Archive for the 'reviews' Category

drunken lucero review and centro-matic the 10th anniversary show

Published
by
gregor
on September 27, 2006
in reviews, shows and tunes
. 4 Comments

lucero2.jpg

sometime in 1980 a young writer sat alone in his cramped studio apartment. smoke after smoke he pounded out word after word, page after page on his thrift store IBM Selectric. they flowed like KY on the third shoot of an all anal porno. the story was complicated but relateable, the characters were multi-faceted but simple. after a tiring 6 months, the writer stood up, boxed up the pages and there it sat for quite a while, in fact. a few months went by and the author turned his focus on another manuscript, that, oddly enough, was along the same lines as the story that now sits in a box. this time when he was finished he called up a buddy to begin working on the soundtrack. the very thing the author couldn’t hear the first time around. a year later his second work was put to film, with the soundtrack he had always hoped for. that movie was eddie and the cruisers.

that movie that was never made, now has an un-official soundtrack some 23 years later. Lucero’s Rebels, Rogues and Sworn Brothers is that soundtrack. it has this strange quality that inspires a movie type visualization in me brain. i can hear the lead in promo go something like this…

“a man with nothing to lose, and a history he cant escape meets the women he wished he could forget and everything that happens in between…”

its very rare that a record invokes this kind of feeling and thought process that rebels, rogues and sworn brothers has. even the simplest lines like “the difference between what was and what is..” as ben declares on “cass” stirs up a whole bunch of feelings that i havent felt in years or maybe feelings i have never felt personally, i cant decide. the opener “what else would you have me be” is one of the best springsteen-eque songs any follower has ever put to tape. i can just hear ben counting down 1, 2, 3, 4 ala bruce in between the drum kicks and the tamborine fills.

so, i guess this is more of a soundtrack to a less than perfect life, than eddie and the cruisers: the untold story. less than perfect probably sums most of us more than we care to admit, but if we were perfect we wouldn’t be able to relate to this damn near perfect record.

another one of my favorite bands is centro-matic. here is the first part of a 41 song set celebrating their 10 year anniversary.

1. test

2. pilots

3. parade

4. post it note

5. terrified

6. hoist up

7. ordinary

8. 60 odd drummers

9. huge in every city

10. most everyone

11. aerial spins

12. gas blowin out your eyes

13. proud son

14. given geography

15. guillotines

16. argonne

17. patience for the ride

18. triggers and trashheaps

19. covered up in mines

buy lucero music directly from lucero. buy centro-matic music directly from centro-matic

EDIT: I JUST NOTICED THAT THE TRACK LISTING WAS MESSED UP.? I WILL FIX BEFORE POSTING THE REMAINDER!@

we shall over come and the original seeger sessions

Published
by
gregor
on May 7, 2006
in reviews and tunes
. 4 Comments

bruce_springsteen_21.jpg
Sometimes the less you know about a subject matter, the better. Getting all tied up in back stories and history only complicates matters. Ignorance is bliss, or something like that. There are instances, such as this, that taking things at face value is the only way to go. Let the work speak for itself, and let everything else be damned.

Pete Seeger — I don?t know anything about him and it is likely going to stay that way. Bruce Springsteen?s interpretation of Seeger?s work on We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions is not only Bruce?s finest hour in years, but also possibly 2006?s finest record thus far.

When this project came to light, or when I caught wind of it, it sounded like a complete bore. The world didn?t need another Devils and Dust, which is a fine record, but a little underwhelming. This is a Bruce record that has been a long time coming. We Shall Overcome is classic Springsteen, which is to say it?s very reminiscent of Born to Run and Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ.

When Bruce counts out over a muted guitar strum and the banjo kicks in on the opening track, “Old Dan Tucker,” its immediately clear that We Shall Overcome is going to be special. A drunken collective spits out the chorus, ?get out the way old Dan Tucker/you?re too late to get your supper/get out the way old Dan Tucker/you?re too late to get your supper.? It is truly a glorious racket. The Tom Waits-infused and eerily beautiful “Erie Canal” and “Eyes on the Prize” would not sound out of place during a turn of the 20th century New Orleans death march. Both feature horn sections and a backdrop of singers sounding solemn enough to make even the most melancholy of persons mourn.

“Pay Me My Money Down” is a foot stompin? barnburner and a much-needed shot in the arm after the slow burn and emotional movement of “Shenandoah.” “We Shall Overcome” could be, and probably is, straight out of the protest songbook of the 1960s. Not to say it?s stuck in a time warp, because the sentiments most certainly carry over into today.

This may come across as a strange comparison, but We Shall Overcome reminds me of a folk version of Pubic Enemy?s legendary It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. Resonating throughout We Shall Overcome are fiddles, horns of all shapes and sounds, banjos, organs, guitars, accordions, and more, that all seem to come out of nowhere. With so much going on at once, it makes for a Bomb Squad-type wall of sound. Even the more subdued tracks, like “Shenandoah,” have much going on then what one might hear on first listen. Oddly enough, We Shall Overcome makes for a great headphone record.

We Shall Overcome is the sound of an artist reborn and revitalized. A record with so much passion and fervor it puts musicians 30 years his junior to shame. We Shall Overcome proves that sometimes it’s all right to patronize the past, if only to move foward.

this review can be found on blogcritics.org

here are original pete seeger versions of the songs that made its way onto we shall overcome.

erie canal

shenandoah

old dan tucker

life without computers review

Published
by
gregor
on May 4, 2006
in reviews and tunes
. 0 Comments

I don?t know about you, but I seem to have quite a bit of free time on my hands. Couple that fact with being a music junkie to the highest degree, I find myself browsing myspace for what seems to be hours on end. The number of musicians with ?spaces? on myspace is absolutely mind numbing. Are there that many clubs or basements in the world to fill this staggering amount of musicians with? It?s a question for the ages. For those that ponder these types of questions, like myself, it?s like trying to figure out where the universe ends. It truly is akin a never-ending math equation.

To be realistic, for every one thousand bands, one of them might make a livable wage. I know, I know, it?s not about that all mighty dollar; it?s about the art, the passion to create, etc. I think anyone would be lying if they said that they didn?t want to make at least something off their craft, and making out with someone at the local Denny?s after the gig doesn?t count.

There are bands that should be huge, see Centro-matic, and then there are bands that sound huge. Boston?s The Bleedin Bleedins satisfies both categories. Their self-released debut Life Without Computers is a tour de force of summer time driving-with-the-top-down-singing-at-the-top-your-lungs ditties. (Wow! That was a mouthful.) Think early U2 anthems combined with The Killers rock n? hip shake and you have The Bleedin Bleedins. As far as sounding huge, they put out a racket that seems much bigger than their 3-piece status would lead the listener to believe.

Usually, it?s been my experience that records such as this contain 86% filler. While there maybe a couple of memorable ?singles? the rest of the album seems much like an after thought, made strictly to get the chicks and to get some radio play. That?s one of the reasons I typically stay away from disposable type records. Luckily, Life Without Computers is a record with nary an ounce of filler.

Filler or no, Life Without Computers does suffer in some areas. A bit of sameness runs throughout the record. It’s sometimes difficult to distinguish between tracks. There is not much difference in tone or pacing, and lead Bleedin, Mike Coen, seems to play it safe and doesn?t stretch his vocal range to often. When he does though, he has a nice set of pipes. Hopefully with each successive record, they will grow their sound in the range of instruments used. MP3s and up to date information on the band can be found on thier Myspace profile.

Will Life Without Computers be 2006?s feel good record of the summer or linger in some state of perpetual obscurity? It would be a shame if the latter occurs, because there are much worse ways, or records, that you could devote 40 minutes of your life to. All I know is that The Bleedin Bleedins have made a strong case for not ending up making out with chicks in their local Denny?s any time soon.

this review can also be found on blogcritics.org