Guaranteed to Tell You a Story

I have heard several albums from the Hold Steady (a few of which I still need to review for this blog), and one thing is guaranteed:  you’re going to get a story told to you.  Craig Finn, chief lyricist, guitarist and vocalist, has a superb way of telling stories about life around you.  Each song tells some character’s story, whether it is someone he and the band has met along their way or just someone he read about.  You’re also going to get a straight-ahead rock and roll sound.  In some ways, they remind of the straight-ahead rock sound of Soul Asylum (with a better track record for songwriting).

The band first started working together in 2003 in New York City.  Finn and lead guitarist Tad Kubler developed the idea for the band after viewing the concert film The Last Waltz by the Band.  From there they recruited bassist Galen Polivka, drummer Bobby Drake, and keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Franz Nicolay to start the band.  They released three other albums prior to the one in this review, Stay Positive.

# 163 – The Hold Steady, Stay Positive (Metascore = 85)

Stay Positive is just a straight-up, muscular rock record.  You can pin labels onto them all you want (mostly “indie rock”), but this is the way rock & roll should sound right now, or at least one form of it.  There are guitar solos, there are raw guitar riffs, and there are tastefully-done piano fills.  There’s even a harpsichord thrown in there.  Finn’s voice sounds like a mix of Elvis Costello with Billy Joel, which is actually very effective for this type of record.

The theme for the album is exactly that of the title’s name.  Lyrically Finn weaves between different characters and stories, but each focuses on this idea of staying strong, staying young, staying true to yourself, staying positive through adverse times, and, according to reviews, “ageing gracefully”.  From what I have read online, several characters from previous albums appear on this album, and Finn describes their appearance as embracing the ideas I just listed.  Finn’s not afraid to talk about subjects that sometimes seem taboo in modern rock music—religion, addictions, and depression.  These are just things that have been a part of Finn’s life, particularly religion (he was raised Catholic).

Earlier I mentioned the sound of the record being straight-ahead rock & roll, but more needs to be said about the overall song structures.  The way the songs play out, the order of the songs, is so important to the overall effect that Finn plays with the lyrics.  You would be unlikely to fully appreciate a song like “Both Crosses” if it did not have that brooding sound (played out most effectively with acoustic guitars and haunting organ fills).  Likewise, a song like “Sequestered in Memphis” wouldn’t be the same if it weren’t played out as the all-out rock song it is.

I really enjoyed this record.  This is probably my favorite record of theirs of the records I have heard, and reading a bit online about the band’s reaction to this record, you can tell there is a loose, fun feel to it.  My favorite track would probably be “Both Crosses”, but really all of the songs are right in my wheelhouse for favorite genre.  If you like rock, this is a great record.

Not the Politician

Our next band gets their name from a famous politician. Harvey Milk the politician was the first openly gay city supervisor, serving the city of San Francisco for 11 months until he was murdered by a former employee of the city (most unfortunately).  Harvey Milk the band has been performing since the early 1990s.  Their career has been segmented; they first started performing in Atlanta in 1992, disbanded in 1998, then reformed in 2006.  The reasons for their disbandment are unknown to me (I guess a little research is in order), but they came back with a roar with their album Life…the Best Game in Town.

Prior to Life (the topic of this entry), the band had released four other full-length albums, three pre-split and one other post-reformation.  Their style is similar to that of the Melvins, i.e. sludge metal.  However, the band has been known to perform songs from artists such as R.E.M. and ZZ Top, which can be quite different in sound to the Melvins.

# 155 – Harvey Milk, Life…the Best Game in Town (Metascore = 85)

If you’re a fan of sludge metal, Harvey Milk does it really well.  What is “sludge metal”?  Well, the music is typically loud, the instruments are heavily distorted, and the tempos can vary from very fast to very slow.  The music has elements of doom metal (see Sunn O))) and hardcore punk (think Black Flag).  “Sludge” is almost exactly as you would think it would sound.

I should talk about the first song, “Death Goes to the Winner”.  The lyrics are interesting…the title to the album comes from this song.  The loudness varies from quiet to loud to quiet.  The coolest part to me is the end where Creston Spiers steals from the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life” when he says “Woke up got out of bed dragged a comb across my head” and then you hear the piano chimes.  Great reference!

The album isn’t lacking for interesting moments.  You can hear influences other than bands like the Melvins.  There is an element of jam similar to Led Zeppelin or modern bands like Mastodon (a sludge/progressive metal group) that permeates through the album.  You also hear elements of Black Sabbath in Harvey Milk’s music, as well as (oddly) the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  Some of favorite songs from the album are “Death Goes to the Winner”, “After All I’ve Done for You, This Is How You Repay Me?”, and “Motown”.  With a nice little touch at the end of “Good Bye Blues”, the band includes the closing credit music to the Loony Tune cartoons that used to come on.

I liked this album a little more than I expected.  Is it better than some of the other albums I’ve heard?  Not to me personally, but there are some cool moments on this album.  I don’t really feel let down by the record, and I do find the contrasts in tempos to be cool.  I think I just need to be in a mood for this record.

The Town and the City

My earliest memory of hearing Los Lobos’ music was hearing their cover of the Richie Valens’ hit “La Bamba”.  Los Lobos had provided numerous tracks for the biopic about Valens (also title La Bamba), and they released a music video for the song.  I always loved that song and their version.  In the years since then I wondered whatever happened to Los Lobos.  Did they break up?  Did their careers fade away?

In fact, Los Lobos had been around for years prior to “La Bamba” and continues to record to this day.  My personal music tastes just shifted away from them but now have brought me back to their music through one of their records on my list.  While they haven’t enjoyed the commercial success that “La Bamba” provided, they have released some critically and commercially successful records throughout their long careers as well as scored several films and provided tracks to different projects.  Their blend of blues, country, rock and roll, and Spanish and Mexican music creates a beautiful mix that will capture the listener’s ears.

#83 – Los Lobos, The Town and the City (Metascore = 87)

The Town and the City is based off of stories from drummer Louis Perez’s childhood in East Los Angeles.  Pérez helped pen 11 of the 13 tracks on the album and wrote each as episodes in his childhood.  For instance, “The Road to Gila Bend” sounds at times like the soundtrack for a group of friends on a road trip or an innocent criminal on the lam.  “If You Were Only Here Tonight” is a ballad of two lovers separated by the crime that one of them committed that must keep him running.  My favorite song might be “Two Dogs and a Bone” because I could envision my brother and me fighting over the same toy when we were younger or countless other siblings or friends fighting over the same thing.  Mom’s always there to put you in your place.

Unlike the Los Super Seven record I listened to ages ago, this record has a more modern electronic feel to it.  Opening track “The Valley” sounds hypnotic with the repeating drum track over guitar feedback quietly in the background and haunting organs.  The influence of their roots music is there but now modernized for a younger audience.  Where their roots shine is “The Road to Gila Bend”, which is a rocking track that fits the lyrics very well.  “Chuco’s Cumbia” continues this rootsy feel with Spanish lyrics and that Tex-Mex sound.

The band also alternates between English lyrics and Spanish lyrics in a few songs.  This effect I find powerful and authentic for the stories they tell.  I would imagine, having never been there myself that the interplay between English speakers and Spanish speakers in East L.A. happens all the time and that people switch from English to Spanish without any thought.

This record is a very relaxed affair.  The title of the album also represents the theme of the record.  There is the wider city, that is L.A., but then there’s the town part, East L.A., which is where their history, where these stories were born.  The band takes the listener to East L.A. with the sounds and lyrics.

Psychedelic Okies

Not until recently did I realize how long the Flaming Lips have been together.  According to online sources, they have been together since 1983.  The band has had a revolving door of members (Wayne Coyne and Michael Ivins are the longest tenured members, having been in the band since its inception).  Commercially they have only had one popular single in the U.S., “She Don’t Use Jelly” (which is really the only song I knew until recently) but have had critical success with their albums and commercial success internationally.

The Flaming Lips’ fame is derived from their live shows.  Their live shows have always been events, featuring pyrotechnics and technology and other things to bring more life to their music.  This has been a trademark since their inception.  Their music has also evolved with their live shows, and for over a decade they have incorporated more lush arrangements, including small orchestras, into their music.  Their album The Soft Bulletin helped launch their popularity into the new millennium and is also their most critically-hailed album.

# 186 – The Flaming Lips, The Soft Bulletin (Metascore = 85)

The band has always been known for outlandish song titles with other-worldly lyrics, and while The Soft Bulletin has its own share of other-worldly lyrics, it also has more thoughtful lyrics that are more accessible to the listening public (particularly those unfamiliar with the band).  Lyrically the album is not as abstract as other tracks I have heard (“She Don’t Use Jelly” was commercially entertaining but had what I thought were ridiculous lyrics).  The listener doesn’t feel like he or she is learning about politics on Neptune.  “Waitin’ for a Superman” is an example of lyrics that are somewhat abstract yet have a deeper meaning that can be understood by anyone (giving hope to those in despair or struggling that anyone can be Superman).

Sonically, this album has been compared to the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds in that the album includes good harmonies with orchestrated sounds.  Every song whisks you away to the world that Wayne Coyne and the Flaming Lips want to take you.  Like Pet Sounds, their music does this to great effect.  “Race for the Prize” achieves this immediately, and as you get deeper and deeper into the album you go deeper and deeper into the Lips’ world.  Their mixture of guitars, bass and drums with synthesizers and other instruments creates this magical atmosphere that make shifting from dreamy pop to soul to rock effortless.

Some critics claim The Soft Bulletin as the best record of its decade (it was released in 1999).  I wouldn’t go that far, as Radiohead had released two spectacular albums only a year or so before (OK Computer and The Bends), and there were plenty of other great records that shifted the music landscape prior to Bulletin.  But I do not want to undermine what the Flaming Lips have achieved here.  Each song is a sweet musical landscape of psychedelic folk that enriches the listeners’ ears.

Late Registration

The next record on my list I will review is Kanye West’s second album, Late Registration.  At the time West released this record, he was enjoying great success commercially and critically from his first release, College Dropout.  His status as a successful rapper was beginning to eclipse his status as a successful producer.  He was guesting on a number of other R&B and rap albums and was on TV frequently on awards and videos (“Jesus Walks” won a Grammy for Best Rap Song and was just an all-out tour-de-force of a video).

With Late Registration West wanted to conquer the idea of the “sophomore jinx”, which typically happens to artists that enjoy great success on their first release only to fall off on the second.  College Dropout was such a wildly successful record that West knew he needed more than what he brought on that record.  To that end West knew that he wanted to broaden his horizons musically and lyrically.

#199 – Kanye West, Late Registration (Metascore = 85)

To overcome any jitters regarding the “sophomore jinx,” West sought out the help of film score composer Jon Brion as co-executive producer, who helped facilitate the sonic transition he was seeking.  Brion, like West, did not confine himself to one musical genre, which immediately sparked Brion’s relationship with West.  West incorporates orchestral arrangements within the many beats and other live instruments to provide him the sonic background to build his lyrics.  Not only did West want to conquer the rap world, he wanted to conquer the pop and R&B worlds all together.

This growth in sound is evident from the very beginning with tracks “Heard ‘Em Say” and “Touch the Sky”.  Lyrically he goes from reflecting on himself and who he is as a man (“Heard ‘Em Say”) to sounding like a conqueror who revels in his success after an accident nearly took his life but which ultimately inspired him to put together the record that made him so successful.  “Gold Digger” borrows from Ray Charles’ “I Got a Woman” while capitalizing on the success of the movie Ray, the Jamie Foxx biopic about Charles (Foxx sings behind West’s lyrics in the song).  “Gold Digger” was a popular single that won a Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance.

Regardless of who collaborates with West, he always brings his “A” game to the song.  He is able to tell stories with such lyrical dexterity and clarity that you can visualize the story going on.  “Crack Game” with The Game is an example of this, where West joins the Game in tales about inner-city violence and crimes.  “Diamonds of Sierra Leone” features Jay-Z and Kanye rapping not about the blood diamond issues in Africa but the fall and subsequent reboot of Roc-a-Fella Records.  “Gone”, one of the final tracks on the record, is also one of the better collaborations, featuring Cam’ron and Consequence.

Late Registration was not as critically hailed as College Dropout, and I can understand why.  The first half of the record is as good as, if not better than, College Dropout.  However, the second half is a substantial drop off (in my opinion) in terms of sonic and lyrical quality.  I really felt underwhelmed after listening to the album because it just wasn’t interesting to me.  While it is still a great record overall, I almost wonder if he would have been better off trimming some of the weaker tracks off in favor of a tighter record.  But when you write as well as he does, does that really matter?