard it on the radio on the way to the fest.

Col. Bruce Hampton - had to show some love to the good Colonel. He looks a bit older and a bit plumper since I last saw him, but his voice is strong and he was smiling. Talented band as well.

Buddy Guy - first time seeing Buddy Guy, we all enjoyed this one. Very much like a B.B. King show but with more energy. Lots of blues and storytelling, lots of showmanship. I could have done without him playing “Mustang Sally” but other then that, good show.

Gov’t Mule - Disappointed. Dan had said the Mule has turned into a watered down jambandish thing, but I didn’t want to believe him. Maybe one festival set isn’t a fair way to fully judge a band, but the first half of the set was real weak. None of the raw strength of old mule. Things picked up significantly in the second half, with a Beautifully Broken, and then Hunger Strike > Dear Mr. Fantasy > Hunger Strike > Thorazine Shuffle, which was tight.

Allman Bros. Band - Sickness. 2009 is the Bros. 40 year anniversary, and the current line up is so unbelievably tight. The Dead certainly can’t claim the same.

Derek Trucks Band (midnight set) - We had got up at 4am to drive from Mobile, and so at this point were going on 20 hours no sleep. Made it about another two hours before we drove back to the hotel. Having said that the two hours of DTB we saw did not disappoint. Incredible as always, with appearances by Warren and of course Susan Tedeschi (Derek’s very talented wife, for those who don’t know)

Slept in a bit Saturday, and Denny’s took forever, but we made it to the park by two o’clock to catch:

BK3 - Kreutzmann’s project. Hearing some great jamming and some Dead was a perfect way to start our day. I was loving the female fiddle player, she was great and really put a cool spin on the sound. We left during the last song (He’s Gone) to make our way over to the Mushroom stage for:

Dumpstaphunk - Woah, talk about a spiritual experience through funk, these guys are awesome. I saw them open for Panic the night after Halloween in New Orleans, but seeing them up close was much more fun. Check these guys out if they come to your town, for sure. Non stop dancing and even some fart jokes.

And here is where it started pouring down rain. It rained for a little bit the day before, just enough for things to be fun, but this was a true torrential downpour. Luckily I had my poncho and my hat. I put these on and watched:

Jorma Kaukonen - Just him and a mandolin player, a wonderful act to watch in the rain, playing to a very appreciative crowd. I bounced back and forth between him and:

Susan Tedeschi - Hell of a voice, great guitar player, awesome backing band. Great sultry blues, and she’s a cutie and a sweetie to boot. Good stuff.

Drive-By Truckers - I am a huge DBT fan, but haven’t seen them since Isbell left. I missed Isbell for sure, but Patterson and Cooley have lost none of their energy. Absolutely awesome set, including favorites like “Women Without Whiskey” and “The Company I Keep”.

Allman Bros. - Tore it up again for another night.

We bailed before The Wailer’s late night set because who cares about reggae?

A few thoughts: I’m glad we didn’t camp. Those who say you miss out on the whole experience when you stay in a hotel, eh, maybe there is some validity to that, but the truth is my friends who did camp missed a hell of a lot of music because they had to nap in the afternoons because of noisy neighbors and late night discos setup near their camp site. Couple that with sleeping in a wet tent because of the rain, and I say forget about it. I’d much rather drive to my hotel at 2-3am, shower and crash in a bed, so I’m fresh and full of energy the entire next day.

Also, big kudos to the fest organizers. The park is very well laid out, perfect for festivals, and everything went smoothly. And the food vendors rocked! Prices weren’t that bad, and there was tons of way tasty choices, from Mellow Mushroom pizza to one of the best falafels I’ve ever had.

Bottom line is I didn’t want to leave on Sunday, I wanted more Wanee. Just a completely kick ass weekend.

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Ella Fitzgerald is known as the first lady of song. After hearing any album you can understand why she is given this title. However, after hearing this album, you understand it even more.

THE MUSIC

Most people are accustomed to hearing Ella sing either with Louis Armstrong or solo in her great songbook series. This album finds Ella in top form singing with a small jazz ensemble. This intimate style is a sharp contrast to the large orchestral tracks of her songbook series but it is in no way less impressive or lacking in artistic character.

The album starts out with a jazz standard more reminiscent of Charlie Parker/Dizzy Gillespie. However, when you hear Ella’s version of “A Night In Tunisia” you’ll wonder why you haven’t heard it this way before.

“Your My Thrill” is a complete vocal stunner. It’s sung in a hauntingly beautiful way and the delicate playing by the musicians just adds gorgeous layers of music on top of Ella’s voice. The song is just a superb performance all around.

“Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie” has a great drum intro as well as some awesome bass playing. This song has some great dynamics as well and definitely qualifies as a treat for the ears.

On “Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most” you can hear Ella open her mouth before she even starts singing! The rendition of this song is probably among the very best I have ever heard. The delicate piano playing really stands out on this song as well as the light touch on the drums. Musicians often complain that slow songs are among the hardest to play. If this is so, this song makes it sound ever so easy with fantastic playing all around.

I have singled out only a couple of tracks on this 14 track record but rest assured that every single song is a winner - from the first to the very last note. You really must hear it to really appreciate Ella’s phrasing and the skill of all the musicians involved.

THE SOUND

In one word: AMAZING. When I play music recorded like this to people they are often dumbfounded to learn that the music is over 45 years old. This album was recorded and mixed at Radio Recorders and engineered by Val Valentin. The two-track reduction was made on 6/24/61 by Val Valentin. 1961!!! That’s nearly 48 years as of this writing. Nearly 48 years later, here I am listening to this great album and I swear you can hear tons of details. There is so much detail that you can literally hear the room where they are recording. I swear that I can actually hear the room - that’s right - your reading this correctly - THE ROOM! The time and spatial detail is just to die for. There are few albums that I would classify as perfections in music and sound. This is one of those albums.

Why? Well, I have heard many, many albums where they get the EQ right, the soundstage might be great as well, but the thing that always gets me to say “WOW!” is when you feel like you’re there. It takes a special combination of proper microphone placement as well as engineering skills to get an album to sound this good. One outstanding example is on the song “This Years Kisses”. In the intro you can hear the electric guitar on the left speaker, yet if you listen closely, you can hear the guitar strings being plucked on the right speaker. On “Good Morning Heartache” when Ella sings “Might as well get used to you hanging around…” you can hear her voice coming off the walls of the room on both speakers (and not just on this song either!!). The last bass note on “Good Morning Heartache” just floats decays in the air until it turns into tape hiss. This albums sound quality is really just uncanny in my honest opinion.

I expect you to doubt me. In fact, I hope you do doubt me so that you can go out and buy this fantastic album and verify all these claims yourself. You will not be sorry.

CONCLUSION

This is definitely one of Ella’s lesser known works but every song is delicate and her phrasing is light and nuanced in every good way there is. The sound is nothing short of spectacular with great spatial detail and ambiance. In short, this is a killer record and one that every jazz fan, female vocalist fan and audiophile should own. It deserves a place in the heart of any music fan’s collection.

SPECIAL NOTE

There are at least 3 different versions of this album. The version with the best sound quality is the early Verve release mastered by Dennis Drake. It should cost no more than $15.00 new. Avoid all the other versions.

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Before I start the review, let me state the following:
If your a fan of bass players and appreciate well played, FAT sounding bass notes with great swing - look no further and just buy this album now.

Now, onto the review…

I was going to the CD shop! What I bought was expensive yet it was music by someone I had never heard before. This is definately not a well known name in jazz (yet) and my purchase was due more to a mere whim of consumerism rather that knowledge of the people involved in the album. Upon first listen, I was impressed by the music that came from my speakers and at that very instant I knew that my money had been well spent. The music was fantastic, warm yet different. The singer, bass player and composer, Esperanza Spalding, is the golden ticket here. Despite her young age, her bass playing is reminiscent of such greats by the names of Charles Mingues, Israel Lopez and Ray Brown to name a few. Her other trio members, pianist Aruán Ortiz and drummer Francisco Mela, are Cuban musicians who play with great gusto and round out the trio with a firm but swinging foundation. You can definitely feel the joy in the recording studio that day.

What really sets this album apart from the masses is her singing. More specifically - wordless singing. A type of scat if you will. While there are no words, her soft style brings about memories of some of the most suave bossa nova singers from times past. Pair this with her natural sense of rhytm and the charm never fades. This album is lyrical, fresh, hip and energetic from start to finish.

Normally, I would pick out a song and attempt to describe it. This is pointless for this album as every song has a special charm about it. It really is something you must hear on your own.

The mastering on the album is not perfect but it is very far from bad as well. It’s great actually. Not over compressed but a bit on the dark side for my preferences. Regardless this is a very, very minor complaint and admittedly, my only complaint for this album.

While expensive when compared to most jazz releases and re-releases, this album contains music that is worth the admission fee and is an album every jazz fan should own. Highly recommended!

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I understand the need for ebb and flow in music.  I understand the need for variation, changes of scenery, mood and emotional releases.  But for all of that, I still don’t understand this album.  What happened to the Killers?

Hot Fuss was a fantastic pop rock album with the perfect amount of 80s nostalgia, without becoming a throwback.  Solid tracks with a great sense of melody, crunchy guitar hooks with the occasional synth peppered throughout.  Fun, bombastic bass without sounding like a fraternity house.

Then came Sam’s Town.  They kept those elements more or less, but they just failed to meld together the same way.  The songs were just not of the same caliber either.  The album just didn’t garner repeat listens in any way.  Not worthy.

Enter Day and Age.  Again, the songs simply are not of the same caliber.  Only this time they ditch the nice guitar tones and go straight to ….how do I put this…a sound of a band playing music written for keyboards.  There is just no life in these songs.  There is no sense of urgency or any real apparent passion of any sort.  By the time you reach “This Is Your Life”, with the cheesy backing vocals that seem to try to channel Peter Gabriel, this becomes quite apparent.

The Killers need to figure out what works for them and just get back to the basics.  It worked pretty well for AC/DC.

I don’t know who started this whole idea that bands worth their salt reinvent themselves, but I do know that it’s a ridiculous, unrealistic expectation.  And I know The Killers are no better off because of it.  Whoever did start that idea can enjoy The Killers with arbitrary saxophone backings.  I’ll refrain, myself.

There is no good reason The Killers can’t keep dishing out solid albums like Hot Fuss.  None.  Bring back the great guitar tones, the passion and songwriting. Ditch the stupid, lifeless arbitrary saxophone backings.

I’m beginning to wonder if “Bling (Confession Of A King)” from Sam’s Town was their subconscious way of foreshadowing this upset:

Left a trail of excuses,
Like a stone on the water,
The elements decide my fate,
Watch it go…

I guess this is ‘The World That We Live In’.

Songs:

1. Losing Touch
2. Human
3. Spaceman
4. Joy Ride
5. A Dustland Fairytale
6. This Is Your Life
7. I Can’t Stay
8. Neon Tiger
9. The World We Live In
10. Goodnight, Travel Well

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It’s an odd concept, and on balance I cannot really recommend it. I was invited by a legal services vendor to see the Oasis / Ryan Adams / Matt Costa show in their luxury box at the Oakland Arena on December 3, 2008. Weird vibe sitting up in the boonies eating shrimp with chipotle dip instead of standing down on the floor where I like to watch a concert like this one, and unless I was sitting or standing near the open front of the box the sound was dreadful.  I might be older than your average rock concert-goer, but I don’t need a walker yet and I missed the connection you get from being up close and personal.

Anyway, the show had started when I arrived, and Matt Costa looked like a little minnow in a big fish bowl from our vantage point in the top level of luxury boxes in the right rear corner of the arena.  There seemed to be another guy playing guitar up there on the stage, maybe with a slide, but he was blending into the scenery, the stage was dark and the sound was not good enough to be precise.  Costa played some sappy and earnest pop songs while looking lost on the giant stage.  The sparse crowd wasn’t paying a lot of attention to him and I wasn’t either, so I don’t have much to say about his set other than it was pleasantly short.

After the quickest set change ever, it was time for the middle act.  Ryan Adams and the Cardinals were at least as much of a draw for me, and to be honest I didn’t know Oasis was on the bill when I agreed to attend.  Two signature roses in neon were hanging on the curtain that dissected the stage left to right and covered up the Oasis rig, and they seemed to provide just about all the light on stage.  For some reason, it was quite dark once again and there was not a single spotlight on Ryan or anyone else in the band all night.  From t was actually hard from where I was perched to tell who was singing or playing leads.  The energy level wasn’t exactly off the charts, and this only emphasized the feeling that this was “just the opener” rather than a viable group of its own.  I am still puzzling over the only other item of interest on the stage – the giant Fender “amplifier” that seemed to be just a prop behind Ryan.  Maybe I just didn’t get the joke, but it had jumbo knobs and a big red “on” light as if it were real.

Anyway, Ryan & Co. came out without saying anything and launched into a 45-minute break-neck set.  In fact, Ryan said almost nothing the entire set because he was too busy jamming as many songs as possible into the time the Gallagher Bros. must have allotted him.  My law partner, who was also in the luxury box, who is a Ryan Adams fan and a singer/songwriter/guitarist in his own right, said that they were playing every song about 1/3 faster than usual and we agreed that it sucked some of the life out of the set.  With no banter, the audience wasn’t engaged as much as a typical Ryan Adams gig, and his sometimes bad-boy personality was absent.

Ryan’s singing and guitar playing were both excellent really, however, and my guitarist buddy commented that he hasn’t heard Ryan play live that well in past shows.  Neal Casal was also great on guitar, but I have to admit I was feeling the effects of being in a little room half a block away from the dimly lit stage so I cannot comment on the details of all the players.  They were solid and tight, that is for sure.  Half of the set was from the new album Cardinology, and the songs rocked a bit harder than on the album.  The other songs were a mix of hits from albums Heartbreaker, Gold, and Easy Tiger.  My favorite song of the set, and one that really caught my attention even up in the bubble was Come Pick Me Up.  Just as it started another friend in the box said how much he liked that song because it is so angry.  Lack of spotlight or no, Ryan connected with the crowd on this song and that anger came flying right up into the luxury box.  Sadly, the short set did not allow for an encore, so they just left the stage without much ado, and never came back.

Now, I cannot imagine Ryan Adams really clicking in that big cavernous setting, but it was too bad that I and the others in attendance didn’t get much of a feel for the kind of live show that I know these guys can deliver.  Apparently this was their first night opening for Oasis, so maybe they will ease into the role and loosen up, and maybe even slow down the tempo a bit to let their heart and soul shine through.

Here’s the Ryan Adams and the Cardinals setlist (even thought I think they go by just The Cardinals these days, that’s not what the venue billing said):

Cobwebs
Crossed Out Name
Everybody Knows
When The Stars Go Blue
Fix It
Let It Ride
Go Easy
Sink Ships
Come Pick Me Up
I Taught Myself How To Grow Old
Two
Magick

There was a much longer set change and break before Oasis came out.  Quite a few lights arranged in a grid behind the stage, four separate vertical video screens, and a whole lot more PA were all in effect when the headliner made its way out.  The video screens projected either random artsy stuff or close-up cropped shots of Liam or Noel, apparently from midget cameras on their gear (very similar to the video techniques and screens used at the Sigur Ros show I saw this Fall).

Oasis had zero stage presence as far as I am concerned.  Zero.  For five rockers who pump out a big sound, they were mostly lifeless.  Liam at least displayed a little emotion while doing singing, and even shook a tambourine every once in awhile, but he doesn’t do anything much to fire your imagination like some other lead singers.  I like Noel’s voice maybe more than Liam’s but he doesn’t really do the front man bit at all.  His guitar playing is the stuff of big arenas, but not particularly inspiring to me.  The new drummer Chris Sharrock is boring to watch – thump thump, twirl stick, thump thump – and even more boring in terms of his yeoman-like playing style.  Of course you mostly couldn’t see him because he was wearing dark clothes and stood back in the shadows, but the bass player literally seemed to be velcro’d to his amp stack.  The keyboard player was no different, playing in a little cubicle of keyboards behind a goofy looking screen of patterned fabric that Liam mocked as the Shroud of Turin.  They were flat and lifeless and just played their songs.  Well, most of them soldiered on but Liam was off-stage about one-third of the show doing whatever he does off stage during his shows.  It certainly wasn’t coke because he never moved faster than the Queen Mother.

The sound was not great, and the bass and drums were jacked up so much such that the glass wall of the luxury box was thrumming along with the beat.  The guitars were not particularly well mixed but the wall of sound was pretty well constructed between two guitars and multiple keyboards.  As for the music itself, I guess it was about as expected but with less life than I might have hoped.  I liked Oasis back in the 90s, and I have listened to their latest paean to the Beatles, Dig Out Your Soul, a couple of times but haven’t gotten into it.  As my partner musician buddy said, their songs are well put together and catchy but their lyrics are mostly insipid.  They played a few of the new tracks in their 21-song set, and played their hits toward the end and in the encore.  The lackluster crowd wasn’t helping them much except during their biggest hits like Morning Glory and Wonderwall, both of which were flat and one-dimensional, although Wonderwall was the much better of the two.

My buddy was dying to hear Don’t Look Back In Anger for some sentimental reason, and we made a deal that if they didn’t open the encore with it we were gone.  He got his wish and the band, sans Liam once again, played a nice version of that ballad and even got a small percentage of the crowd swaying along to the music and singing.  Like true luxury box muckity mucks we proceeded to bolt after that song to beat the crowd.  Unfortunately, that meant we missed Champagne Supernova and a trippy rendition of I Am The Walrus, but at least we were on the freeway before the lights went up.

Good to add another big group I once liked to my long life-list of concerts, but I cannot say I would recommend Oasis to anyone who is not an actual fan.  The songs are pretty compelling but their performance is anything but.  Go check out Ryan Adams and The Cardinals in a smaller venue instead, because there’s sure to be some soul in more than just an album title.

Oasis Setlist for the completists:

Fuckin’ In The Bushes
Rock ‘n’ Roll Star
Lyla
The Shock Of The Lightning
Cigarettes & Alcohol
The Meaning Of Soul
To Be Where There’s Life
Waiting For The Rapture
The Masterplan
Songbird
Slide Away
Morning Glory
Ain’t Got Nothin’
The Importance Of Being Idle
I’m Outta Time
Wonderwall
Supersonic

Encore:
Don’t Look Back In Anger
Falling Down
Champagne Supernova
I Am The Walrus

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I will fully admit up front that I am a big fan of Kanye West’s work. He knows how to make catchy beats, and his rap delivery is very complimentary to them. Maybe not one of the strongest lyricists in the game, he demonstrates that it takes more than superior rapping ability to produce a hit record (pay attention: Nas). Coming off of Graduation, Kanye was at the top of his game, and then it happened: his mother passed away as a result of complications due to (plastic) surgery. Not long after that, Kanye separated from his long time fiancee Alexis Phifer. West’s internal conflict came to light on a stop of his “Glow in the Dark Tour”, when he broke down in the middle of a performance of “Hey Mama”. When the buzz around his new album started, the initial rumors titled it “A Good Ass Job”, continuing his album theme: Late Registration, The College Dropout, and Graduation. These rumors were put to rest, with the performance of “Love Lockdown” live at the MTV VMA’s. As stated on his blog: the album called 808’s and Heartbreak would be released on November 25th, EARLIER than the expected December 16th release. The album serves as a release for him. He’s not making this album for the fans. He is making this for himself.

Frankly, I’ve had enough of the Auto-Tune crap. T-Pain, the main auto-tune ambassador, started this whole fad and even he is saying its over (in my opinion so is his career, but that remains to be seen). When I read that Kanye was releasing an entire Auto-Tune’d album, my heart dropped. I was really looking forward to his new album, and I dismissed it right away. Then I heard the revamped Love Lockdown.

Kanye used the auto tune tastefully, in the majority of the album. For poor implementations, please see Ron Brown’s latest work, exception of Busta’s “Arab Money”.  Busta can do no wrong in my eyes, but is neither here nor there. The way I see Kanye’s use of auto-tune: it allows him to make music that he would LIKE to, but physically cannot. Have you ever heard Kanye sing? Track down some of his old work: Peace, Half Price, Wow, Drop Dead Gorgeous, or I Need to Know. Strong tracks in my eyes, but they are not complimented by his attempt at singing. Sure the use of computer-aided vocal enhancers could be viewed as ‘cheating’, but good vocals on a bad track does not a hit make. Just ask Mariah in the Butterfly portion of her career.

After hearing the v2 of Love Lockdown, I decided to change my mind, and give the album a chance. Kanye knows what he is doing. Therefore, I’m walking into the album with an open mind, and I suggest you do the same.

The whole album has a dark sound to it, which I think plays perfectly into the theme. Starting right with the first track, a solemn, sad theme is instilled. There is a good 3 minute instrumental interlude at the end of the song, creating dramatic tension, and pulling you into the second song: Welcome to Heartbreak. The thing I love about the entire album is although he sings, the feel is still very hip-hop, not that of an RnB release. Albeit darker and more dramatic, the beats are still 100% Kanye. They have a unique feel though, likely from the tone of each drum hit. Kanye supposedly required each beat be programmed using the Roland TR-808 drum machine. This gives the now infamous tribal drum feel, which I think works wonderfully.

The third track is Heartless, which has been released as the second single. Featuring a whistle and vocal production in Auto-Tune, the songs expresses his emotional pain caused from heartbreak. Kanye himself stated the Auto-Tune processing (robotic puberty) is to represent the effect of being heartbroken. I think that’s a load of crap, but fortunately for him, he uses the effect sparingly.

The other standouts for me are: Love Lockdown, Paranoid, RoboCop, and Streetlights. Paranoid has an absolutely infectious beat, that practically holds a 44Mag to your head and forces you to shake your booty. That may have been imagery from my dream, but the effect is still the same.

RoboCop is very experimental, and may not appeal to many, but I think the electronic additions to his music are pure genius. Then again, I am a big fan of electronic music. Streetlights is more laid back, but just as experimental. Heavy vocal distortion in front a piano with a distinct drum pattern. A synth rounds out the sound scape with the help of choral singers. This complex arrangement works, to my ears. Its a very compelling and captivating song, demonstrating his discontent with his current stage of life.

I was not overly impressed with Bad News, or See you in my Nightmares. Not bad songs, but they are overshadowed by the standouts on the album.

All in all Kanye breaks new ground artistically, through a body of inspired work. As good as it is, let’s hope that one recovery album is all he needs so we can have the rapping ‘Ye back quick.

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I swear to God I thought it would be cock rock.

I really, really did.  Last week sometime a fellow rock snob friend of mine sends me a text along the lines of “r u gettin new gnr”, to which I replied “yes, but it will be cock rock”, to which he replied “lol”.  This is definitely one of those albums I had completely figured out years ago, actually a decade or more ago, which makes it the longest time I’ve ever had an album figured out before its release.   Surely it would be an over produced throw away joke, rife with cheesy lyrics, awful vocals, and brick walled compression that makes Death Magnetic look like a 1980s Barry Diament master?  Right?  I mean, we know that Buckethead and Robin Fincke are taking on guitar duties, which on any other album would be the greatness, but here we have Axl Rose at the helm: crazy, insane, and crazy Axl Rose.  Of course he will find a way to ruin it!

Nope.  Chinese Democracy rocks, and I can’t stop listening to it.

I grew up on metal when I was in grade school.  I thankfully made the progression that southern adolescents with a penchant for rocking are bound to make, from the poppy story driven country of No Fences-era Garth Brooks to the waiting arms of the two godheads of early 90s metal: Metallica and Guns N’ Roses.  I sat in awe of the pure rebellious testosterone of Appetite, and continued to sit in awe as I was turned on to Lies, wherein Axl croons to a girl about not having sex and still manages to be a total badass.  But where GNR really enriched my musical upbringing was on the Use Your Illusion I & II.  I spent countless days after school watching the “November Rain” video, picking apart the beautiful but insane lyrics, comparing them to the imagery, rocking my pre-teen air guitar skills, drooling over Stephanie Seymour, and wondering why the hell that guy jumps over the cake when it started raining? Also how did she die?  Did she get struck by lightning?  What was going on there?  I also spent Saturday nights staying up for the Headbanger’s Ball, so I could marvel with my hero Riki Rachtman at the strangeness, awesomeness, and sheer bigness of UYI’s underappreciated epic, “Estranged”.  Of course there was also snickering in the back of the minivan as someone’s mom was aghast when “Back Off Bitch” or “Get in the Ring” came on.  And pointing out over and over that “Live and Let Die” was actually a Paul McCartney song, and he was a Beatle, and The Beatles aren’t metal, so what the hell.   And “Don’t Cry”, with the line “don’t you cry tonight / there’s a heaven above you baby”.  Jesus!  Even writing this now I’m realizing it’s amazing that Axl was able to pull off those lines with total earnestness, never even skating the lines of cheesiness.  But could I really be expected to think he’d be able to do the same 17 years later?  Just shy of two decades?

And don’t forget there is no Slash!  Slash is gone!  Where will Axl be without Slash, smoking in the shower and falling off the wagon every two years?  Remember that picture where he is smoking in the shower?  How can it be Guns N’ Roses without that?  And what about Duff McStradlin?  Wait, nevermind, only Axl and Slash matter.

The truly great things about Chinese Democracy can be summed up in the three things I forgot about Axl Rose:

1. I forgot that Axl can write a hell of a melody.  Composition and performance wise, the vocals on Chinese Democracy are simply outstanding.  Sure, there is some serious pro-tooling effects going on with some of the vocal tracks.  However, while sometimes this is to their detriment, on the majority of songs it works and sounds great.  See “Better”, “Catcher in the Rye”, “Street of Dreams” for good examples.  While we are on the subject, critics are already poopooing “Street of Dreams” as the cheeseball track, but I’ll put myself out there and say the only thing cheesey about it is the name.  The song works on every level, from the instrumentation to the true emotion in the vocals.  I would say 51% of the joy I’m getting out of this record is just listening to Axl wail, whether he is singing or just humming along with the melody, and I don’t care if some of the vocals were cut ten years ago or last week.  The point is they are here now, immortalized on record, and they are amazing.

2. I forgot that Axl knows a rocking guitar solo when he hears one, and Chinese Democracy is rife with them.  Sure, the guitars may be different from Slash outside a chapel in the desert tearing a mournful riff to the godless hot summer air, which to this day might be the most badass rock imagery of all time, but they are perfect in their own way.  Far from somehow squelching the talents of his lead guitar players, he really lets them rip into the stratosphere with their notes, soaring into secret genius heights the likes of which Michael Houser spent his tragically too short career exploring.

3. I forgot that Axl writes enigmatic sociopathic lyrics that I just can’t get enough of.  Its like I’m a kid again, back on the floor in front of the TV singing every single line to “November Rain”.  I love Axl’s insane lyrics, and songs like “Catcher in the Rye” prove that he’s still got enough crazy to make my brain hurt trying to figure them out: “When all is said and done / we’re not the only ones / who look at life this way / that’s what the old folks say / but everytime I see them / makes me wish I had a gun / if I thought that I was crazy / well I guess I’d have more fun”.  There is so much awesome in that line it makes me want to shriek like a little girl.  Who is looking at life this way with Axl?  I mean who is “we”?  What way are we looking at life?  Who are these old folks?  Wait though, wait, its not crazy enough, not quite yet, wait for it… wait for it… YES!  When you see “them” it makes you wish you had a gun, yes!  Thats what Axl needs is a gun, and in fact multiple times on Chinese Democracy he expresses his desire for a firearm.  Honestly, he had me at “I’ve got an itchy finger and there’ll be hell to pay / I’m gunna pull the trigger and blow them all away” from the album’s second track “Shackler’s Revenge”.

Since I don’t find the album to be negatively heavy handed as some other critics do, I can only find one aspect that could be called a fault: it’s busy as all hell.  Axl had a great deal of time on his hands to tweak, polish, and edit every single track over and over, the end result of which is a layered wall of sound so congested and complex that unfortunately some instruments can get lost in the mix.  Sometimes Axl’s vocals, or one of the ripping guitar solos lose their dynamics against a massive background of strings, trip hop beats, or industro glitch effects.  This effect is present on both the CD and the vinyl LP, both of which, by the way, are excellently mastered despite the density of the mix (I haven’t done a straight comparison between the two, but feel free to contact me in the coming weeks, as I’m sure by then I’ll have had the opportunity to do so).

Having made this criticism, I’ll counter myself and say the album simply wouldn’t be what it is if it wasn’t so busy.  All the simultaneous sound is what contributes to the album’s superb richness: it is the complexity that makes Chinese Democracy a true cohesive whole, as opposed to just fourteen very good songs, and this is what pushes Chinese Democracy from very good territory into greatness.  Every fan of music should own this album, and in listening marvel not just at it’s history, but also its musical excellence.

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I really enjoyed the self titled debut album by Seattle’s Fleet Foxes.  Basically a giant B12 shot for pop music, it came in like a breath of fresh air.  At a time when the majority of introspective pop artists feature a whining quality, it was nice to hear pure, unadulterated singing.  Vocal harmonies, panning, counterpoint and substance; the whole bit.  This prequel has the band doing more of the same, thankfully, still with an abundance of clean guitar and instrument tracks, frequently juxtaposed against interesting miscellaneous acoustic instruments, which has garnered the group classification as “Baroque Pop“, further exasperating the freshness of this band, ironically.  Comparisons can and are drawn to such acts as CSNY, Neil Young, and others from years past.

The title track starts the album off with an a capella intro that has an almost chant quality to it, except put to actual words.  A soft mandolin plays as the track fades away rather quickly.

“Drops in the River” offers up the full band, and offers a more straightforward sound, but still with mandolin, and a few other surprises.  There are some nice jangly electric guitar sounds, which share the stage with the softer acoustic parts as well.  One of the strengths of the band is exhibited nicely here; their ability to start songs off with one or two instruments and slowly build intensity by adding other parts in gradually.  This makes for some really nice atmospheric moments, including the little sitar part on this song.  Far too many pop bands these days seem to overlook this type of dynamic, which is almost like missing a food group, really.

“English House” starts off in a similar fashion, but is a little quicker to the point, which keeps the band from exploiting this talent.  However, there is still a very mature sense of restraint, most notably from the drummer.  Great care is taken to avoid excessive use of cymbals.  In fact there are barely any at all.  I suspect it is to allow the softer ‘baroque’ instruments to shine through.  The drums really don’t overpower the band at all, and it probably goes a long way to giving Fleet Foxes their ethereal, airy quality I enjoy so much.  The thick reverb is here in full force, which seems to be a trademark of the band.  I’d prefer a bit less, personally.  It would sound just a bit more natural that way.  But it does give the vocals an impression of being chanted in a church-like setting, which can be interesting at times.  I think this effect would be stronger if used sparingly, such as during periods of silence from the band, interludes, etc.  So dynamics do suffer a bit, but its certainly not a deal-breaker.  The guitars that fade the track away have a great jangly quality.

“Mykonos” is perhaps the best track on Sun Giant.  The main melody line is rather catchy and conducive to bouts of humming from the listener, perhaps unconsciously.  The vocal panning and harmonies give this song a real epic, classical quality that recalls the best moments in Queen’s vocal styling in “Bohemian Rhapsody”, the intro to “Fat Bottom Girls”, et all. Juxtaposed against an abrupt tempo change, the voices really lift off into space, guiding the band along on a riveting pace, but the band remembers not to fill the space completely, giving proper focus to the vocals.  This is pop music after all.  Its all about the vocals.

Sun Giant closes out with “Innocent Son”, a humorous play on the word.  It’s a minimalist, straight-forward track, with only a strummed acoustic guitar anchoring the singing, which is also kept to just one singer who sounds weary, tired and lays the album down to sleep.

Sun Giant offers up a solid collection of melodically rich, well-crafted pop songs that take a page from CSNY and Neil Young, while offering up originality and individualism as well.  The material here would be at home on their full length album; it would be a mistake to label it weaker based on its E.P. setting.

Songs:
1. Sun Giant
2. Drops in the River
3. English House
4. Mykonos
5. Innocent Son

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