Uncle Tupelo's "March 16-20, 1992"
(August 3, 1992)
Review:
A direct title and no frills production detract not at all from this at-times beautiful (“Sandusky”), at-times haunting (“Fatal Wound”) set of recordings with lyrics that resonate as relevant despite sounding — or, in some cases, being — decades out of time.
Top Two Tracks:
“Black Eye” & “Criminals”
As I’m still locked out of YouTube and waiting on a reply email from Google support, I figured it was the right time to add a fifth installment to the “Reflections on Rock Music” series…
By Chris Moore:
This year, I’ve been reading and writing more album reviews than ever before. I’ve kept to my goal of writing one full review a week (typically long-form, 750-1000 words), and I’ve added regular installments in the “Yes, No, or Maybe So” series of one-sentence reviews. As always, I look forward to reading new editions of Rolling Stone magazine, particularly the album review section at the back.
More often than not, I’m infuriated by what I read, but that’s half the fun of it, I suppose…
This year, I’ve been making regular trips to online sources for music reviews such as Allmusic, Spin, and Uncut when I have the time and interest. Studying how other reviewers approach the same music that I’m reviewing has been educational as I develop the aspects of my writing style I like, and perhaps even moreso as I decide how I want to distinguish myself from others. After all, for any given album or even song, there are multiple opinions and points of view to be had and expressed.
Which brings me to the question of the evening:
What makes for a five star album?
FACTOR ONE: Instrumental Excellence
The most basic indicator of an outstanding album is its instrumental composition. This is not to say that an album needs be complex in order to be excellent, but there is an ineffable quality of music that stands out, whether it be unique, or well-executed, or demonstrative of impressive talent. Still, even the most simple arrangements can cause listeners to lose themselves in the flow of the song.
Perhaps the most notable example of an instrumentally excellent five star album is the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds. Under the direction of Brian Wilson, the studio session musicians worked together to create what is arguably the single best album of all time. To put on headphones, or — even better — to sit at the center of a set of surround sound speakers, is a transcendent experience, listening to this flawless, intricately woven tapestry of instrumentation and, of course, vocals.
FACTOR TWO: Lyrical — and Vocal — Excellence
A song can only go so far as its lyrics and vocals will provide for it. Although some may disagree with me, a song needs to be lyrically engaging in order for it to have any longevity on my iPod. There are exceptions to every rule, but songs should be engaging and thoughtful. Even simple songs should be well-constructed. If it seems like the lyrics are phoned-in, then it’s a foregone conclusion that the song can only be interesting for so long.
Bob Dylan set the standard for great lyrics as early as his second release. By Blonde on Blonde, his seventh studio album, Dylan had not only perfected his sixties rock sound, but he also unveiled some of his wildest, most poetic lyrics yet in gems like “Visions of Johanna” and “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again.” The words certainly work best set to music, but taken out of context, they are poems in their own right.
FACTOR THREE: Strong Individual Songs
Anyone who plays an instrument knows that it takes more than musical talent, a way with words, or distinctive vocals to make a great song. Sometimes, all three can be present, and yet the song falls flat. The ability to write a truly excellent song can’t be learned from a book and could never be deconstructed. There are simply those who can create and balance guitar riffs, vocal hooks, and the like. And there are those who can’t, or at least not often.
Pearl Jam’s Ten is a great example of a five star album on which each track is equally outstanding in its own unique way. To think that rockers like “Once,” “Even Flow,” “Alive,” and “Porch” are on the same disc as ballads and dirges like “Black,” “Jeremy,” “Oceans,” and “Release” is mind-blowing. This is a case of eleven five star songs adding up to a five star album.
FACTOR FOUR: Thematic Cohesion & Relevance
It’s one thing to have a song or even several that are excellent, it’s another to have an album’s worth, and it’s yet another to have an album’s worth of songs that are thematically cohesive and provocative. The latter is key, as an album needs to pass the “So what?” test in order to be considered for the full five star rating; after all, who wants to or will continue listening to an album repeatedly if it doesn’t provide relatable emotions, situations, etc.? I’m also a strong believer that truly great albums have images, symbols, and/or themes that run throughout from front to back. These don’t need to be blunt, but they should be available for those who care to listen for them.
The Moody Blues are the inimitable masters of the concept album. The story of their first seven studio releases is one classic record after another. Perhaps the best of that sequence is On the Threshold of A Dream, an album whose tracks all lend to the larger topic of dreams that unifies the album. This was released at the peak of their creativity as a five-piece band, each member making notable contributions which range from rock songs to beautiful tunes to the spoken word.
FACTOR FIVE: Timelessness
The fifth and final factor is such an important one, and yet it is the one factor that I will admit that I second-guess myself on. True five star albums should be as relevant, thought-provoking, and entertaining ten years from now as they are today. Only time will tell how my favorite five-star albums of this decade will stack up at the end of the next decade, or the ones after that. It is quite easy to look back at some of the classics (such as those mentioned above) and recognize that they are five star quality. It is another to imagine how one’s taste and interests will shift and influence the perception of contemporary albums.
I have no doubts that my five-star records of the 2000s — albums like the Wallflowers’ Red Letter Days, BnL’s Maroon, and Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot — will be every bit as impressive to me for all my days to come, and I know with time that I will hone my ability to judge timelessness. I’m already improving, and this is all the more reason to exercise my instincts and analytical abilities in weekly editions of the Weekend Review.
** Hurry back this weekend for a live set list — posted live song by song — from a great rock band on Saturday, and a review of the concert on Sunday! **
By Chris Moore:
RATING: 4 / 5 stars
With all the confidence and cohesion that comes across on Live at Hollywood High, it is difficult to believe that this is a document of a performance that took place only a year after Elvis Costello’s debut album was released. One might think that a live album recorded so early in an artist’s career would be a study in a live act finding their sound, featuring a young group aspiring to greatness and working out the kinks along the way.
The opposite is true.
It is clear that, by 1978, Elvis Costello and the Attractions had been working together closely enough to forge a sound all their own, and one that sounds like it had been planned, rehearsed, and perfected over years of live performances.
And yet they were barely a year in at the time of this concert.
There is something compelling about Elvis Costello’s lyrics, dipped in wordplay and soaked with sarcasm. His vocals here, as on his best work, are unique and striking. Likewise, his band works as one united front, Pete Thomas acting as the backbone of the operation, keeping a steady beat and laying down fills wherever appropriate.
I could listen to Thomas drum all day…
Elvis Costello's "Live at Hollywood High"
The concert begins with a poignant version of “Accidents Will Happen,” composed of simply a piano and Costello’s lead vocal. I like the album version of this song, but I absolutely love this live version.
The slow, serious sound of the opening track is no indication of what is to come, which becomes apparent as the second song, “Mystery Dance,” is launched. Drawing on references to Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet and taking sonic cues from blues rock, this song sets the precedent for all the others to come: upbeat, passionate, and infectious.
The highlights are certainly the rockers that come across even better live than they did in the studio, songs like “Lip Service,” “This Year’s Girl,” and “Radio Radio.” Each of these songs attacks human behavior in modern society, and it is interesting to see how these songs are still relevant at the opening of 2010.
In fact, if Costello were to write the second song again, it might be abbreviated to “This Month’s Girl,” or updated to “Internet, Internet” for the second song.
Overall, their pacing and stage presence is outstanding. “Stranger in the House” is about as slow as Costello and the Attractions get in this concert, and yet it does not feel like a series of very similar songs played at the same speed.
Although he does not speak all that often, when Costello does address the crowd, it is to good effect. He knows just how to elicit screams and wild cheers (asking, before playing “This Year’s Girl,” if there are any girls present), and he knows just when to introduce hints of what is to come in the show (announcing at the end of one song that he is about to play “Alison”). This young Elvis Costello is even more funny and quirky than I would have imagined, dedicating “Living in Paradise” to “all the boys on the track, all the boys in the locker room, all the physical jerks…”
How an artist was able to compile such an impressive set list so early in his career, I will never know. But, what I do know is that Live at Hollywood High plays as a greatest hits at some times, and as an homage to deep tracks at others.
Analyze these and other factors as much as you care to; the bottom line is this:
Elvis Costello & the Attractions play their hearts out, as though their tenure in the music industry and in the hearts of their fans depend on it. For me, Costello’s performance functioned in the way all music executives dream of…
…it made me want to buy more of his music!
By Chris Moore:
RATING: 5 / 5 stars
Technically not his debut album, Warren Zevon is the first true Zevon record.
It came after quite a series of career turns, beginning with Zevon and high school friend Violet Santangelo forming lyme & cybelle and nicking the charts with the co-written “Follow Me.” Although it was clear that Zevon had tremendous potential — “(You Used to) Ride So High,” anyone? — he was replaced after two singles by the snooze-worthy Wayne Erwin (who somehow ended up firing Santangelo).
So, Zevon spent time as a songwriter (try “Outside Chance,” which the Turtles covered), session musician, and even jingle writer. Then, as Zevon put it, “Wanted Dead or Alive [his solo debut] was released in 1970 to the sound of one hand clapping.” Supposedly, there was a second album in the works, but information on that is very difficult to find.
After working as the band leader for the Everly Brothers, both as a duo and as solo artists after their breakup, Zevon had the good fortune to be noticed by Jackson Browne. Their collaboration led to Browne producing Warren Zevon.
It was such a long time in coming, but this is an album with some of the most beautiful, heartbreaking, lyrically interesting songs ever written. The performances are largely minimalist, but resplendent in their tight yet natural arrangements. With a blend of humor and straight-faced realism that was never equaled by another artist, always poetic, the eleven tracks on Warren Zevon explore and explode the sides of ourselves that we don’t like to acknowledge.
Even the opening ballad “Frank and Jesse James” paints these infamous outlaws as victims of the turning political tides of the American government. This version of the story may be skewed, and yet this is a theme that continues to have relevance to the present day and represents an aspect of our nation that few — particularly those in power — wish to take ownership of.
Warren Zevon's "Warren Zevon" (1976)
Sales were not overly impressive, but A&R men were impressed, like Burt Stein who reflected, “I got to run with that record and we got the ball rolling for Warren. It was warmly received…”
The critics agreed, which found Newsweek describing Zevon as a “refreshing rarity” and The Village Voice hailing him as an “upcoming major artist.” Of course, unsurprisingly, Rolling Stone gave a positive review tempered with such qualifiers as “despite its imperfections” — um, which would those be? — and “on its own artistic terms it is almost a complete success” — where do they find these numb-skulls? What kind of wishy-washy middle-of-the-road garbage this was, and RS‘s Stephen Holden didn’t stop there. He noted that it doesn’t have the “obvious commercial appeal of an Eagles album,” as if that is something that any serious rock artist would strive for.
Without question, without qualification, Warren Zevon is a truly classic album, one that you can listen to repeatedly without ceasing and without tiring. It is one of those albums that, particularly while driving at night, you could lose yourself in if you’re not careful.
The pinnacle comes right at the middle with “The French Inhaler,” an exploration of Zevon’s question: “How you gonna make your way in the world, woman, when you weren’t cut out for working?” His lyricism is unsurpassed here, as he tosses barbs (“You said you were an actress, yes, I believe you are…”) and voices biting observations (“Your face looked like something death brought with him in his suitcase…”). The final movement of the song, with the title of the song, is poignant. There is a sense of loss here that pervades many of the songs on this album, and yet he manages to create these seedy and somber landscapes in the form of focused rock’n’roll tracks.
Elsewhere, the music is soothing (“Mohammed’s Radio”), utterly devastated in its heartbreak (“Hasten Down the Wind”), energetically defiant (“I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead”), and mournfully beautiful (“Desperadoes Under the Eaves”). This is not even to account for some of the best tracks on the album, single-worthy songs like the definitive Zevon-esque track “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” (the song I wish he’d been known for by the general public, rather than “Werewolves of London”), the compelling “Backs Turned Looking Down the Path” and the downright catchy “Mama Couldn’t Be Persuaded.”
What keeps me coming back to Warren Zevon are the fascinating lyrics which drive these tracks. If you’ve heard the piano demos of any of these songs, then you know what an undeniably brilliant songwriter and performer Zevon is. Instrumentally, I find new riffs, solos, and other more subtle aspects of Waddy Wachtel and David Lindley’s guitarwork each time I listen. Bob Glaub and Larry Zack pull off bass and drum duties (on most tracks) with more than a session musician’s proficiency; there is a creativity and finesse here that I delight in on each track.
And have I mentioned how much I look forward to Carl Wilson’s vocal arrangement on the tag of the album closer, “Desperadoes Under the Eaves”? Whenever you call a Beach Boy in for vocal duties, you’re pretty much assured a heavenly vocal presence that many have tried and few — perhaps none — have actually duplicated.
For these and so many other reasons, Warren Zevon is the first true Zevon record and ranks among the best of his career. This is not to say he peaked on his quasi-debut album; rather, it is to say that Warren Zevon deserves more credit than many would give it when they refer to the “potential” expressed by these eleven songs.
Truly, this is not the lead-off effort; this is the first home run of an under-appreciated career.