I’m back again with an assortment of “musical biscuits” that reflect the amazing variety of music out there. There’s again far more than I could ever cover so I’ll keep my comments short, with a reminder to support Asheville’s many fine independent record stores. And a belated happy Record Store Day to one and all.
John Butler Trio
Flesh & Blood
Vanguard Records
The first album in four years from this roots based Australian trio finds bandleader John Butler in a distinctly introspective space, taking stock both of the band’s future and the world it helps occupy.
Butler has long leaned towards the cerebral side—sometimes unintentionally sacrificing groove in the process—but Flesh & Blood does an admirable job of balancing both the head and the rousing anthem sing along aspects of his music.
Having said that, it’s also considerably steadier, suggesting a maturation that can only come with experience. It’s an ages old conundrum—moving from heated young man to cooler thirty something—but one that Butler handles well.
The lovely opening “Spring to Come,” with its hopeful declaration of flowering love, sets a good tone. It’s reflective of the seasonal passages so beautifully chronicled by fellow Australian Paul Kelly while exhibiting a newly discovered contemplative vibe. Such is the sea of change that marks this surprisingly concise (under 52 minutes) gem.
While the John Butler Trio are typically tagged as a “jam band” Flesh & Blood shows a very different side. Thoughtful meditations such as “Only One” and the somber “Bullet Girl” will likely segregate their fan base, and those who prefer the more head banging aspects of the John Butler Trio are going to feel left out.
And while most of Flesh & Blood works well, the band still has a tendency towards toss away ditties (“Devil Woman”) and missteps (the reggae gone wrong “Blame It On Me”) that keeps this from being the epic step forward it might have been. It’s certainly a move in the right direction but one that might best be considered as two steps forward but one half-step in reverse. ***
Wyatt Easterling
Goodbye Hello
Phoenix Rising Records
Born and raised in the musically rich environs of Chapel Hill, Wyatt Easterling is one of the unknown gems of the music world. While he’s never been the most prolific of artists—his last record is now four years gone—he’s kept plenty busy as a successful Nashville songwriter and occasional music label executive. Not the well-tailored “I’d just as soon be selling commodities” type, but the all too rare insider who genuinely loves music and does his best to promote it.
It’s that broad exposure to a variety of artists and sounds that Easterling draws from, one which provides him a sensibility that has guided his career. The upshot is an album that is marvelously thought out, diverse yet cohesive, and relentlessly engaging. Its gospel influences might infiltrate (best heard in “Help Me Find My Way” and “Somebody Prayed”) some songs while others, most notably “My Brand New Love” and “Right Before My Eyes”, showcase a country tinged indie pop mix that is a pure joy to hear.
There’s not a weak link to be found, and while the effervescence of new found love—a sentiment which dominates the lyrical content of the album—might lean itself toward potential syrupiness, Easterling pulls it off with nary a stumble.
As a former A&R man at Atlantic Records, Wyatt Easterling knows a thing or three about what makes a good song better. With Goodbye Hello he’s taken the essence of that knowledge, mixed it with his own surplus of talent, and come up with an album worth playing again and again. ****
Nashville Jazz Orchestra
It Ain’t Necessarily So
Jazz City Music
While Nashville is the undisputed epicenter of country music, its geographic location, serving as one corner of a triangulation that includes St. Louis and New Orleans, has helped foster its long association with jazz.
That association is further enhanced by the debut release of the Nashville Jazz Orchestra, an old school ensemble dedicated to the preservation and furthering of this great American art form. Subtitled New Twists on Gershwin Classics, the album is a throwback in all the right ways, part education and all enjoyment.
Opening with the charming “Cuban Overture” originally recorded in 1932, the disc includes three tracks from Porgy and Bess (which I should confess to being my favorite all time piece of music) as well as such standards as “Someone to Watch Over Me“ and the rarely played and even more rarely successfully translated “Prelude No. 2”. That piece, perfectly arranged by Jamie Simmons and featuring a delightful clarinet solo by Don Aliquo is a pure show stopper.
Trombonist Barry Greene solos through a sinuous “But Not for Me” while “Summertime” is highlighted by the piercing work of tenor saxophonist Doug Moffet. Unfortunately the liner notes lack much detail as to who plays what, an omission that I hope is corrected in future releases. Recasting American classics, songs that have long since permeated our communal subconscious, is a tricky business.
Note by note replications are often tedious while straying too far from the source material can be blasphemous. With It Ain’t Necessarily So the Nashville Jazz Orchestra has managed to deliver an effort that should please neophytes and aficionados alike. ****
Dead Rider
Chills on Glass
Drag City Records
This explosive mix of screeching guitars, drumbeats, synthesized mayhem, and distorted vocals might at first sound like a sonic train wreck but once you get through the gruff (and at times tricky to assimilate) surface, there’s an entire other level underneath.
Led by guitarist Todd Rittman, the Chicago based band, which includes Andrea Faught, Matt Esby, Thymme Jones, and Noah Tabakin, seem to delight in life on the edge; they careen from one moment to the next with such wild abandon that I kept expecting the entire effort to unravel. But it never does, which only adds to the stupefaction of this explosive 35 minute excursion into the darker corners of cerebral rock.
The most immediate influence would be Tin Machine era David Bowie or Captain Beefheart but there are also abundant strands of punk, wildly skewed electronica, and bass heavy funk. The music is so chameleon like that distinguishing one track from another seems pointless, as this is the sort of project that begs to be heard as an inclusive entity.
Replete with all manner of weirdness Chills on Glass is one challenging listen, but it’s one that offers ample reward and will likely stay with you in surprising ways. It’s a take no prisoners bit of wonderment that is simultaneously perplexing, threatening, evocative, and altogether fascinating. ****
Various Artists
Looking Into You: A Tribute to Jackson Browne
Music Road Records
Roughly split between those contemporaries who are fortunate to call him friend and a few of the many (relative) newcomers he has influenced, Looking Into You: A Tribute to Jackson Browne is a long overdue testament to one of the truly great songwriters of our generation.
At 23 songs, and covering a wide swath of artists and styles, it’s a naturally mixed bag but one that never ceases to enforce how devoted Browne is to song craft. Not surprisingly it’s tilted towards the first half of the 1970s—a period in which Browne released a breathtaking number of brilliant songs—which gives me hope that a second volume might loom in the future.
Jimmie LaFave gives a stunning rendition of “For Everyman”, perfectly capturing that odd mix of hope and resignation that marked the original, while Lyle Lovett imbues “Rosie” with a sardonic wit that’s worthy of such a delicate subject matter while also delivering a fine rendition of “Our Lady of The Well.”
Longtime Browne cohorts Bonnie Raitt and David Lindley team for a fine reworking of “Everywhere I Go” (surpassing the original) and Sean & Sara Watkins, who in recent years have toured with Browne, nail “Your Bright Baby Blues.” Of course not everything works.
Bob Schneider inexplicably slows “Running on Empty” down to a stilted dirge which robs the song of all its world weary desperation. But that’s the only real misstep, and while Looking Into You might best be heard as a reminder of how golden the first four Jackson Browne albums were that’s more than reason enough to justify its being. ***1/2
Charlie Parr
Hollandale
Chaperone Records
Charlie Parr might initially be described as an artistic recluse, an eccentric in the purist sense. He only occasionally travels outside his native Minnesota (typically playing dance halls and American Legion Posts), lives a solitary life ensconced in the harsh north woods outside Duluth, and remains an adherent to a style of music making that only a few hard core enthusiasts seem to care about; which goes a long way towards explaining why he is so little known; a lack of talent sure isn’t the reason.
Like many of his records Hollandale, a brilliant collection of five exquisitely imagined and performed instrumentals, defies description. For those who assume instrumentals an insufficient vehicle for delivering passion, joy, loss, doubt, or any other range of human emotions, Hollandale is powerful evidence to the contrary. Playing his trademark resonator guitar—and improvised around five unique open tunings I cannot begin to fully understand—Parr paints an affecting sonic landscape of color, texture, and depth.
Following less than a year after Barnswallow—itself an assuming masterpiece—Hollandale is an example of primitive Americana at its best. The song titles (“Clear Lake”, the two part “I Dreamed I Saw Paul Bunyan Last Night”) are reflective of the somber environment in which they were recorded, and while Hollandale was specifically mixed for vinyl, my CD version sounds as rich and warm as an old 78. It’s a 40 minute musical expedition, a decisive example of one man’s vision and as fine an album as I’ve recently experienced. Pay a visit to CharlieParr.com and prepare to be amazed. *****
Marshall Crenshaw
Driving and Dreaming
Red River/Relativity Records
Now this is a genuine oddity, a three song vinyl EP by one of the most idiosyncratic and continually engaging musicians out there. And at times I mean *really* out there.
While Crenshaw’s career dates back more than three decades (his five stars self-titled debut came out in 1982) he’s managed to be both wildly revered and largely ignored. With his career being what it is—it’s hard to imagine too many folks just now discovering his music—Crenshaw has been dribbling out new material even as his older albums get the deluxe reissue treatment they deserve.
Driving and Dreaming is the third in a series of EP releases following a formula set forth by its predecessors; a new song (in this case the mid tempo pop title track) a cover tune (Bobby Fuller‘s “Never to be Forgotten”) and a reworking of one of his best known songs (“Someday, Someway”) from days gone by. It’s an interesting snapshot of where Crenshaw’s head is these days, and while his inherent knack for catchy hooks and quirky phrasing is as strong as ever I cannot help but think Crenshaw’s mostly treading water.
Three songs is hardly a definitive statement and insufficient to make much in the way of judgment. But as one who has long been fascinated by the artistry of Marshall Crenshaw I’m holding out for more. ***