collecting records

New thing is the same as the old thing… or Everclear – Black Is The New Black

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everclear

It’s one thing to lead a charge into a glorious new music wave and be seen in terms of trail blazer, but it is a whole different thing when you come on the second, or worse, third wave. The early nineties were ripe with finding the “next big thing.” Great bands got lumped into grunge when their sound wasn’t even close to it (Posies, Teenage Fanclub) and when second generation bands hit the airwaves (Stone Temple Pilots, Bush etc) they were hailed as posers or keepers of a flame – there wasn’t much in between. Believe me, I worked in a record store back in ’94 – ’95 and the used bins were filled with the promise of stardom fallen short.

Then there was Everclear.

Art Alexakis wasn’t just a guy who talked a good game and wrote lyrics about other people’s experiences. He had fallen, picked himself up and wrote music about it. Sparkle & Fade wasn’t him acting like a 90’s rock star to gain fame, he was the real deal… except… well, he was clean and ambitious. Alexakis worked his way into rock stardom in a time when it was supposed to “appear by accident” and stars were supposed to be indifferent. Worse, the sound he was using was derivative of the 90’s biggest star (Nirvana) and filtered through second generation guitar rock bands. Still, I play that debut from time to time and still enjoy it. However…

The rest is history, by the third record hipsters sold their CD’s to ‘used’ music stores, and the regular public just stopped paying attention. Everclear wasn’t doing anything that expand on their original promise.

Now it’s 2015, Everclear have been headlining nostalgia tours of other mid-late 90’s bands, and they’re still putting out music. Cool right?

Not so much.

Alexakis hasn’t grown as a songwriter. He started writing music about broken people and tragic lives and, he still does, in the exact same way he always has. Black Is The New Black could be the follow up to Sparkle & Fade or any other in the successive number of albums; it just doesn’t go anywhere new, and it seems dated out of the gate.

It’s really too bad. I wanted to like this record, but it just doesn’t offer anything I haven’t heard from them before.

Better Late Than Expensive! or Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings The Flood

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One of my disappointments from Record Store Day 2015 was the absence of the promised Neko Case and her incredible Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. No one seemed to have it and if ever there was a record that was meant to be put on vinyl – this is it. I mean cripes, her backing musicians on this record include members of The Band, Giant Sand, Calexico and The Sadies. So imagine my feeling when I see a tweet from one of my favorite record stores stating it just arrived, days after RSD15. Well a quick phone call and a drive later, this beautiful piece of red vinyl spins on the turntable. Originally released in 2006, I have no idea how many vinyl copies were pressed, but it couldn’t have been many as the current surge in vinyl sales had yet to happen. It was re-released two years later in the U.S. with a gatefold cover in blue vinyl. I couldn’t find official information on how many were produced (although I saw a number of only 500 on a resale site) with a current asking price of over $200.00.

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In 2009, a Canadian release of Fox Confessor Brings The Flood came out. It seems that 25 test pressings hit the streets as well as an undetermined amount on red vinyl. It is likely that it was another 500, but again, I couldn’t find any official figure. In fact I couldn’t even find any for sale, although record sites and chat rooms sure had a lot of people hunting for it.

Anyway, it’s been six years and there were more than a few people waiting to get this record. It is once again in red vinyl, includes a download card and a special RSD turntable slipmat.

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Well – RUN PEOPLE!!!! Call your local record store and see if they have it. The e-bay users are already asking more than $70.00 and you shouldn’t pay that. Pick it up from a local retailer for one third that price.

Fallen Into a Black Hole? or Hole – Live Through This

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Four days after Kurt Cobain was found dead and Live Through This hit the streets, the grand bashing of Courtney Love went into overdrive. Gone was the trash of calling her some kind of “Yoko Ono” (I never understood that one. I mean really, is every woman married to a rock star supposed to be a Yoko?) and in its place were the conspiracy theories that started with crap about “who REALLY wrote the music” and finished with “who really killed…” you know what, I’m not even going to finish the sentence… the whole idea was to fucking stupid to repeat. All I will say is this – If cops can’t find a reason to arrest one of the most vilified persons on the planet, there is NO reason to arrest them. Oh, and as for writing credits – they’re in the liner notes of the album.

The only thing anyone should have been talking about was her music, and for several years, her and her compatriots in Hole put out some fantastic music. In fact, Live Through This is not only one of the greatest albums to come out of the 90’s, but is in fact one of the greatest all-time.

So why the hell can’t it be found on vinyl?

Well, actually, it can… if you like counterfeits made in Europe from a CD source.

E-Bay has dump loads being sold as “Imports” without any place listed as having made them. Discogs on the other hand have a time and place listed for this album. In 2014, an unofficial version was released by a “mystery” company in Germany, (or rumoured France) due to the fact that fans really want to get their hands on it. It can be found for around 20 dollars and those that have it seem to like it. However, I wouldn’t touch it.

What I would like is the cash to buy the original pressing or for DGC and Love to put out a cool anniversary edition.

Back in 1994, City Slang put out two editions of Live Through This on vinyl, one black and the other white. The white vinyl has an asking price of nearly $300.00 (only 3000 made) while the regular vinyl goes for just over $100.00 on discogs. This is pretty damn funny considering people are asking for as much as $60.00 + shipping for the counterfeit on E-Bay.

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All this information and I remain confused. No official reissue on either CD or vinyl – WHY?

Honestly, I can’t figure out why Live Through This hasn’t had a re-release and been given the respect that it is due. With the plethora of box sets and special editions on the market for every other important band (and some not so important bands) that blazed trails during that era, where is Hole?

Fog covered Neon or Blur – The Magic Whip

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blurmagicwhip

Blur had one of the most anti-climatic breakups in recent history. I’m not even sure it really was a break-up… more a trial separation between the lead guitarist (Graham Coxon) and vocalist (Damon Albarn). Coxon may not have been on the last Blur record, but neither was my attention. Think Tank to me is kind of what the Hindu Love Gods were to REM – a side project with three quarters of a band. I mean it was interesting as an exploration of a different style, but it wasn’t really Blur.

So the real gift to gift to music fans wasn’t the reunion of Blur but rather the fact that they started to record again as a “full band.” Spurred on by years of gigs here and there, we get The Magic Whip, which is more than a return to form, but not quite the monumental achievement die-hard fans were looking for. Let’s face facts, the bar is set very high and fans want something they can point to and say “see – they’re still the greatest!”

That doesn’t mean this isn’t a “really damn fine” record, because it is. All the elements that put them on top of the Brit-pop Mountain are still there, but perhaps their new relaxed attitude has taken them to those ‘shoegaze’ roots where a good riff is meant to be taken for a rather long joyride. At very least that is how the record opens up as “Lonesome Street” slips into the subconscious as a wry testament of urban existence. It’s all sarcastic and poppy with a sense of foreboding that plays out as the needle continues to spin. That of course is Blur’s general modus operandi, pop-rock/brit-pop sounds set to observational lyrics and discourse about dreary times and places. All the neon coloured streets of their Asian inspired surroundings can’t hide the descending British fog. Even a song titled “Ice Cream Man” comes off with malaise and desolation. It isn’t until late in the album that some feelings of hope brighten the skies with Coxon’s best jangly guitar work on “Ong Ong.” Still, that is more a respite in an otherwise dark venture.

The Magic Whip is not an easy listen filled with hum along songs and a sing along chorus; instead it is an exploration in the contradictions of a seedy city living with no hope emanating from the bright coloured neon. If you were looking for the Blur of the 1990’s, The Magic Whip isn’t it; they’ve grown older, wiser and far more jaded to be that band ever again. What you have now is a Blur that can explore the depths of humanity and create an incredibly brilliant story. It might not “RAWK”, but it certainly entertains on a far more daring level than anything they’ve done before. Hence, I’m paying attention now.

You can find The Magic Whip at all your better record retailers and it has a double 180 gram vinyl release for all you people who like your music to spin.

In a land built on “Bullets & Rocks” or Calexico – Edge Of The Sun

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Some of the most beautiful music has drifted from the desert into my imagination and consciousness. Even without the understanding of specific lyrics a visual can be created of open sky, run down saloons, dusty boots and people who are thirsty, broken and are in search of escape. Such is the landscape that Calexico creates in its musical atmosphere. It isn’t enough for them to write a bunch of singular songs that are placed together to create an album. They carefully craft a soundtrack that puts together music for an emotional response. Their blend of Mariachi-Americana brings up a south-west location, but the camera then pans towards the setting sun and you’re hooked.

They may be rooted in a folk tradition, but they never stay wrapped in it long enough to be indebted. Instead they surround themselves with players that can pull sounds and influences from the world over and use them create grand landscapes of music.

Now I know what you’re thinking, this is old hat for Calexico, this sounds like what they’ve been doing for years.

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This time however is the masterpiece. While their records have always been rather beautiful and stunning, Edge of the Sun opens and closes as a complete story that leaves you wondering what the hell you can play next. “Falling From The Sky” opens in familiar territory with a guitar armed protagonist in search of lost ‘meaning.’ Quickly this is followed by action as we learn that the future is built on “Bullets and Rocks.”

Like the two opening numbers each song comes out with a story that rolls the images and music along creating both desolation and hope in their own time. By the time that “Follow The River” sends out its final notes your left with the impression that life has no simple resolution. Yes our hero has been successful in their search, but while this chapter closes, the story itself continues long afterward.

Released only a couple weeks back, you can find three different vinyl versions of Edge Of The Sun.

Regular black vinyl

180 gram black vinyl

Limited (2500) two coloured vinyl discs in blue and turquoise… but good luck on this, numerous on sale in Europe, but here it’s already got an asking price over $75.00

(P.S. – If interested, you might try ordering through Rough Trade. They may have a couple copies left.)

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Sometimes Rare “Means” Rare or The White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan

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With all The White Stripes catalogue being released through Third Man Records you would have thought that Get Behind Me Satan would have been in the mix… but noooooooo, sometimes rare stays rare. This explains a good amount about why Jack White went through great lengths to put out a cool vinyl product for Record Store Day. It also explains the hefty price tag if you were lucky enough to get your hands on it. Near $50.00 is expensive even for 180 gram coloured vinyl.

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Thing is, the alternative is way more expensive due to the exclusive nature of its original pressings.

Only 600 were made and split for distribution between V2 and XL recordings in North America and Europe. These vinyl editions were given to music journalists for review. The original North American V2 record sells for over $630.00 on discogs and I found a copy on e-bay that someone had priced at over $1200.00.

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The European XL edition is selling on discogs for over $426.00 and e-bay for more $970.00.

Then a German company tried to make a convincing bootleg edition to pass off as the those 600 originals by printing 600 numbered fakes in red coloured vinyl and another 600 in white. Funny thing is, even the counterfeit vinyl sells for over $200.00 a piece.

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So now you have your Record Store Day copy Get Behind Me Satan and already the least expensive asking price is just under $100.00.

BUT…..

You couldn’t get out for RSD 2015 and you really want a copy, well…

WAIT!!!!!!

Third Man Records is putting out a regular black vinyl edition later this year. You don’t need to mortgage your house or sell your car to own this record, you just need a little patience. It won’t be ‘rare’ much longer.

 

Ryan Adams career defining drop the microphone moment! or Ryan Adams – Live At Carnegie Hall (Limited 6 Vinyl Album Set)

/ ds barrett / 1 Comment

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Writing an album review on an artist that you “really” appreciate is enough to give you a stress headache. You weigh the shows, albums and the amount of time you have spent receiving joy from their art against the artists themselves. Not connecting to their new music in a meaningful way is supposedly a knock on the artist rather than the perception of the reviewer… in other words, the whole process of criticism can at times seem rather… well, ass backwards.

That said if you open up a record and the artist has exceeded your expectations, you’re left with the task of tempering your enthusiasm lest you fall into the column of fan over critic.

Except this isn’t 1994 and I’m not writing for a publication. This is a blog and the pretense of professionalism can be used or tossed aside on my own whim. Besides, ‘professionalism’ and I were never all that comfortable sitting beside each other anyway.

So…

Here I am with six pieces of 180 gram vinyl consisting of 42 songs that cover a whole career, plus a couple of bonus new songs. They begin to spin on the turntable one after the other and I’m lost. The lunch dishes remain dirty, I arrive a couple minutes late to pick up my kids from school and I miss phone calls. Instead I’m in a cozy loveseat with a blanket and road size mug of vanilla tea being reminded of just how great a storyteller Ryan Adams is. Armed only with an acoustic guitar and piano he brings down the house time and time again.

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A couple years back I witnessed a similar performance and walked away thinking of magic and once in a lifetime shows. What is that old adage about lightning? Well apparently Adams has become Spidey’s old nemesis Electro and he controls that flashy shit in the sky. He just pulls the audience in and never lets go.

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The biggest complaint against Adams over the years has been his inconsistent ability to connect with fans on the same level as he did with his first two records and Whiskeytown material. You would never think that a problem when he performs Live At Carnegie Hall. In fact, you don’t think at all, the music washes away thought and your left with nothing but the songs and stories of a man who over the years has learned to command an audience.

To use that tired  cliché – If Adams was standing in a room full of critics, he could simply pull out Live At Carnegie Hall, smile and drop the microphone… it is that damn good!

Back Again… for the First Time! Bruce Springsteen – Born In The USA

/ ds barrett / 3 Comments

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I lived through it the first time, and it’s taken thirty years for it to stop being a bad soundtrack to everything 1984 and 1985. Maybe you had to be there, but Born In The USA was everywhere. Seven hit singles will do that. People who wouldn’t give Bruce the time of day were claiming to be his biggest fan and scrambling to buy tickets as he rolled into town in the summer of ’85. The local news networks went nuts when they thought it would rain on him… which you know it didn’t if you read my George Thorogood post from a couple days back.

In fact, this may have been the first honest to goodness ‘backlash’ record of my teens. An artist you really like puts out something so big, you get sick of it without ever having to buy the record. Sure there were other big records out in the 80’s, but I wasn’t into Michael Jackson or Lionel Richie or… well, a whole lot of the music that was everywhere on every station no matter where you listened.

So it is that thirty years later I’m listening to Born In The USA for the first time, on a turntable, with two speakers, and it sounds great. It sounds like I should have listened to it thirty years ago on a different turntable with a crappy set of speakers, or a cassette that would get worn down.

What strikes me as odd is that it was this big. That people missed the messages of broken dreams and desolation strewn throughout the record. That amongst the repeated chorus of so-called sing along tunes that seemed oh so patriotic were messages of just how screwed up everything was. I’m not sure how anyone could have missed it; all his previous works had these types of stories and people. Still, Born In The USA was for many people where Bruce (the Boss) Springsteen ended. I never stopped being a fan, but I didn’t follow him into those personal albums that followed. Stories of marriage and divorce didn’t really interest me in my early twenties, and the music reflected the change in direction with the E-Street Band no longer in the picture.

In fact by the 90’s, no one even talked about Bruce anymore. He won Grammy Awards, his music was featured in huge films, but amongst the music geeks of the world, Bruce was merely a shadow of the past or worse, a classic rock dinosaur; an artist relegated to being a nostalgia act.

This is where a bit of revisionist history sets in. When first, The Rising (2002) and later The Seeger Sessions (2006) came out, middle aged former hipsters started to take notice again. Springsteen began touring with the E-Street Band and now a few short years later those same people who had wrote Springsteen off were scrambling for tickets and posting pictures of themselves at concerts on Instagram.

It was all very curious to me as a music fan. As Bruce started to drift back towards political commentary through epic storytelling, fans came back – myself included. It’s just that I wasn’t sure how artist denial played in. Personally, I was never embarrassed to be a fan, but there was a time twenty years ago where many people thought it just wasn’t cool to admit it.

Anyway, Record Store Day young and old hipsters alike lined up and bought the early Springsteen records on vinyl, and I bought the one Springsteen record I had avoided since its release. The guy behind the counter, at least twenty years my junior said “you’re really gonna love this,” and as it turns out, I do.

Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color

/ ds barrett / 3 Comments

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If Alabama Shakes debut Boys & Girls was a first shot across the bow against musical mediocrity, then Sound & Color is a full on declaration of war. Not content to merely ride the wave of being the best rock ‘n’ soul or Southern rock band to currently grace the planet, they expand and grow. It’s the kind of growth and experimentation one got from Radiohead when they leapt from The Bends to OK Computer; or in other words – WOW!

Their sound might have originally been rooted in 1960’s Memphis, but damn, they just pulled in the 70’s funk and threw it into a blender with Bacharach on the song “Guess Who.” Then they give you a trip to so-cal on “Shoegaze” and fly off to Philadelphia Soul with a twisted Gibson/Marshall feel on the song “Dunes.”

The vibe is all over the rock music landscape and Brittany Howard’s vocal are not only up to the task, but are in fact laying out a challenge to anyone else willing to stand in front of a microphone. Rather than the usual “see my vocal range” musical masturbation that gets tossed out by pop musicians, Howard uses emotional resonance to drive home the feel of the song. In fact, I’d say she has more in common with old female jazz vocalists like Bessie Smith, or male rock vocalists like Robert Plant than any contemporary to be gracing the charts of this day and age.

With Sound & Color, Alabama Shakes have shown themselves to be far more than just another rock band, they are the band you seek out and put headphones on when you listen. You will not be content to let crappy computer speakers or crappy downloads play this music; nope it is full on stereo sound with this album. Yep, I think I found my soundtrack for the summer.

Speaking of which, you can get Sound & Color in a 180 gram vinyl 2 disc set at your local record store, or a clear double vinyl set at the bands website here.