CD Odyssey Disc 313: Pete Yorn

After a bit of a delay I got through another album. I've been making small trips here and there and couldn't quite finished this album until today. With two songs remaining I put them on and just sat quietly and listened. I figure that 'doing nothing' can't possibly violate my rule #4

OK, I also ate a plate of ravioli - but that's it! Scout's honour. On to the album.

Disc 313 is...Music For The Morning After

Artist: Pete Yorn

Year of Release: 2001

What’s Up With The Cover?: Pete is caught unawares wandering somewhere in a rocker shirt and tousled hair. I won't judge this cover too harshly, because I am often caught unawares wandering somewhere in a rocker shirt and tousled hair, and I never look as good doing it as Pete. I will say that his hair on the cover of his follow up album, Day I Forgot (reviewed back at Disc 189) is superior.

How I Came To Know It: I last reviewed Pete Yorn's "Day I Forgot" back in October 2010 (see above link to read it). At that time I noted that "Music For The Morning After" (which I insist on punctuating) was purchased by Sheila after she discovered it on a 'best music of the oughts' list. So this one is from the music critics, via Sheila.

How It Stacks Up: Yorn is now up to six studio albums, but we only have the first two. Of these, "Music For The Morning After" is the far superior record.

Rating: 3 stars but almost 4.

For whatever reason, some records become critical darlings, and others just as good fade into obscurity. "Music For The Morning After" was a critical darling, and received a bit of radio play as well (or so I am told).

Pete's music is low key and relaxing. The melodies are beautiful, although I'd like to hear them a bit more clearly defined (see below) and his voice is low and haunting in places on this record. It reminds me strongly of some Canadian indie bands like Gordie Sampson or Dan Mangan (although I'd say Mangan's songs are superior). More likely both those artists were influenced by "Music For The Morning After" which made the rounds among musicians a decade ago.

In the case of Sampson, there is even a line in Yorn's "Life On A Chain", "I sent a bottle of whiskey" which sounds very similar in to a the line from Gordie Sampson's 2004 song "Sunburn", "I drank a bottle of Wolfblass". Of course after you listen to enough music, you start hearing similarities everywhere. For the record, I'd rather have a bottle of whiskey - as I noted when I reviewed Sampson's album. I can't stand Wolfblass, and am sick of having it ordered as the 'wine of least offence' at dinners out. How about a nice Italian Valpolicella for once, people! But I digress...

Back to "Music For The Morning After" which is a fine collection of songs that come across as deeply personal. Yorn composes in a series of short, chopped up sentences - sometimes only fragments - that read as poor verse, but work well with music. Strung together melodically, they create a wistful groove that makes you feel angst without knowing exactly why.

And in a way, that is my critique of this record - that it doesn't consistently connect to the listener emotionally. This isn't always true - there are some great tracks, in particular "Lose You" and "EZ" which genuinely had me feeling melancholy. The latter track needs some spelling assistance, but apart from that is the best track, and at second to last on the playlist, well worth the wait.

In a way, the individual songs are better on their own than as a cohesive record, maybe because collectively they lack any easily definable peaks and valleys in their sound. This could easily be blamed on the poor production decisions that were already generally being made in 2001. Lots of ambient sound and excess instrumentation - in the mix, but not adding anything of quality.

I'd love to hear some of these songs unplugged, with just Yorn singing and playing the acoustic guitar. In fact, the hidden track at the end of "Simonize" has this stripped down feel, and works wonderfully despite not being the strongest melody. This record could benefit from a similar treatment on the first thirteen tracks. ("Simonize" itself is a bit forgettable, except in one part where Yorn's voice sounds a bit like a folksy David Bowie - that was fun).

Despite occasionally regrettable production and arrangement choices, the songs are written with obvious skill, and I feel like this album was just a few ticks south of four stars. I stuck at three, though, because I need more than emotional resonance on a record - I need to go on a journey through the tracks, not just feel like I'm hearing a series of singles.

I also need to know why it is resonating - either through the story of the singer, or through his skill in drawing a story out of me with lyrics, tune or both. Yorn clearly works from a position of personal truth, but doesn't consistently convey those feelings to his listener, which is a key part of popular music - be it rock, pop or folk.

He does it often enough though, that "Music For The Morning After" is a strong record, and one I enjoyed dabbling in for the last few days.

Best tracks: Strange Condition, Just Another, Lose You, For Nancy ('Cos It Already Is), EZ

CD Odyssey Disc 189: Pete Yorn

I had intended to do this review right after I watched Monday Night Football. However the second half debacle I just witnessed was so total I needed about an hour just to calm down to the point that I could think about music (yeah we lost - and lost big)

So I took some time to cool off by watching the latest episode of Dexter (which frankly was less of a bloodbath than the Patriots/Dolphins game that preceded it). I think I am now prepared to face the music.

Disc 189 is...Day I Forgot
Artist: Pete Yorn

Year of Release: 2003

What’s Up With The Cover?: It's a picture of Pete in an unknown but apparently urban location. I think we can all agree, Pete Yorn has a pretty awesome head of hair.

On a much lesser note, this cover reminds me how much I'd like to get a jean jacket to round out my wardrobe. Somehow I doubt I'll wear it as well as Pete.

How I Came To Know It: I first heard of Pete Yorn when his album "musicforthemorningafter" came out back in 2001. It received big critical hype, but I never bought it. He actually came into our house when Sheila read a music review of 'best music of the oughts' and "musicforthemorningafter" was mentioned. She bought that album first, but that's the subject of a future review. This is the follow up effort that she brought home shortly thereafter.

How It Stacks Up: Of the two Pete Yorn albums we own (if you've been reading along, you'll know which ones), I like the other one better, but this one is OK.

Rating: 2 stars but almost 3.

We've only had this album for a very brief period of time, and I don't put it on a lot, so I wouldn't say I have a strong association with it. I think its biggest fault is that it suffers by comparison with the album that preceded it.

After a slightly self-indulgent 47 second 'intro' track, "Day I Forgot" settles into some quality alt-pop. The first couple of tracks, "Come Back Home" and "Crystal Village" are two of the better songs on the record, and overall the front end of the album is better than the back end.

At fourteen, this record is pushing what is acceptable in my mind for song total, but since they are all between two and a half and four and half minutes, I forgive Pete his slight unwillingness to edit. That said, I could make a couple of cuts and make a much tighter record in the process.

The music is a little too radio friendly. That isn't to say that I oppose it simply because it is radio friendly (although I often have to fight that impulse). Rather it has that generic quality in places that I tend to associate with the radio.

On a few later tracks, Yorn's voice strays dangerously close to a derivative of Pearl Jam songs from the same period. Sounding like Eddie Vedder is never a good idea, because you'll always suffer in the comparison.

This quality shows up much more strongly later in the album on tracks like "Burrito" and "Man In Uniform". On "Burrito" it didn't bother me, since I didn't like that track anyway, but it disappointed me on "Man In Uniform" where it detracts from what could've been a good song.

When Yorn let's up just a little bit on the vocal throttle, and edges back to his own sound, he has a great tone all his own; a rock voice that makes you want to hear what he has to say. I enjoyed "All At Once" which gives this album a nice lift right at the end, and makes up for a few fairly forgettable songs that come before it.

As for lyrics, I don't think Yorn is brilliant on this album, but he is at least thoughtful, which is more than most people you're going to hear on the radio.

In the final analysis, "Day I Forgot" is still a solid record, although it didn't grab me like Yorn's earlier album, and didn't inspire me to keep drilling through his collection. Still you could do worse, and you can't deny the dude has a fine head of hair.

Best tracks: Come Back Home, Crystal Village, All At Once.