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The Weekend Review: June 2012 Report

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By Chris Moore:

That’s Why God Made the Radio  (The Beach Boys)

Producer: Brian Wilson

Released: June 5, 2012

Rating:  5 / 5 stars

Top Two Tracks: “Spring Vacation” & “From There to Back Again”

For anyone who has ears to listen, That’s Why God Made the Radio is deserving of a place among the all-time classic masterpieces in the Beach Boys’ catalog of albums and songs.  For the moment, it has served nicely as the masthead for the Beach Boys’ 50th anniversary reunion, but it should be recognized as more than that.  That’s Why God Made the Radio is a reminder: that truly great bands can continue to be great, releasing new music fifty years after first forming.  It is also interesting to juxtapose this album with other recent releases, and there’s clearly still something for other bands to learn, most notably – as it’s always been – from the vocal arrangements the Beach Boys continue to be capable of pulling off.  There’s a warmth and an energy here that is somewhat shocking considering that their previous two releases – both from the early nineties – lacked the consistency, overall quality, and (frankly) the drive of this most recent album.  Consider also what three of the five original Beach Boys have been up to for decades: Mike Love and Bruce Johnston have been in full “greatest hits” touring mode and have shown no previous interest in revisiting the recording studio, while David Marks has been absent from the popular music scene save for guest appearances and low-scale projects.  When you add in the fact that the paperwork from the lawsuits traded between Beach Boys could fill a medium-sized library, it is incredible that this album was attempted at all.  To truly contextualize it, the listening becomes all the more unbelievable: there is a warmth in the harmonies that defies belief.  “Daybreak Over the Ocean,” in particular, could have been a hit when the Beach Boys were in their prime, showcasing as it does the best of what they are capable vocally.  (Of course, they’re aided in no small part by Mike Love’s family, particularly his son whose range and tone is the closest to Carl I’ve heard since Carl passed.)  For those who have followed Brian Wilson and, most recently, Al Jardine, it perhaps comes as less of a surprise that this album should be possible.  After all, Wilson has been consistently productive since 2004’s Getting’ in Over My Head and SMiLE releases, going on to release a masterful solo release in That Lucky Old Sun (2008) as well as numerous other projects of interest.  Then, Al Jardine released his first solo album in 2010, signaling that Wilson was not the only surviving Beach Boy to show interest in making new music and putting it down on record.  Still, for Mike Love and Brian Wilson to team up again and still be able to contribute to such high-quality, single-worthy tracks as the upbeat, rocking “Spring Vacation,” the catchy, gorgeous “Isn’t It Time” (which has already inspired a radio version remix), and the title track nearly defies belief.  Critics will write this effort off as yet another surf-inspired album of formulaic tunes, but this could not be further from the truth.  That this record begins with the a cappella “Think About the Days” is practically a mission statement from the start: clearly, That’s Why God Made the Radio is not a greatest-hits extension of predictable tracks; rather, it is another artistic and visionary installment in the Beach Boys catalog.  Certainly, there are lyrical echoes of what the Beach Boys have been known for since their first work in the early 1960s, but who would expect or even want a complete break from the images, metaphors, and motifs that have enabled them to carve a signature place in popular American music since their star?  And, if there are still any detractors after the powerhouse represented by tracks two through four, then they should be directed to the lush vocals and sharply poignant tone of the final trio of songs: “From There to Back Again,” “Pacific Coast Highway,” and “Summer’s Gone.”  If the first trio are the songs you’ll want to hear again and again while driving, windows down, then this second trio are the heart and soul, the foundation even, for That’s Why God Made the Radio: these final tracks present the thesis, the reason for recording a new album, and perhaps an explanation of why and how the Beach Boys continue to have emotional pull all these years later.

 

 

 

Safe Travels  (Jukebox the Ghost)

Producer: Dan Romer

Released: June 12, 2012

Rating:  4 / 5 stars

Top Two Tracks: “Oh, Emily” & “Ghosts in Empty Houses”

For their third album, Jukebox the Ghost returns with all the same energy that has propelled their first two releases – the dynamic Let Live and Let Ghosts (2008) and the more artful Everything Under the Sun – yet a unique feel, largely achieved through their attention to the traditional rock music ingredients as well as more orchestral elements.  Some tracks, the almost Beatles-esque acoustic “Man on the Moon” for instance, sound unlike anything they’ve produced previously.  The songs suffer at times from a repetition that goes for too long, but Safe Travels is otherwise a pristine record marked by energetic instrumental force and passionately driven vocals, as well as touches of innovation that remind listeners that Jukebox the Ghost is a band interested in growing, progressing, not content to occupy their niche.   With any luck, the world at large will take note, though it seems that more often the one-hit wonders are enabled.

 

 

 

The Idler Wheel is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do  (Fiona Apple)

Producer: Fiona Apple & Charley Drayton

Released: June 19, 2012

Rating:  5 / 5 stars

Top Two Tracks: “Left Alone” & “Daredevil”

True to form, Fiona Apple continues to defy expectations and ignore conventions, starting with the unwieldy title of her latest album: The Idler Wheel is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do.  Furthermore, her first single, the album-opener “Every Single Night,” is hardly going to make it onto the popular music charts any time soon.  However, though quirky and slow-paced upon an initial listen, one would be unwise to write The Idler Wheel off so easily when, lurking just beneath the surface, there is a current of emotion and the power of poetry in each and every track on Apple’s new album.  Lyrically alone, The Idler Wheel is an achievement, and the lyric booklet – packaged as a composition notebook with lyrics and drawings – could stand alone.  Apple’s vocal delivery is compelling, as her voice alternately drips with desperate passion and shakes and scrapes with raw emotion (see: “Regret”).  Instrumentally, it is as though the piano is engaged in a duet the various layers of percussion at work.  Never before have I heard percussion used in quite this manner, practically as an instrument in the foreground rather than a foundation or support for other instruments.  Even Apple’s distinctive piano, integral as ever, is not the most interesting instrumental element for perhaps the first time in her catalog; her playing borders on riff-driven, holding the songs together as the vocals and percussion shake and stretch the parameters of each track.  Overall, though 2005’s Extraordinary Machine is more to my liking for speed and style, The Idler Wheel is an indisputable masterpiece.

The Weekend Review: May 2012 Report

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By Chris Moore:

Strangeland (Keane)

Producer: Dan Grech-Marguerat

Released: May 4, 2012

Rating: 3 / 5 stars

Top Two Tracks: “You Are Young” & “Sovereign Light Café”

For better or for worse, it has been confirmed time and again since their debut that Keane is a good song.  Strangeland continues the trend, and though there are certainly a handful of standouts, the first three tracks set the tone and pace for what is left to come.  There are other piano-based bands that have released more innovative material – Jukebox the Ghost, for instance – and why Keane has taken the leap to such tremendous fame and success (five consecutive number one albums, among other achievements) is still a mystery to me.

 

 

 

Rize of the Fenix (Tenacious D)

Producer: John Kimbrough & John King

Released: May 11, 2012

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Top Two Tracks: “39” & “Classical Teacher”

What was the first sign Tenacious D are back with a new album and ready to rock?  The penis, testicles, and wings of fire on the cover were pretty much a dead giveaway…  It would be easy to dismiss half-rock/half-comedy duo Jack Black and Kyle Gass as merely aimed toward shock value and vulgarity, but even a superficial reading of their work reveals serious musical talent and an expansive vocabulary of stylistic and cultural references.  Rize of the Fenix doesn’t quite rise to the level of mastery set on their 2001 self-titled debut, but it would be difficult to imagine any album recapturing the raw hilarity of that record.  Instead, Rize presents high-adrenaline rock and roll from start to finish, with some interesting tangents and very funny sketches filling in the transitions.  It all culminates in the funny, beautiful “39,” a song that conjures Bob Seger at the peak of his popularity with, of course, some vulgar descriptions added to the standard fare for good measure.

 

 

Ten Stories (mewithoutYou)

Producer: Daniel Smith

Released: May 15, 2012

Rating:  4 / 5 stars

Top Two Tracks: “Grist for the Malady Mill” & “Cardiff Giant”

With Ten Stories, mewithoutYou offer a taste of what albums once offered with more regularity: a concept album that involves music, lyrics, and artwork in the grander scheme of its vision.  In this case, the “ten stories” are ten tracks that unfurl the tale of a train crash involving a traveling circus in 19th-century Montana, a story cycle inspired by a book that lead singer/songwriter Aaron Weiss read before the making of Ten Stories.  What is brilliant about mewithoutYou’s latest release is not any one piece in particular, but the manner in which all the components come together: the uncommonly interesting, strong lyrics voiced loudly and with a sense of urgent abandon as appropriate to the subject matter, coupled with carefully orchestrated music that moves smoothly between soft and serious and loud and nearly unhinged.  All in all, the listening experience ends up being like what I imagine it would sound like if Neil Young set out to make a hardcore record.

 

 

 

Born and Raised (John Mayer)

Producer: John Mayer & Don Was

Released: May 22, 2012

Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars

Top Two Tracks: “Something Like Olivia” & “Queen of California”

After stepping back into familiar soundscapes for 2009’s Battle Studies, Mayer has switched it up again, this time donning a cowboy hat and experimenting within the country genre.  As could be expected from a popular songwriter working within this genre, Mayer’s work drifts in and out of the predictable yet does not confine itself to the current standards of the genre.  The result is a steady helping of pleasant, even pretty songs that amount to an easy listen.  You won’t find anything groundbreaking here, but you will find a steady stream of songs that clearly belong together.  Mayer experiments with a reprise of the title track, something he hasn’t implemented previously.  There are standouts, such as the upbeat, catchy “Something Like Olivia” and the solid album starter “Queen of California.”  Throughout, the quality is fairly steady, strengthened by stronger tracks (“Shadow Days,” “Walt Grace’s Submarine Test, January 1967”) sprinkled amongst the more lackluster fare.  At times, there is a feel which can only be traced to an early-seventies Dylan sound, a comparison made all the more tempting by Mayer’s nod to the Bard in one line (“if you see her, say hello”).  Overall, this won’t be considered a great effort at the close of Mayer’s career, but it is a solid installment in his catalog.

 

 

 

Once Upon Another Time [EP] (Sara Bareilles)

Producer: Ben Folds

Released: May 22, 2012

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Top Two Tracks: “Sweet As Whole” & “Lie To Me”

Once Upon Another Time works well as an EP, though I could scarcely imagine an entire album at the pace and tone offered by this effort, though I imagine that is the point of, and perhaps the best reason for, recording an EP in the first place.  As could be expected from any effort with both Sara Bareilles’ and Ben Folds’ respectively impressive creative stamps upon in, Once Upon Another Time offers a strong and creative sequence of tracks.  It starts off as low-key as can be with the largely a cappella title track and slowly building to the drum-backed frustration of “Lie To Me” before backing off to the simpler yet catchier piano-driven tones of “Sweet As Whole” and the final, expansive song “Bright Lights and Cityscape.”  “Sweet As Whole” is the clear standout and stands as perhaps the clearest marker that this is indeed a Bareilles/Folds collaboration: it is pretty and heartfelt yet emotionally wrought and catchy and largely rendered in the base, vulgar language of informal speakers of English.  It seems at first to clash with the sound of the music or even the EP as a whole, but, after a few listens, one should be hard-pressed not to sing along with this perfectly placed climax of the EP.

 

 

 

Magic Hour (Scissor Sisters)

Producer: Scissor Sisters, Calvin Harris, Stuart Price, Alex Ridha, & Pharrell Williams

Released: May 25, 2012

Rating:  4.5 / 5 stars

Top Two Tracks: “Year of Living Dangerously” & “San Luis Obispo”

Just when it seemed that the Scissor Sisters outdid themselves with the outstandingly fun Night Work (2010), they return a mere two years later with an album like Magic Hour, an album that artfully experiments with juxtaposition: of modern and classic sounds, of expansive gems and singles waiting to happen, and of seriously rendered lyrics and what can only be described as a mixture of funny and vulgar.  The list of standout tracks would be longer than the list of songs that fall short, what with tremendous work like the lush, gorgeous “San Luis Obispo,” the foot-stomping, fist-bumping “Baby Come Home,” and the richly textured “Inevitable.”  “Let’s Have a Kiki” is no throwaway and, in fact, begs a sing-along.  And, of course, there is what seems to be the heart of the album, the thesis that drives the work around it: “Year of Living Dangerously.”  All in all, the Scissor Sisters have outdone themselves again and continue to make some of the best, most innovative and engaging music of their generation.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s “Axis: Bold as Love” (1967) – Yes, No, or Maybe So, Retro

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Axis: Bold As Love (The Jimi Hendrix Experience) – MAYBE SO

The Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Axis: Bold As Love" (1967)

The Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Axis: Bold As Love" (1967)

(December 1, 1967)

Review:

Although this album suffers from a few inferior tracks (an issue absent from the debut), one sentence simply doesn’t do this record justice; Axis: Bold As Love finds the Experience more conceptual, Hendrix conscious of his lyrical content and thematic cohesion, and all the while managing the most interesting guitar soundscapes yet supported by drumwork few other bands could muster.

Top Two Tracks:

“Wait Until Tomorrow” & “Bold As Love”

Broken Social Scene’s “Forgiveness Rock Record” (2010) – The Weekend Review

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By Chris Moore:

RATING: 2 / 5 stars

Their concept is an interesting one: record en mass with a crowd of artists whose talents and respective genres run the gamut from classical to avant-garde. When there is cohesion and purpose, the diversity contributes to some fascinating productions.

When Broken Social Scene falls short, though, the distance is vast.

With one exception, Forgiveness Rock Record falls far short of anything approaching complete success past the sixth track.  Which is a shame, because the first six tracks are so fantastic, each finding an order in the chaos of up to fourteen chefs with their hands in the pot.

Songs like “Forced to Love” border on beautiful, hinting at single-worthiness.  Ten years ago, fifteen perhaps, they may have stood a chance on commercial radio.  Consider the quirky catchiness of “Texico Bitches” or the bouncy indie rock of “Art House Director” — these are the standout tracks where, clearly, something special was tapped into.

Even “All to All,” which threatens to stretch out for too long, is a gorgeous piece that walks the line between indie and dance, owing not a little to Lisa Lobsinger’s lead.  When Leslie Feist later unfolds “Sentimental X’s,” it reads as an attempt to mimic “All to All.”  Perhaps this was purposeful, as a means of pulling the otherwise disparate pieces of the album together.

Even still, it falls short.

The opener “World Sick” hints at a truth later revealed:  Broken Social Scene doesn’t always know when to cut it short or rein it in.  On the seven minute “World Sick,” their patient unraveling of the larger concept translates, and they quickly follow up with the fast-paced three-minute “Chase Scene” as a prompt reminder that not every track on Forgiveness Rock Record will be a test of the listener’s patience.  Even as a large group, they know how to hit a groove and run with it.

This is a key aspect present in the first six tracks that disappears almost irretrievably for the remainder of the album.

Broken Social Scene's "Forgiveness Rock Record" (2010)

Broken Social Scene's "Forgiveness Rock Record" (2010)

After “Art House Director” fades, the bulk of the album kicks off with “Highway Slipper Jam,” beginning with a vocal burst that sounds like something Femi Kuti would contribute to a Brett Dennen single.  Whereas it is a fun accompaniment on the latter, it sits oddly in isolation on this seventh track.  It is not so much that “Highway Slipper Jam” is a bad song.  It is more that it is hardly a song at all.  Essentially, this track expresses what is implied by the tag “Jam”: it is little more than a drum beat and some disconnected vocals and guitars.

“Ungrateful Little Father” opens lyrically strong and catchy even, yet dissolves into a more than three minute indulgence that sounds like a dream sequence set in a casino.

From there, most of the remaining tracks either tease at something more or fall apart as echoes of other sounds on the album.  “Meet Me in the Basement” builds up to a legitimate rock song… without any vocals or anything really interesting or fresh after the midpoint about two minutes in.   As noted above, “Sentimental X’s” reads as an inferior six-minute rewrite of “All to All.”

“Sweetest Kill” is the most significant tease on the record, unfolding an alluring lead vocal and pulsing bass lines that would please, if only it didn’t hold to the established norm for all five minutes of the song.  “Romance to the Grave” will keep your interest, but there is still something lacking here that wasn’t in those first six tracks, by now a distant memory.

Then comes “Water in Hell.”

From the opening guitar run, it is clear that “Water in Hell” is more well put together than anything since “Art House Director.”  It still very much bears the Broken Social Scene watermark, adding reverb and quirky background accompaniment, but it just works.  And it works so well that you could listen for all the unique parts that are woven masterfully together, hinting at a looseness without ever falling apart, or simply kick back and rock out.

The album concludes with “Me and My Hand,” which is underwhelming, but pretty and haunting and, thus, a fitting lead-in for anyone who decides to listen to track one again. (Why you wouldn’t give tracks one through six another play, having made it all the way through, I don’t know.)

In short, I haven’t written Broken Social Scene off after this album, but the gap between their excellent songs and their unrealized and mediocre songs is vast.  Accordingly, Forgiveness Rock Records blazes admirably through the first six before falling apart, only to be temporarily revived by the standout “Water in Hell.”  Records like this perhaps serve best as a reminder of why the Beatles set the standard number of tracks at twelve and others, from Bob Dylan to Weezer, have since scaled that back to ten or even into the single digits.

We all like to get the most for our money, but the greater desire should always be to get consistently excellent music that begs for multiple listens – a desire that Forgiveness Rock Record on the whole, for all its solid tracks, simply can’t satisfy.