tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341244652024-03-06T00:34:54.302-08:00i write therefore i am<b>welcome to a creative outlet for all my published music reviews, essays and lyrical muses.<br><br>
music to me is more than lyrics, chords and vocals - these songs are the soundtrack of my life.<br><br>
I hope you enjoy my riffs on the rhythms that reflect the sound and visions that are mi vida.</b>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.comBlogger118125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-62471611995726090182009-11-09T11:37:00.000-08:002009-11-09T11:42:34.108-08:00Treble's Best Tracks of the 00s: No. 18 - "I See Monsters" by Ryan Adams<a href="http://treblezine.com/columns/144.html">My Ryan Adams song review can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhggU-2-3AGzs3OM6exgUX_MNyPoOl3KludlK5ezQKHeP9JlAUCjg6fFQn48XtESC7Gg-Xsycw8kkUA8rzbdWbW-SxPka6-31oeSgBEkhyTrKZIArVhKTVGLwLyDpYf1GFOkkO7dg/s1600-h/TueNov32241102009.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 270px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhggU-2-3AGzs3OM6exgUX_MNyPoOl3KludlK5ezQKHeP9JlAUCjg6fFQn48XtESC7Gg-Xsycw8kkUA8rzbdWbW-SxPka6-31oeSgBEkhyTrKZIArVhKTVGLwLyDpYf1GFOkkO7dg/s320/TueNov32241102009.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402190760581323570" /></a> <span style="font-weight:bold;">Ryan Adams</span><br />"I See Monsters"<br />from <span style="font-style:italic;">Love is Hell</span> (2203)<br />and <span style="font-style:italic;">Loft Sessions </span>(2005)<br /><br />I've recently discovered that the most terrifying images we experience are not found in any horror movie but what we see on the inside--our own personal demons. It's the voices and flashes of fear that stir inside of us until the moment it takes us over and paralyzes us with the kind of dread only our own minds can imagine.<br /><br />This has happened to me three times in my life, once as an overindulgence of excess in New Orleans. Another time when I was in Paris, sirens brought back flashbacks of a near death experience with a hold up in the Garden District that I tried to bury inside of me. And, most recently, an experience in our apartment last week. I had gone through weeks of illness, depression, self-doubt and so many tests by doctors, aches and pains that I wouldn't want my worst enemy to experience. I thought it was all over but I was wrong.<br />Imagine for a minute you're trying to fall asleep so you can some prescription medicine to help you get drowsy. But instead of relaxing, you experience a panic attack. And not just any panic attack but the kind where, for a few hours, you're trying to not lose your place in your own mental universe. Your own existence is being questioned by your mind. All the memories, good and bad, that you have experienced are vanishing by the second. And all that's left are the flashes and whispering monsters in your head trying to take you away from the life and love that you have been cherishing for over three years.<br /><br />When I hear the "I See Monsters" by Ryan Adams, it brings back and makes sense of that terrifying night that I experienced. What I recall most is towards the end of my ordeal having all those memories that I thought were gone come back to me at a fast pace in the middle of the night. Imagine reliving all the pain and agony of lost love, break-ups, betrayal, hurt all coming back at once. All of those emotions of hurt going through you in the matter of minutes. Horrifying is not even the word. I don't think there is one for what I experienced. But Ryan's incredible freaked-out guitar solo at the end of the Loft Sessions in his awe-inspiring version of <span style="font-style:italic;">Love is Hell</span>'s "I See Monsters" comes close. "And then after the song is over, you hear handclaps in the studio and one of Ryan's Cardinals says it best when trying to describe Ryan's solo, "It sounds like Monsters."<br /><br />The incredible thing about Ryan's song is that he's lived through similar events in his life. In the song, Ryan's in bed with the one that he loves and in his mind, the demons are coming to life in the middle of the night. And these aren't the CGI creatures from your overindulgent horror films that we've all seen. No, these are monsters that live inside of us. They hold our fears and come out in the dark trying to paralyze us with our own personal fears. Something that no film or ghost story could ever emulate, Adams brings to life in the climax of "I See Monsters."<br /><br />I do feel stronger having gone through this harrowing time. And "I See Monsters" has now become one of my favorite Ryan Adams songs. I used to think that "I See Monsters" was a beautiful song, but the Loft version is more than that. He understands. He almost whispers the vocal as if he's trying to ease himself to sleep. And then at the end he brings out his electric axe and slays his monsters for another night. After it's over, they will be back, but we're all a little stronger for living through these moments of trepidation.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.tauthal.com/Weekly%20Broadcasts/Ryan%20Adams/The%20Loft%20Sessions/Archive%20Broadcast.html"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Loft Session</span></a> <br /><br />Adrian Ernesto Cepeda<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">11.03.2009</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-3702258012641823632009-11-09T11:24:00.000-08:002009-11-09T11:35:41.511-08:00Review: Leonard Cohen: Live at the Isle of Wight 1970<a href="http://treblezine.com/reviews/3325-Leonard_Cohen_Live_at_the_Isle_of_Wight_1970.html">My review of Leonard Cohen's <span style="font-style:italic;">Isle of Wight 1970 </span> can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgefD54lJcoeBL_HE7rdpPzl6MCB4_ExRKSM19E0T779EzIxfIwhXGynF7cYc5ZRO7ib1VbkDwD87YqzOD5Izg5t8qMUBzb-3MPpHZPIDwGg405lHxwoxuVAtwTM6RMX-R3li0mQA/s1600-h/51H07RaBREL._SS500_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 316px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgefD54lJcoeBL_HE7rdpPzl6MCB4_ExRKSM19E0T779EzIxfIwhXGynF7cYc5ZRO7ib1VbkDwD87YqzOD5Izg5t8qMUBzb-3MPpHZPIDwGg405lHxwoxuVAtwTM6RMX-R3li0mQA/s320/51H07RaBREL._SS500_.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402187968250954898" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Leonard Cohen</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Isle of Wight 1970</span><br />Columbia/ Legacy<br />2009<br /><br />For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be one of the wasted wordsmiths like Jim Morrison and Hunter S. Thompson. Before moving towards a life of overindulgences in the French Quarters of New Orleans, I grew up a confused soul in the suburbs of Ann Arbor and San Antonio. I knew I wanted to take the road less traveled, so I followed the adventures excess of Thompson. But instead of Vegas, I went to New Orleans. I attempted to be like Hunter, but failed miserably. I was no drinker or aficionado of drugs. All it did was made me hung-over, sick and feel even more alone in the city of myths. Some of my favorite moments in New Orleans were when I was locked away in my room, writing all hours of the day. Even my neighbors knew my routine. When I would leave they would snicker, "there goes the poet to lock himself in his house for days. See you in a couple of weeks, dude." At the time, I was hurt by the snide comments. I didn't want to be a recluse. I lived to be the life of the party. I never was.<br /><br />In reality, my life mirrored the romantic frustration of one Leonard Cohen. I wouldn't want to compare my writing with Cohen. If I could one day equal one of his eternal lyrics, just one line from one of his songs I would be grateful. Looking back, without the greatness, my life as a loner writer was like Cohen's. I experienced the lows and loneliness of bachelorhood and desperately searched for love in every siren I longed to be with. Most of the times those sparks faded to blue after a first kiss but still searched for her. It would take ten years to find my true love but all those years on my own taught me to keep writing and never give up.<br /><br />To this day, I follow the reflective wisdom of Leonard Cohen. To me Cohen is a truth-telling troubadour who was born a sonneteer, a poet whose words reflected the pain and longing that scar us all from within. But even through all the hurt, after all of these years, and even in those early days of the 1970s, Cohen never lost his hope. And just like Cohen, what I leaned most from Leonard was his unwritten creative creed. He loved, lost and learned to write through the scars and sing through the agony. The thing is that his results are international treasures such as "So Long, Marianne" and "Famous Blue Raincoat."<br /><br />Cohen sang a plethora of what are now classics during his legendary performance at the Isle of Wight in 1970. Cohen was awakened from a nap at 2 a.m. and followed the explosive set of Jimi Hendrix with his transcendental lyrical journey in front of 600,000 friends. At the time Cohen took the stage, he had released two albums: <span style="font-style:italic;">Songs of Leonard Cohen</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Songs from a Room</span>. A few weeks after, he would record his third album <span style="font-style:italic;">Songs of Love and Hate</span>, which would include "Sing Another Song, Boys" from this same event at the Isle of Wight.<br /><br />What makes his performance unique was the stripped, honest nature of each song. It starts with Cohen's voice who sings like a lover sharing his tales of lost love, proud of his scar-like choruses as a choir of backing angels harmonizes behind him in such songs as "Lady Midnight." The choice of "Lady Midnight" is a curious selection for it contains some of his most powerful religious imagery, like future wordsmith singers like Johnny Cash and Nick Cave, whose conflict with their personal faith is something you can hear them struggle with in almost all of their songs. To me "Lady Midnight" has more kinship with the myth of Orpheus that Cave himself sang about 30 years later. In Cohen's song, you hear his fair maiden calling out "<span style="font-style:italic;">You won me, oh Lord</span>."<br /><br />One of my favorite aspects of the Isle of Wight show was the way Cohen changed some of the lyrics of songs like "Bird on the Wire" if only slightly. But just like a master poet, once you replace a word with another one it changes the meaning completely. Instead of saving the ribbons Cohen switches that line with "<span style="font-style:italic;">I have saved all my sorrow for thee</span>." It matches the reflective mood of his desolate life of unrequited love.<br /><br />But my favorite part of "Bird on the Wire" is at the end of the second verse when Leonard updated his lyric from "<span style="font-style:italic;">and if I have been untrue/ I hope you know it was never to you</span>, " to "<span style="font-style:italic;">and if I have been untrue/ It's just that I thought a lover had to be some kind of liar too</span>." His one lyric was a reflection of my own past lies and romantic failures. Who else can do this? With one line he encapsulates a lifetime of heartache. This is why, to me, just like Dylan and Shakespeare, Cohen is one of the eternal lyrical geniuses.<br /><br />Other highlights are the acoustic solo version of "The Stranger Song." In this performance, Cohen's words come to life. He was the stranger and with every chord he has mesmerized the crowd with his poignant journey. And Cohen became something more, a lyrical laureate of truth and love. I loved the emotional version of "One of Us Cannot Be Wrong" with Cohen playing what sounds like a flute-like instrument with his hands. You can see this on Murray Lerner's documentary of Cohen's concert. This version includes interviews with Joan Baez, Judy Collins and Kris Kristofferson as they recant their memories of Cohen's amazing performance. The film is remastered and looks beautiful, but not all the songs from the show are featured and for some reason Lerner edited them out of order. Seeing a young Cohen crooning to this conscientious crowd is a delight.<br /><br />Comparing Cohen's <span style="font-style:italic;">Live in London</span> live disc that was also released this year with this performance at the Isle of Wight, I prefer this one. This one is for the die hard Cohen fans. There were not many hits in this show and Cohen's young voice has yet to ripen to the lower register we have grown accustomed to. His emerging voice still sounds powerfully poetic as he sings the lyrical letter of "Famous Blue Raincoat." (Surprising this song was absent from the Live in London show.) To me this Isle of Wight rendition is my favorite and one of the best on this amazing performance. It has a flamenco guitar vibe that I still can hear delightfully in my head.<br /><br />Leonard Cohen's <span style="font-style:italic;">Isle of Wight</span> 1970 CD/DVD is an album that all music connoisseurs must own. There's something mythically inspiring by his performance during his magical show. Leonard Cohen has always transcended time and lyrical spaces with his songs. And this show is no different. Cohen may now be a middle aged crooner but looking back at this magnificent concert is like watching the master with new and unheard gems that he shares from his arsenal of artistic greatness.<br /><br />Not only do you get the songs but you also hear reminiscences with poems and stories from his childhood. He tells a story about when his father would take him to the circus when he was younger. There was one part that the young Cohen always waited for, when a man at the circus would stand up and he would say "would everybody light a match, so we can locate one another…" Cohen then asks the crowd to light a match so "you can sparkle like fireflies at your different heights." He longed to see those matches flare.<br /><br />Long after this performance, Cohen has been lighting the spark of inspiration in my life as a solitary writer and lover. Now on the cusp of my wedding, I can look back with the pride and glory of Leonard Cohen's young voice. Going back with his lyrics I have no regrets, just a lifetime full of memories that ring truth in the songs that have guided me throughout these years from the poet/singer that I still long to honor. Thank you, Leonard, for this beautiful and timeless lyrical gift. I will continue to reach for the moon. Your voice will guide me as my journey continues the same one that started in June, a year after your famous performance at the Isle of Wight. I am listening with matches that I light from within.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Adrian Ernesto Cepeda</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">11.03.2009</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-51424921921797230242009-07-16T10:01:00.000-07:002009-11-09T11:30:58.772-08:00Review: The Dead Weather: Horehound<a href="http://treblezine.com/reviews/3200-The_Dead_Weather_Horehound.html">My review of <span style="font-style:italic;"> Horehound</span> can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhboe2-O0sH9Ooy0ej5WSNrW_4snet9rBQe-16hbVWhirnfrGGfSsEWNgTnuhdVpmRaH-4M-qC1rs18ncpQFE7addtiB_xGIAPlsbpL1EfKrlhCU_HGqxcn92jUg9q5fCQmj3P2mQ/s1600-h/dead-weather-horehound-album-art.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 318px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhboe2-O0sH9Ooy0ej5WSNrW_4snet9rBQe-16hbVWhirnfrGGfSsEWNgTnuhdVpmRaH-4M-qC1rs18ncpQFE7addtiB_xGIAPlsbpL1EfKrlhCU_HGqxcn92jUg9q5fCQmj3P2mQ/s320/dead-weather-horehound-album-art.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359104865641428962" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Dead Weather</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Horehound</span><br />Third Man<br />2009<br /><br />From the opening sounds of "60 Ft Tall" from <span style="font-style:italic;">Horehound</span>, it's apparent this isn't your everyday super group. The Dead Weather creates cerebral, bluesy cock-fueled rock, using not just the tip but the whole entire head of their explosive arsenal. The difference is there's a luscious lady assassin who is the sensual leader of this operation, and her name is Alison Mosshart. Yeah, I know the brainchild of this group is Jack White III, he's the producer and plays drums, but The Weather would be limp and lifeless without the front-woman of The Kills. She slays, sulks and seduces you through this electrifying debut album. But she's no damsel; in fact Allison seems to have a desire for danger as you can hear throughout the very lustful and fiery "60 Ft Tall."<br /><br />But this just isn't Alison's show—she's backed up by three prominent counterparts. The first is guitarist Dean Fertita from Queens of the Stone Age. His riffs are the backbone to this 21st Century sound (think Hendrix-meets-Yeah Yeah Yeah's Nick Zimmer, with a slice of Rage's Tom Morello) creating earth shattering riffs that are simply intensified greatness. Yes, the new single "Treat Me Like Your Mother" even has that Rage Against the Machine-meets-Southern Delta sound. Even Jack's vocals echo the living spirit of aggro activist Zach De La Rocha on "Treat Me Like Your Mother."<br /><br />Speaking of Jack, our favorite axe-man has taken the sticks and is now sitting behind the drum kit. You may notice that the backbeats are turned up in the mix. This reminds me of a story of when Mick Jagger went to go visit Keith Richards during their much-publicized split during the '80s. Richards played Jagger tracks from his then new album <span style="font-style:italic;">Talk is Cheap</span>. Jagger's one comment was that the drums were turned up a little high. Richards' response was that the drummer Steve Jordan was the one that produced the sessions. Jagger's response was, "There you go," and just laughed. As I mentioned before, White is the producer of <span style="font-style:italic;">Horehound</span> so you will notice his drum fills louder than on most of his recordings. I love his Ringo-like opening count-out in the "Yer Blues"-inspired cover of Bob Dylan's "New Pony," one of the most original covers of a Dylan song re-imagined by a band I have ever heard. This rendition is simply a modern day classic.<br /><br />At first, White's cranked up drums are noticeable but as you go further down the rabbit hole that is <span style="font-style:italic;">Horehound</span> the other elements of the band—especially bassist's Jack Lawrence killer fills, Fertita's robust riffs and Allison's sultry vocals—all take you over. You are useless to resist the power of The Dead Weather.<br /><br />I've never really been a fan of instrumentals but "3 Birds" is an all assault of riffs, fills and boisterous bass licks, with a sinister vibe that would make Portishead proud. Another highlight is the raga, hip-hop and organ-infused brilliance of "I Cut like a Buffalo." Jack's lyrics are hilariously wicked when he sings, "<span style="font-style:italic;">You know I look like a woman but I cut like a buffalo</span>." But my favorite song is Alison's "So Far From Your Weapon." When she sings, "<span style="font-style:italic;">There's a bullet in my pocket burning a hole</span>…" Alison sounds like an assassin savoring the moment right before she kills for the thrill.<br /><br />I love it when Alison and Jack sing together—their voices merge perfectly throughout. On "No Hassle Night" hey sound like a futuristic Bonnie and Clyde on the run when they sing, "<span style="font-style:italic;">I'm looking for a place to go/ where the sun goes down…where I can lay low</span>," leaving behind a trail of scars and broken hearts inside these saga-like songs. The one weak link on Horehound seems to be the faux electronic inspired backing beats of "Bone House." I have to admit this song seems out of place on this hot-blooded debut album. To me The Dead Weather's <span style="font-style:italic;">Horehound</span> sounds like a soundtrack to an unmade, futuristic Western motion picture where these outlaws kill for the thrill, and live to sing about it.<br /><br />Jack White's newest vehicle, featuring Alison Mosshart as his lyrical executioner, is impossible to resist. Dean Fertita is the unheralded all-star of this album. His riffs are the ones that bring White's 21st Century artistic carnage to life. White, Mosshart, Fertita and Lawrence are an ideal match that you must discover. Get ready to be hooked on <span style="font-style:italic;">Horehound</span>. Death, blues and rock never sounded this good, buried in the mix together.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adrian Ernesto Cepeda</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">07.16.2009</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-20656990573680709372009-06-12T10:34:00.001-07:002009-06-12T10:42:18.655-07:00Review: Jeff Buckley: Grace Around the World<a href="http://treblezine.com/reviews/3158-Jeff_Buckley_Grace_Around_the_World.html">My review of <span style="font-style:italic;"> Grace Around the World (Special Edition)</span> can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTL24bpWHqtA4gYvp0ztQLU3b4F8PCXPvbK60WmxGw-D4G5eZ7CjD4HhHv_l9P77peuZ-leJCm1-rdd9gRJPWbvqi1-ZmSPbq2E8KGm7VGKnhEgADe8OrML5qfGezPYLYGsf_Jg/s1600-h/38664496.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTL24bpWHqtA4gYvp0ztQLU3b4F8PCXPvbK60WmxGw-D4G5eZ7CjD4HhHv_l9P77peuZ-leJCm1-rdd9gRJPWbvqi1-ZmSPbq2E8KGm7VGKnhEgADe8OrML5qfGezPYLYGsf_Jg/s320/38664496.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346495934670156850" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jeff Buckley</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Grace Around the World</span><br />Legacy/Columbia<br />2009<br /><br />After reading Jeff Apter's brilliant bio, <span style="font-style:italic;">A Pure Drop</span>, I was ready for the new compilation featuring our favorite rocking chansonnier Jeff Buckley, <span style="font-style:italic;">Grace Around the World</span>. In theory, this two DVD, one CD collection looks tasty for the Buckley fan in your life. Finally we get the release of the documentary <span style="font-style:italic;">Amazing Grace</span> along with a plethora of live performances Jeff and his band recorded around the globe during his very lengthy tour promoting his first and only album, <span style="font-style:italic;">Grace</span>.<br /><br />I'm no casual Buckley fan—I like to think I know a little about the life and music of one Jeff Buckley. He is the one we reach for during the peaks and valleys of our everyday lives. He's the imperfect soul who sang for our lonely souls, longing for true love. When he sung words like "<span style="font-style:italic;">She's the tear that hangs inside my soul forever</span>," we felt every syllable as a reflection for the ones we once adored but have since left us with only ripples of lost legendary kisses.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Grace Around the World</span> does give those of us who never had a chance to see Buckley in concert a glimpse into his live shows, which is the reason I loved the <span style="font-style:italic;">Live in Chicago </span>DVD. So what's the deal with adding "Lover, You Should've Come Over" from that same Chicago show? Was there no other video of the band playing "Lover" in all the Buckley archives at Sony? This is the problem I have with this compilation—it has style but is missing the substance that we have come to value from most Buckley posthumous releases. We Buckley fans deserve better. We need more releases like the <span style="font-style:italic;">Live À L'Olympia</span> show in Paris. I was in fact listening and loving this disc today, especially his rendition of "Hallelujah" with the Parisian faithful cheering him on with every lyric and his cover of Edith Piaf's "Je N'en Connais Pas la Fin," both of which are breathtaking editions to the ever evolving Buckley canon.<br /><br />Even <span style="font-style:italic;">Amazing Grace</span> was lacking. There was a BBC documentary, which you can watch for gratis on You Tube that is better, quality wise. It seems like the creators took footage from Buckley's videos and the Electronic Press Kit that is already available in the Legacy Edition of <span style="font-style:italic;">Grace</span> and mixed it with new interviews. We've seen most of this footage there's nothing really new here to discover. I learned more about Buckley from Apter's bio than from <span style="font-style:italic;">Amazing Grace</span>. Although, I must admit I did appreciate all of the artists who were inspired by Buckley and are influenced by his words on a daily basis within their creative canvases. There are some people interviewed in <span style="font-style:italic;">Amazing Grace</span> that have business talking about Buckley. The majority of his most dedicated supporters still refuse to speak on the record to anyone about their friend that left us over ten years ago<br /><br />I met one of his close friend's a few months back. I had a copy of Apter's book on display at the bookstore when she came in. She spent a few minutes looking inside <span style="font-style:italic;">A Pure Drop</span> before being overcome with emotion. "He's been gone this long and it still hurts. I'm not ready," she told me before walking away. We talked about him, the real Buckley and his legacy which she claimed should be in better hands. After experiencing <span style="font-style:italic;">Grace Around the World </span>I tend to agree with her.<br /><br />Jeff Buckley deserves a Doors-like Bright Midnight label so the estate can release all of the individual shows that Columbia has gathering dust in the Sony archives. What are they waiting for? We are still waiting for an outtakes album with the official release of the "Flowers in Time" duet featuring Cocteau Twins vocalist Liz Fraser.<br /><br />That's not to say the performances on the Main Program of <span style="font-style:italic;">Grace Around the World</span> are lacking. His version of "Mojo Pin" that includes the introduction of "Chocolate on the Tongue" is similar to the one that was released on the <span style="font-style:italic;">Grace</span> EP from a show at the Wetlands. In this one performance on this German TV show captures the essence of the voice within the voice, and the sound within our sound that we have come to love of Jeff. In fact this live version showcases the Buckley was one part Nina Simone and the other half Led Zeppelin.<br /><br />It's been said that Jeff never played a song the same way twice and thankfully <span style="font-style:italic;">Grace Around the World</span> is proof of this. My favorite part of this compilation is the memorable interview clips by good friend and photographer Merri Cyr that are intertwined between each performance. The first one shows the true goofy side of Jeff even before his band plays a note. There is a clichéd introduction where they mention Jeff's dad and at that moment Buckley sarcastically raises his hands in the air. I wish we had more glimpses of this kind of Jeff on <span style="font-style:italic;">Grace Around the World</span>. Watching Jeff on screen you realize that we will never see culmination of his future greatness of this one-of-a-kind soul who never took himself seriously, but his music was his lifeline. Although I appreciate the intent, Buckley deserves better quality releases that will seal his legacy within the hearts and ears of music devotees everywhere.<br /><br />Maybe I'm hard to please, and watching him on screen I realize that he's never coming back. In some ways it is difficult to come to terms that one of your favorite singer/songwriters will never write another new song ever again. At least we have <span style="font-style:italic;">Grace</span> to give us hope. It may be over but we hold on we wait for something new to cling to like a message from an old lover that will spark the memories with a single note. This is what Buckley and his music means to me. At least with <span style="font-style:italic;">Grace Around the World</span> we can drink up the sight and sounds of "Lilac Wine" and toast to the memory of the one that left us behind. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adrian Ernesto Cepeda</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">06.12.2009</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-59757197530365168992009-04-27T08:14:00.000-07:002009-04-27T08:26:06.060-07:00Review: Sinéad O'Connor: I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (Special Edition)<a href="http://treblezine.com/reviews/3093-Sin_ad_O_Connor_I_Do_Not_Want_What_I_Haven_t_Got__Special_Edition_.html">My review of <span style="font-style:italic;"> I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (Special Edition)</span> can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNq495Gj_EH_xVBWY6TcJZni7qKnFwdecqhGXHsgoFxYpVanrn5btI2lNvXcSPjjWIduGwF0I1WKhxuvNPiRk9LiV0bIhINkjIaiYWsXdL7MqtT566ViCHCxkxepA1B7SzAa0DDg/s1600-h/41dPP4a64nL._SS400_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 285px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNq495Gj_EH_xVBWY6TcJZni7qKnFwdecqhGXHsgoFxYpVanrn5btI2lNvXcSPjjWIduGwF0I1WKhxuvNPiRk9LiV0bIhINkjIaiYWsXdL7MqtT566ViCHCxkxepA1B7SzAa0DDg/s320/41dPP4a64nL._SS400_.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329390324700377970" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sinéad O'Connor</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (Special Edition)</span><br />EMI/ Chrysalis<br />2009<br /><br />Has it really been almost 20 years since the release of Sinéad's <span style="font-style:italic;">I Don't Want What I Haven't Got</span>? I was 19 years old, just out of high school and started my extended run at a local junior college in San Antonio, Texas. Sinéad herself was only twenty four when she gave birth to <span style="font-style:italic;">I Don't Want</span> with her husband, drummer John Reynolds. Most of the tracks were recorded with very few takes. The record company initially rejected the record because in their words it sounded like `…reading somebody's diaries.'<br /><br />The personal nature of <span style="font-style:italic;">I Don't Want </span>is what made Sinéad an international phenomenon. To me, being a young poet, I connected to her words. It takes a true artist to connect beyond their gender and age. Sinéad was this artist. All you have to do is listen to her lyrics, especially on "The Last Day of Our Acquaintance." Her words and vocal performance perfectly reflected the initial sound and emotions when heart shatters during the first moments of a break up. It starts off with Sinéad quietly whispering her vocal over her acoustic guitar. It climaxes with Sinéad finding her voice and becoming louder in a moment of empowerment. It's no coincidence of the song's placement at the end of the record. Sinéad's vocal in her anthem was the signal of her true nature. Sinéad was always an outspoken artist who told her version of the truth, no matter what cost. She was brave and uncompromising from the beginning, and it startled a male-dominated entertainment world.<br /><br />It's hard to separate all of the events following the release of the album because in my memory they're tied together. I remember I was at the same junior college and proudly wearing my oversized, black Sinéad t-shirt with a huge portrait of O'Connor's beautiful bald head on the front during the height of her controversy. This was the time when even Frank Sinatra was condemning her. But not me, I never wavered even with all the looks and stares around this very conservative Texas city. I recall one of my history professors walking with me across campus admiring me wearing Sinéad's shirt during the time the public was turning against her. Looking back, I wish I still had that shirt.<br /><br />It's amazing that the public so quickly rallied against the artist who only a few months back had a number one single written by Prince himself. "Nothing Compares 2 U" is what most will remember <span style="font-style:italic;">I Don't Want</span>, but to me the legacy of Sinéad's second album is the legion of artists who came after her. By standing up to the status quo, O'Connor opened the door for Polly Jean Harvey, Tori Amos, Cat Power and so many more. Sinéad symbolically took the arrows for those future artists. I believe she laid the dynamic foundations for these women and their art to thrive during their respective eras.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">I Don't Want</span> is not just a singer/songwriter's manifesto and it's reflected in this newly released Special Edition. Not only do you get this now classic album remastered, but also a disc of live rarities, remixes and b-sides. One of my favorites is the Daniel Lanois-produced "Mind Games," a cover of the John Lennon song. and Sinéad's voice is perfect for this version. Lennon would proud of the way she sings the original title of the song, "Make Love Not War," over and over on the fade out. O'Connor also adds a little Jamaican flavor to a faithful cover of Gregory Issacs' "Night Nurse."<br /><br />If there was any doubt about the greatness of Sinéad, press play and listen to the dynamic fire in her passionate voice in this acoustic version of "Troy" recorded live in London. Also available on the bonus disc of <span style="font-style:italic;">I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got</span>, this is reason enough to buy the reissue. When she sings, "<span style="font-style:italic;">I'll remember it/ every restless night</span>,"you are there reliving it all. Fucking amazing!<br /><br />Let's not forget some of the gems from the original album that made <span style="font-style:italic;">I Don't Want</span> an electric listening experience. Sinead brought the noise on the memorable rock anthem "The Emperor's New Clothes." (Listen for the killer bass lines from former Smiths member Andy Rourke.) We can't forget the sizzling "Jump in the River" with bullets firing the single that dropped before the album's release. Who could forget the time Sinead once claimed "Rap is the folk music of this generation." You can hear O'Connor incorporating a hip-hop feel with the James Brown back beat sample on the very lovely and potent Frank O'Connor poem "I Am Stretched Out on Your Grave."<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">I Don't Want</span> was and still is a very diverse album that changed music within the confines of these timeless songs. We owe a lot to Sinéad. She proved to her label, the music world and every artist that writing from the heart, no matter how personal, will connect with every man, woman and child on the planet and she did with <span style="font-style:italic;">I Don't Want What I Haven't Got</span>. She inspired me and continues to today. Sometimes it's difficult to reflect your own voice within your own personal canvas but Sinéad proved it's the only way to be true to yourself as an artist. This is still a bold and delicate album that grows stronger and more beautiful with age. More than a work of a vilified anti-hero on a t-shirt or on a video screen, <span style="font-style:italic;">I Don't Want What I Haven't Got</span> is the album where Sinéad found her voice. It was not only hers but the voice of a generation who searched for love, honesty and devotion in an uncompromising nature that only Sinéad O'Connor could bring to life.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Adrian Ernesto Cepeda</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">04.27.2009</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-7245632010093575572009-04-08T07:41:00.000-07:002009-04-08T08:01:01.766-07:00Review: PJ Harvey and John Parish: A Woman a Man Walked By<a href="http://treblezine.com/reviews/3069-PJ_Harvey_and_John_Parish_A_Woman_a_Man_Walked_By.html">My review of <span style="font-style:italic;">A Woman a Man Walked By</span> can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHIiQXvdkCJS8tBEs_YaOq8UjwNKQxp6xyZ6devPFdJrHYxwyWVRmRmHGwH9_O4frZ4Q9AUoaLSqq4-sJ61IlhPQ4udoy39CebRj2TWpFnRCIUUX5BDSo1ToB-P1tzYW8Mnnz0iw/s1600-h/6a00d10a7905288bfa011017ab1817860e-320pi.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 319px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHIiQXvdkCJS8tBEs_YaOq8UjwNKQxp6xyZ6devPFdJrHYxwyWVRmRmHGwH9_O4frZ4Q9AUoaLSqq4-sJ61IlhPQ4udoy39CebRj2TWpFnRCIUUX5BDSo1ToB-P1tzYW8Mnnz0iw/s320/6a00d10a7905288bfa011017ab1817860e-320pi.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322332421840043906" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">PJ Harvey and John Parish</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">A Woman a Man Walked By</span><br />Island<br />2009<br /><br />Unfortunately for John Parish, fans of multi-talented Polly Jean Harvey often overlook his contributions when collaborating with the songstress. It's just a simple fact: the singer that gets most of the recognition. Look at Bright Eyes—songwriter Conor Oberst gets all of the laurels while instrumentalist Mike Mogis creates all the visually inspiring soundscapes for his singing counterpart to craft his lyrical magic. Oberst frequently acknowledges Mogis' role in the band, but for the most part Conor gets all the glory. The same goes for Harvey, whose <span style="font-style:italic;">A Woman a Man Walked By</span> is not a proper solo album. We are so used to Polly doing it all on her own that when we hear singing, we assume it's 100 percent Harvey, all the time.<br /><br />Multi-instrumentalist Parish has produced some of the most electrifying atmospheric sonic textures for Polly Jean to create her intimate lyrical rhymes. A Woman is a breathtaking effort with equally sinister and sweet, seductive sounds coming from my favorite siren. Parish brings the good stuff with his searing guitar riffs especially in the explosive opener "Black Hearted Love." When Polly Jean sings, "<span style="font-style:italic;">I'd like to take you to a place I know</span>…" we, as her devoted audience, are sure to follow her. This is what makes "Black Hearted Love" the perfect introduction as Polly Jean's vocals invite us to follow them down the rabbit hole beneath this new rhythmic canvas.<br /><br />Ever since the opening salvo of greatness was struck in her debut single "Sheela-Na-Gig," we devotees of Polly Jean have been with her every step of the way throughout the progression of her career, as heard in the <span style="font-style:italic;">dynamic</span> Rid of Me, the <span style="font-style:italic;">dramatic</span> Stories from the City, the cinematic <span style="font-style:italic;">Is This Desire</span>, the bare melancholy of <span style="font-style:italic;">Uh Huh Her</span> and the haunting melodies of <span style="font-style:italic;">White Chalk</span>. Parish makes Harvey fans roar with gratefulness by reuniting Polly Jean's voice with his electric guitar. But A Woman is not just a ten song axe fest; think of this as Harvey and Parish following the Radiohead post-<span style="font-style:italic;">Kid A/Amnesiac</span> method. Starting with <span style="font-style:italic;">Hail to the Thief</span> the band reincorporated the guitar back into their repertoire, but didn't completely abandon the creative elements of their most recent musical experimentation. Parish gave Harvey minimalist musical textures in songs like "A Soldier," with Harvey's ghostly vocal that would have fit perfectly on <span style="font-style:italic;">White Chalk</span>.<br /><br />One of my favorite songs on A Woman has to be Parish's Krzysztof Komeda inspired rhythms of "Leaving California." This song has an eerie <span style="font-style:italic;">Rosemary's Baby</span>-esque vibe which Komeda famously composed for director Roman Polanski's classic thriller in 1968. Harvey's poignant vocal reminds me of Mia Farrow's character from that same movie. "California" is very cinematic and one of Parish's musical triumphs. He should be writing music for films. Harvey even claims that his music for a college production of <span style="font-style:italic;">Hamlet</span> is what inspired their first collaboration <span style="font-style:italic;">Dance Hall at Louise Point</span>.<br /><br />Fans of Harvey's classic <span style="font-style:italic;">Rid of Me</span> will recognize the "50ft Queenie" shock from Parish's electric riffs on the climactic title track. Oh how we have missed that lusty seductress spitting vulgar rhymes of yesteryear. Parish then mixes the title cut with a locomotive-inspired instrumental, "The Crow Knows Where All the Little Children Go."<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">A Woman</span> displays the ultimate blend of their strengths: Parish's melodic muscle and Harvey's lyrical intensity. "Pig Will Not" is another vintage Harvey track, with howling vocals and Parish supplying a cacophony of backing riffs and rhythms that match her lyrical fire.<br /><br />The album closes with Harvey's very beautiful spoken word vocal on "Cracks in the Canvas." Parish's simple harmonium and single chords connect with Harvey's memorable lyric, "<span style="font-style:italic;">Cracks in the canvas look like roads that never end</span>." And just like that the journey that was <span style="font-style:italic;">A Woman a Man Walked By</span> ends. Within the confines of ten incredible songs, Harvey and Parish have surpassed the promise made with <span style="font-style:italic;">Dance Hall at Louise Point</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">A Woman a Man Walked By</span> is an unforgettable exploration with John Parish and Polly Jean Harvey as our guides. If <span style="font-style:italic;">A Woman a Man Walked By</span> is any indication, I look forward to their next musical endeavor where Parish will continue feeding Harvey sonic dangers made eloquent by her lyrical genius. In the guise of these songs, these two artists find the way to constantly connect the passionate rhythms of human nature. The emotional resonance of lust and their revealing loves are brought to life by Polly Jean Harvey and John Parish. The ripples of these melodies will linger long after the cracks on their musical canvas have subsided.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adrian Ernesto Cepeda</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">04.08.2009</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-80285060111970703592009-04-07T09:38:00.001-07:002009-04-07T09:50:16.297-07:00Review: Leonard Cohen: Live in London<a href="http://treblezine.com/reviews/3066-Leonard_Cohen_Live_In_London.html">My review of Leonard Cohen's <span style="font-style:italic;">Live in London</span> can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMp6xxZiaoswsukYtEDm82jNZtZRqBoE4rPdxAydQNe2kc7xFqel8VpjYIMd5_OjBWQbhKxOLtHrcJLCHzdu-uSwYWCs2cTtW0dvQQgy1WInX6knF4Q1b3Imem0AyKWJHK-6M6ew/s1600-h/LCLivelondon.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMp6xxZiaoswsukYtEDm82jNZtZRqBoE4rPdxAydQNe2kc7xFqel8VpjYIMd5_OjBWQbhKxOLtHrcJLCHzdu-uSwYWCs2cTtW0dvQQgy1WInX6knF4Q1b3Imem0AyKWJHK-6M6ew/s320/LCLivelondon.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321989876554594578" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Leonard Cohen</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Live in London</span><br />Columbia<br />2009<br /><br />I remember standing in the darkness of Tower Records in Lincoln Park, Chicago. We were about to close and walk out the door about four years ago, and I had just read the news that Leonard Cohen was coming out of retirement. Cohen was suing his accountant for embezzling his funds. I was so disgusted that I stopped and turned around to face my closing crew and said, "Who in the fuck would steal from Leonard Cohen?" They looked at me like I was crazy. "Whoever did is going to hell."<br /><br />Four years later, because of this criminal, we are blessed in witnessing the return of a living legend. Leonard Cohen is touring again. If you're like me and can't afford to go see Mr. Cohen in concert because you're feeling the aching effects from this current financial crisis, you'll be will be happy to know that there is an alternative—a double live CD and DVD called <span style="font-style:italic;">Live in London</span>. This may be the closest I will come to hearing or seeing Mr. Cohen on stage, but what a delight this live document is.<br /><br />It's hard to believe that Mr. Cohen is 75 years old, because his voice sounds resurrected and alive in this London setting. You would think someone who has been robbed by someone he once trusted would feel some kind of animosity, but not Leonard Cohen; he has a graceful and humorous presence on stage. You can tell he's having the best time on the road during this time.<br /><br />From the opening strands of "Dance Me to the End of Love," you realize that this isn't just another live album for the sake of album sales. I myself considered purchasing this concert collection, because four years later I can't believe that someone would steal from this saintly poet. Now that I have it, <span style="font-style:italic;">Live in London</span> is one of the best live CDs I've ever had the pleasuring of owning. I have to say it's up there with Bob Marley's 1975 <span style="font-style:italic;">Live at the Lyceum</span>, in the same setting in London. Those Londoners sure know how to appreciate the great ones.<br /><br />All the old favorites from Leonard Cohen's vast and eternal canon are represented on <span style="font-style:italic;">Live in London</span>. One of my favorites is Mr. Cohen's poetic recitation of "A Thousand Kisses." Sounding like a universal poet laureate, the way his deep voice recites this classic will send shivers throughout your musical soul. Cohen also shows the music world who originally wrote and recorded his classic "Hallelujah." Leonard brings it back home in the voice we know and have loved for all of these years. "Sisters of Mercy" soars angelically in this live setting. Speaking of angels, the Webb Sisters shine with Cohen as they take on "If It Be Your Will."<br /><br />I do have a few complaints, however. Some of the backing vocals are turned up too much and at times may seem to be mixed higher than Mr. Cohen's voice. There's one too many sax solos. I would have loved to have seen and heard an all-acoustic show, but Cohen does have an awesome backing band whose arrangements equal Leonard's legendary vocal delivery.<br /><br />So if you're not going to have the opportunity to go see Leonard in concert, you must go out and invest in the next best thing, this breathtaking double CD collection, <span style="font-style:italic;">Live in London</span>. Just hearing Cohen's voice coming out of your headphones will soothe and inspire you as it makes your year. Powerful and poetic, Leonard Cohen returns, and we all are witnesses. Don't you dare miss out.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adrian Ernesto Cepeda</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">04.07.2009</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-91263387027034556492009-03-31T07:58:00.001-07:002009-03-31T08:10:24.677-07:00Review: Marianne Faithfull: Easy Come, Easy Go<a href="http://treblezine.com/reviews/3054-Marianne_Faithfull_Easy_Come__Easy_Go.html">My review of <span style="font-style:italic;">Easy Come, Easy Go</span> can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn8n9kF_HQmVBE53WI7sRSIe2dVvm_FqEAfUbFPB60MJQZL0z7gzZjgl15riYdc1IstIP1hMx4m_2MOqfz170oHehrCQrKwPMS3jS166zHWZ6UnE0MV3TcqYQiqXfuuOZ2Mv7OFA/s1600-h/36420011.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn8n9kF_HQmVBE53WI7sRSIe2dVvm_FqEAfUbFPB60MJQZL0z7gzZjgl15riYdc1IstIP1hMx4m_2MOqfz170oHehrCQrKwPMS3jS166zHWZ6UnE0MV3TcqYQiqXfuuOZ2Mv7OFA/s320/36420011.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319366593838976338" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Marianne Faithfull</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Easy Come, Easy Go</span><br />Naïve<br />2009<br /><br />Throughout her elegantly infamous career, Marianne Faithfull has lived her life through songs with this creed: "<span style="font-style:italic;">Music is best when it's sexual…and if it's not there's something wrong</span>." This is why I have adored her for so long. In my ears, Faithfull today is sexier than she has ever been. To me it starts with the voice. Nothing is sultrier than the voice of a chanteuse, and Faithfull is one of the originals. Since the '60s she's been taking on cover songs like "As Tears Go By" so fluidly, like slipping on the sexiest dress, she inhabits these songs and eventually takes them over, making them her own.<br /><br />She hasn't stopped since her comeback with 2002's <span style="font-style:italic;">Kissin' Time</span>, and its fabulous follow up, <span style="font-style:italic;">Before the Poison</span>. Faithfull has become Bowie-esque by surrounding herself with modern day collaborators like Beck, Polly Jean Harvey and Jarvis Cocker. With her latest <span style="font-style:italic;">Easy Come Easy Go</span> Faithfull has shown that she is a timeless siren, seducing us with her memorable vocal prowess that continues to excite and astound us with her unique style that oozes sensuality.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Easy Come Easy Go </span>is Faithfull's collaboration with legendary composer, curator and producer Hal Willner. Willner orchestrated Marianne's first major sonic return with 1987's <span style="font-style:italic;">Strange Weather</span>. More than 20 years later, Willner and Faithfull have teamed up to tackle a new set of songs, modern and classic alike to give them an everlasting feel with Marianne's alluring voice as our sensual guide.<br /><br />With Willner's assistance, Faithfull set out to capture the feel of a collection of songs from her past and some post-modern selections to inhabit with her passionate presence. <span style="font-style:italic;">Easy Come Easy Go</span> starts off with Marianne's very eloquent interpretation of Dolly Parton's "Down from Dover," but Faithfull's version becomes more than a country cover. With the help of Willner and his magnificent backing band it's more of a jazz-filled glory, with shades of bluesy guitar riffs that fuel Faithfull's vocal of luscious longing.<br /><br />From the outset you will hear that <span style="font-style:italic;">Easy Come</span> is quite the eclectic endeavor with Willner's decision to use an all star selection of session musicians to back up Faithfull with the grace and desire that her voice deserves. It's this dynamic combination that makes <span style="font-style:italic;">Easy Come</span> a climactic success.<br /><br />Not only did Willner pull together the best band, but he also assembled a collection of heavyweight vocalists. You may recognize the backing vocals of one Ms. Chan Marshall on Marianne's splendid cover of Neko Case's "Hold On, Hold On." Although I would have loved a straight and proper duet between Chan and Faithfull, just like she did on Beck's <span style="font-style:italic;">Modern Guilt</span> album, Marshall's voice fuses perfectly with Marianne's throughout this organ-filled cover. It's incredible the way Marianne becomes the protagonist in "Hold On." Listen as Faithfull sings,<br /><br />"<span style="font-style:italic;">In the end I was the mean girl<br />Or somebody's in-between girl<br />Now it's the devil I love<br />And that's as funny as real love</span>."<br /><br />You'd swear she's singing about her own life. But that's the power in her performance, the way she inhabits Case's words and reflects them with her own personal world. If you get the feeling that the arrangement has a Bad Seeds, end of the world vibe, you're right, thanks to the explosive electric violin solo by Cave's right hand man Warren Ellis.<br /><br />Faithfull goes the classic route with her very voluptuous cover of Duke Ellington's "Solitude." Guitarist Marc Ribot's wailing guitar riffs match Marianne's tempting torch song vocal that's perfect for a late night candle-lit dinner for two. Put this song on, start a little slow dancing and you will feel the inspiration.<br /><br />With help from Nick Cave, Marianne takes on The Decemberists' "The Crane Wife 3." Marianne's captures the emotional resonance of the songs theme when she sings "<span style="font-style:italic;">I will hang my head low</span>." No offense to Colin Meloy, but her vocal delivery makes her the perfect candidate to sing this song. She makes this character come alive. She becomes real; you feel all of her vulnerabilities throughout Marianne's aching vocal. Just like Johnny Cash did with Trent Reznor's "Hurt," Faithfull's version is the definitive one.<br /><br />Cash and his late creative resurrection with Rick Rubin is the perfect foil for Faithfull's current resurgence with Willner. Both singers took words from modern day troubadours and gave them their distinctive touch. Even songs that should be somehow out of their vocal reach became effortlessly flawless under their unique vocal direction. Cash did it with Danzig's "Thirteen," Faithfull does it with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's "Salvation." Sean Lennon's guitar and vocal escort Marianne on this exceptional cover. When Faithfull sings, "<span style="font-style:italic;">Do you feel alive</span>?" this becomes more than a cover, it's a personal anthem and a symbol for her creative rebirth.<br /><br />Unfortunately if you purchase the American version of <span style="font-style:italic;">Easy Come Easy Go</span> you will not be hearing this cover and a plethora of others. The release on Decca U.S. only gives you half the story. I recommend you dishing out for the three-disc import version (2 CDs and one DVD documentary on the making of the album). My fiancée gave me this for Navidad. Eighteen songs from my favorite chanteuse reflect the best gift I got last year. Not only is "Salvation" missing but so is Faithfull's cover of Sarah Vaughan's "Black Coffee" and her incredible duet of "Somewhere (A Place for Us)" with Jarvis Cocker. Invest in the super deluxe edition, think of this as a directors cut, more Marianne for your money.<br /><br />If you're on a budget like the rest of us, the American version of <span style="font-style:italic;">Easy Go</span> does include covers of Morrissey's "Dear God Please Help Me" and her awe-inspiring duet with Antony Hegarty on Smokey Robinson's "Ooh Baby Baby." I can't forget her collaboration with Rufus Wainwright on "Children of Stone" and the countrified cover of Merle Haggard's "Sing Me Back Home" with Keith Richards. "Home" sounds like two friends crooning this classic at an empty dive bar, ready to call it a night. It's a very intimate performance between two friends with who were closely connected professionally in the swinging '60s.<br /><br />How do I love Marianne's voice, let me count the ways? The 18 songs on Faithfull's <span style="font-style:italic;">Easy Come Easy Go</span> easily place it up there as one of the front runners for album of the year. Are ready to feel her sensual vocal touch? Dim the lights, pour a glass a wine and light a cigarette. She will ravish you from beginning to end of this spectacular album.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adrian Ernesto Cepeda</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">03.31.2009</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-35044675512903455412009-03-24T08:20:00.000-07:002009-03-24T08:36:52.738-07:00Review: Peter Doherty: Grace/Wastelands<a href="http://treblezine.com/reviews/3044-Peter_Doherty_Grace_Wastelands.html">My review of <span style="font-style:italic;">Grace/Wastelands</span> can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkSiHOVs5A4m8hvzwWLujz_0AKhn8-K-kTiz0b2b3GF4ALtYGAJj7T-bePICt4KX2ln5B-vYMil7L4tP0HkBl4uVqvxnc7hO445UISPazVxnofX4aLedv2dI9qd6UEhTCGX0Ax7Q/s1600-h/3268357027_afa894b0bf.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkSiHOVs5A4m8hvzwWLujz_0AKhn8-K-kTiz0b2b3GF4ALtYGAJj7T-bePICt4KX2ln5B-vYMil7L4tP0HkBl4uVqvxnc7hO445UISPazVxnofX4aLedv2dI9qd6UEhTCGX0Ax7Q/s320/3268357027_afa894b0bf.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316775067389816546" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Peter Doherty</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Grace/ Wastelands</span><br />Astralwerks<br />2009<br /><br />At the beginning of the Libertines' short lifespan, Carl Barât and Peter Doherty had a motto, "It's either top of the world or the bottom of canal." Since the demise of their band, Doherty's public persona has been in the tabloid guise of the latter. The dream of being one of the greatest British songwriters disappeared with by the appearance of this media-fueled alter ego. I thought it was just me but even Mr. Doherty is baffled by his dark sided twin whom he calls the evil one. He told <span style="font-style:italic;">NME</span>, "I call him my evil twin…I don't see it as me in a way, he's a media creation..." I was fed up with the acts of this doppelganger, I started to lose hope that he would never find Albion and would end up with a sudden Death on the Stairs. His evil twin had been taking all the promise away from the creative side of one Peter Doherty. Now that's he's dumped Kate Moss, finally gone clean and excised his overindulgent entourage, has Peter actually curbed his bloody demons? By moving alone to Paris, it seems that the evil one has at last gone into (permanent?) hibernation.<br /><br />All of his trialed turbulence may have had much to do with Doherty's age and his raging exuberance. C'mon, Doherty wasn't the only rocker to fall prey to addiction. Jeff Tweedy, Ryan Adams and Trent Reznor have all had their battle with excess but Doherty's was more public. For years, police and judges tried everything to help Peter go clean but everyone knows you can't force an addict to quit cold turkey. Yet it appears that Doherty has finally seen his light and it's still not ready to go out, as of yet. I've been waiting all these years for this Peter Doherty to arrive. The talented poetic-singer, songwriter is finally starting to his spread his creative heights from Albion and beyond.<br /><br />Babyshambles' <span style="font-style:italic;">Shotter's Nation</span> was the first good step, but producer Stephen Street knew that Peter could go deeper. With his head clean of drugs, Doherty went back to some of his unreleased treasures and with the help from his friends like Street, Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, singer Dot Allison, Libertine lyricist Carl Barat and his carnales from the `shambles, Doherty's solo album is a fucking delight. Half the time, I don't know what the hell Peter is singing about, but just like the sub-cultured language in Irving Welsh's <span style="font-style:italic;">Trainspotting</span>, Doherty's underground world of outcasts from the gutter longing for glimpses of love in the stars are simply fascinating. Case in point, the lyrics to "The Last of the English Roses":<br /><br />"<span style="font-style:italic;">She knows her Rodneys from her Stanleys<br />And her Kappas from her Reeboks<br />And her tit from her tat<br />And Winstons from her Enoks</span>"<br /><br />Who is Peter singing about? It doesn't really matter, because his vocalized lyrics sound divine. You can hear a confidence in Doherty's vocals that reign supreme throughout <span style="font-style:italic;">Grace/Wastelands</span>. It's as if overcoming his demons has lit Peter's creative fire. He hasn't sounded this alive since his days as a Libertine. We heard some shades of this in the last Babyshambles album, but songs like "New Love Grows on Trees" signal a new direction for Doherty, with the help of Coxon playing his best Marr-esque riffs, creating a Smiths-like template as a tribute to Peter's favorite band (with whom Street had the honor of producing in their heyday of <span style="font-style:italic;">The Queen is Dead</span>.)<br /><br />One shouldn't expect <span style="font-style:italic;">Freewheeling</span> acoustic demos like those circulating online post-Libertines and pre-Babyshambles. You probably would have sampled some of these songs in their early incarnations. Those rough drafts were sketches and like the work of any good writer, a song is never finished, it only keeps developing. One example of this is very atmospheric "A Little Death Around the Eyes," co-written by Barat. I love the sweeping feel of this song; I imagine walking around the Seine in France. Doherty captures some the cultural feel on his new home city with the addition of the accordion on "Eyes." You hear a lot of texture and depth on all the songs from <span style="font-style:italic;">Grace/Wastelands</span>. There's a vintage 1930s vibe on songs like swinging "Sweet By and By" and the aptly titled "1939 Returning." I am awed with the creative direction Doherty is taking. It shows the versatile nature in Peter's artistic arsenal. He can croon, seduce and even belt out rockers like "Fuck Forever." But it appears that he wants to go past his "Fuck Forever" phase and move into a more eternal and seductive mode of vocal style. This is a winner to my ears. <span style="font-style:italic;">Grace/Wastelands</span> is light years ahead of some of tracks heard on <span style="font-style:italic;">Down in Albion</span>. Doherty is not only growing but also evolving as a songwriter.<br /><br />My favorite song on <span style="font-style:italic;">Grace/Wastelands</span> has an infamous history; "Sheepskin Tearaway" has the distinction of being the only Doherty original to be included in Judd Apatow's 2005 film, T<span style="font-style:italic;">he 40 Year Old Virgin</span>. This version has vocals from Peter's lovely ex, Dot Allison. But it's that acoustic riff that I first heard on Virgin that's most memorable. Allison's and Doherty's tender duet make this a romantic jazzy number that you'll be singing in your daydreams.<br /><br />I would love to call <span style="font-style:italic;">Grace/Wastelands</span> a masterpiece but it's not, "Broken Love Song" just doesn't do it for me. To me it seems out of place on the album. This is the only song where Doherty's vocals sound drowsy and unmoving. I don't see why Doherty couldn't have left off "Broken" and replaced it with "Through the Looking Glass." Doherty eliminated this last minute Libertines original for the inclusion of the very personal "I Am The Rain." I speculate that "Glass" was slice of Peter's past and "Rain" is more of a poetic manifesto of who Doherty really is right now. Personifying himself as a symbol for rain, Peter sees himself as someone whose life and words have become inspirational and controversial. Although I really love the way "Rain" ends with a chorus of harmonies and sped-up melodies, I would have loved to have seen the guitar heavy "Glass" included on the album. Coxon's riffs really shine on this song that has been unfortunately relegated to b-side status on the album's first single, "The Last of the English Roses."<br /><br />For some reason, one of my favorite singer/songwriters, Jeff Tweedy refuses to understand why some of us cherish the music of Peter Doherty. All I can suggest to him is to listen to the magnificent wonder of <span style="font-style:italic;">Grace/Wastelands</span>. There is a beauty and pain in his ever-evolving life, reflected on this impressive first solo album. It's good to have you back Mr. Doherty, let's keep the evil one inside the guitar case as you reach for the top of the globe. Cheers, lad!<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Adrian Ernesto Cepeda</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">03.24.2009</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-89016444260343420372009-03-23T09:14:00.000-07:002009-03-23T09:32:16.799-07:00Book Review: A Pure Drop: The Life of Jeff Buckley: by Jeff Apter<a href="http://treblezine.com/features/187.html">My book review of <span style="font-style:italic;">A Pure Drop</span> can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCKesZL_8ugpDC9tkobjdXTXuzozHQl27TK3k7LW2Pv3THdxkCpcnWPvyEXmb6ndGcbgmSYOt-bg-LaYohGjxK0syyIaWxku070LPjrxX06MKMDblC5qSznCCG_PaYCbh4IfGvSw/s1600-h/buckleyus.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCKesZL_8ugpDC9tkobjdXTXuzozHQl27TK3k7LW2Pv3THdxkCpcnWPvyEXmb6ndGcbgmSYOt-bg-LaYohGjxK0syyIaWxku070LPjrxX06MKMDblC5qSznCCG_PaYCbh4IfGvSw/s320/buckleyus.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316418297658360930" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">A Pure Drop: The Life of Jeff Buckley</span><br />Jeff Apter<br />Backbeat books<br />2009<br /><br />Bono once described Jeff Buckley as "…a pure drop in an ocean of noise." I used to wish there was a book that could capture the complete life of Buckley just as succinctly as Bono's quote. But it seems that there's been a lack of candid biographies willing to sift through the amazing myths about the man. I don't know if it's because of the estate of Jeff Buckley, or the fact that so many of his closet compadres have been so protective of him. I don't blame them; many have refused to share any details about the friend they once knew intimately, professionally for otherwise.<br /><br />Enter Australian scribe Jeff Apter, who spent five years as editor of <span style="font-style:italic;">Rolling Stone</span> magazine in his native homeland. Apter is no stranger to the music industry, having already written acclaimed biographies on The Cure, Dave Grohl and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Apter had the challenge of uncovering the many lives of Jeff Buckley that included the loner, the lover, the dreamer, poet and other surprising aspects, even to longtime fans.<br /><br />This is where I come in to the picture, the critic and a J.B. devotee who is such a follower that I've actually ended relationships with the women I was with because of their lack of respect to Buckley and his music. I was disappointed with David Browne's <span style="font-style:italic;">Dream Brother</span>, a dual biography of Jeff and his father Tim that seemed an unfair portrait to the son's legacy. What Browne touched upon and Apter expanded on was Jeff's desire to exorcise himself from his father's creative and professional music career. So many critics and admirers linked him with his troubadour father, a mistake that first official Buckley biographer Browne should have known before taking on this very elusive subject.<br /><br />Apter takes a different and more original path in dissecting Buckley's life. Every step of the way, even from the first chapter, Apter ties the younger Buckley's upbringing and past to his future exploits as an artist on the Sony label. This one of the aspects that I most appreciated in A Pure Drop. Unlike most critics and readers, I am not so much a fan of the early life of an artist. I love to get to the chase—cut out all the grade school and teenage crap and give me what I desire most, the artist on his peak of creativity. Apter's writing style is like a dramatic mystery where every little step of Buckley's life was a link to his eventful future. Even when describing the life of his mother Mary, his infamous father Tim and their life in California, the focus is always on Jeff and his artistic rise.<br /><br />To Apter's credit, and unfortunately for Browne, he had more access to Buckley's closest confidants, including his Los Angeles comrade Chris Dowd, guitarist Gary Lucas, New York producer and music curator Hal Willner and, much to my surprise, Glen Hansard of The Frames and <span style="font-style:italic;">Once</span> fame. They first met in New York when Buckley's band opened up for The Commitments touring band that Glen was on the road with. This led to a long friendship between Hansard and Buckley.<br /><br />Another surprise was discovering the many sessions that Buckley had recorded for Sony and left in the can. Apter spoke to producer Steve Addabbo who spent time in the studio with Jeff before Buckley hooked up with Andy Wallace. Addabbo recorded some seven and half hours of Jeff doing some covers of The Smiths, Bob Dylan and early versions of songs that would end up on Grace. As I read this I literally screamed out, release these sacred tapes already will you Sony?<br /><br />While I was reading <span style="font-style:italic;">A Pure Drop</span>, I could not put it down. It was as if through every page I was watching the simultaneous coming of age of an artist and demise of an eventual legend. Get ready to bring out your Buckley CDs and rare songs like the unreleased duet with Elizabeth Fraser "Flowers in Time," because it's hard not to be drawn back to them as you read through Buckley's electrifying life.<br /><br />The best part of Apter's book is that he gets past the myth, and what comes across is a true, imperfect human who's trying to find his voice and space in the world without giving up his integrity to the demands of corporate major label. Buckley hurt friends and fellow musician, and certainly broke hearts, but through out <span style="font-style:italic;">A Pure Drop</span> you get a more complete sense of who Jeff really was. Buckley was a demanding friend who would wound you with words like he did with photographer Merri Cyr and would try to lure you back with his charming ways to make amends by his unpredictable behavior.<br /><br />What I cherished about Apter's book was the little stories that bring out the amusing characteristics that made Buckley unique, like the way he would stalk dogs in New York City. The owners thought that this weird guy would be trailing them but in reality Jeff was following the mutt. He had this strange connection and fascination with dogs.<br /><br />Jeff Apter's insight to the life of Jeff Buckley is rarity in this age of celebrity commercialism. He's not about myth making; Apter shows us the true Jeff, flaws and all, as he was from his beginnings in Orange County till his tragic end in Memphis, Tennessee. With <span style="font-style:italic;">A Pure Drop</span>, Jeff Apter has done the legacy of Jeff Buckley right. He has managed to show us a complete portrait of the imperfect man within the gifted artist before he soared among the stars.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />A Q&A with Jeff Apter</span><br /><br />Treble: Why Jeff Buckley? What inspired you to write <span style="font-style:italic;">A Pure Drop</span>?<br /><br />Jeff Apter: I'd read so much about Jeff Buckley, especially since his death, that I was very keen to try and separate the man from the myth. Not to be iconoclastic in any way, mind you, I just wanted to understand him more clearly. I wanted to find out how it came to be that a guy who'd finished only one album in his lifetime engendered so much love and devotion from music fans, some who weren't even aware of his music while he was alive. That was my challenge.<br /><br />T: Were you always a fan?<br /><br />JA: As a music writer, I certainly took notice of <span style="font-style:italic;">Grace</span> and the groundswell of interest in Buckley while he was alive — I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't. But I wasn't an enormous fan, no. On first few listens I actually thought <span style="font-style:italic;">My Sweetheart The Drunk</span> was a disaster, but now that I understand much of the back-story, I find that album even more rewarding than Grace. I can't think of a vocalist who would rival him in the past 15 or 20 years, either: the guy could sing the phone book and you'd be asking, `My God, I wonder what's on the next page?' He was that good.<br /><br />T: Jeff seemed to have a huge following in Australia. Did you ever meet him or see him in concert?<br /><br />JA: If only. I was actually living and working in America at the time he toured Australia (twice). I was having unusual experiences with people like Patti Smith and Frank Black when Jeff was blowing away Australian crowds. But he did connect really strongly here and in France; I guess because he was very emotionally honest in his music and we respond well to that. Strangely enough, I was in Memphis soon after he took that fateful dip. I remember sitting near where he went in and thinking to myself, `You don't swim there.' And this from an Australian; we're born with gills!<br /><br />T: Were you hesitant because of the myth of Buckley?<br /><br />No, as I said above I was actually inspired by that, because from my experience — and I've now written 10 books — it's become pretty clear to me that no-one can live up to such an idealized legacy. A UK reviewer got it right when they said, and I hope you don't mind me quoting: `Apter resists mawkishness to reveal a difficult – if charismatic – man who doesn't quite match the idealized image of the gifted lost boy destroyed by fame and family.' I really thought that summed it up perfectly.<br /><br />T: Did you have trouble getting some of Buckley's friends, colleagues and associates to talk with you? And a follow up, one slight criticism, a few spots in the book you attribute quotes to unnamed Buckley friends who wanted to remain anonymous. Did you struggle with that putting in quotes and words from people who didn't want to be recognized?<br /><br />Not really. When I began the project some 10 years had passed since his death, so a few of those scars have healed, and those close to him could talk with a little more clarity about Jeff and his life than, say, if we'd spoken in 1997. Although I did have a few interesting conversations —where I'd be talking with someone on the phone for an hour, perhaps two, in some very heavy emotional detail, and then be told, `Oh, you do realize this is off the record, right?' Err, no.<br /><br />T: While writing and researching <span style="font-style:italic;">A Pure Drop</span>, what did you discover about Jeff Buckley that surprised you the most?<br /><br />Many things, including his true and total love for such prog rock bands as Yes — `Never be ashamed about loving Yes' he told one friend. I was surprised at how canny he was, especially when it came to the business of music: he knew exactly who would be good for his career, and he gravitated to them whenever the chance arose. He was very tight with the McCartneys, for instance. He was goofy, too — `a real doofus,' according to photographer Merri Cyr — and genuinely funny. And he did indeed love the ladies, and they loved him right back. A very rounded and in some ways very flawed individual.<br /><br />T: Favorite Jeff Buckley story or anecdote?<br /><br />I do like the story, related to me by Danny Fields, a publicist who worked closely with Tim Buckley and also knew Jeff well, about a night at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame dinner. Danny was the go-to guy on the night, setting up backstage interviews and keeping the thing rolling. Jeff, who'd connected with some A-list people to swing an invite, spotted him — this was before <span style="font-style:italic;">Grace</span> blew up. Jeff, who was decked out in a shocking pink Stephen Sprouse jacket, yelled out to Danny, then strode across the floor, grabbed him and planted an open mouthed smooch on the man, with the who's who of the music biz looking one, in absolute shock. He genuinely didn't give a rat's arse what they thought; he was just happy to see his friend Danny and maybe give him a thrill, too. He was an impulsive guy, no doubt about it — to his detriment, as it played out in the end.<br /><br />T: Favorite Jeff Buckley song?<br /><br />It changes all the time. In the wee small hours I gravitate towards "Lover, You Should Have Come Over" or "Everybody Here Wants You." If my mood is more upbeat it's hard to go past "The Sky is a Landfill" or "Vancouver," which has the most fantastic, propulsive guitar groove. And his unreleased duet with Elizabeth Fraser, "All Flowers in Time Bend Towards the Sun," is golden.<br /><br />T: What about the unreleased recording sessions and songs by Steve Addabbo, did you hear them? When are they going to be released by Sony?<br /><br />I haven't, aside from the odd scratchy one-off on some bootlegs (incidentally, the Buckley bootleg industry is as active as that of the Grateful Dead). Hard to say when the label might drop that one; perhaps because there's a lot of covers in the mix it might be copyright clearance hell. Or perhaps those who control his estate don't think it's sufficiently commercial. A shame, because I get the sense that it would provide an up-close glimpse of an artist-under-development. However, the next release from the vault is something called <span style="font-style:italic;">Grace Around the World</span>, another series of live performances, which won't really offer any new insights.<br /><br />T: Looking back was there anything that was edited out of <span style="font-style:italic;">A Pure Drop</span> that you wish you would have left in the book?<br /><br />No, not at all. I was very lucky; some really good people gave me a lot of their time and input, even though they could have easily told me to shove off. It was a clear indication as to how much his friends, peers and colleagues hoped that the real Jeff Buckley would emerge from my book. And judging from the feedback I've received by many people who knew him well, I achieved just that.<br /><br />T: What's next for you?<br /><br />I've finished a study of the Australian country star, Keith Urban, called <span style="font-style:italic;">Fortunate Son: The Unlikely Rise of Keith Urban</span>, which was published by Random House in Oz and should have a North American release soon. I'm currently chipping away at a biography of the Finn brothers, Neil and Tim, of Crowded House and Split Enz legend, with hopes of publication in 2010. I'm always drawn to both the story and the music: how did someone become successful? Who knows the real story? How did that song come to be? What was happening in their life when they made this album and how did it affect the music? Those are the constants, the big attractors, for me.<br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />03.23.2009</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-90350524862154948312009-03-18T11:30:00.001-07:002009-03-23T09:32:48.512-07:00Book Review: Ryan Adams: Infinity Blues<a href="http://treblezine.com/columns/126.html">My review of <span style="font-style:italic;">Infinity Blues</span> can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvGc0UA5NAGagU_S69FKGXcdk66b8icBMsQLHYMtqk5dbQMKJJ3nmzlU47HKHm8VJgo5kCFEmc7RcWn_7Nkq23xKCICaZ54vswUk1X5nog5WIyHPpT4NOv7KAPiP_PhC54FsNqg/s1600-h/TueMar170119412009.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 237px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvGc0UA5NAGagU_S69FKGXcdk66b8icBMsQLHYMtqk5dbQMKJJ3nmzlU47HKHm8VJgo5kCFEmc7RcWn_7Nkq23xKCICaZ54vswUk1X5nog5WIyHPpT4NOv7KAPiP_PhC54FsNqg/s320/TueMar170119412009.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314597166624646530" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Ryan Adams</span><br />by Adrian Ernesto Cepeda<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">03.17.2009</span><br /><br />Ryan Adams described his first literary tome, "Infinity Blues as" "…<span style="font-style:italic;">the jewel of my life's work. Who I am is this book</span>." Many of us like to think we know who Ryan Adams is by his confessional songwriting style that we adore from his memorable songs. Adams' writing technique is a very personal one where the audience can immediately relate to the pain and heartache Ryan is singing about in his most treasured songs. Who hasn't asked for their records back from an unfaithful lover as heard on "Come Pick Me Up?"<br /><br />Ryan's words and especially his lyrics on "Oh My Sweet Carolina" are what made me an instant fan. I loved the way his words brought to life a loner, a virtual gambler, on the road who on searching meaning of home. At the moment I heard "Carolina," I was following my wanderlust, moving from city to city just like the character in Ryan's song whose disposition would one day also, carry me home. Even though I wasn't from Kentucky and I never built newsprint boats, I could relate to the outsider in Ryan's song. It was the way that Ryan sang the lyrics I felt like that character who never been to Vegas but has always gambled up his life.<br /><br />All it took was "Carolina" and I was a follower of one David Ryan Adams. When I first heard about "Infinity Blues" I was elated. Ryan's foray into writing poems and stories would seem like a leap to some but not the rest of us his loyal fan base. To me it seems that with every record Adams is expanding his songwriting craft away from the traditional song structure and moving more into story like prose. Look at albums like Love is Hell and Jacksonville City Nights as examples of more poetic short stories turned into songs.<br /><br />In preparing for "Infinity Blues" there was one album I kept going back to, and that was the very often overlooked 29. I hear 29 as Ryan's first unofficial collection of short storied poems in song forms. All you have to do is listen to songs like "Elizabeth, You Were Born to Play the Part" and especially in the epic "Strawberry Wine" and you will hear the way that Adams' writing has evolved. You can hear Ryan and his quintessential lyrics like "<span style="font-style:italic;">Can you still have any famous last words/ if you're nobody somebody nobody knows</span>…"<br /><br />Ryan won't have to worry about not being famous because after reading "Infinity Blues"—he'll be able to add triumphant poet and writer to his resume. "Infinity Blues" has the essential Ryan Adams writing style we've grown to love within the poems of this eclectic collection.<br /><br />Not very many singer/songwriters can claim to have written an accomplished tome of books and short stories. Jeff Tweedy and Billy Corgan tried unsuccessfully, so Adams can join the likes of Dylan, Cohen and Lennon as artists who made the jump from songs to poems.<br /><br />Throughout "Infinity Blues" you'll read Adams' Southern Gentlemanly charm mixed with his canny downtown bohemian insight inspired by his days on tour and his nights living in New York City. This dichotomy makes poems like "Time Ain't Nobody's Friend" and "Home Safe-Heartsickness" comes alive with Ryan's trademark literary wit and ear for explicit beauty and sadness.<br /><br />One theme you will see throughout of "Infinity Blues" is Ryan's trademark search for love. Even though "Blues" was dedicated to her, pet name for his honey Bug, "Infinity" was written before his nuptials to his now wife Mandy Moore. Poems like "Snow Lady, I Wished You" and "Enough Rope" has Ryan penning his desires and romantic notions on the page with such lines as "<span style="font-style:italic;">I would lasso that moon down and deliver it you</span>."<br /><br />Scattered throughout "Blues" are 3 short, short stories that you will have to seek out, the best one being "27 Steps." This one about Robert from the docks reminds me of Dylan's writings in Chronicles. Just like Dylan, Adams has some vibrant descriptions it's like you're right there with this girl on the pier. Adams always has this knack of slaying me with his words, "27 Steps" is no different. My favorite lines have to be, "<span style="font-style:italic;">Claudia's voice mumbled through, in a steady up-and-down notation, almost a bird's song with words really. And you hear the coffee in her</span>." "27 Steps" is like a snap-shot of a scene between two would-be lovers. My only complaint is that this story is too short. I'm dying to know what happens next.<br /><br />We'll have to wait a year or two for Ryan Adams' true novel. He's got another poetry collection, "Hello Sunshine," coming out later on this year. "Infinity" is all about the poems. As poet, Adams is a natural. Although it seems that he may have fears about his own words. In my favorite poem, "Writing, Dying, for the Trying," Ryan writes: "<span style="font-style:italic;">I will be sitting here, with you, or not, buried inside this, almost alive, Talking to no one/ writing dying for the trying to get it right</span>."<br /><br />I don't know what Adams was worried about because with "Infinity Blues"—he got it right. The poems in "Blues" are some the best verses Ryan Adams has ever written, and this is just his first foray into publishing. What a beginning. If Ryan Adams said "`Infinity Blues' is who I truly am"— I'm glad to have finally discovered the poet inside the songwriter we have admired all of these years.<br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />Available from Akashic Books</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-47865487452799749292009-03-04T10:53:00.000-08:002009-03-04T11:09:36.960-08:00Review: U2: No Line on the Horizon<a href="http://treblezine.com/reviews/3020-U2_No_Line_on_the_Horizon.html">My review of <span style="font-style:italic;">No Line on the Horizon</span> can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQn5KbASAupGesZ4A60XMm2V1VnJqq4f6_u1HaGJryjpNZ3k4RI9utkcMe-iQnNzXpl3KodeHTjLd63KKJo6krHgpxEtuxcHZaipCSgRdlwQWVScrx1UZo-p7HOJf-8ASJKgJjgg/s1600-h/870520137-album-cover-released-interscope-records-latest-cd-u2-line-horizon.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQn5KbASAupGesZ4A60XMm2V1VnJqq4f6_u1HaGJryjpNZ3k4RI9utkcMe-iQnNzXpl3KodeHTjLd63KKJo6krHgpxEtuxcHZaipCSgRdlwQWVScrx1UZo-p7HOJf-8ASJKgJjgg/s320/870520137-album-cover-released-interscope-records-latest-cd-u2-line-horizon.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309408367419888962" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">U2</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">No Line on the Horizon</span><br />Interscope<br />2009<br /><br />Can you believe that it's been 18 years since U2 released <span style="font-style:italic;">Achtung Baby</span>? It seems that U2 have been overshadowed more by the mystique of that Baby than any other album in their recent canon. <span style="font-style:italic;">Achtung Baby</span> was the album that Bono claimed was the sound of U2 chopping down the <span style="font-style:italic;">Joshua Tree</span>. Yet U2 has seemingly been cursed creatively since then? The band has gone through a successful string of albums, sales wise, but something has been missing. What I've been craving from U2 is a return to their unique, unbridled devotion to transform the sound of popular music with their dynamic sound. Since then, U2 have written some terrific songs but <span style="font-style:italic;">Baby</span> was the album that signaled a change for the band away from pop sensibilities into the experimental depths of a lyrical canvas filled with painful darkness void of true love. To me, U2's dramatic legend has been unfinished since the notes of "Love is Blindness" faded out on my favorite U2 album.<br /><br />"<span style="font-style:italic;">I haven't been with a woman, it feels like years/ thought of you the whole time, your salty tears</span>…" are the lyrics reflecting lyrics recalling the aches of Achtung you can hear in <span style="font-style:italic;">No Line on the Horizon</span>'s finale "Cedars of Lebanon." Even in this war torn epic, Bono has yet to give up his search for the light of amor: "<span style="font-style:italic;">They're not at the beginning but when your story ends</span>…." It seems like U2 has left me hanging there, waiting for their story arc that started back in 1991 to have a fulfilling dénouement.<br /><br />My Moment of Surrender occurred during the third song of <span style="font-style:italic;">New Line on the Horizon</span>. My wish finally came true throughout the sound of this post modern gospel gem. With Bono's heartfelt vocal I heard the light. The first great song on the album was written not only by Bono, The Edge, Adam and Larry, but for the first time in their history, producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois get songwriting credits. You can hear it in the rays between rhythms. There's this new dimension to the U2 sound thanks to Eno and Lanois. It's subtle but you can feel it in the beats. It's in the cello in the mix below the organ and hand claps. And I can't forget Edge's bluesy guitar riff that lifts "Surrender" to a blissful conclusion.<br /><br />There's a musical depth within the songs of <span style="font-style:italic;">Horizon</span>, a maturity that's been missing from most of the last few pop sensible albums released by these Irish music pioneers. There's nothing wrong with a pop song like "Beautiful Day" or rocking out to "Vertigo." We dig a little of these styles but what made me a U2 devotee was their dive into substance-layered beauty within the canvas that we cherish in some of my favorites like "Running to Stand Still," "Love is Blindness" and "Stay (Far Away, So Close)." The classic dichotomy within U2's classic sound of taking complex themes with sonic simplicity is what made them one of the most innovative bands of our generation.<br /><br />This is what I have rediscovered within U2 and the new post-modern songs of their <span style="font-style:italic;">No Line on the Horizon</span>. Listen to the first single "Get On Your Boots." The song goes through so many changes rhythmically, something that The Beatles did so brilliantly in the sixties and Radiohead with "Paranoid Android." That's what makes "Boots" such a revolutionary punk song. They captured the punk spirit without imitating it like they did in "Vertigo." Not only do The Edge, Adam and Larry play incendiary rhythms but Bono's lyrics in "Boots" are… wait for it…legendary. "Boots" is a "Fly"-like song about love in this age of socio-political uncertainty. "<span style="font-style:italic;">You don't know how beautiful you are</span>" is global call to arms for all of us let our hair down and feel sexy. Just remember when Bono sings "<span style="font-style:italic;">I don't wanna talk about wars between nations</span>," it's a signal to turn down the rhetorical lights and feel the love again.<br /><br />If <span style="font-style:italic;">Achtung Baby</span> was the sound of the clock striking midnight of a broken affair, then <span style="font-style:italic;">Horizon</span> is the dawning of a resurrected love—"<span style="font-style:italic;">It's not if I believe in love but if love believes in me/ oh believe in me</span>." Those simple lyrics from "Moment of Surrender" reflect the essential theme of <span style="font-style:italic;">No Line on the Horizon</span>. It's this transcendental exploration of the heart that U2 has been searching for since <span style="font-style:italic;">Achtung Baby</span>. Songs like "Magnificent" with lyrics like "<span style="font-style:italic;">Only love can make such a mark and only love can heal such a scar</span>" reflect U2 reflecting the lyrical antidote to those songs like "So Cruel" that ached with betrayal. Why did it take so long to get over the pain from those reflective melodies? The answer is in the lyrics to "I'll go Crazy if I Don't Go Crazy Tonight": "<span style="font-style:italic;">A change of heart comes slow…We're gonna make it all the way to the light</span>."<br /><br />Adding another layer to their lyrical heart are the beats in between these quixotic melodies. <span style="font-style:italic;">Horizon</span> showcases the band expanding their rhythmic pallet with atmospheric soundscapes layered with the help of Eno and Lanois. You can feel Eno's experimental flourishes in "Moment of Surrender" and "Fez-Being Born." Lanois can be heard with his trademark guitar and tender productive tones in the very eloquent "White as Snow." Listen for both of their reflecting backing vocals harmonizing throughout the halls of these breathtaking horizons.<br /><br />I am not trying to dismiss any of the albums that came between <span style="font-style:italic;">Achtung Baby</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">No Line on the Horizon</span>. <span style="font-style:italic;">All That You Can't Leave Behind</span> holds a personal place for me in my corazon. It came out when I first lived by myself in my first bachelor apartment in New Orleans. That was the soundtrack of my rebirth. But there's something about <span style="font-style:italic;">Baby</span> that makes it my favorite U2 album and the record of theirs that I keep coming back to. It's the vivid sound and the timeless feeling within the heartbreak of <span style="font-style:italic;">Achtung</span> that reigns supreme. But I've been waiting 18 years for the cure and finally <span style="font-style:italic;">Horizon</span> has distinguished <span style="font-style:italic;">Baby</span>'s blues.<br /><br />Those hits from <span style="font-style:italic;">Pop</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">Behind</span> and the <span style="font-style:italic;">Bomb</span> may have been memorable but to me they were lacking the emotional depth found within the confines of the beautiful melodies of <span style="font-style:italic;">No Line on the</span> <span style="font-style:italic;">Horizon</span>. Just like your favorite novel or a film you have to watch over and over again, <span style="font-style:italic;">Horizon</span> calls for repeated re-visitations. For every listen you will discover something you may have missed your first spin, fans of Behind may notice similarities in the "Walk On"-esque guitar part in <span style="font-style:italic;">Horizon</span>'s "Unknown Caller." U2 have finally come full circle with an album worthy of their legacy. Get ready to surrender to beauty in U2's post-modern treasure that you will need to savor over and over again.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adrian Ernesto Cepeda</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">03.04.2009</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-13577392722464907372009-01-19T09:46:00.000-08:002009-01-19T09:58:05.305-08:00Review: Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan: Sunday at Devil Dirt<a href="http://treblezine.com/reviews/2960-Isobel_Campbell_and_Mark_Lanegan_Sunday_at_Devil_Dirt.html">My review of <span style="font-style:italic;">Sunday at Devil Dirt</span> can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirpTKJutBLr6G-InqXYm4nLqlnEyXb_LuckSU3XehNaaciy_LYKFWhFvIjuYtUHN8Y0kYdqP8DbA4IyCSjH7hOGqxzVBP-nqFC-iBx1cus9vST55tlJ1cQek1NNAfvicMJsNyMvA/s1600-h/LaneganCampbellDevil.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirpTKJutBLr6G-InqXYm4nLqlnEyXb_LuckSU3XehNaaciy_LYKFWhFvIjuYtUHN8Y0kYdqP8DbA4IyCSjH7hOGqxzVBP-nqFC-iBx1cus9vST55tlJ1cQek1NNAfvicMJsNyMvA/s320/LaneganCampbellDevil.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293063280950712466" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Sunday at Devil Dirt</span><br />Fontana<br />2008<br /><br />The Scottish chanteuse has returned with a sequel from her storied collaboration with Screaming Trees and Queens of the Stone Age singer Mark Lanegan. Their pairing on <span style="font-style:italic;">Ballad of Broken Seas</span> was more than just another conventional collaboration a-la Sonny & Cher, Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton and Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. In fact, Campbell and Lanegan's lyrical duets were more of a mirror of modern day love affairs. Lanegan is the wandering drifter on "Deus Ibi Est "who keeps his heart shielded on the road of loneliness. And from the distance we hear his muse and then he meets his lyrical partner in the form of Isobel Campbell.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Ballad of Broken Seas</span> is the passion that comes from the couplings of two star-crossed lovers, in the studio, because in real life these two were just professional collaborators but their devoted lyrics echo otherwise. I liken this as two actors on stage or on screen who have such a chemistry that we as the audience would swear that these two belong together. It's this musical spark that made <span style="font-style:italic;">Ballad of Broken Seas</span> a nominee for such luminary praise as the Mercury Prize in the UK.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Ballad of Broken Seas</span> was such an electric pairing that it made critics and music diehards like yours truly respond in our best Lanegan voice, "<span style="font-style:italic;">Where have you been my friend(s)</span>?" Just when we thought this musical coupling had flamed out on "The Circus is Leaving Town" comes word of Campbell and Lanegan's reigniting their fiery partnership on <span style="font-style:italic;">Sunday at Devil Dirt</span>.<br /><br />From the opening duet of "Seafaring Song" we once again are witnesses to the tender pairing of Lanegan and Campbell. The way these two trade lines like kisses and the cinematic strings in the background reflect two lost lovers reconnecting on the screen after years being apart. What is it about duets that set my musical heart to swoon? It has to be the reappearance of chanteuse Campbell because you can't have a successful duet without a sultry siren. What makes this collaboration soar is the darkened vocals of one Mark Lanegan. Lanegan isn't one to croon cliché love songs but when he shares lyrical rhymes on "Come on Over (Turn Me On)" with Campbell it's like these two singers are meant to be.<br /><br />And this collaboration, that was never supposed to work on paper, is just like living examples other true romances. Campbell was born in Scotland, having first turned heads as a member of Belle and Sebastian until she went solo in 1999. Lanegan's myth is more legendary. He's like an outlaw singer/songwriter running loose in the underground until he comes face to face and lets loose with the fire and brimstone-like voice when inspiration finds him. You'll hear Lanegan's trademark vocal style on the blistering "Back Burner." Like a haunted campfire song with Native American percussive overtones, Campbell's angelic backing vocals make this a haunting yet memorable number.<br /><br />If I was Lanegan and I heard Campbell sing the very sultry "Shotgun Blues" it would be hard to resist that kind of real life lyrical temptation. Could you? <span style="font-style:italic;">Sunday at Devil Dirt</span> is like the couple that had a very passionate affair and is trying to turn their fling into full-fledged love. It's unfeasible to try to turn the sparks you feel in the dark and turn these emotions from fire into light, it never works, the flame ends up extinguishing as it turns you two blue and distant. But Campbell and Lanegan make their collaboration work on <span style="font-style:italic;">Sunday at Devil Dirt</span>, even on the very romantic instrumental "Violin Tango."<br /><br />I love the tender, countrified duet of "Keep Me in Mind Sweetheart" and the affectionate "Something to Believe," which showcase these two lovers attempting to make their sensual coupling last. "Trouble" appears and brings the light the emotional resonance in the difficulty of modern day affairs. But Campbell and Lanegan don't despair as they end up "Fighting Fire with Fire" with one of the five bonus tracks that are added to the American version of <span style="font-style:italic;">Sunday at Devil Dirt</span>. Those extra cuts are five more reasons to follow the dynamic relationship of these two romantic singer/songwriters within the electric confines of these extraordinary songs.<br /><br />"Rambling Rose, Clinging Vine" and the rest of <span style="font-style:italic;">Sunday at Devil Dirt</span> are post modern love songs that reflect an honesty and devotion that are lacking from most heartless romantic songs heard on pop radio today. This is the way love should sound like. <span style="font-style:italic;">Sunday at Devil Dirt</span> the soundtrack for a romance that's not supposed to work in real life, but sounds ideal in song. That's what make Campbell and Lanegan so essential in this era—two singers who desperately search for eternal love and make us grateful for the happiness in our private universes.<br /><br />I can't help but think that everyone would love to ride off into the sunset with their lover as the slide guitar from "Rambling Rose, Clinging Vine" plays as the personal soundtrack, but it never really works out that way, does it? True love is hardly a storybook you can create with on solitary spark in the dark—it takes nurturing, understanding, patience and time. Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan continue their lyrical explorations of the intimate complexities of romance on <span style="font-style:italic;">Sunday at Devil Dirt</span>. Here's hoping that the collaboration of Campbell and Lanegan is everlasting.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adrian Ernesto Cepeda</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">01.15.2009</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-55665123708108296012009-01-14T09:26:00.000-08:002009-01-14T09:40:40.703-08:00Review: Cat Power: Dark End of the Street EP<a href="http://treblezine.com/reviews/2957-Cat_Power_Dark_End_of_the_Street_EP.html">My review of <span style="font-style:italic;">Dark End of the Street</span> can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgztIV_Ig-FphdPIigyXXpTcWlsc2Cq7bgh8Ow9Ylep9eiTaSdQOb03At5Oz_4m4LE_eIxS01vGRxtqEbJ1vGMDB0W1Hf8Gk7qVK2TdcOaw5-_rqRkoYN5SglJha-GsWipvXav3Bg/s1600-h/1049531.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgztIV_Ig-FphdPIigyXXpTcWlsc2Cq7bgh8Ow9Ylep9eiTaSdQOb03At5Oz_4m4LE_eIxS01vGRxtqEbJ1vGMDB0W1Hf8Gk7qVK2TdcOaw5-_rqRkoYN5SglJha-GsWipvXav3Bg/s320/1049531.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291202924470688354" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Cat Power</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Dark End of the Street EP</span><br />Matador<br />2008<br /><br />In 2008, I not only saw Nick Cave and his magnificent Bad Seeds live this year at the Hollywood Bowl (a birthday gift from mi novia—thank you baby), Cat Power was there, Chan Marshall and her Dirty Delta Blues band, and played one of the best sets by an opening act I have ever seen in my life. Cat Power was the best not only because her one and only chanteusian voice, but because she has one of the best backing bands in the business. I was amazed how guitarist Judah Bauer and the rest of the Dirty Delta Blues band huddled around each other as Marshall sang at the front of the stage, as if they were gathering all the power in some sort bluesy séance for all of us at The Bowl to witness their rhythmic greatness.<br /><br />You can hear intensity of the Dirty Delta Blues band that I saw in concert come alive on the <span style="font-style:italic;">Dark Side of the Street</span> EP's magnificent cover of Otis Redding's "I've Been Loving You Much Too Long." You feel the beauty in Marshall's sultry vocal as Bauer's guitar leads the band in a triumphant interpretation that builds slowly into a peaking climax that would make Otis smile from above. It's so hot that you'll need to open up a window, breathe in some fresh cold air and light a cigarette after listening to such a mind-blowing cover.<br /><br />I was very hot and bothered by Marshall's voice throughout with <span style="font-style:italic;">Dark End of the Street</span>. It's a continuation of the exceptional renditions she mastered on <span style="font-style:italic;">Jukebox</span>, released early in 2008. The way I hear it, if you add the five songs from the bonus disc that was added on the limited edition with these six majestic covers, this makes the ideal version that I dubbed <span style="font-style:italic;">Jukebox: Volume II</span>. I can never get enough of Cat Power, and these songs from the <span style="font-style:italic;">Jukebox</span> sessions make my holiday season a little bit more rhythmically complete.<br /><br />Another sexy cover here is Marshall's burning version of Aretha Franklin's "It Ain't Fair." Sometimes, on <span style="font-style:italic;">Dark End of the Street</span>, Chan's vocal is so intimate, it sounds as if she's softly serenading you in your room as Bauer's bluesy riffs and Jim White's brushes reflect the aching inside this classic of unrequited devotion. One of the surprises is the acoustic version of The Pogues' "Ye Auld Triangle." I love it when Marshall and her Dirty Blues Band strip these originals down to the core with just Chan's voice carrying the melody. Her voice is the main instrument and the key that gives the Dirty Blues Band its passionate center.<br /><br />Sandy Denny's "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" is one of my all time favorites, especially Nina Simone's incredible live interpretation that I wrote about in <span style="font-style:italic;">Treble's Best Songs Ever: Oscar Edition</span> last February. Cat Power does a very minimalist version with just her voice and a piano. The keys in this version mirror the chords from "The Greatest." You feel it all, in this wonderful version that would make Nina and Sandy proud.<br /><br />The string arrangement on "Fortunate Son" and backing vocals give this CCR cover an exceptional post-modern bluesy take on this vintage protest song. The title track is equally as memorable and adds to a package that makes <span style="font-style:italic;">Dark End of The Street</span> an essential addition to your Cat Power discography. What you get here are six extraordinary covers by Chan Marshall, whose singing reaches out to you in voice that seduces you with an emotional honesty missing in this age of artificially souled-out radio refrains. If you want to feel and be moved by an artist Cat Power and her Dirty Blues Band take a long walk down this <span style="font-style:italic;">Dark End of the Street</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adrian Ernesto Cepeda</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">01.14.2009</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-18251271787866945982008-12-19T12:34:00.000-08:002008-12-19T12:45:05.027-08:00Top Albums of 2008: # 1: Portishead: Third<a href="http://treblezine.com/features/177.html&page=5">Treble's Top Albums of 2008 and my review of Portishead's <span style="font-style:italic;">Third</span> can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH02VKj03EUBI6SHDApuMF4HGvKYTo6r-UU-xk_jooum7Q_KPjI5Lk75qrbxcfaB_ZTbVVKQjHKgN01jS_Ht5Z5FVF3MnQmdJpmAY0onXHwerSKlzNinznaH4AyRGqDZWRHaYwzg/s1600-h/Portishead-third.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH02VKj03EUBI6SHDApuMF4HGvKYTo6r-UU-xk_jooum7Q_KPjI5Lk75qrbxcfaB_ZTbVVKQjHKgN01jS_Ht5Z5FVF3MnQmdJpmAY0onXHwerSKlzNinznaH4AyRGqDZWRHaYwzg/s320/Portishead-third.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281599371466491650" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Portishead</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Third</span><br />Island<br />2008<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Third</span> is wicked good, but Treblezine's Album of the Year? How could it not be? We have come to expect only the best from Geoff Barrow, Adrian Utley and siren Beth Gibbons, and Portishead delivers on <span style="font-style:italic;">Third</span>. From the start of "Silence" (originally entitled Wicca), the album opens with a sample of Claudio Campos, a Capoeira master, speaking in Portuguese, reciting a Wiccan precept of the <span style="font-style:italic;">Threefold Law</span> which translates: "Be aware to the rule of thirds. What you give will return to you. You have to learn this lesson. You only receive what you deserve…"<br /><br />We all were a bit shocked, weren't we? I myself didn't know what to expect but I know it would be challenging, timeless and pure Portishead. Besides, I wouldn't want to hear <span style="font-style:italic;">Dummy</span> part deux. Who would? <span style="font-style:italic;">Third</span> is an artistic achievement by a band that's been relatively quiet for ten years. To awaken from their creative sabbatical with this greatness is a gift from up above.<br /><br />Gone are the now unfortunate clichéd trip-hop beats, which have evolved into futuristic soundscapes that include the tripped-out prog vibes of "Small," moog synths in "Machine Gun," freaked out cacophony of jazz horns on "Magic Doors" and otherworldly rhythms that perfectly back our favorite damsel of despair. If the back beats hint at an era of desolated isolationism, Gibbons angelic vocals brings some sense of struggle to find hope, in the quietly acoustic "Deep Water" as she sings "<span style="font-style:italic;">I'm drifting in deep water/alone with my self-doubting, again/try not to struggle this time/for I will weather the storm</span>…"through the maddening soundtrack that surrounds her every one of her mesmerizing vocalized harmonies. When she croons "<span style="font-style:italic;">Oh can't you see/holding on to my heart/I bleed the taste of life</span>" on "We Carry On," Beth mirrors our every day challenges to find some glimmer of promises in this age of bankrupt idealism.<br /><br />If <span style="font-style:italic;">Dummy</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Portishead</span> were the sounds of the band during the Cold War/Spy era, then songs like "Machine Gun" show Portishead in the middle of sonic air assault. At times Beth Gibbons sounds as if she's embedded on the battlefield, her angelic vocals describing the chaos she sees around her.<br /><br />Portishead have become one of the most important and influential artists of our generations. So much so that even Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood recorded an impromptu cover of "The Rip" as an homage to one of Radiohead's favorite bands. Portishead's <span style="font-style:italic;">Third</span> is more than the album of 2008, this is a snapshot of our unknown future. I imagine Beth Gibbons outside on December 21st, 2012 when I hear the eerie siren-like sound towards the end of "Threads." "<span style="font-style:italic;">I'm always so unsure</span>" is Gibbons once again singing our own insecurities. What will happen tomorrow, next year or here after? Who knows? We will find out together. What I hope is to have Geoff, Adrian and Beth there along to create the soundtrack for our everlasting uncertainty that prevails within us all.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adrian Ernesto Cepeda</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">12.19.2008</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-21688611474493365472008-12-17T09:27:00.000-08:002008-12-19T12:42:13.364-08:00Top Albums of 2008: # 27: Beck: Modern Guilt<a href="http://treblezine.com/features/177.html&page=3">Treble's Top Albums of 2008 and my Modern Guilt review can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZDxOOAT3cnkUQhZ3GUPKIrUCc0FOVbQYgavIHZVx8HNMxTIXAOotRwct0NwZ1mf51Zkr11sCQLrdzx-_ds3KapS036b9rP3GEuMeFr4bRbDsiRgvSSVG591xMPQjLRUA2d_s8_g/s1600-h/Beck_-_Modern_Guilt.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 318px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZDxOOAT3cnkUQhZ3GUPKIrUCc0FOVbQYgavIHZVx8HNMxTIXAOotRwct0NwZ1mf51Zkr11sCQLrdzx-_ds3KapS036b9rP3GEuMeFr4bRbDsiRgvSSVG591xMPQjLRUA2d_s8_g/s320/Beck_-_Modern_Guilt.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280812609308203250" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Beck </span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Modern Guilt</span><br />Interscope<br />2008<br /><br />Why is Beck such a mystery in 2008? Beck Hansen is one of the most important artists in the last twenty years; he single-handedly molded elements of hip-hop, Latin, folk and rock into mainstream success of <span style="font-style:italic;">Odelay</span>. But ask about <span style="font-style:italic;">Modern Guilt</span> and most will say Beck, who? It's such a shame. Though <span style="font-style:italic;">Modern Guilt</span> may be missing on many 2008 year end lists, here at Treble, we recognize the importance of this ever-evolving artist and his collaboration with Danger Mouse. <span style="font-style:italic;">Modern Guilt</span> is an album that percolates inside and slowly takes you over. Songs like "Gamma Ray" and the title track captivate you with their addicting back beats. But it's the dark lyrics that linger inside: "<span style="font-style:italic;">Misapprehension is turning into conversation/ don't know what I've done but I feel ashamed</span>." It's as if Beck feels claustrophobic inside of his persona and he's looking for a way out from the past that haunt him so. On <span style="font-style:italic;">Modern Guilt</span>, it feels like Beck is slowly stripping away all of his sampled studio gimmicks that made him infamous. I'm looking forward to the next step in the evolutionary phase in Beck's career. Who knows where he's going, but if songs like "Volcano" and lyrics like "<span style="font-style:italic;">I don't know where I've been/ but I know where I'm going</span>…" is any indication, we're starting to see the true Beck coming into light, and what we're hearing is luminous and incendiary. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Adrian Ernesto Cepeda</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">12.15.2008</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-33266960919730011862008-12-15T12:31:00.000-08:002008-12-15T12:39:05.607-08:00Top Albums of 2008: # 49: R.E.M. : Accelerate<a href="http://treblezine.com/features/177.html">My Accelerate review can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCI152tEL3vMBp1trt3QV4DE85cQ4w6RdgEFG95pR0MTpdPsjAK88addB4pWxYh8AW-yCmxNxcEi4nv8XM5KkWbdfHZaGzJvXO1Oo6Tz0ojp77K4FIcYPf5dgMQs412vTXD-c_g/s1600-h/R.E.M._-_Accelerate.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCI152tEL3vMBp1trt3QV4DE85cQ4w6RdgEFG95pR0MTpdPsjAK88addB4pWxYh8AW-yCmxNxcEi4nv8XM5KkWbdfHZaGzJvXO1Oo6Tz0ojp77K4FIcYPf5dgMQs412vTXD-c_g/s320/R.E.M._-_Accelerate.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280115217247241250" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">R.E.M.</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Accelerate </span><br />Warner Bros.<br />2008<br /><br />It's been difficult being an R.E.M. fan during these past few years. When I mention this to friends and music enthusiast amigos they roll their eyes in disgust. Since when did R.E.M. get such a bad rap? Don't tell me it's all backlash because of "Shiny Happy People?" I was one of the few who have stood by the band before their critically labeled resurrection on <span style="font-style:italic;">Accelerate</span>. Songs like "Living Well is the Best Revenge" and "Man Sized Wreath" added a much-needed shot of adrenaline that was missing from the R.E.M. of recent years. There were some internal creative tensions that did permeate within this Athens, Ga trio during the last few years, which finally got resolved before <span style="font-style:italic;">Accelerate</span> came to fruition. As a result, <span style="font-style:italic;">Accelerate</span> showcases a rejuvenated R.E.M. that you hear in Mills' vibrant harmonies, Buck's electrified riffs and Stipe's more refined lyrics which come to light on the first single "Supernatural Superserious." The anthem for a teenage geek generation, "Supernatural" is one of my favorite songs of the year. I recall hearing it in Rome during a vacation this past Spring (those Europeans have taste). Michael Stipe sings "<span style="font-style:italic;">Music will provide the light/ you cannot resist</span>" on the fiery finale "I'm Gonna DJ." You hear this flame burn throughout <span style="font-style:italic;">Accelerate</span>, as some songs like "Houston" burn on low while others like "Man Sized Wreath" explode to eleven. Sometimes quiet and often loud, <span style="font-style:italic;">Accelerate</span> sparks a new phase in the life of this dynamic and enduring entity whose future is thunderously bright. Now those same amigos understand why I've stood behind one of my favorite bands after all of these years. Back in the glow of glorious acclaim, this isn't a comeback—Buck, Mills and Stipe have returned to unleash <span style="font-style:italic;">Accelerate</span> and reclaim their mantle of greatness on their road towards immortality. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Adrian Ernesto Cepeda</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">12.15.2008</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-82606434319490124272008-12-09T08:35:00.000-08:002008-12-09T11:02:46.711-08:00Treble's Top Songs of 2008: # 33: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!<a href="http://treblezine.com/features/176.html&page=2">My Nick Cave song review can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiek2_bu6_7liwA0opj6ChAv3jaqGRbz8AXhcw5uI8RNhz0i25b5FMgfWxHx0t0C4gqBXvOmGVUlS_KS5JcsteyL9259auIOX2y6SLuAwF0hyphenhyphenGi9TJxI8QEKcbpWnHkqTLWTjSPwA/s1600-h/Dldsingle.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiek2_bu6_7liwA0opj6ChAv3jaqGRbz8AXhcw5uI8RNhz0i25b5FMgfWxHx0t0C4gqBXvOmGVUlS_KS5JcsteyL9259auIOX2y6SLuAwF0hyphenhyphenGi9TJxI8QEKcbpWnHkqTLWTjSPwA/s320/Dldsingle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277865528994725570" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds</span><br />"Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!"<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!</span><br />Mute/Anti<br />2008<br /><br />"Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!" is one of the coolest and most surreal singles released this year. In case you haven't heard, Cave said of the inspiration for the song, "<span style="font-style:italic;">Ever since I can remember hearing the Lazarus story, when I was a kid, you know, back in church, I was disturbed and worried by it. Traumatized, actually. We are all, of course, in awe of the greatest of Christ's miracles - raising a man from the dead - but I couldn't help but wonder how Lazarus felt about it</span>." "Dig" is Nick Cave's retelling in the myth of Lazarus set in modern day America. The way that Cave writes it, "Dig" sounds like a Charlie Kaufman-meets-Terry Gilliam scene come to life. Just imagine Lazarus as a cool-ass zombie walking around in the world around us, breaking hearts. But what gets me about the song is the lyric in the chorus, "<span style="font-style:italic;">I don't know what it is, but there's definitely something going on upstairs</span>," as if Cave is sympathizing about this poor soul being taken from the grave and put into this crazy, soulless techno/plastic surgery driven society.<br /><br />Most of all, I dig this song because of the funky back beats with the heavy guitar riffs and choral backing vocals, along with Cave's distinct, empathically freaked out vocal. Seeing Cave resurrect the legend of Lazarus with his Bad Seeds on stage at the Hollywood Bowl earlier this year is something I will never forget. They are the most dynamically and electric band that I have ever had the honor of seeing in concert. Hearing and seeing Cave will change your life. Just ask Lazarus.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adrian Ernesto Cepeda</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">12.09.2008</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-26940111314737336772008-12-08T09:21:00.000-08:002008-12-08T09:31:47.346-08:00Treble's Top Songs of 2008: # 42: Review: Death Cab for Cutie: I Will Possess Yr Heart<a href="http://treblezine.com/features/176.html">My Death Cab song review can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP-l1P7fUaolvz82oKRl9tk7OCp7r-x0Ygvj7G9QJzUHireFQVPaEEbybA0uZdm_P4gWBDSthJ11FjRCJYTTHoMW8QqbtQtdk9A47uz1WkRDrKEB7_Yje6MfSLWHdbDKr5NU5YXA/s1600-h/51dxta19U3L._SS500_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP-l1P7fUaolvz82oKRl9tk7OCp7r-x0Ygvj7G9QJzUHireFQVPaEEbybA0uZdm_P4gWBDSthJ11FjRCJYTTHoMW8QqbtQtdk9A47uz1WkRDrKEB7_Yje6MfSLWHdbDKr5NU5YXA/s320/51dxta19U3L._SS500_.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277471115199333634" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Death Cab for Cutie</span><br />"I Will Possess Yr Heart"<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Narrow Stairs</span><br />Atlantic<br />2008<br /><br />I admit, until 2008, I never really was a huge Death Cab fan. My girlfriend would play <span style="font-style:italic;">Plans</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Transatlanticism</span> in the car during our dates, and hearing Death Cab in the car was one of those cosmic, kick-in-the-head moments when everything makes sense. Maybe I just wasn't ready to truly listen and appreciate Death Cab like I do this year. When I heard this first single from <span style="font-style:italic;">Narrow Stairs</span>, from the opening piano chords through the long and winding instrumental section, I was hooked. The thing that I grabbed me about "I Will Possess Your Heart" was Ben Gibbard's lyrics and Death Cab's rhythms, as they create a soundtrack that mirrors our current or distant lives. We all can relate to the longing that Gibbard feels when he sings "<span style="font-style:italic;">How I wish you could see the potential/ the potential of you and me</span>…" I'll even admit that I never was a fan of extended instrumental openings to songs, but I love the way that "I Will Possess Your Heart" builds and personifies the rush of approaching the one person that sets your emotions ablaze. It takes time and those moments before our first contact is brought to life at the build up to Ben Gibbard's first vocals.<br /><br />Yet there is a flip-sided meaning to this song that can be viewed very sinisterly. "I Will Possess Your Heart" might also be a song about obsession, and its multiple meanings make it an instant classic. What makes "Possess" not as ominous as song as say, "Every Breath You Take" is the yearning vocal by Ben Gibbard. Most of us have been there and he brings these emotions of distant love affection to light in this very brilliant song.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adrian Ernesto Cepeda</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">12.08.2008</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-78256546033273457142008-12-05T00:17:00.001-08:002008-12-05T09:54:08.151-08:00Review: Coldplay: Prospekt's March EP<a href="http://treblezine.com/reviews/2948-Coldplay_Prospekt_s_March_EP.html">My review of <span style="font-style:italic;">Prospekt's March</span> can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIiIj8k0S0tbPS7o8eUNgeUBPyfrR1vmE-Z9fqMaiDItwAfWneRnsZ7Smz46zmbDBIUGllN0Xu7nPI9Bw2XFRmA6DZ943Zf4mYNLWRCgyYCd3IzGau_J-z1J4xZi9zUv3gHbFsuQ/s1600-h/Prospektsmarch_small.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIiIj8k0S0tbPS7o8eUNgeUBPyfrR1vmE-Z9fqMaiDItwAfWneRnsZ7Smz46zmbDBIUGllN0Xu7nPI9Bw2XFRmA6DZ943Zf4mYNLWRCgyYCd3IzGau_J-z1J4xZi9zUv3gHbFsuQ/s320/Prospektsmarch_small.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276217375259441426" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Coldplay</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Prospekt's March EP</span><br />Capitol<br />2008<br /><br />Since I was the Trebbler who wrote about <span style="font-style:italic;">Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends</span>, I think it's fitting that yours truly should be the one who reviews <span style="font-style:italic;">Prospekt's March</span>. Think of this EP as Coldplay's version of Radiohead's bonus <span style="font-style:italic;">In Rainbows</span> disc that was released in that extremely expensive box set that has inexplicably yet to be released on its own. (<span style="font-style:italic;">C'mon Thom, you could learn a little from Chris Martin and his boys, release that bonus disc as an EP already!</span>)<br /><br />If you're one of the few that has yet to purchase the magnificent <span style="font-style:italic;">Viva La Vida</span>, however, you can pick up a special edition with <span style="font-style:italic;">Prospekt's March</span> added as a bonus disc. It's also available as an EP by itself. Listening to <span style="font-style:italic;">Prospekt's March</span> and thinking back about Martin's comment about retiring after Coldplay's world tour, I can only conclude that it's a mistake. Hearing <span style="font-style:italic;">Viva La Vida</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Prospekt</span>, I feel like Coldplay have yet to cement their name and sound in the stratosphere of The Beatles or Radiohead. They are on the verge of the mountain peak that is eternal greatness timeless status, so why give up now? I have a feeling that their next album, if it ever gets made, is going to be legendary.<br /><br />Okay, maybe the Jay-Z flavored Lost mix isn't exactly what I'm talking about, I could have done without that track, but the rest of <span style="font-style:italic;">Prospekt's March</span> is worthy of inclusion in <span style="font-style:italic;">Viva La Vida</span>. The debate will begin just like with <span style="font-style:italic;">In Rainbows</span>, as to whether or not Coldplay should have added songs like "Glass of Water" and "Prospekt's March/Poppyfields" to their full-length effort. I say `hell yeah,' but I'm the type of musicologist who believes that the greater the number of songs available, the more fulfilling it is for my rhythmic soul. Think about The Beatles' <span style="font-style:italic;">White Album</span>, what if they would have pared down the songs to one single album? It works as a masterpiece, albeit an imperfect one.<br /><br />Since it's so brief, <span style="font-style:italic;">Prospekt</span> feels like a coda to <span style="font-style:italic;">Viva La Vida</span>. For those of us who didn't want the musical journey to end after "The Escapist," we get more from those sessions produced brilliantly by Brian Eno. I love the way that "Rainy Day" starts with some post-modern noisy rhythms and flows into some soothing strings in the chorus. It's a hopeful soundtrack to yr wet and dreary days. Even the title track sounds like a more optimistic version of "A Rush of Blood to the Head." I simply have fallen for the wall of sound remix of "Lovers in Japan." It sounds like an ode to romantics around the globe. I discovered an aura of positivism that shines throughout the lyrics and sound of <span style="font-style:italic;">Prospekt's March</span>.<br /><br />I feel like songs like the lyrical version of "Life in Technicolor," the acoustic beauty of "Now my Feet Won't Touch the Ground" and even the piano interlude of "Postcards from Far Away" would have made Viva La Vida an even more memorable album. <span style="font-style:italic;">Prospekt's March</span> is a bold statement from Coldplay it continues all of the themes and sounds they started with Eno's on <span style="font-style:italic;">Viva La Vida</span>. <span style="font-style:italic;">Prospekt's March</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Viva La Vida</span> mark the year when Coldplay became more than a multi-platinum band. Berryman, Buckland, Champion and Martin are on the verge of a magnum opus that has the potential of injecting a much needed post modern artfulness into the rhyme-less direction that is contemporary pop music. Don't give up; we need Coldplay now more than ever.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adrian Ernesto Cepeda</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">12.05.2008</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-67062713193435295752008-12-03T08:39:00.000-08:002008-12-03T08:50:36.529-08:00Review: The Fireman: Electric Arguments<a href="http://treblezine.com/reviews/2942-The_Fireman_Electric_Arguments.html">My review of <span style="font-style:italic;">Electric Arguments</span> can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHsah3tzXmFWRlKF5lyb-elU6_aKKY8afECY4ZYQZyq1_JXv6l866TU0h-tP4G27RS-NQa2R0WIdVWXvJ_3ApyQxp7_LW7Yqf9y-DVXz6BHExRub1aGfAAIQRAjngq7VXWo7ymWw/s1600-h/Electric_Arguments.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 282px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHsah3tzXmFWRlKF5lyb-elU6_aKKY8afECY4ZYQZyq1_JXv6l866TU0h-tP4G27RS-NQa2R0WIdVWXvJ_3ApyQxp7_LW7Yqf9y-DVXz6BHExRub1aGfAAIQRAjngq7VXWo7ymWw/s320/Electric_Arguments.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275607034086219874" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Fireman</span></span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Electric Arguments</span><br />MPL/ATO Records<br />2008<br /><br />Having grown up an armchair Fab Four-ologist by reading just about every book on The Beatles, one of the myths that I've seen prevail throughout the years was that Lennon was the one into avant garde and Paul McCartney was the one who wrote the silly love songs. This was furthest from the truth. In reality, while Lennon was holed up in his Mansion with Cynthia and Julia, it was Macca who was the first one soaking in all the creative energies of the psychedelic era of the sixties. McCartney was friends with many artists in the London Underground, including experimental musician John Cage and poet Allan Ginsberg. Paul was the one who got Lennon to record the now infamous "Carnival of Light" song that may finally be released.<br /><br />Paul has never strayed from these innovative tendencies throughout his solo career and even creating a solo project The Fireman in with former Killing Joke bassist and producer Youth. In 1993 The Fireman dropped their first release <span style="font-style:italic;">Strawberry Ocean Ships Forest</span> and followed another release under the commercial radar with 1998's <span style="font-style:italic;">Rushes</span>. Paul must have been impressed with Youth's production work with Alex Patterson's The Orb because The Fireman was conceived as Macca's foray into ambient dance music sounds. The Fireman wasn't the first time Paul took a dive into the dance floor, as "Ou est le Soleil," one of my favorite tracks from <span style="font-style:italic;">Flowers in the Dirt</span>, must have inspired Macca to delve deeper into DJ culture.<br /><br />Throughout the nineties Paul's experimentation with The Fireman remained veiled in mystery until 2008 when Paul and Youth finally admitted that they were the duo trailblazing with their dynamic moniker. Even with me being a die hard Macca fan, I have to admit I never cared for The Fireman's first two releases. What was missing from <span style="font-style:italic;">Strawberry</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Rushes</span> was the soulful inflection from "Ou est le Soleil." I enjoyed Twin Freaks more, Paul's partnership with DJ and producer Freelance Hellraiser. Macca hired Hellraiser to spin his decks for Paul's 2004 World Tour. McCartney was so impressed with Hellraiser's mixing abilities that he collaborated with Freelance on a double vinyl only release remixed album of Paul's solo song's mashed up by Hellraiser. I'm still waiting for <span style="font-style:italic;">Twin Freaks</span> record to be released on CD.<br /><br />But instead this holiday season, Macca fans get an even better gift from Sir Paul a new Fireman album. <span style="font-style:italic;">Electric Arguments</span> is the first to have vocals from McCartney himself. This was the main problem I had with the first two Rushes releases. The samples were cool for the first few minutes, but I missed Paul's trademark vocals. <span style="font-style:italic;">Electric Arguments</span> is more than just another experimental venture into dance music, Macca and Youth have evolved from that aspect of their earlier <span style="font-style:italic;">Strawberry</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Rushes</span> releases. This time, the dynamic duo have truly collaborated with Youth laying down some grooves, Macca improvising some lyrics like he did on <span style="font-style:italic;">Flaming Pie</span>'s "Really Love You" (with Ringo Star and Jeff Lynne). Macca then added more rhythms to their initial recording and gave each track a more song feel. Think of <span style="font-style:italic;">Electric Arguments</span> as thinking man's groove music. Not tracks for the dance floor, a more transcendental moving experience with lyrical wonder brought to you by Paul McCartney.<br /><br />"Nothing Too Much Just Out of Sight" opens <span style="font-style:italic;">Arguments</span> with a bluesy number that announces how much The Fireman have evolved from their Strawberry days into a resurrected more <span style="font-style:italic;">Electric</span> feel. "Two Magpies" follows with a very acoustic beauty, one of the best solo songs Paul McCartney has ever written and recorded that would fit perfectly on 1970's <span style="font-style:italic;">McCartney</span> or even 2005's <span style="font-style:italic;">Chaos and Creation in the Backyard</span>.<br /><br />"Sing the Changes" echoes the aura we feel in the word today. I first heard this modern day anthem on L.A. radio station 100.3 The Sound while driving to day job in Pasadena. Unbeknownst to McCartney, it sounds like Paul's lyrics are foretelling the emotions we all felt on November 4th when the world changed for the better.<br /><br />You may recognize the mellotron that The Beatles used on "Strawberry Fields Forever" recycled with such a vibrant flare on "Traveling Light" which also features one of the tenderest vocals Macca has even record on any album, such a beautiful and moving song as he croons "<span style="font-style:italic;">I'll follow the bluebird to wherever she lies</span>."<br /><br />"Highway" sounds like an updated ramped up version of "Taxman" with McCartney rocking another number that most certainly could have found a home on last year's <span style="font-style:italic;">Memory Almost Full</span>. I love the electric choir-like vocals towards the end of the song that shine along with Macca shredding his guitar like he famously riffed on <span style="font-style:italic;">Band on the Run</span>. "Light from Your Lighthouse" is a Western pub song turned Gospel acoustic number with Paul taking on an old time preacher that would fit in soundtrack adaptation of Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series.<br /><br />"The Sun is Shining" starts off as another acoustic number with birds chirping in the back ground as Paul sings a modern day "Good Day Sunshine." "Dance `Til We're High" is not a club anthem, it's more a song for two new lovers coming together for the first time beyond sight and sound. A theme that Macca revisits on the very romantically tinged "Is this Love?" You will hear Paul sing for the new paramour in his life. It's nice to hear that after all that loss that McCartney's been through that he still believe in the magic of love.<br /><br />"Lovers in a dream" has a "Ou est le Soleil" feel with a little Orb like ambient atmosphere as Macca adds a bluesy riff that lifts this dream into being just another <span style="font-style:italic;">Strawberry</span>/<span style="font-style:italic;">Rushes</span> sampled groove. I love the way each song flows into another. Paul layers some piano keys and guitar flavor to Youth's chill out vibes on "Universal Here, Everlasting Now." You can feel the beats with Macca's improvisational vocals building to a rhythmic climax as Paul's tender piano keys personify certain calmness after the intense electrified culmination.<br /><br />Arguments closes with the epic "Don't Stop Running." Paul sings the very poetic "<span style="font-style:italic;">Silent lover/ angel smiling/ don't stop running</span>." (You can hear the addition of the tabla, the Indian instrument the The Beatles made famous using during their peak <span style="font-style:italic;">Revolver</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Sgt. Pepper</span> years.) There's a bonus cut 8:00 minutes into "Don't Stop Running" which sounds like a Vangelis/<span style="font-style:italic;">Blade Runner</span>-inspired tune with Macca whispering some backmasting (backward) lyrics in the distance.<br /><br />I am impressed by the way Fireman has evolved from its early incarnation to this post modern collaboration between Macca and Youth. It was as if these two exceptional musicians finally realized the potential they had in the studio and harnessed their gifted energies into creating something like <span style="font-style:italic;">Electric Arguments</span> that was worthy outside the dance floor and more into our collective consciousness. <span style="font-style:italic;">Electric Arguments</span> will go down as one of the most eclectic and exhilarating albums in Macca's whole extraordinary canon.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Adrian Ernesto Cepeda</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">12.03.2008</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-26840587701010775592008-11-21T12:03:00.000-08:002008-11-21T14:53:42.389-08:00Review: New Order: Technique (Collectors Edition)<a href="http://treblezine.com/reviews/2932-New_Order_Technique__Collectors_Edition_.html">My review of <span style="font-style:italic;">Technique (Collectors Edition)</span> can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX-hqbzgI0foQrlBoTMo6QKKZsLGvl_YkXQn1GyiV1r48ue0D6cVz8zYKoP9kn318Ok42fTgGLxxzfnU1g9n7HntmgmUjlxAaBvImZEkZHWHqto9R9uZer5FDZsrFem8IiljtEYA/s1600-h/New-Order-Technique-298040.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 309px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX-hqbzgI0foQrlBoTMo6QKKZsLGvl_YkXQn1GyiV1r48ue0D6cVz8zYKoP9kn318Ok42fTgGLxxzfnU1g9n7HntmgmUjlxAaBvImZEkZHWHqto9R9uZer5FDZsrFem8IiljtEYA/s320/New-Order-Technique-298040.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271244547511174690" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">New Order</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Technique (Collectors Edition)</span><br />Rhino<br />2008<br /><br />Oh, how I was looking forward to the reissue of one of my favorite New Order albums, <span style="font-style:italic;">Technique</span>. 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.<br /><br />"<span style="font-style:italic;">My life ain't no holiday<br />I've been through the point of no return<br />I've seen what a man can do<br />I've seen all the hate of a woman too</span>…"<br /><br />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 <span style="font-style:italic;">Technique</span> 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.<br /><br />"<span style="font-style:italic;">I can't see the sense in your leaving<br />All I need is your love to believe in<br />And for you I would do what I can<br />But I cant change the way that I am</span>."<br /><br />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 <span style="font-style:italic;">Technique</span> 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.<br /><br />So when I heard that <span style="font-style:italic;">Technique</span> 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.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Technique</span> 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 <span style="font-style:italic;">Technique</span> 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.<br /><br />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 <span style="font-style:italic;">Technique</span> 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?"<br /><br />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."<br /><br />What I can say is that all nine songs from <span style="font-style:italic;">Technique</span> 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—<span style="font-style:italic;">Movement</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">Power Corruption & Lies</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">Low-Life</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Brotherhood</span> 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />"<span style="font-style:italic;">And they gave him away<br />Like in whistle down the wind<br />By the look on his face<br />He never gave in</span>…"<br /><br />I never gave in because of albums like <span style="font-style:italic;">Technique</span>. 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 <span style="font-style:italic;">The Sound of The Smiths</span>, 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.<br /><br />"<span style="font-style:italic;">But I know that I'm ok<br />cause you're here with me today<br />I haven't got a single problem<br />Now that I'm with you</span>…"<br /><br />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 <span style="font-style:italic;">Technique</span> 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 <span style="font-style:italic;">Technique</span> had in my life. No thanks to the glitch-ridden package here, I'm still waiting. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Adrian Ernesto Cepeda</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">11.21.2008</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-71086003804572163602008-11-12T08:28:00.000-08:002008-11-12T08:37:59.361-08:00Review: The Smiths: The Sound of The Smiths (Deluxue Edition)<a href="http://treblezine.com/reviews/2918-The_Smiths_The_Sound_of_the_Smiths.html">My review of <span style="font-style:italic;">The Sound of The Smiths</span> can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS4KBKBhIIQeWBGMoJI4IR5EbOR7m0eXeyR6u6cZg6nTkE3NCnM9fWqLZUcYrJbhzLXFrQ4aMwovd61og9eUpQqhEFmQBJukrx850lkithI37FzEYkiWwdFIRwIYShk6y7UhOVgg/s1600-h/normal_51SN2R09cJL__SS500_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS4KBKBhIIQeWBGMoJI4IR5EbOR7m0eXeyR6u6cZg6nTkE3NCnM9fWqLZUcYrJbhzLXFrQ4aMwovd61og9eUpQqhEFmQBJukrx850lkithI37FzEYkiWwdFIRwIYShk6y7UhOVgg/s320/normal_51SN2R09cJL__SS500_.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267809166869816882" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Smiths</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The Sound of The Smiths</span><br />Rhino<br />2008<br /><br />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 <span style="font-style:italic;">The Sound of The Smiths</span>. Johnny Marr supervised the mastering of the 45 tracks on this deluxe edition.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The Sound of The Smiths</span> 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 <span style="font-style:italic;">The Queen is Dead</span>. The song was "There is a Light that Never Goes Out." And from the opening notes and lyrics of "<span style="font-style:italic;">Take me out tonight</span>…" 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.<br /><br />As I have grown, The Smiths' music remains a constant in my ever changing blissful life. <span style="font-style:italic;">The Sound of the Smiths</span> is exempt from my usual lambasting of compilations released by successful bands. It's the songs and the sound of these songs that save <span style="font-style:italic;">The Sound of The Smiths</span> 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.<br /><br />So what songs did Morrissey and Marr select for <span style="font-style:italic;">The Sound of The Smiths</span>, you ask? It's every song from the magnificent <span style="font-style:italic;">Singles</span> 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<br /><br />But I must add, even though I am advocating purchasing <span style="font-style:italic;">The Sound of The Smiths</span>, Morrissey and Marr have left out some of the rarest of gems. They're not all here. For instance, where are the complete <span style="font-style:italic;">Peel Sessions</span>? 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 <span style="font-style:italic;">The Boy with the Thorn in his Side</span>? What about the rest of songs missing from the October 26, 1986 National Ballroom show in Kilburn as heard on the <span style="font-style:italic;">Rank</span> 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?<br /><br />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, <span style="font-style:italic;">The Smiths</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">Meat is Murder</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">The Queen is Dead</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Strangeways Here We Come</span>, all four of these brilliant LPs digitally remastered like this stellar compilation. <span style="font-style:italic;">The Sound of the Smiths</span> 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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adrian Ernesto Cepeda</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">11.12.2008</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-24220464707989437562008-11-11T08:03:00.000-08:002008-11-11T08:15:21.629-08:00Review: David Bowie: iSelect<a href="http://treblezine.com/reviews/2917-David_Bowie_iSelect.html">My review of David Bowie's <span style="font-style:italic;">iSelect</span> can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimlQyLf22u3lNoRBK23Mqa4p97nsWbRY5zgi6kGccL6d0BAvT5fk2wRkwNLJZHy_PQ-DVngNZTVnlq8zUUMCQYW5198tc45k8MbKnP9wM9Awu1KcpVCnefo9ZfnBHjDdMuz26KNQ/s1600-h/51AF8HSFcsL._SS400_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimlQyLf22u3lNoRBK23Mqa4p97nsWbRY5zgi6kGccL6d0BAvT5fk2wRkwNLJZHy_PQ-DVngNZTVnlq8zUUMCQYW5198tc45k8MbKnP9wM9Awu1KcpVCnefo9ZfnBHjDdMuz26KNQ/s320/51AF8HSFcsL._SS400_.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267431665351789794" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">David Bowie</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">iSelect</span><br />Astralwerks<br />2008<br /><br />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) "<span style="font-style:italic;">My mama said to get things done you better not fuck with major tom</span>…" 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.<br /><br />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 <span style="font-style:italic;">Outside</span>, the Nine Inch Nails-inspired "Hearts Filthy Lesson" and his <span style="font-style:italic;">Earthling</span> jungle-filled days of "Little Wonder," all the way to my personal theme "Never Get Old" from <span style="font-style:italic;">Reality</span>. 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.<br /><br />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 <span style="font-style:italic;">Best Of</span>. But before I start going off on my clichéd diatribe about legendary artists releasing yet another hits album, I have to stop myself because <span style="font-style:italic;">iSelect</span> is a different breed of compilation.<br /><br />First released as a complimentary gift when purchasing the June 29th, 2008 edition of British's newspaper The Mail, <span style="font-style:italic;">iSelect</span>, 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."<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">iSelect</span> starts off with the very timely "Life on Mars." (<span style="font-style:italic;">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</span>.) 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).<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Another one of the most requested songs, a perfect addition to <span style="font-style:italic;">iSelect</span>, 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The rare find for all Bowie fanatics is the inclusion of the "Time Will Crawl (MM remix)." Originally found on <span style="font-style:italic;">Never Let Me Down</span> 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.<br /><br />The compilation closes with a track from <span style="font-style:italic;">Live Santa Monica '72</span> 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," <span style="font-style:italic;">iSelect</span> 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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adrian Ernesto Cepeda</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">11.11.2008</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34124465.post-62695511003823757642008-11-03T07:24:00.000-08:002008-11-03T12:01:54.202-08:00Review: The Cure: 4:13 Dream<a href="http://treblezine.com/reviews/2908-The_Cure_4_13_Dream.html">My review of The Cure's <span style="font-style:italic;">4:13 Dream</span> can be found (click here) on treblezine.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidGsCe_n1ll6dgO1npTGan57Y-dJ_T2Bgmp4iVijFdpJUz5rqe1skYkSfjwTqCgq7DsajSAaFiMx1D0cIfF9rK8F0f1PG-YuAHqf09tsH6GjM9YNyy55DjuPQrU1wvpujtfkqPdw/s1600-h/33467083.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidGsCe_n1ll6dgO1npTGan57Y-dJ_T2Bgmp4iVijFdpJUz5rqe1skYkSfjwTqCgq7DsajSAaFiMx1D0cIfF9rK8F0f1PG-YuAHqf09tsH6GjM9YNyy55DjuPQrU1wvpujtfkqPdw/s320/33467083.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264452975574886706" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Cure</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">4:13 Dream</span><br />Geffen<br />2008<br /><br />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 <span style="font-style:italic;">Disintegration</span> 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.<br /><br />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 <span style="font-style:italic;">Bloodflowers</span> 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. <span style="font-style:italic;">Bloodflowers</span> would have been the ultimate finale, as the last chapter in Robert Smith's "heart of darkness trilogy" that began with <span style="font-style:italic;">Pornography</span>, followed years later with my brother's personal best, <span style="font-style:italic;">Disintegration</span>.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />"<span style="font-style:italic;">One last time before it's over<br />One last time before the end<br />One last time before it's<br />time to go again</span>..."<br /><br />Four years later, The Cure returned with a disappointing album produced by Korn producer Ross Robinson. The thing about <span style="font-style:italic;">The Cure</span> 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 <span style="font-style:italic;">The Cure</span> 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 <span style="font-style:italic;">Bloodflowers</span>.<br /><br />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 <span style="font-style:italic;">The Cure</span>. 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 <span style="font-style:italic;">4:13 Dream</span>.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Is <span style="font-style:italic;">4:13 Dream</span> 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."<br /><br />"Underneath the Stars" is the best opening Cure song, save for "Out of this World." Unlike "Lost" from 2004's <span style="font-style:italic;">The Cure</span> where Smith sang, "<span style="font-style:italic;">I can't find myself<br />I got lost in someone else</span>." 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.<br /><br />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 <span style="font-style:italic;">Wish</span>. You can actually hear Smith sounding excited as he reaches those upper notes, like he did during his early Goth incarnations of The Cure.<br /><br />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 <span style="font-style:italic;">For the Masses</span>.) 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.<br /><br />"Freakshow" is a funk burst of energy recalling 1996's <span style="font-style:italic;">Wild Mood Swings</span>. 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.<br /><br />"<span style="font-style:italic;">Tell me you love me<br />Before it's too late<br />She sang<br />Give me your life<br />Or I must fly away<br />And you will never hear this song again</span>"<br /><br />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 "<span style="font-style:italic;">No it doesn't come for free/ but it's the price/ we pay for happiness</span>," are lacking the substance behind the stylish power of the song.<br /><br />Doors fans may recognize the familiar theme of "Switch." With lyrics like, "<span style="font-style:italic;">Friends are as strangers/ And strangers as friends/ And I feel like I'm wired in a why/ Yeah my friends are as strangers</span>," "Switch" sounds like a stirring modern lyrical interpretation of Jim Morrison's "People Are Strange."<br /><br />"Sleep with the Dead" is vintage Cure with 21st Century zeal. Robert Smith has unearthed this one from <span style="font-style:italic;">The Head of the Door</span> songwriting sessions. Continuing his eloquent imagery, he calls out "<span style="font-style:italic;">I'll sleep when I'm Dead/ you angels…before I lay me down to dream</span>."<br /><br />The thing that impresses me even with a few on the tracks that don't stir me, there's transcendent transitions between songs of <span style="font-style:italic;">4:13 Dream</span>. 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 <span style="font-style:italic;">Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me</span>. As Robert Smith sings "I<span style="font-style:italic;"> can't do this anymore</span>" I am hoping that <span style="font-style:italic;">4:13 Dream </span>is only the next chapter, and he doesn't walk away from The Cure.<br /> <br />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 <span style="font-style:italic;">4:13 Dream</span> soars beyond my miscalculated expectations. I was ready to bury The Cure after <span style="font-style:italic;">Bloodflowers</span>. Once again, Smith and The Cure have proved me wrong.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adrian Ernesto Cepeda</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">11.03.2008</span>aerollshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07586373749350531753noreply@blogger.com0