From Another Level of Consciousness

I honestly had no idea who Steve Earle is/was until very recently.  Earle has been a prominent singer-songwriter in political folk rock music since the mid-1970’s.  Earle comes from a musical family: his sister is a musician, and his son Justin Townes Earle is also a recording artist.  He has been actively involved in political causes since his career began, particularly in anti-war movements (starting with the anti-Vietnam War movement and later in the anti-War on Terror movement).  Not all of his songs are politically-driven, though; some of his stronger lyrical moments have dealt with his substance abuse addictions

Earle started his career in Nashville, Tennessee, writing songs for artists like Carl Perkins, Vince Gill, and Steve Wariner.  He didn’t release his first album until 1986 after spending a decade writing for others.  Guitar Town opened many doors financially and professionally for him and allowed him to be able to control most of his music.  His musical style has primarily been folk driven, but since his release from jail stemming from drug and firearms charges, his styles have shifted from folk to bluegrass to hard rock and many things in between.  His record Transcendental Blues would be a good representative of this diversity in style.

#137 – Steve Earle, Transcendental Blues (Metascore = 86)

The album opens with the title track, which starts with psychedelic overtones in it (you can hear tablas in the background) and turns into a folk rock song about someone yearning to overcome the reality he or she is in.  The song shines with the musical experimentation he used; musicians used organs, synthesizers, and other non-traditional instruments to support Earle’s lyrics.  “Everyone’s in Love with You” is a cool rock song in the vein of Led Zeppelin’s “Heartbreaker”.  It’s here that you hear the, in my opinion, “goofy junkie” sound of Earle’s vocals (also reminiscent of Tom Petty).  Listening to the first few songs, I hear a roots rock sound more than any other sound.  I am reminded of bands I used to be into a decade ago, including the Wallflowers and Edwin McCain.

I find Earle’s lyrics very intriguing.  I initially didn’t like “The Boy Who Never Cried”, but after listening to the lyrics a little closer, I realized how tragic a story it is and recognized the beauty of the story.  Regardless of the topic, Earle tells stories that will capture your attention and even put you in the story.  While not as good at telling stories as Bob Dylan, Earle certainly does a good impression of him.

This record is a fun listen.  I actually feel like the Metascore should have been skewed higher because the listener can really dig into this record.  It doesn’t feel weighted down by overly-political songs or woe-is-me love songs.  No song is more fun than “The Galway Girl”, which reminds me of an Irish folk song.  And all of the songs are interesting musically and lyrically.

Ahh-Woo Werewolves of London

I remember I was really young the first time I heard “Werewolves of London”.  My dad probably played it for my brother and me, and I remember the singer singing the infamous chorus and trying to emulate him.  I have always liked that song, but I never realized how many songs I knew of Warren Zevon’s.  I liked his sense of humor that he injected into his songs, and I liked the lead guitarist’s solos.  I always felt that they fit the song perfectly.

Zevon is most associated with the popular singer-songwriter movement that began in the early 1970’s, despite not releasing a commercially-successful record until 1978’s Excitable Boy (which included “Werewolves of London”).  He frequently collaborated with the likes of Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham (both of Fleetwood Mac) and Jackson Browne.  He wrote songs that were covered by artists the likes of Linda Ronstadt, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and Bob Dylan.  Zevon battled and eventually overcame addictions to alcohol and drugs.  Ultimately, Zevon passed away from mesothelioma in 2003 while preparing to release his last album, The Wind, which is the focus of this entry.

#142 – Warren Zevon, The Wind (Metascore = 86)

One thing you can definitely say about this album is the guest list is huge!  Amongst the guest list includes Jackson Browne, Ry Cooder (of whom I wrote a blog about his Chavez Ravine album), Emmylou Harris (another artist covered on this blog), Don Henley, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, and Billy Bob Thornton, to name a few.  His son Jordan also appears as a background vocalist on all of the tracks.  Also present is his long-time collaborator and friend Jorge Calderón

Zevon’s voice is nowhere near as strong as it used to be, but his vocals give the songs a certain feeling like a man coming to terms.  Despite his illness, Zevon’s lyrics still carry the wit and humor that has been characteristic in many of his recordings.  He also doesn’t let his illness keep him from rocking out.  “Disorder in the House”, which features backing vocals and guitars from Bruce Springsteen and won a Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group in 2004, is a rocker through and through.  Zevon and Springsteen trade off lyrics and sound like they’re having the best time. “Party for the Rest of the Night” with Tom Petty is also an entertaining rocker.

The set is a mix of ballads and rockers.  I’ve talked about the rockers, but the ballads also strike strong emotions to the listener.  The lyrics also feature his typical preoccupation of romantic loss.  See “She’s Too Good for Me” or“El Amor de Mi Vida”.  He also tells the story of a prisoner soon to see his life end in “Prison Grove” and the images the inmate sees leading up to that fateful time.  The ballad that strikes the strongest chord is “Keep Me in Your Heart”, a beautiful song that became even more poignant when the public realized Zevon was dying of mesothelioma.

This record is not up to the lyrical strength or musical strength of some of the other records I have reviewed, but that’s not the point.  Zevon (with the help of Calderón and others) has crafted a wonderful rock record that is a great closer to a wonderful career.  Though Zevon experienced many ups and downs during his life, he left it with a bang (his son had twin sons and he was able to see some of the initial success of the record prior to his death).  If you know his music, I would recommend this record because it is a fun record to hear.

Out of This World

Following the Grammys on Sunday night, I thought I should choose an artist who performed as well as was nominated. Janelle Monáe was nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance and Best Contemporary R&B Album (she lost in both). However, her performance was electric and really brought the crowd on its feet. Her album, The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III), has garnered lots of critical praise and has enjoyed popular success since its release in May 2010.

Monáe was born in Kansas City and studied at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. She originally intended to pursue a career on Broadway, but she changed her mind when she thought of how music has the ability to “change the world”. Her style is rooted R&B , soul and funk, but she can cross genres in a moment. She has worked with the likes of Big Boi from Outkast, Sean Combs and Of Montreal. ArchAndroid is the next album on my list to review.

#20 – Janelle Monáe, The ArchAndroid (Suites II & III) (Metascore = 90)

The album is based off a character Monáe created called Cindi Mayweather, an android that takes on a messianic role in freeing citizens of Metropolis from a secret society that uses time-travel to suppress freedom and love (borrowing from an article summarized on Wikipedia). I know, this is an odd concept, but concept albums have always been regarded strongly by critics. Monáe has mentioned numerous times in interviews that she got this concept from the movie Metropolis, a classic motion picture that arguably started the science fiction genre for movies. “Dance or Die” (preceded by “Suite II Overture”, which I’ll ignore here) kicks the story off with a fantastic funk groove and Monáe introducing the story from the perspective of those cyborgs that have been oppressed.

“Faster” continues this fantastic groove and brings Cindi into the picture. I cannot fail to mention Monáe’s vocal delivery, which varies from rapping in “Dance or Die” to a soulful croon in “Faster” to classical pop in “Sir Greendown”. From the first time I heard this record I have been entranced by her vocals. Her supporting band blows me away; they segue between numerous musical styles (mostly soul and funk and mixing in some Caribbean and pop throughout). “Locked Inside” fittingly borrows from “Rock with You” by Michael Jackson. “Oh, Maker” emphasizes Monáe’s softer side, sounding closer to Mariah Carey or Alicia Keys.

A listener could easily interpret the lyrics to many of the songs as politically-driven, but this would only be partially true. There are some elements that someone looking to attach political and social comments could do so, but Monáe has emphasized time and again that the lyrics were written around the Metropolis concept. There are elements of oppression, enslavement, and “breaking the chains”, and each strengthens the overall storyline.

This album, like Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs and the Black Keys’ Brothers albums, was one of my favorites from 2010. In some ways this album blows those two out of the water due to its amazing depth lyrically and musically. There are a couple of songs I could do without, and at times the album can get long-winded, but overall I really enjoyed this record.

Crimes

The next entry in this project is The Blood Brothers’ Crimes record, which was released in 2004. The Blood Brothers formed in Seattle in 1997. They released five full-length albums during their 10-year life, ultimately peaking in popularity nationally in 2006. Their style has mostly been described as post-hardcore, which broadened the focus of the original hardcore, which itself was based off punk and built off of very fast tempos, loud volume and heavy bass. The difference between post-hardcore and hardcore is the delivery, particularly with vocals, which could shift from a whisper to wild yells in an instant.

Anyway, the Blood Brothers broke up in 2007 due to creative and individual differences. In the original announcement in early 2007 the band announced they were going on hiatus to pursue individual interests. But later in November 2007 they officially announced their split. The band’s style of post-hardcore evolved over their ten-year period, particularly with the guitars and bass guitars shifting to a softer dynamic while the drums and vocals kicked it up a notch. Crimes is the culmination of their growth as a band.

#191 – The Blood Brothers, Crimes (Metascore = 85)

One thing I should point out about the Blood Brothers is their signature sound is the dueling vocals of Johnny Whitney and Jordan Billie. Whitney tends to sound like he’s a little kid screaming his lungs out, while Billie’s voice has a low growl to it. This is very apparent from the get go with “Feed Me to the Forest”. Inc “Feed Me to the Forest” Whitney and Billie lament about the ugliness of this over-industrialized era we live in. “Trash Flavored Trash” trashes the news media and the ugly world the media portrays; case in point the line “I wanna see more dirty places. Take me to the hall of filthy faces.” Anger against the U.S. government and media permeates throughout this record. For examples, check out “Peacock Skeleton with Crooked Feathers”.

There are some other themes, though, that come out on the record. In “Love Rhymes with Hideous Car Wreck” Whitney and Billie croon about the failure of a guy in one relationship to give that relationship up for a shallow alternative and ultimately losing his friends. “Teen Heat” is a direct rant against artist distribution company Artistdirect with whom the band was in a heated battle at the time.

Musically this album wasn’t as wildly loud as I was expecting. In fact, in many ways I thought they had the same dynamics as bands such as At the Drive-In or Quicksand or, in a less post-hardcore way, Mars Volta. Definitely a punk record, but it was an interesting listen.

The first time I heard this album I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I wasn’t a big fan of the screaming, but it helps to read lyric sheets while listening. Whitney and Billie are creative lyricists, and the themes they scream about are presented in an interesting way. If you like hardcore or punk, this record might be up your alley. Otherwise, you may be turned off by the screaming.

Beautifully Human

Jill Scott has been a part of the Philadelphia neo-soul and R&B scene for over ten years now. She was born and raised in North Philadelphia, and she spent her college years attending Temple University (also in Philly). After losing interest in becoming a teacher, Scott began working on her music career. She has always had a beautiful voice, but for a few years she struggled to find a label to release her material. She eventually caught the eyes and ears of ?uestlove of the Roots, who invited her into the studio.

Since then, she has enjoyed success as a recording artist for Hidden Beach Recordings. She has also parlayed her recording career to a small acting career, appearing on both TV and in movies. She has also used her popularity to enhance her charity work, particularly in raising money to aid minority students in paying for their college education. All this aside, today’s entry focuses on her music career, specifically the album Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds Vol. 2. This record received strong reviews after its release.

#124 – Jill Scott, Beautifully Human: Words and Music Vol. 2 (Metascore = 86)

The album’s first official song kicks off with “I’m Not Afraid”, a song that lyrically focuses on all of the things she is as a lover to her man. She’s not afraid to take on any role in order to strengthen her relationship. My favorite line from the song is “the essence of glue/I will stick to you/through earthquakes and moods/if ever one thing was true.” The next song, “Golden” is one of the smoother neo-soul songs I have heard. “Golden” was the first single from the album and has been on several soundtracks since release here.

“The Fact Is (I Need You)” is my favorite track on the album (despite numerous strong tracks on this record). While the title obviously points to her strong woman character needing the love and support of her man, the lyrics do focus on a woman that is more than capable of holding her own in this difficult world. Her independence and strength is what makes this song the best of the set to me. This theme of a woman’s independence and strength is a recurring theme throughout the record and throughout a lot of Scott’s work.

“Cross My Mind” propelled Scott to her first Grammy. In the song Scott reminisces on an old boyfriend and trying to move on. This song also has a very smooth soul feel to it, similar to “Golden” before. The smoothness of a soul record never tires on me, and this record delivers on every song. The songs combine elements classic to soul – blues, R&B, and jazz – that make this a very enjoyable record sonically.

Overall I was very impressed with this record. Scott gives a passionate performance throughout the record. The themes throughout the record are all presented interestingly by Scott, whose delivery also provides the strength to the record. I would recommend this record to anyone interested in a cool R&B record to take in.

Live Heads

I can remember the first time I heard the Talking Heads. I think I was 5 years old, and MTV was still showing music videos. One of the earlier videos was the Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime”, with David Byrne (the principal songwriter) singing while doing these funky body movements. It wasn’t dancing by any stretch of the imagination. I specifically remember the part where he sang “same as it ever was” over and over while making chopping motions with his right hand onto his left forearm. I laughed then about it and still laugh now. I thought it was bizarre.

Over the years I have become more and more familiar with the Talking Heads, though I can still say that my knowledge of their entire catalog is weak. I know their hits, and I’ve seen a few more videos, but they were a pretty important band in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. They were not punk (think the Clash or the Sex Pistols). They were not disco (think the Bee Gees or Blondie), nor were they arena rock (think Journey or Peter Frampton). Their style was more a reaction to all of those styles, something that was called “new wave”. They incorporated elements of these styles with other elements, including avant-garde, funk, world music and art rock. Produced predominantly by famous producer/artist/collaborator Brian Eno, the Talking Heads released eight albums (7 with Eno). Later in their career internal struggles (with Jerry Harrison, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth complaining of Byrne’s tyrannical rule of the band) broke the band apart, and they really haven’t performed together since.

All this aside, today’s entry regards their live album The Name of This Band is Talking Heads, which was originally released in 1982 but re-released in 2004. The re-release expanded the original release by nearly double, going from 17 tracks to 33.

#8 – Talking Heads, The Name of This Band is Talking Heads (Metascore = 93)

The re-release of this album contains two discs. Disc one was taken from live performances from 1977 and 1979 and is strictly the original four band members (Byrne, Harrison, Weymouth and Frantz). Compared to the first release, there are an additional nine songs (with three additional tracks to the original venues selected and six from three other venuesHar). The band’s performance is very loose but you can tell that they are a tight group. They work extremely well together, particularly on this disc.

Of the two discs this one is my favorite. Byrne is at some of his wildest. One of the funny things with him that has been discussed by fans and critics is Byrnes minimal introductions to the songs. He opens the record by saying “The name of this song is ‘New Feeling’. That’s what it’s about.” From there the band dives into songs off of Talking Heads: 77 and More Songs about Buildings and Food. I like a lot of the songs here just because they have a cool jammy feeling to their songs. “Psycho Killer” was one of their first singles and is a personal favorite, as are “New Feeling” and “Who Is It?”

(I’m not going to dive into what the songs mean. Ok, I might occasionally, but in general I’m leaving my entry to commenting on how they perform, which is admirably.) The one knock I will make to the sequencing and splicing with this record is that some of the tracks do not seamlessly mesh together. Sometimes you can tell easily that the venue has changed or the crowd has changed. While this does not detract from the overall quality of the album, it is something I think they could have addressed.

Disc 2 was taken from live performances from 1980 thru 1981. The disc opens with a lush version of “Psycho Killer”, this time with a 10-piece band. In fact, the entire second disc is the original band with six other musicians performing songs from each of their first two discs previously mentioned as well as songs off the Fear of Music and Remain in Light records. The reason for the larger band is due to the band’s foray into broader musical styles, including world music.

With the larger band comes jammier music, meaning the band tends to meander more on these songs. Some of the songs are very good, but I was less impressed with this disc as I was the first. Byrne is still wild, though some of the looseness on the first disc seems to be lost. That’s not to knock on the performances, as the band still performs well…just not up to my preference. A couple of the songs I enjoyed on this disc include “Cities”, “Once in a Lifetime”, “Life During Wartime”, and “Take Me to the River”.

I can understand the overall score that this record received from Metacritic, particularly regarding the first disc. The second disc to me brings this record down a slight notch. I would recommend this record for anyone interested in a decent live album to listen to.

The Chef Strikes Back

I first came to know of Raekwon when I heard the first Wu-Tang Clan record, Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers. He rapped on a bunch of the tracks off that album, and I always liked his flow style as well as the words that he rapped. More often than not he was joined by fellow Clan member and MC Ghostface Killah. Both rappers have enjoyed commercial and critical success with their solo output as well as their collaborations not only with the Wu-Tang but also with each other and other rappers. One of my favorite tracks, “Incarcerated Scarfaces”, came from Raekwon’s debut record Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…. That record itself was a great record, with great beats, great rhymes, and multiple guest stars.

Since his debut, Raekwon has released three other records as a solo artist while guest starring on numerous other rappers’ records. Two of the records, Immobilarity (1999) and The Lex Diamond Story (2003), were not as sharp as Cuban Linx but were still critically hailed. They also represented a departure from Cuban Linx in that he sought out producers other than the RZA (the founder of the Wu-Tang Clan) in order to move his sound forward. His last record is the sequel to Cuban Linx, entitles Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II. This record is the focus of today’s entry.

#46 – Raekwon, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...Pt. II  (Metascore = 88)

“House of Flying Daggers” revisits the kung fu movie sounds that dominated most of the early Wu-Tang Clan band and member records. It also features his frequent Wu collaborators, Ghostface Killah and Method Man, as well as Inspectah Deck and the GZA. The lyrics also embody the gang mentality prominent throughout all of their records, with tales of drugs, sex, and crime. One thing that I probably didn’t pick up on with the first Cuban Linx that I’m getting now is that the album plays out with Raekwon telling this story. The tracks vary in length, from brief snippets of what the character is doing to tales that carry through several tracks.

One theme that pops up periodically during the record is raps on current social and political issues. “Cold Outside” calls for the United States to return the troops home from overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. In “Broken Safety”, Jadakiss raps about the recession and the consequence of more crime. One other theme I should mention is the death of one of Raekwon’s friends and collaborators, Russell Jones aka Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Jones died of an accidental drug overdose in 2004, but his legend lives on, and Raekwon pays tribute to him in the track “Ason Jones” (another moniker for Jones).

The use of different producers for each track is a benefit to this record, because each track has a sweet beat that I just nod my head to easily. I liked the beat to “Black Mozart” the most, though there are plenty of other good ones out there. “Baggin Crack” also has a killer beat. Each rapper’s flow is also more liquid than in previous records I have heard.

The ongoing storyline is the primary strength of this album. Despite the different personalities throughout the record, each one hones in his raps on the story being told. There are few weak spots on the record. The beats provide further strength to this record, making a few tracks easily radio-friendly. For those familiar, this is a good record to check out.