CD Odyssey Disc 291: Soundtrack

This review comes after a minor delay for two reasons.

The first is, I've been getting my musical fix in other ways, including going to concerts by Lucinda Williams (Monday) and seeing Steve Earle for the third time (Wednesday).

It was great to see Lucinda after so many years, and at age 58 the woman can still belt out a tune. She's a bit awkward on stage, but it adds to her charm. She did music from a lot of different points in her career, and changed the arrangement in some to freshen them up. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but it was a fine concert.

Steve Earle was awesome - the best I've seen him, and head and shoulders after his 2008 concert in the same venue. He did songs off every one but two of his records, and spanned the career. Also, the Dukes were backing him, and the sound was amazing. One of the better concerts I've been to.

The other reason I delayed, was this next review is that this album is best for driving, and I had nowhere to drive as yet. I finally broke down and listened to it while painting (yes - one day I will have a new figure to show off - really, I mean it).

Disc 291 is...The Matrix Soundtrack

Artist: Various Artists

Year of Release: 1999

What’s Up With The Cover?: As is typical with a soundtrack, it is a promotional shot from the movie. Everyone is dressed in very cool leather and vinyl, and Carrie Ann Moss is giving a raft of geeky boys plenty to think about. Keanu is, of course, wearing his expression.

How I Came To Know It: The usual tale - saw the movie, and liked the music, so I bought it. I have a feeling this soundtrack was bought by a lot of folks, as most people I know seem to own it.
How It Stacks Up: We have about 23 soundtracks (not including scores, which I don't review). Of those 23, "The Matrix" is definitely up there. I would say it is probably 3rd best of all, which is pretty damned good.

Rating: 4 stars

The movie, "The Matrix" was a huge hit in 1999, and whenever it comes on TV (which is often) I'll stop and give it a few minutes of my time. It is an excellent action movie because it combines well choreographed fight sequences, special effects that survive the test of time, memorable characters, and a fast paced story which isn't just about fighting monsters, but gets a little into the human condition (but not too much - it is not a drama).

By contrast, the Matrix 2 and 3 were abominations, where the film makers turn a tight little action story with a twist on the nature of reality, into a bloated essay on our relationship with machinery. In the first movie, the answer to the question, "What is the Matrix?" is "a virtual reality prison designed to turn human energy into battery power for machines." Cool.

In the second and third movies, the answer to the question "What is the Matrix?" is "A movie written by stupid people trying to write dialogue smarter than they are."

Back to the soundtrack, since this isn't a movie review column. The music is excellent, and is entirely composed of either metal tracks or closely aligned industrial electronica from the 1990s (which was the golden age of electronica, in my opinion).

This decision to stick with a consistent sound and style not only fits in well with the movie's stark concrete and leather backdrop, but also lets the listener get a real ear for the sound. The songs are distinct from one another, but also complementary. So often in soundtracks it seems like the movie maker is simply putting on a bunch of songs that they like, and the result when taken out of the context of the movie is that it appears disjointed. "The Matrix" avoids this trap.

Moreover, the songs chosen are excellent. As long time readers will know, I am no fan of electronica, but the tracks on this album are right in my sweet spot. Many songs off this soundtrack have become iconic in their own right, including Propellerheads "Spybreak (Short One)", an instrumental which instantly puts you in the groove when you hear it.

The metal tracks are that industrial metal sound that I have very little exposure to outside of this album, and that's a pity. In fact, many of the songs are from artists I've had very little interest in getting over the years, but the tracks chosen show them in their best light. For example, I've never been keen on White Zombie (I thought they were overly busy in the day) but Rob Zombie's "Dragula" had everyone singing along in their cars through the summer of 1999.

Finally, who can forget Rammstein's "Du Hast"? One of the most kick ass metal songs ever written - the more so because we all tried to sing along to it as well, even though it was written in German. I have no idea what it is about. "du hast" means "you have" in German, but just what I am supposed to have is a complete mystery. Funny that I should review a German song I can't understand immediately after reviewing the Scorpions, a German band who sang in English that they could barely understand. The Odyssey makes some funny connections.

Or am I making those connections in my mind? Or is that just the Matrix messing with my head, making me think I'm free to consider such things? In fact - did I just see my cat walk by exactly the same way twice? For all I know, I may just be some AI's battery pack.

If that's true, maybe I'll wake up soon in some cold sewer - flushed as defective (we live in hope). In the meantime, I can say with reasonable certainty that steak is juicy, that I want to be a rock star in my next life, and this is a good record.

Best tracks - with artist: Rock Is Dead - Marilyn Manson, Spybreak - Propellerheads, Bad Blood - Ministry, Dragula - Rob Zombie, My Own Summer (Shove It) - The Deftones, Du Hast - Rammstein, and Wake Up - Rage Against the Machine

CD Odyssey Disc 290: Scorpions

After a Tracy Chapman album you couldn't get much more severe swing of the musical pendulum than metal, and that's what we have next.

Disc 290 is...Blackout

Artist: Scorpions

Year of Release: 1982

What’s Up With The Cover?: If a blackout is strictly speaking, an event that prevents you from seeing, then this cover would be a fairly stark depiction of the event. A man has had bent forks stuck into his eyes for some reason - likely as punishment for that awful seventies crowbar moustache he is sporting.

How I Came To Know It: I knew the Scorpions from my junior high days, when "Love At First Sting" came out, and while I knew some of the songs off of Blackout from parties and such, I hadn't really had a good listen to the record until my buddy Ross put it on one night when I was over at his place. I think at the time he and I were obsessed with "great side twos", and "Blackout" certainly qualifies. Anyway, I loved it, and bought it shortly thereafter.

How It Stacks Up: I am not a huge Scorpions fan, and only have two of their albums, this ones and the aforementioned "Love At First Sting". I'd like to get "Crazy World" because as someone who lived through the latter days of the Cold War, I have a soft spot for "Wind of Change" - it is a hard record to find. For now, of the two I have, I think "Blackout" is the better album.

Rating: 4 stars.

As anyone of my generation that doesn't live in a cave knows, the Scorpions are classic eighties metal band from Germany. My brother and I used to love watching them get interviewed on the MuchMusic Power Hour because their English was so atrocious. They would basically do a lot of devil horn signs and yell "rock and roll! Scorpions" into the monitor.

It is said that they recorded "Blackout" by singing the lines phonetically, rather than understanding what they were saying. I don't know if it is true, but it is a cool enough rumour that I've reprinted it.

Whether they understood what they were saying, they certainly understood music, because they lay down some furious riffs on "Blackout". Songs like "Blackout", "No One Like You" and "Dynamite" are rock and roll staples that sound as fresh today as they did nearly thirty years ago.

Outdoing all of these though is the six and a half minute "China White" which is so incredibly heavy, it holds its own against any modern metal song, without the benefit of later tricks of production.

At times listening to this album I found lead singer Klaus Meine's vocals a bit grating. He has amazing metal pipes, but at times he comes off a bit wooden in his delivery - likely a result of singing in a less familiar language. He also gets a bit shrieky in a way that contemporaries like Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford manage to avoid.

I have a strange association with the song "Dynamite", because when I was at University I used to attend this Creative Writing event called the "Poetry Massacre" which was basically a booze up of poets and English Lit types where atrocious poetry (original and dredged up) was read out at an open mike setting.

It was damned funny stuff - among the works I heard there, I can recall poems about an outbreak of genital warts among some free lovin' students, as well as an off-colour piece about a fajitas with uncommon ingredients, of which the less said, the better.

One year, a guy brought the lyrics to the Scorpion's "Dynamite" and read them deadpan, with no musical accompaniment. Since there is none more deadpan than reading them in a blog entry, allow me to pass along a passage from same:

"Get it now or never
Let's get it really tight
We'll make this night a special one
Make us feel alright
Put your heat into my body
Give ya all my size.
We gonna beat the beat tonight
Come on let's break the ice

"Dynamite
You're dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite"

As you can tell, I don't listen to the Scorpions for their lyrically prowess. However, their musical prowess on this record is enough to elevate them just north of 4 stars. If you only want to own one Scorpions' album - I'd argue this is the one.

Best tracks: Blackout, Can't Live Without You, No One Like You, You Give Me All I Need, Arizona, China White

CD Odyssey Disc 289: Tracy Chapman

Today's review is being brought to you by a man wearing a suit (I'm just back from an appointment). I might just keep the suit on for the morning, as I like the feel of it after so many days out of one. I expect the excitement of the suit will wear off by noon, however.

Disc 289 is...Matters of the Heart

Artist: Tracy Chapman

Year of Release: 1992

What’s Up With The Cover?: A typical Tracy Chapman cover - a picture of her head - this time so close up, the whole think didn't fit in the frame. I dub this cover with the faint-praise of "OK".

How I Came To Know It: I was a fan of her previous two records, so when this one came out, I was quick to buy it.

How It Stacks Up: I have four Tracy Chapman albums, and after today I will have reviewed three of them. The top three are all very close in quality. "Matters of the Heart" is really the equal to "Crossroads" but since I've already given "Crossroads" the silver when I reviewed it back at Disc 234, I'll reluctantly slip "Matters of the Heart" into a strong third.

Rating: 4 stars.

"Matters of the Heart" is the last of the first stage of Chapman's career, with a very stripped down folk guitar sound. Later albums started to jazz up the production and quite frankly lost me in the process.

Not so, "Matters of the Heart" which has Chapman once again tackling her favourite themes - most notably the plight of the lower classes and the heartache of relationships gone wrong. Nothing new here, as both are time honoured themes in American folk, so the question becomes how well they are delivered.

The answer is, 'with excellence'. The opening track, "Bang Bang Bang" is the story of how violent youths, denied opportunity, will one day turn on the rest of us. I found myself comparing it to Elvis Presley's "In The Ghetto" except at the end of "Bang Bang Bang" the youth shoots you, instead of being shot by the police.

In the unrequited love section of the album we find great songs, my favourite of which is the title track, "Matters of the Heart." I like the way this song lyrically goes into all the hyperbole of love you would expect, but grounds that language in a worldly understanding. The singer knows she is foolish in matters of the heart, but welcomes it, saying:

"I won't call it love
But it feels good to have passion in my life
If there's a battle
I hope my head always defers to my heart"

In addition to themes of social justice and love, the album has a more upbeat feeling than Chapman's earlier work. Many of the songs evoke dreamers. Sometimes we experience the sadness of someone who only has nightmares ("If These Are The Things"), sometimes we are someone who - despite being locked up - still dreams of the sea ("I Used To Be A Sailor") and sometimes we are full-fledged dreamers, aware that our heads are in the clouds but not wanting to have it any other way ("Dreaming On A World").

I find the character in "I Used To Be A Sailor" the most interesting, because the room they are locked in is padded. I wonder why they are in a padded room? Are they really a sailor, or do they only dream they are a sailor and are actually in a mental institution? Or is it some combination thereof - meaning they are insane, but they actually did use to be a sailor? Perhaps they live in some futuristic world where sailing has been outlawed, and those who engage in it are deemed mentally unfit. That last one seems unlikely, but if there's a future where you can't drive a Red Barchetta, surely there's a world where you can't go boating. But I digress...

Musically, the album is softer than the previous two records, and sees a return to the sparser arrangements of her debut album. Her vocals are just as powerful, though, and Chapman never feels anywhere but in the moment when she sings. Consequently she brings you into the moment with her.

If you're a dreamer like me, this record is for you. If you're not a dreamer, then this record will help you appreciate why we dreamers wander about absentmindedly the way we do. Maybe you'll join us for a while.

Best tracks: Bang Bang Bang, I Used To Be A Sailor, Dreaming On A World, Open Arms (no - not the Journey song) and Matters of the Heart

CD Odyssey Disc 288: Beck

Today I managed to get some driving in, which quickly got me through this next album, which was a pretty short one. As you may know, I am a fan of albums not running overlong, so I was pretty happy.

Disc 288 is...Modern Guilt

Artist: Beck

Year of Release: 2008

What’s Up With The Cover?: This cover reminds me of one of those photos that fans send in to get mounted on the side of Jones Soda bottles. It just has that kind of arbitrary, off-the-cuff kind of look. I like it, and I like the clear label at the top. It would be hard not to note the title and artist for this record.

How I Came To Know It: This is the latest Beck album, so when it came out I was already a long-standing fan, so having this album is just me buying it as a matter of course. Not every story is one of strange discovery, people.

How It Stacks Up: I have eight Beck albums, and I enjoy them all in different ways. I'd put "Modern Guilt" about 4th or 5th, but that is not to say it is a bad album, just that I like Beck, so at some level all his records are good, and competition at the top is fierce.

Rating: 4 stars.

I had only had this record very briefly before seeing Beck on the same tour, when he played the Royal Theatre in Victoria. The Royal is a beautiful old venue dating from a period long before people plugged in their guitars. As a result, it is ingeniously built to project non-amplified sound.

Regrettably, many a sound man has come in since and over-amped the venue, with the result being a muddy reverb beating off the walls of the place. Such was the case with Beck, who for the first half of the show was practically unrecognizeable. At one point he performed Dylan's "Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat" and I couldn't even recognize it. Trust me when I say that unless it is Bob Dylan doing that (deliberately) it isn't any fun.

Fortunately, the sound guy got his act together about halfway through so the concert was not bad the rest of the way. Still, it soured me on this record unfairly at the time of its release.

The CD Odyssey allowed me to rehabilitate its reputation, and take it for what it is - a well constructed, well produced work, and a comeback for Beck, two years after 2006's relatively average "The Information" (reviewed back at Disc 150).

While I enjoyed "The Information", the record's front end far exceeded its second side, and Beck too often relied on his over-used sampling of modern sounds of technology (phone bells, modem squeals, etc.).

"Modern Guilt" repairs most of these mistakes. Beck is back with some very groovy beats that have your feet tapping, particularly on songs like the title track, and the irresistably funky and infectious "Soul Of A Man". When he does incorporate odd electronic sounds, they are done in an understated way that add to the music rather than jar you out of it.

Beck also adds some very organic sounding piano and guitar which serve to soften the edges of his electronically infused music. Beck can trend toward sounding cold and unengaging, and while "Modern Guilt" walks close to this line, it is the little decisions Beck makes in arrangement and production that keeps it from going over. A shout out to co-producer Danger Mouse is in order at this point, I suppose.

The record also makes you want to move and dance around, although it is more of a 'dance in the livingroom' kind of feel, than something that would lead to a bump n' grind at the local nightclub.

Lyrically, Beck delivers his usual stream of consciousness style. His phrasing makes it harder to focus on the lyrics and follow them along, but they serve to augment the mood of the music well. When I took the time to pull out the liner notes I was surprised to see the lyrics are more linear than usual, and often come together to make coherent points along the way - never a given in a Beck song. I particularly like "Walls" as a song that summarizes some of the themes of decay and lack of direction on the record:

"You got warheads stacked in the kitchen
You treat distraction like it's a religion
With a rattlesnake step in your rhythm
We do the best with the souls we've been given."

Add to this the exceptional brevity to the record (the whole album consists of just 10 tracks, and clocks in at just under 33 minutes), and you end up with a tight little package of songs. To accomplish brevity in an era where the chief 'hard' delivery system is a disc that can hold 80 minutes of music is a stroke of genius all its own, and was enough to lift this record from a high 3 out of 5, to a low 4.

Best tracks: Gamma Ray, Modern Guilt, Walls, Profanity Prayers

CD Odyssey Disc 287: Great Big Sea

It is amazing how little time you spend in your car when you live downtown, and don't drive ungodly distances to work every day. It is one experience I'd enjoy more, if it weren't for missing all those chances to listen to music while driving.

Enter...the dentist! I had a dentist appointment, and my dentist is a good 30 minute drive from my house, so I was able to get a full listen of this album in - almost two! I knew going to the dentist would eventually pay off.

Disc 287 is...Turn

Artist: Great Big Sea

Year of Release: 1999

Rating: 3 stars.

What’s Up With The Cover?: This cover does not appeal. Some annoying looking kid gets going quickly on a merry-go-round. Now a picture of him staggering around in disoriented fashion after the ride - that is a cover I could get behind. Or failing that, a youtube video.

How I Came To Know It: I was an early convert to Great Big Sea, getting into them during the mid-nineties when I was big into folk music. This album is nearer the end of my collection, as I soured on them a bit in later records and haven't kept it up. However, when "Turn" came out in 1999 I was still basically buying anything the band released, and so here it is.

How It Stacks Up: I have the first five Great Big Sea Albums, that cover the period 1993-2002. They've since released four more records, but I don't have those. Of the five I have, I must reluctantly put "Turn" last, or in 5th place.

Great Big Sea is a Canadian folk band from Newfoundland, that was sufficiently pop-oriented that they were able to break into the mainstream for a number of years, particularly in the nineties when East Coast folk music was growing in national popularity. In fact, "Turn" is the 3rd of four straight albums of theirs to go platinum, which is an impressive run, even by the kind definition of "platinum" in Canada (at the time, 100,000 units sold).

The band is a mix of radio friendly melodic pop songs, with more traditional songs in the Newfoundland folk music tradition. Generally speaking, I prefer the latter influence, but when they are on their game Great Big Sea can deliver both with equal skill.

"Turn" manages to do a fair turn at both, but excell at neither. On the pop front, the record's hit is "Consequence Free", a song about the common experience we have as we grow up and wish we could have less responsibilities to look after. The theme is inoffensive and the melody is passable, but it is hardly insightful beyond that.

Slightly better is "Demasduit Dream", a song that tells the tale of Demasduit, a woman of the Beothuk People, a First Nations tribe from Newfoundland. It is a tragic tale of a woman who is one of the last of a dying people. The song is not brilliant, but it is solid, and it tells a story I'd never heard before. It also made me look up more information on the Beothuk, which I wouldn't have otherwise done. For this alone, people should listen to more folk music than they do.

Probably the best of the modern songs is the one written in the most traditional manner - "Boston and St. John's". It is a touching story of a sailor having to leave his love and head out to sea, but who consoles her by advising that he won't be gone long because, "there isn't that much ocean between Boston and St. John's".

The traditional tracks are mostly good, and overall represent the strength of the record. There's also a great one page summary of their sources in the liner notes of the CD, which gives a quick run down of the song's source, what it is about, and the name of any airs and reels that are borrowed in the arrangement. Great Big Sea are excellent at taking traditional fiddle reels and working them into more modern arrangements, something I've always admired in them.

One of the standouts is "Ferryland Sealer", a song celebrating the brave men who make the journey to the ice and back every spring to take part in the seal hunt. The song helps show how differently Newfoundlanders perceive the seal hunt from many in western Canada. In Newfoundland, it is a part not only of their culture, but a part of their economy. I think it was a brave decision by Great Big Sea to put a song about it on their album, given their national prominence at the time. Beyond the political bravery, it is a good song, with a rollicking pace that makes you feel the sea under your feet (another Great Big Sea specialty).

At the other end of the spectrum, is the humorous but equally entertaining, "Old Brown's Daughter", which is a song about a man who is interested in winning the hand in marriage of the title character, beautifully delivered entirely in a capella.

The song originates from the early 1900s (thank you liner notes) and tells the story of our narrator ruminating on the beauty of Old Brown's daughter, and all the various ways he could win her hand. Here's my favourite snippet:

"But Miss Brown she smiles so sweetly when I say a tender word
Ah but Old Brown says she must marry a Marquis or a Lord
And I don't suppose it is one of those things I ever will be
But by jingo, next election I will run for Trinity."

So I guess you could say, "Old Brown's Daughter" is a turn of the century song exhorting the importance of voter turnout. Sort of.

Other good traditional tracks are the rollicking tale of "that seafaring, sail-making, gambling, capering, rum-drinking hero - Jack Hinks." Now there's a man who lives a fine lifestyle. Also good - the most tender, touching song you'll ever hear where the subject is nothing more than getting a woman to sleep with you - "Captain Wedderburn."

Anyway, as a folk die-hard, I want to hear an artist demonstrate they can build a modern song with ancient arrangements. It can be innovative or feel timeless - sometimes both - but it demonstrates that you know your material sufficiently well to build on it like a master.

I also want an artist to deliver traditional tracks with enthusiasm, vigour and soul. I want more than fine playing (there is many a great technical fiddler out there), I want to reach inside my gut and move me.

There are places on this record where Great Big Sea delivers all of these things, but just as many where I feel they missed. As a result, I'm going to give them a reluctant 3 stars, just a whisker safe from 2. It also makes me look forward to all of their other albums, which I have been remiss in putting on of late.

Best tracks: Jack Hinks, Ferryland Sealer, Old Brown's Daughter, Captain Wedderburn

CD Odyssey Disc 286: Alice Cooper

This next review is my 9th Alice Cooper review, and I'm still not even halfway through the collection. The man has been making music for a long time.

Disc 286 is...Raise Your Fist And Yell
Artist: Alice Cooper

Year of Release: 1987

What’s Up With The Cover?: This is a very literal album cover. Imagine if when you raised your fist, and yelled, your fist also yelled? The only thing that would make this album cover better would be if this fist were raising a second, smaller fist, that was also yelling.

How I Came To Know It: As oft-noted in the CD Odyssey, I've known Alice Cooper almost my entire life. In the eighties, I was very into heavy metal, and it was a pleasure that one of my musical idols, was similarly entranced. I bought this album when it came out (albeit on tape).

How It Stacks Up: Alas, that this record does not stand as tall today as it did for me when I was 17. I have 25 Alice Cooper albums, and I'd put this one around 20th-22nd. Since this is the third record I've put in this range (alongside Constrictor and Pretties For You) let me just say that of those, this one sits 21st (with Constrictor at 20 and Pretties For You at 22).

Rating: 2 stars, but close to 3 (see below)

"Raise Your Fist And Yell" is Cooper's follow up to his commercial come-back album, 1986's "Constrictor". I say commercial come back, because in my opinion the previous record, 1983's "Dada" is superior to both "Raise Your Fist" and "Constrictor". Unfortunately for Alice, "Dada" was also him dying of alcoholism, so if the edge is off the records that immediately follow, we should forgive him, and just be glad he's still around to bring us more music.

"Raise Your Fist" is solidly in his eighties metal phase, which he has since grown out of (sort of). Consequently, the songs here are heavy on simple melody, principally vocals and guitar driven, and follow that basic construction of verse - chorus - verse - chorus - guitar solo - verse - chorus, repeat and fade.

This is far from Cooper's best work, but to be fair, his best work is superior to most rock records ever made, so I tend to cut him a little slack. Also, being very familiar with his music, I can pick out Cooper's natural brilliance toward melody and song construction, even when the songs aren't to his previously established high level.

Thematically, the album is the story of two halves. The first four songs express Cooper's opposition to music censorship, which was a big theme in the metal and hard rock world in 1987, due to Tipper Gore's efforts to censor lyrics through the Parent's Music Resource Centre. The first track, the aptly named "Freedom" is about this theme, and is written as a metal anthem that you can sing along to, defiantly expressing your right to...er...express yourself. It was pretty good stuff when I was 17, and years later I'm still glad rock and roll won that battle, and shock artists like Cooper can still do their thing.

Taking it upon himself to do just this, the second half of "Raise Your Fist And Yell" explores much darker themes, mostly relating to murder. We follow the loose story of a serial killer, first as he awaits his release date from prison, in the double-entendre filled "Time To Kill". Later, we tag along on his reign of indiscriminate murder through the streets in "Chop, Chop, Chop", as he justifies his actions by suggesting he "keeps the city so clean".

Cooper is best when he is at his darkest, and side two of "Raise Your Fist And Yell" certainly delivers on that front, as his evil alter ego slays a stripper named "Gail" and buries her somewhere, and then describes the strange post-mortem relationship the killer imagines with her decomposing corpse (no - not that kind of relationship, although Cooper has certainly gone there in the past). Harsher stuff has been written since, but for my money, no one makes your skin crawl - viscerally and psychologically - like Alice Cooper.

The music on "Raise Your Fist and Yell" is best for his anti-censorship themes, but the lyrics of these songs have not aged well, and sound preachy at times. On side two, his themes get deep and dark, and lyrically he improves, but the music is now not consistently hitting its stride. The themes he wants to explore are so much better rendered much later on 2008's "Along Came A Spider".

The album also has a song "Prince of Darkness", inspired by the movie of the same name and year by John Carpenter, where a group of researchers find a strange cylinder in an old church that is trying to summon Satan into our world. Cooper has a cameo in the movie as one of the hell-inspired crazies that are beseiging the building where the action takes place.

After a lot of thought, I'm giving this record 2 stars, simply because it is uneven and in places comes off as just another empty eighties metal record. However, giving it one more listen while I wrote this review made me recognize Cooper's talents once again, and I almost added an extra star just in recognition of Cooper's songwriting talent. Whatever it rates, I wouldn't recommend it to those not similarly devoted to his sound.

Best tracks: Freedom, Step On You, Prince of Darkness, Gail

CD Odyssey Disc 285: Paul Simon

I had some job hunting appointments this afternoon, and so I got a good long drive in listening to this next CD. It was nice and relaxing, which is what I need before the high pressure experience of the Stanley Cup Finals in a little over an hour.

Disc 285 is...You're The One

Artist: Paul Simon

Year of Release: 2000

What’s Up With The Cover?: As I noted in the teaser, this is a very relaxed album, and it starts with the cover. A 59 year old Paul Simon sits back and looks quite at ease. I think he actually looks better than he did in the sixties, when he had that ridiculous bowl cut.

How I Came To Know It: As I noted way back at Disc 29, when I reviewed Paul Simon's greatest hits album, I first got into Paul Simon through Simon and Garfunkel albums from the sixties, and I recently reviewed the first one I ever heard back at Disc 239.

How It Stacks Up: I only have two Paul Simon albums. I like the other one much more than this one, but it isn't really fair, since the other one I have is a really, really big album. I'll talk about that one when I roll it, but I'm sure you can guess.

Rating: 3 stars.

This album is a very upbeat offering from Simon, who's had his fair share of heartache, but seems well contented on "You're The One".

The songs on this album focus a lot on aging gracefully, including "Darling Lorraine", a long ballad telling the tale of a couple's ups and downs from marriage through to the death of one of them. "Darling Lorraine" is a beautiful expression of a relationship, warts and all, through the ages.

Another age related song is the aptly named, "Old", where Simon ruminates on exactly how old he is these days (as noted above - 59, and that was ten years ago). This song starts out with promise, and my favourite stanza is:

"First time I smoked
Guess what - paranoid
First time I heard "Satisfaction"
I was young and unemployed
Down the decades every year
Summer leaves and my birthday's here
And all my friends stand up and cheer
And say 'man, you're old.'"

Later he compares his age to how old God is, how long the bible has been around, and eventually how old the universe itself is (c. 13-14 billion, FYI). I like the idea behind this, but the execution comes off a little schmaltzy and maybe even a bit 'highschool poetry'.

That is true for many places in this record, that see Simon bravely exploring ideas of aging and perspective with mixed results.

Musically, this record is a natural extension of "Graceland", with Simon still employing sprung rhythm in his phrasing, and an African-inspired surfeit of drum sounds.

However, it also shows him growing in places, and in songs like "The Teacher" he employs a Celtic drum style with a caucusus twist that Loreena McKennitt would be proud of. I don't like "The Teacher" as a song very much, but I like to see well-established artists like Simon still unafraid to play with their own structures and find something new.

Vocally, I am also notably impressed with Paul Simon here, who hits many high notes with a surprisingly pretty tone. Well removed from Garfunkel's vocal shadow, Paul Simon's voice seems to get better with age.

When I first got this record ten years ago, it really stuck with me and got a fair bit of stereo time, but over the years some of the novelty has worn off. I still admire it, but it is too uneven to give more than three stars.

Best tracks: That's Where I Belong, Darling Lorraine, Old, Hurricane Eye

CD Odyssey Disc 284: Soundtrack

The Odyssey is a harsh mistress, and she metes out justice with little regard for reputation or personal taste.

I suppose I was asking for this to happen, with my recent musing on how many five star albums I've been randomly getting to review of late. Be careful what you wish for, my friends.

Disc 284 is...Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Artist: Original Canadian Cast Recording (!)

Year of Release: 1992

What’s Up With The Cover?: I believe this is is the promotional poster for the show.

How I Came To Know It: This CD belongs to my wife, Sheila. She and her Mom have a soft spot for musicals. I have no such soft spot.

How It Stacks Up: We have 23 soundtracks, and I've reviewed most of them. I'll say that Joseph is better than Moulin Rouge, and leave it at that. Although we only have three musicals (all Sheila's FYI), I originally put Chess at the bottom. Having listened to this now, I have a better frame of reference, and will be putting Joseph below it. It is better than Moulin Rouge, but most things are better than Moulin Rouge.

Rating: 1 star

As I noted above, I do not appreciate musicals. Even if the songs are catchy, even if the lyrics are clever (and they often are) I just can't get into them. They just seem overly...silly. And not silly in a good way, but silly in the way that young children think of as silly. I have never felt that kind of silly - even as a young child.

I gave Chess a couple of stars a while back simply for the singing, and for a couple of tracks that I thought had some gravitas. Also, I admire anyone who can write an entire musical about a chess tournament.

Les Miserables was actually enjoyable - it is a great original story, the music is top notch and it has an overarching tragic glory that transcends its unfortunate medium.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has a compelling enough story (it is from that best seller through the ages - the Bible), but they manage to suck any gravitas right out of it as they attempt to jazz it up and add a few yucks. At least that's what I think they're doing.

The sins of this record are legion - perhaps too many to mention, but since it is a music blog, let's hit the highlights, shall we?

First, it can't settle on a style. We have songs done in calypso, sixties pop, country and western and at one point a bad Elvis impersonation. It may be an attempt to pay these styles some kind of homage, but it comes off alternating between cheesy and mocking. Did I mention the Elvis impersonation? The pharoah of Egypt is Elvis, essentially. It works about as well as expected.

Second, it is interminably long - like 75 minutes. I shudder to think of the number of times I'd have had to drive around with this in my car, in the summer with the top down. Instead, I bit the bullet and spent an hour and a half painting to get it all over with in one listen.

Third, the lyrics are too clever by half. It isn't that they are consistently bad, but as Vincent Vega would say, 'it's the little things'. To which your inner Samuel L. Jackson might reply, 'example'. Well, in one place Joseph is interpreting the dreams of his fellow prisoners, who are described as:

"One was a baker, a cook in his prime
One was a butler, the Jeeves of his time."

Really? "The Jeeves of his time"? Tim Rice - you are better than that.

Another example - when describing the Pharoah, we are told:

"No one had rights or a
Vote but the king
In fact you might say
He was fairly right-wing"

Never has a misleading, ill-intentioned political statement rhymed better. Someone get on the phone and tell Tim Rice about Stalin.

Fourth and finally (because I promised to be brief), this musical features Donny Osmond. Like - a lot! He's practically in every scene. Not only that, they see this as a positive - his name is even on the cover of the album. Donny, please return to the seventies with your sister.

Maybe it isn't Donny's fault though - I've been conditioned since an early age to not like him. At the end of Alice Cooper's 1975 song, "Department of Youth" you can hear him ranting to a chorus of kids. A little routine, that if you are listening through the entire fade out ends like this:

Alice: "Were the Department of Youth - we got the power"
Chorus of Kids: "We've got it!"
Alice: "Who's got the power?"
Kids: "We do!"
Alice: "And who gave it you?"
Kids: "Donny Osmond"
Alice (angry): "What!?!"

I guess what I'm saying is, when it comes to musical theatre I'd rather watch my DVD of Alice Cooper's "Welcome to My Nightmare" tour. (Which is great by the way, with a visibly out of control and drunk Alice Cooper still nailing every performance in between random staggers about stage). But I digress.

To return to Joseph, you will note that I did not go "Two Dogs" here. These people still sing better than I will ever dream, and when Sheila puts it on I am rarely tortured like I am when the Odyssey forces me to pay close attention. It is basically, just pointless pop music, which can hardly be the worst thing in the world.

But more than anything, I must shamefacedly admit that I find one track, "Go, Go, Go Joseph", a bit of a guilty pleasure. Silly? Yes. Insufferably Broadway? Yes. Osmandesque? Yes. But dammit - it's catchy.

Also, the chorus is "Go, go, go, Joseph", a sentiment I very much can get behind.

Best tracks: Go Go Go Joseph

CD Odyssey Disc 283: Soundgarden

Of late, my 'hard marker' reputation has taken some serious hits, and this next review is my 6th 5 star rating in only 14 albums. That's too many.

Some have tried to console me by saying this is just a function of my good taste in music; others go with the obvious - I'm more likely to groove on a music collection that I myself built. My consolation to myself is twofold.

First - over the first 270 discs or so, approximately one in ten received a rating of five. Statistical analysis says this is a pretty strong sample (25% of the total roughly) so the number should bear up at the end, regardless of temporary anomalies.

Second - wherever the percentages fall at the end, I've been one lucky dog getting this much killer music. And so, here's one more.

Disc 283 is...Badmotorfinger

Artist: Soundgarden

Year of Release: 1991

What’s Up With The Cover?: Not sure about this one. I like the simplicity, but I'm not sure what it is supposed to be. The Soundgarden coat of arms? A rim design for a pimped-out ride? The kind of gear you'd expect to find in a 'badmotorfinger'?

How I Came To Know It: Another of the famous Celtic Folk/Grunge wars of my early twenties. I fought on the side of Celtic Folk then, so when Badmotorfinger went on the CD player, I lost - bragging rights anyway. I won when it came to being exposed to another great band, as this was my first introduction to Soundgarden.

How It Stacks Up: I couldn't have had a better introduction. I have five Soundgarden albums, if you count the combination of the EPs for "Screaming Life" and "Fopp". I'm only missing their debut LP, "Ultramega OK". Of the five that I do have, I must put myself solidly in the "Badmotorfinger is best" camp - thus alienating the purists that go with "Louder Than Love" and the late bloomers who prefer "Superunknown".

Rating: 5 stars

As I've just noted, "Badmotorfinger" is not only the first Soundgarden album I ever heard, it remains my favourite. "Louder Than Love" is more visceral and angry, and "Superunknown" is more catchy and memorable, but for my money "Badmotorfinger" straddles the best of both worlds perfectly. And by straddles, I mean it takes the stage ten feet tall, plants its feet far apart and rocks out.

The album begins with two songs that notwithstanding the lukewarm charting the record achieved, remain two of the greatest hard rock songs ever written; "Rusty Cage" and "Outshined". Both were mainstays at alternative night at Scandals Nightclub in the day, and if you were to be brave enough to put them on today, they'd still move the crowd (if only there were a few more brave DJs out there).

Lest you were to think that 'loud' equals 'good' on A Creative Maelstrom, I'll point out that Johnny Cash remakes "Rusty Cage" on his 1996 album "Unchained" and even in the hands of a sixty-four year old country musician, the song's vitality remains unchecked.

"Rusty Cage" and "Outshined" are so great that over the years I've been guilty of giving short shrift to the rest of this album in my zeal to play those two songs. The CD Odyssey has cured me of this mistake. The power that the album starts with is maintained throughout.

Other notables include, "Searching With My Good Eye Closed", which begins with sampling of one of those children's toys that teach animal sounds ("a pig says...a rooster goes...etc.). Despite a pretty gimmicky intro, the song is still great twenty years after I first heard it. Also the last animal sampled is "The devil says..." which would be really handy to know as a kid (hint - it sounds like screaming).

Musically, despite Cornell receiving the lion's share of the band's popular notoriety, everyone in Soundgarden is a master of their instrument. Guitarist Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron's drumming and yes - even new bass player Ben Shepherd, which the interwebs advises me was not on "Louder Than Love". Soundgarden was great for the reason that all good rock bands become great - because all their members were at the top of their game.

Of course this is not enough, and what I also like about "Badmotorfinger" in particular is the production quality, which keeps all the instruments pretty even in the mix, without getting muddy like I sometimes find on their previous releases.

They are the heaviest of grunge's Big Three, and the music is so powerful and heavy in places it can feel a little bit like a barrage, particularly the pounding bass beat on "Room A Thousand Years Wide" and to a lesser extent, "Jesus Christ Pose". At the same time, it never loses its melodic quality. Also - it is a barrage I enjoy.

Lyrically "Badmotorfinger" also serves as a sort of shorthand for many of my similarly aged friends; all of us hearing the record in our early twenties. If you were of that age and were from Powell River you loved Cornell singing on "Outshined":

"I'll take the river down to Stillwater
And ride a pack of dogs"

Because when we grew up, Stillwater was the remedial school you went to after getting kicked out of regular public school. It is the kind of place you'd expect to hear Soundgarden.

Or if you were just a broke young twenty something hundreds of miles away like we ended up being five years later, you might get more out of "Drawing Flies", with:

"Sitting here like uninvited company
Wallowing in my own obscenities
I share a cigarette with negativity."

It was music for disaffected youth, which is what I was when I first heard it. But to dismiss it for that reason, or to diminish its musical impact would be a mistake. Every time I hear the album, the quality of its musical expression reminds you of exactly what that feeling is like. I expect many future generations to discover this music in the same way ours later discovered The Clash or Alice Cooper or Bob Dylan.

In 1991, I listened to more folk than grunge, and I wouldn't go back and change that if I could. Still, I knew something good when I heard it. 1991 saw the release of Pearl Jam's "Ten", Nirvana's "Nevermind" and "Badmotorfinger". I have reviewed both those other albums previously, and gave them both five stars as well. I prefer Pearl Jam for their overall body of work, but I'm going to stick with "Badmotorfinger" as the best of the three great 1991 grunge albums.

Best tracks: All tracks are good, as befits a five star album.

CD Odyssey Disc 282: Loreena McKennitt

I did a fair bit of driving today, and result being I got through my next album in only a day! Of course part of that driving experience was going around the London Drugs parking lot three or four times. That is one bad parking lot to find a spot.

Disc 282 is...An Ancient Muse

Artist: Loreena McKennitt

Year of Release: 2006

What’s Up With The Cover?: It looks like the tent that some lord from the middle ages would use when travelling with his army. In any event, this is one awesome album cover, and a huge improvement over previous ones like this, or this.

How I Came To Know It: I have been a fan of Loreena McKennitt for many years, so this was just me buying her new album - and excited to do so, as there had been a gap of almost 10 years. This particular album sat for a long time on my shelf, after I gave it a couple listens and decided it didn't sit well with me. In the past year, I've been putting it on as mood music for my other writing. In the process, it has slowly won me over to its charms.

How It Stacks Up: I have six Loreena McKennitt albums, although I'm soon to have seven, as I see she's put one out last year. For now, six - all of them good. Of a good bunch, I must reluctantly put "An Ancient Muse" into last place, amid stiff competition.

Rating: 3 stars.

I've covered the general information on Loreena McKennitt in previous reviews, but a quick recap that she is a Canadian celtic/new age artist who can play the harp with the best of them, and sings like an angel.

"An Ancient Muse" was McKennitt's first release in almost ten years - a gap caused by the sudden and tragic death of her fiancee in a boating accident in 1998. Nothing could ever replace that, and I have often taken a moment to send some kind thoughts to McKennitt at that time. Being a new-agey type, I hope she got them.

Like Neil Peart from Rush - who also suffered a tragic loss of family - McKennitt took a long time soul searching before she decided to seriously return to music. I'm glad she did come back, as "An Ancient Muse" demonstrates that she still has the knack.

This album finds her still tracing the Celtic peoples roots across Eurasia, absorbing different musical influences along the way. By the release of this album, she has been doing this to varying degrees on her previous three records, so if you are expecting straight ahead Celtic folk music, you will be surprised at what you hear instead - but not disappointed.

Every McKennitt album has some piece of literature that she has set to music, and "An Ancient Muse" is no exception. For this record, she adapts Sir Walter Scott's ballad, "The English Ladye and the Knight", the story of a woman poisoned by her brother so that she will not marry her lover. The brother in turn gets his, as the lover stabs him through the heart. As Scott admonishes:

"So perish all would true love part
That love may still be lord of all!"

Love may be lord of all, but it is a depressing reign if everyone gets stabbed and poisoned. Nevertheles, it is a pretty song, and often her poetic adaptations end up as my favourites. I was interested to find the songs I liked even more were McKennitt writing both lyrics and music.

"Penelope's Song" is a mythical reference to Odysseus' famous wife, waiting for him to return to her from the Trojan War. It is an oft-covered story, and the focus on Penelope's perspective a fairly popular approach in the 20th century, but I like what McKennitt brings to the story. The song begins with Penelope making an oath to her husband, lost on the other side of the world:

"Now that the time has come
Soon gone is the day
There upon some distant shore
You'll hear me say

"'Long as the day in the summer time
Deep as the wine-dark sea
I'll keep youre heart with mine
Till you come to me."

FYI - oaths are a big deal in the ancient world (I wish they were as important in the modern one). These lyrics aren't particularly special, but I like that McKennitt uses Homeric structures (such as the grouped phrase 'wine-dark sea'), and with the help of the music, the whole takes on a beautiful longing quality that takes the listener to another world, as we stand on a cliff face with Penelope, pining for the man who has been gone for twenty years.

The other song I love on this record is "Beneath A Phrygian Sky", which is a nine and half minute epic where McKennitt muses on the history of the land of ancient Phrygia (central western Turkey, on the Anatolian Peninsula). Emotionally, it reminds me of Neil Peart's lyrics for "Tai Shan" and how you can become overwhelmed when standing on an ancient land, thinking of all that has happened there.

Given that Phrygia has suffered more than its share of armies criss-crossing it, McKennitt's song begins by focusing on the terrible waste of human violence:

"My mind was called across the years
Of rages and of strife
And all the human misery
And all the waste of life."

The song transitions away from this early sadness, however, toward an understanding that sometimes conflict is needed if liberty is to be defended, and after that, we've all gotta learn to love each other in this crazy world.

In contrast to the bad drumming on the Wallflowers album I just reviewed, the measured - even haunting - drumming on "Beneath A Phrygian Sky" is key to setting the tone as we slowly transition from historical grievances to hope. Listening to McKennitt, I always feel like that is possible.

While this album has less stand out tracks than some, the overall mood is beautiful. It is like wading into a fast moving stream in a mountain. Cold at first, with treacherous footing, but soon enough refreshing and invigorating if you stay in long enough and get your bearings.

Just have a towel handy, and use the buddy system. A Creative Maelstrom doesn't want anyone catching hypothermia while looking for enlightenment.

Best tracks: The English Ladye and the Knight, Penelope's Song, Beneath A Phrygian Sky, Never Ending Road (Amhran Duit)

CD Odyssey Disc 281: Wallflowers

I will do my level best to not rush this review, and give you - dear reader - all you have come to expect from the journey that is the CD Odyssey.

At the same time, in the interests of full disclosure, I am pretty damned stocked that in less than an hour my Boston Bruins will commence the final leg of their Stanley Cup journey. So on to the review - but first - Go Go Black and Gold!

Disc 281 is...Bringing Down The Horse

Artist: The Wallflowers

Year of Release: 1996

What’s Up With The Cover?: Not much. It kind of reminds me of that expensive wrapping paper you can get at places like Chapters when you are going to a hoity toity party, and that crap-wrap from London Drugs won't cut the mustard. Who am I kidding? That crap-wrap is good for any party I'll ever get invited to. Onward!

How I Came To Know It: I believe Sheila heard a couple of the songs of this record, that did quite well back in 1996, and bought it - so this is a Sheila purchase.

How It Stacks Up: The Wallflowers have five studio albums, but this is the only one we own. We briefly owned their self-titled debut as well, but it was pretty sad stuff, and we sold it many years ago. Of the two, "Bringing Down The Horse" is far superior.

Rating: 3 stars

The Wallflowers are the vehicle of Bob Dylan's far less famous son, Jakob. Like other sons of famous singer/songwriters (think Adam Cohen, Julian Lennon), Jakob worked hard to achieve success on his own terms rather than simply as a son of his famous father. Like both Adam and Julian, he never has, and never will, come close to the level of his father.

That said, I admire their efforts. Who could compete with Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan - two of the most incredible songwriters and poets of this or any other time. And as for Julian - he never had a chance without the contributing yips from Yoko Ono. I mean - where would John have been without Yoko? Likeley still being held back with that band of his.

But I digress. Back to the Wallflowers album, which I held very low hope for when I rolled it, but that turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

The music itself isn't particularly innovative - it is typical of that mostly rock/slightly folk innocuous mid-nineties sound that was pretty common on the radio at the time. Think Paul Westerberg's "Dyslexic Heart" from the Singles Soundtrack. It would be easy to condemn Dylan's effort for its easy-listening popularity, that wouldn't be a fair assessment of what he has accomplished here.

The truth is "Bringing Down The Horse" is a solid album. Dylan's raspy voice may not have the ironic curl at the edges that his father's does, but it sounds good, and the songs are written for his wheelhouse. The other musicians play tightly together as well, although there are spots where drummer Mario Calire has that 'eighties drum machine' sound which I could live without. C'mon Mario - hit those things like you mean it!

The sound is excellent, and I wasn't surprised to read in the liner notes that it was produced by the legendary T-Bone Burnett. Other famous musicians helping out included Counting Crows' Adam Duritz, and Jon Brion (who I know from Aimee Mann's records).

The feel of the record is one of urban alienation, but for all that Dylan brings a real heart to the music in many places, with strong lyrics and a soulful delivery.

The album had a couple sizeable hits ("One Headlight", and "Three Marlenas") which are among the stronger songs. In fact, I heard "One Headlight" today while shopping at Home Depot, although I'm not sure if that is an endorsement or indictment. In any event, my favourite song on the record is is the tragic character study of "Three Marlenas".

Perfectly paced, this song makes all the right production choices and keeps out some of the excess sound in some of the lesser tracks, where everyone seems to be banging away to the point where the ear struggles to pick out just where to direct itself.

There are also some hidden gems. My favourite of these is "Invisible City", a sombre and beautiful song about losing connection, and how cold the city can be when you're already feeling alone. Although the song is slightly marred by the mechanical drumming sound, both Dylan's vocals and the the guitar work are excellent.

That said, there are as many forgettable songs as there are memorable ones, and so the album must ultimately be labelled with the dreaded moniker, 'uneven'. There are worse monikers to be labelled with, however; 'dreadful', 'painful', and 'unlistenable' to name but three of them.

"Bringing Down The Horse" is none of these. While I wouldn't advise anyone to rush out and buy it, it is a solid and commendable record from a guy who may be forced to live his life in his father's long shadow, but is determined to forge his own path in the dark.

Best tracks: One Headlight, Three Marlenas, Invisible City