Review: New Order: Technique (Collectors Edition)

My review of Technique (Collectors Edition) can be found (click here) on treblezine.com

New Order
Technique (Collectors Edition)
Rhino
2008

Oh, how I was looking forward to the reissue of one of my favorite New Order albums, Technique. Originally released in 1989, the year I graduated from Winston Churchill High School in San Antonio, Bernard Sumner's lyrics mirror my isolationism in my life. Songs like "Loveless" and "Guilty Partner" reflected the beating loneliness inside this outcast.

"My life ain't no holiday
I've been through the point of no return
I've seen what a man can do
I've seen all the hate of a woman too…"

I know I'm not the only one, but my high school years were anything but legendary. As I've written so many times before, albums like Technique helped me get through the days and nights of being a shy stuttering teen who wished he could speak the words that Bernard sang and I could never say.

"I can't see the sense in your leaving
All I need is your love to believe in
And for you I would do what I can
But I cant change the way that I am."

Going to a very affluent high school made it difficult for someone like me to find compadres who truly understood the weirdness lurking inside of me. I was the one who was dubbed "hippie born to late" in the hallways with my tie dye Doors t-shirts, carrying my beaten up copy of Rolling Stone magazine and my Walkman with Technique cranked up in my ears, hoping that someone, anyone, would stop me, hear me and ask what I was listening to. No one ever did, they just laughed and kept walking which led me to keep on moving, faster, and I had been running ever since, until this past year.

So when I heard that Technique was being re-released, I was ecstatic. The album was the soundtrack of my Senior year in high school. When I opened up my copy of the reissue, dubbed `The Factory Years,' I expected these reissues to have the same care and content as the Joy Division re-releases of 2007. Boy was I surprised; disappointed is a better word.

Technique had all nine songs that I had engraved in my head from my final year at Churchill with a skimpy disc of remixes and instrumental oddities that left me aching for more. There was a poor excuse for liner notes with an essay that basically described New Order's recording experience for Technique as the band being 24-hour party people. What a shock, recorded during the heyday of the Acid House scene, it's no surprise that the Bernard, Peter, Gillian and Stephen were rolling on ecstasy and dancing all night long. What I wanted was more substance and some behind-the-music insight to some of my favorite songs form my teenage youth.

Why is there a computerized voice-Hal like voice saying "the past doesn't matter" on "Fine Time?" And was Barry White the influence for Bernard's low-pitched vocal for "Fine Time?" Was Technique really supposed to be Bernard's solo album, but Factory balked and wanted another New Order album? Was the riff on "Run" truly a blatant swipe of John Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane?"

I would have loved to read some kind of anecdotes on what inspired Bernard to write "All the Way," and one of the best New Order tracks ever recorded "Dream Attack."

What I can say is that all nine songs from Technique are perfectly sequenced. Listening to it, coming home from work, I realized how it seamlessly flows together like a treasured short story collection coming to life. An album like this deserves the best kind of reissue; alas this version does it no justice. This and the editions of New Order's first four albums—Movement, Power Corruption & Lies, Low-Life and Brotherhood are part of a re-release event that was supposed to cement the band's greatness with these remastered CDs. Instead, all of the faulty mastering and packaging issues tarnish New Order's legacy.

What I've always loved about New Order is that the band put poignant meaning behind their electric dance beats. It wasn't just dance music just to shake your ass to; Bernard's lyrics echoed my life beyond the dance floor. In many ways, songs like "Vanishing Point" gave my static life rhythmic colors with true faith lyrics that kept me going when I felt lost and a lonely soul during high school.

"And they gave him away
Like in whistle down the wind
By the look on his face
He never gave in…"

I never gave in because of albums like Technique. A personal one that deserves a better re-issue than the one New Order sanctioned with this inadequate re-release. We, New Order fans, all deserve more. How could Rhino do it right with The Sound of The Smiths, but fail us with their horrible mastering issues these Factory Years discs? Rhino would do right to follow the example of The Cure and Depeche Mode with their own remaster series with extensive liner notes, DVD videos and demos to see how a band rewards its followers with a true and faithful reissue.

"But I know that I'm ok
cause you're here with me today
I haven't got a single problem
Now that I'm with you…"

They were my musical friends; songs like "Run" are what I've always come back to. They are the ones who sheltered me with their rhythmic honesty when I needed some lyrical reassurance in my younger days. All I had to do is put on my cassette version of Technique and heed the advice of Bernard Sumner. The memory of these songs is everlasting, I used to find my peace of mind in songs like "Mr. Disco." I wanted a reissue that was equal to the powerful meaning that Technique had in my life. No thanks to the glitch-ridden package here, I'm still waiting.

Adrian Ernesto Cepeda
11.21.2008

Review: The Smiths: The Sound of The Smiths (Deluxue Edition)

My review of The Sound of The Smiths can be found (click here) on treblezine.com

The Smiths
The Sound of The Smiths
Rhino
2008

I know what you're thinking, because I, myself, had these same infuriated thoughts: another Smiths compilation? Before you start quoting me the lyrics to that infamous song, track 8 to be precise, from Strangeways Here We Come, there's a reason for hearing out this collection dubbed The Sound of The Smiths. Johnny Marr supervised the mastering of the 45 tracks on this deluxe edition.

The Sound of The Smiths is like hearing my favorite Manchester band with new ears. The Smiths as nature intended. It takes me back to first time I ever heard The Smiths—some of you may remember I have written about it many times for Treble, in the back of mi hermano's car, as he was playing a cassette version of The Queen is Dead. The song was "There is a Light that Never Goes Out." And from the opening notes and lyrics of "Take me out tonight…" my life changed. It seems like every year since that moment, my connection to my beloved The Smiths grows more deeply and devotedly. They were the ones—Morrissey, Marr, Rourke and Joyce—whose music was there for me when I was a recluse alone in my room with only their songs as my only friend. Their songs are still the soundtrack to my younger days. Those times, although filled with days and nights of melancholy and longing, will always be a part of me.

As I have grown, The Smiths' music remains a constant in my ever changing blissful life. The Sound of the Smiths is exempt from my usual lambasting of compilations released by successful bands. It's the songs and the sound of these songs that save The Sound of The Smiths from being just another repackaged album. This remastering is something that needed to be done to the canon of one of my favorite bands. With The Beatles reissues looming around the horizon, The Smiths are equally as worthy of remastering, perhaps even more so. Being a product of their time, the '80s was an era of disillusionment, which The Smiths reflected in such songs as "Last Night I Dreamt that Somebody Loved Me" and "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore." The Smiths were our saviors from our sadness and static lives. Through Morrissey's lyrical dreams, The Smiths gave us hope through these songs that still remain as vibrant and timeless, more so than when we first laid ears to them many years before.

So what songs did Morrissey and Marr select for The Sound of The Smiths, you ask? It's every song from the magnificent Singles CD that came out in 1995 plus "Still Ill," "Nowhere Fast," " Barbarism Begins at Home," "The Headmaster Ritual" and "You Just Haven't Earned it Yet Baby" round up disc one. Disc two has some rarities, including a cover of James' "What's the World," as well as live versions of "Meat is Murder," "Handsome Devil" and "London" from live album Rank. You'll also find "Pretty Girls Make Graves" from the often bootlegged and unreleased Troy Tate album sessions. The title track from my favorite Smiths album "The Queen is Dead" sounds more powerfully poetic than ever before. You will hear the difference in: Morrissey's wailing vocals on "Hand in Glove" and "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side," Johnny Marr's echoing guitar greatness on "How Soon is Now," Andy Rourke's funked out bass lines in "Barbarism Begins at Home" and Mike Joyce's signature backbeat on the Peel Session version of "What Difference Does it Make?", all restored to their original sonic brilliance

But I must add, even though I am advocating purchasing The Sound of The Smiths, Morrissey and Marr have left out some of the rarest of gems. They're not all here. For instance, where are the complete Peel Sessions? What about sonic artifacts like "Jeanne" with The Smiths backing Sandie Shaw? What about the complete version of "Rubber Ring/Asleep," unedited in eight minutes of pure beautiful genius, as found on the original 12-inch single of The Boy with the Thorn in his Side? What about the rest of songs missing from the October 26, 1986 National Ballroom show in Kilburn as heard on the Rank disc (including my favorite "There is a Light that Never Goes Out")? What about the famed unedited `director's cut' of "The Queen is Dead" as described brilliantly by Simon Goddard on the definitive book on The Smiths, their songs and the recording sessions, "The Songs that Saved your Life?" And where are the complete Troy Tate Sessions?

Alas, I may be harder to please than your normal Smiths fan, but that's because of their status as one of the most influence bands of our generation. I expect only the best for us, the die-hard fans in Smithsdom. Besides the long rumored anthologized box set, what I'm really waiting for are the original albums, The Smiths, Meat is Murder, The Queen is Dead and Strangeways Here We Come, all four of these brilliant LPs digitally remastered like this stellar compilation. The Sound of the Smiths is the first step in cementing the legacy of one of my favorite bands ever. This is how they were supposed to sound, in all of their glory in these songs that continue to save our lives. Go back to the old house again and relive the splendor of our beloved The Smiths all over again.

Adrian Ernesto Cepeda
11.12.2008

Review: David Bowie: iSelect

My review of David Bowie's iSelect can be found (click here) on treblezine.com

David Bowie
iSelect
Astralwerks
2008

My first ever memory of David Bowie was seeing him dressed up in the sorrowful pierrot's costume on Mars in the video for "Ashes to Ashes." He looked like an alien but there was something about his voice and the lyrics that stuck with me. He seemed otherworldly and strange. Bowie's eccentric persona struck a riff in the imagination of this very weird child. And I loved changing the words to the closing stanza of "Ashes to Ashes." I'd walk around our casa and sing at the top of the lungs, much to my Mami's annoyance, (with apologies to Bowie) "My mama said to get things done you better not fuck with major tom…" At the time I thought it was funny and to this day I feel like it fits better than "mess" but that's me and my childish imagination.

My admiration and devotion to David Bowie has grown throughout my years. From his '80s pop years of "putting on the red shoes and dancing the blues" through his aggro nights of Outside, the Nine Inch Nails-inspired "Hearts Filthy Lesson" and his Earthling jungle-filled days of "Little Wonder," all the way to my personal theme "Never Get Old" from Reality. The deeper I dig inside the canon of one David Bowie the more treasures I discover. The man is one of the most prolific singer/songwriters of our modern generation. What makes Bowie stand out is his chameleon-esque nature, as he incorporates post-modern rhythms and styles with his own personal artistic charm, and the results are constantly simply dazzling.

I'd love to say that I'm reviewing a new Bowie album but alas this is not the case. Instead, I just came across this compilation, yet another one, his twentieth, or… oh who knows I stopped counting after his last Best Of. But before I start going off on my clichéd diatribe about legendary artists releasing yet another hits album, I have to stop myself because iSelect is a different breed of compilation.

First released as a complimentary gift when purchasing the June 29th, 2008 edition of British's newspaper The Mail, iSelect, is a collection of songs personally chosen by Bowie himself. This is not a greatest hits per se, but in Bowie's own words, "I've selected twelve songs that I don't seem to tire of. Few of them are well-known but many of them still get sung at my concerts."

iSelect starts off with the very timely "Life on Mars." (I must quickly add that for years I have wrongly mis-titled this one "Life is Mars." Once again, my bad but doesn't change the connotation of song making it more cosmically mysterious. Maybe it's just me, I'm weird like that.) Alas, "Mars" is a song that Bowie frequently revisits in his live shows. It spawned a BBC hit series that has now debut in an American incarnation that takes the title of Bowie songs (watch the American version, it's worthy of Bowie's song name).

Bowie writes commentary on all of the songs he's selected. Think of this as a kind of storytellers/behind-the-song peek inside the mindset of where he was when said classics were written; time, place, etc. One thing that's not in the liner notes is that "Mars" was Bowie's attempt to rewrite "My Way" as an ode to Frank Sinatra. By the way, listen for the telephone ringing at the end of "Mars" kind of creepy goes along with the theme of the TV series.

Another one of the most requested songs, a perfect addition to iSelect, is "The Bewlay Brothers." At just about all of Bowie's shows, you'll usually hear some die hard fan scream out for him to play this classic. Bowie describes this song as a "palimpsest." He claims to have smoked something out of his Bewlay pipe, which inspired the late night recording of "Brothers." This one reminds me of an old flame I met in New Orleans, who was one of the biggest Bowie fans I ever met, and "Bewlay" was her favorite song. "Lady Grinning Soul" is one of my newfound beloved Bowie songs. This is a majestic one featuring the magical piano stylings of Mike Garson. Written for "a wonderful young girl whom I have not seen in over thirty years…a song…close to the past…that you can almost reach out and touch it." I adore the flamenco guitar strings over Garson's piano keys.

Is it just me or does "Teenage Wildlife" sound a little like "Heroes?" This is Bowie's attempt at Ronnie Spector. Listen to the dueling guitars by Robert Fripp and Carlos Alomar; simply splendid.

The rare find for all Bowie fanatics is the inclusion of the "Time Will Crawl (MM remix)." Originally found on Never Let Me Down with plastic drum machines having been replaced with real drums courtesy of Sterling Campbell. I also really fond the strings Bowie added to the song. It sounds as though "Time Will Crawl" has been resurrected, and is an apt theme for our current times.

The compilation closes with a track from Live Santa Monica '72 concert. If you've had the honor of seeing the Thin White Duke in concert, this live version of "Hang on to Yourself" captures the power of a Bowie live set circa 1972. Oh how we miss the electric guitar greatness of Mick Ronson—you can hear, as he shreds the riffs, that this right hand man to Bowie was the electric force behind Bowie's stage presence. The thing is that Bowie may have aged but he still sounds as lively and creatively challenging as he did back then. He may no longer be the same interstellar palimpsest I used to watch on the video for "Ashes to Ashes," but I will continue loving this alien. By discovering new treasures like the remix of "Time Will Crawl," iSelect is essential for the Bowie diehard in your life. He may change his guises but Bowie will remain the great one with the voice that will shine for me and all of us, beyond rhythms and all times.

Adrian Ernesto Cepeda
11.11.2008

Review: The Cure: 4:13 Dream

My review of The Cure's 4:13 Dream can be found (click here) on treblezine.com

The Cure
4:13 Dream
Geffen
2008

If you were like me, growing up an outcast in the '80s, there were three bands that were the soundtrack of your lost, lonely and lustful life—Depeche Mode, New Order and The Cure. While, mi hermano was devoted to Robert Smith and The Cure, my lyrical corazon belonged to Mode and New Order. I admit I wasn't a diehard Cure fan like him. It was nothing personal against Smith or The Cure, it's just that albums like Disintegration were too depressing for my already lonely existence. That's not to say that I wasn't a fan, just wasn't as loyal as my older sibling. Songs like "Just Like Heaven," "Close to Me" and "Love Song" were staples on my mix-tapes dedicated to my many unrequited crushes that never came true.

It may sound sacrilegious to fellow Robert Smith devotees but my favorite Cure album wasn't made in the '80s or '90s. To me, 2000's Bloodflowers was the best album in their career. This was supposed to be the swan song for Smith; he was finally going to retire his famous moniker and go solo, something he had been threatened to do for ages. Bloodflowers would have been the ultimate finale, as the last chapter in Robert Smith's "heart of darkness trilogy" that began with Pornography, followed years later with my brother's personal best, Disintegration.

Yet there was a hint in "Maybe Someday" and even in "Out of this World" that maybe Smith wasn't ready to hang it up at the end of the song.

"One last time before it's over
One last time before the end
One last time before it's
time to go again..."

Four years later, The Cure returned with a disappointing album produced by Korn producer Ross Robinson. The thing about The Cure is that it felt forced and unfinished. It sounded like a Robinson's idea of what a Cure album should sound like. It sounded liked Smith gave up some of the control and The Cure suffered because of this. Worse still, some of the best songs were left off the American pressing of the album. Who knows why Smith refused to allow stellar songs like "Going Nowhere" and "Truth of Goodness and Beauty" on the album? It was a definite step back for Robert Smith and made me think he made a mistake for not hanging up and leaving us with the everlasting legacy of Bloodflowers.

Following the misstep of self-titled 2004 album, Robert Smith went back to restore the glory of The Cure. Robert Smith reportedly was going to drop a double album in the fall of 2007, as he had recorded more 33 songs for his new album. Gone was Ross Robinson, who I blame for the relative disappointment of The Cure. Thankfully the double LP idea was scrapped and 13 tracks made the album. Smith decided to release an EP every month, starting in May and ending in September, before the release of 4:13 Dream.

Initially, I had my doubts. Some of the songs and remixes I heard were more of the same vibe from 2004's Robinson-produced failure. But I did have a sense of hope because of the track "Please," which Robert Smith recorded with Orbital co-founder Paul Hartnoll. "Please" was pure Robert Smith; he hadn't sound this energized and alive in years. It's the kind of song that The Cure should be creating.

Is 4:13 Dream a nod to "10:15 Saturday Night?" It's as if The Cure had gone fallen under an endless sleep but was miraculously revived at 4:13 AM. The album was the result of all Robert Smith experienced during that dreamlike state. Just when you thought it was over, Robert Smith returns stronger and more vibrant than ever in the opening `Underneath the Stars."

"Underneath the Stars" is the best opening Cure song, save for "Out of this World." Unlike "Lost" from 2004's The Cure where Smith sang, "I can't find myself
I got lost in someone else." Looking back, one could argue these lyrics were not about love but referring to his regret for placing his faith in Robinson's abilities. It may be a stretch but compare "Lost" to "Underneath the Stars" and you immediately hear the difference.

Echoing "Pictures of You," Smith comes out sounding the most confident he has in years. With his echoing dreamy vocals, he invites us to enter his dream world, a welcome return to a more electrifying Robert Smith something that we've been missing from The Cure. "The Only One" is a modern adaptation of "High" and surpasses the summit reached by the original found on Wish. You can actually hear Smith sounding excited as he reaches those upper notes, like he did during his early Goth incarnations of The Cure.

The Peter Hook-esque bass line could be an ode to New Order on "The Reasons Why." (This wouldn't be the first time Smith honored one of his fellow English alt compatriots. In 1998, Smith recorded a tribute to Depeche Mode with a rousing cover of "World In My Eyes" on For the Masses.) By this part of the album, one begins to notice a recurring theme, with Smith singing about stars and dreams as metaphors for falling in love. "The Reasons Why" sounds like a fan writing a letter to Robert Smith, wanting to feel some kind of connection outside of the song. Smith takes the idea of dream and turns into a more classical Shakespearean meaning of eternal sleep of death.

"Freakshow" is a funk burst of energy recalling 1996's Wild Mood Swings. The freaky guitar riffs enhance the dream state illusions of a damsel who's shattering his heart by slithering away a chance for true love. "Sirensong," one of my favorites, is one of the shortest, sweetest and most personal songs Robert Smith has ever composed on this or any album. I adore the dreamlike vibe that has Smith personifying his muse into the guise of a dream girl.

"Tell me you love me
Before it's too late
She sang
Give me your life
Or I must fly away
And you will never hear this song again"

Just like inspiration, she appears and vanishes before you can grasp at her infinite beauty. Yes, "Sirensong" is this beautiful. The next song reverts back to the classic dark side of Cure that has Smith revising the myth of Snow White. "The Real Snow White" is a lusty number dedicated to someone that Smith desires beyond belief. "The Hungry Ghost" has some of the best guitar work of Robert Smith's career. His vocal sounds electric and impassioned, but the lyrics "No it doesn't come for free/ but it's the price/ we pay for happiness," are lacking the substance behind the stylish power of the song.

Doors fans may recognize the familiar theme of "Switch." With lyrics like, "Friends are as strangers/ And strangers as friends/ And I feel like I'm wired in a why/ Yeah my friends are as strangers," "Switch" sounds like a stirring modern lyrical interpretation of Jim Morrison's "People Are Strange."

"Sleep with the Dead" is vintage Cure with 21st Century zeal. Robert Smith has unearthed this one from The Head of the Door songwriting sessions. Continuing his eloquent imagery, he calls out "I'll sleep when I'm Dead/ you angels…before I lay me down to dream."

The thing that impresses me even with a few on the tracks that don't stir me, there's transcendent transitions between songs of 4:13 Dream. It is in constant flow, moving from one emotional peak of "Underneath the Stars" through the breaths of despair in "It's Over." Speaking of "It's Over," the song closes 4:13 with a fury that's been missing from most of the sanitized Cure albums of the not so distant past. Think the guitar fire of "Burn" mixed with the vocalized passion of Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me. As Robert Smith sings "I can't do this anymore" I am hoping that 4:13 Dream is only the next chapter, and he doesn't walk away from The Cure.

Robert Smith has resurrected the legacy of The Cure with an album that dedicated fans and ripe ones would both adore. It's not perfect, but overall 4:13 Dream soars beyond my miscalculated expectations. I was ready to bury The Cure after Bloodflowers. Once again, Smith and The Cure have proved me wrong.

Adrian Ernesto Cepeda
11.03.2008