I mean if you’re gonna splurge, at least go for a Cadbury of some sort.
JPEG RAW by Gary Clarke Jr
Score first then I'll ramble go try and justify it. This is clearly a good album. Much better than a 6 but one I can't rate higher than a 7 even though it's doing a lot of stuff I like. It's also doing a bunch of stuff I don't quite understand so it's probably me. But it's also doing a bunch of stuff that actively aggravates me.
I split the album into 2 with the pointless To The End of the Earth marking the break point. Or maybe it's not pointless. Maybe it is me not understanding.
The first half features a bunch of songs that could very easily soundtrack a glossy TV series featuring lawyers or cops somewhere sunny but with a seedy underbelly. I immediately thought of Suits but it could be a bunch of stuff and there will definitely be a scene where someone is getting chased whilst one of the tracks plays and also a bit where we drive by a tented village where everything is over exposed and filmed at 8 FPS.
Maktub sounds like Higher Ground by Stevie Wonder or Leave Me Alone by Michael Jackson. I wanted to sit with it a while as I initially found the production far too dense with lots of things obscured behind the vocal and guitar. It's particularly egregious on Maktub and JPEG RAW but I think on subsequent listens I'm able to pick out some more of the detail. However I'd still love to hear a mix that's more open. I do enjoy the groove of JPEG RAW and the repeated words on the end of the lines and it does reward multiple listens - I just wish it wasn't making me work so hard to hear them :)
Don't Start carries on with the muscular stuff and threats to kill a man. Some nice bass work but I've definitely had enough by the time it finishes.
This is Who We Are has the best moment of the album. The intro is bananas in all the ways I loved War of the Worlds and the song has some interesting sounds I wish were more obvious. It has a pulsey bass thing going on like Witness by Roots Manuva or at least I think I'm hearing it. My goodness it's full of interesting production choices being hidden underneath a bunch of guitar. It ends really really well and I love the arpeggio it descends into.
I really enjoy how this section feels like I'm hearing it in a club and in general I really enjoy how the songs seem to be blending together. it is very very masculine though with lots of threats to shut mouths etc. To The End of the Earth might be a joke or it's doing something very deliberate I don't understand but I wish I did. The album changes direction slightly and a lot of the groove that I felt was hidden by the mix suddenly becomes more obvious as we leave some of the masculinity behind. Again I really want to know if this is deliberate choice or not.
Alone Together really makes me feel like my 7 is incredibly harsh. I love the subtle variation in the drums, the flute, the falsetto, the groove. I want to put it on repeat and fall asleep to it. Am I about to talk myself into a higher score? Unfortunately not as Stevie Wonder is about to appear and harsh my vibe.
It's easy to imagine What About The Children being a single as it has the most immediate groove. Its missing a strong hook though and the lyrics are so cliched and bad that I can't quite believe it's not a joke. The honest people line confuses me as I'm not sure if it's sarcastic or not. Stevie shouting WHAT ABOUT THE BABIES and thinking you can buy shoes for a dollar is a real low point.
Hearts in Retrograde almost returns the album back to a high standard but I have a nagging feeling that Lenny Kravitz would do this better. Still some interesting ideas in this. The tempo change is good but doesn't seem to lead to anything. I really want to understand why!!!!!!! I feel like it's important but don't know why.
Hyperwave has a really enjoyable bass line and some really nice moments but again the contrast between the first half of the album and this half feels significant but I don't understand why :(
Funk Witch U has stupid spelling and worse lyrics. I guess they are genre appropriate but singing all around the world and rhyming that with all the boys and girls just feels lazy. Still some nice sounds on it that I wish were easier to hear.
Triumph is soooooo close to being a banger. I wish again the lyrics were stronger and the gated snare is really an abomination. BUT I really applaud the decision to do it even if I think it's dumb. It's possible though that this song and all the other songs trying to get me to think about the babies are failing for me because I've heard The JCB Song which is the greatest song about a dad and his kids that's ever been written. This is why it really obviously can't be a 6 but why I can't give it more than a 7.
Album closer Habits is the perfect way to end and leave me really confused. What's the purpose of the breakdown thing just over 3 minutes in? I expected it to go into a mad gospel direction but we then return to a variation of the main riff but now it's kind of latin.
This album frustrates me so much. With the exception of the homeless kids song there isn't a single track I wouldn't want to hear again and it's got some incredibly fascinating choices in it. It's obviously great but I just can't get past that 7
Let me be clear, I'm not a fan of those bars and they are foul. Don't think I've had one since the 70's...That thing B&W posted makes Cadbury's Dairy Milk look like a bar of BareBones Single Origin Madagascar.
I assume if it's like taffy it's got a chewy texture but it seems like its actually peanut butter/caramel flavour, looks and sounds foul.
Yeah, I asked Gary to change his surname to Cadbury, but he'd have none of it, so I was stuck.The album pick is another matter entirely.
That was a concern I had with the various genres, but in hearing his prior albums, I was somewhat used to the variation there too. I thought he did it pretty seamlessly, and that sunk in the more I listened.I'd never heard of him before and had no idea what it would sound like really as I missed the nomination before listening to the album.
The opening track was really good and I was hoping the rest of the album would be like that. I was a bit disappointed when the styles changed but I have to say I really enjoyed the fact he could do it. After the album I put it back on again and thought he was very clever to be able to glide effortlessly from "heavy rock" to a 70s soul track and make it all sound like it should be on the same album.
There's always the secondary market, so hope that can work out as you never know if people's plans change. Hope some bargain options show up.I've just had a look for tickets but sadly there's none left!
Great, glad to hear you enjoyed it, that was my hope for at least one! I also felt this would be a "new selection" for most both given how new it was and maybe not everyone was familiar with, though I know a few were from our playlist thread here knows and enjoys GCJ.I think this is one of those albums that come from the left field in this thread that open you to a new artist.
A great album and thanks for introducing him to me!
9/10
Nah I think he means it literally - my review was already too long to get into it. To me the lyrics feel really cliched and could have been written 50 years ago. The Stevie Wonder and George Clinton tracks are obvious examples I picked out. But song titles featuring the word hyperwave or hearts in retrograde give it an homagey feel almost hitting pastiche. Shoes probably cost a dollar in 1970 or at least that's what Stevie remembers. I kept expecting him to say "you dig" or sing about Vietnam.You are quite mischievous, I think you know full well when Stevie talks about a dollar he does not mean it literally :-) That said I don't feel compelled to defend that song but I suppose when Stevie Wonder comes to you with a song to record it's pretty hard to turn down.
B&Ws original review and now your post have got me thinking about my atypical, for me, response to this album. Normally the lyrics are a big thing for me but in this case it's all about the music. I think in part because I listen to the socially conscious dimensions of this album and think about all the other socially conscious music that has gone before and then I think about where we currently are and, God forgive me, I despair a little bit.and wonder if all that beautiful and passionate music isnt ultimately just a bit futile. But despairing is something many people don't have the luxury of indulging in so I need to give my head a wobble. Nonetheless on this album the personal is speaking more to me than the broader themes at the moment.
Some good non-music points in there, Mr B.Nah I think he means it literally - my review was already too long to get into it. To me the lyrics feel really cliched and could have been written 50 years ago. The Stevie Wonder and George Clinton tracks are obvious examples I picked out. But song titles featuring the word hyperwave or hearts in retrograde give it an homagey feel almost hitting pastiche. Shoes probably cost a dollar in 1970 or at least that's what Stevie remembers. I kept expecting him to say "you dig" or sing about Vietnam.
Now you may have a point that the socially conscious elements of the lyrics are depressing because it demonstrates not much has changed in the last 50 years - we still have babies and homelessness. Perhaps even the lyrics are styled to reflect that but it is also a false narrative. Compare your own childhood with your children's. My grandma didn't have a fridge when we grew up. Now my kids grandma has a fridge full of puddings we used to only get to enjoy at Christmas.
It's hinted at in Habits but in 50 years we've gone from people fighting for opportunities to succeed to a mental health crisis because there is so much pressure to "succeed". I know plenty of young men under incredible stress because they are told they should have a side hustle and passive income. They expect to pass their driving test and go straight into a BMW. You can't even buy crap cars anymore.
My own daughter has said her life goal is to be a housewife and have babies. I wanted to remind her of all the women who fought for her right to be educated etc. but if they fought for her right to be a doctor why does that mean she needs to be unhappy chasing something she doesn't want?
At the risk of sounding like an old white man screaming at the clouds - kids these days don't even know they are born but too many people are intent on telling other people they are oppressed. In some cases people are but other times people are blowing things up out of all proportion on behalf of others.
The lyrics really bugged me because they felt so old fashioned and cynical. Of course this could all be my white privilege talking but even that phrase whilst having an element of truth is so ridiculously used to bludgen and silence people it annoys me.
This post is not sponsored by Talk GB or whatever it's called
Nah I think he means it literally - my review was already too long to get into it. To me the lyrics feel really cliched and could have been written 50 years ago. The Stevie Wonder and George Clinton tracks are obvious examples I picked out. But song titles featuring the word hyperwave or hearts in retrograde give it an homagey feel almost hitting pastiche. Shoes probably cost a dollar in 1970 or at least that's what Stevie remembers. I kept expecting him to say "you dig" or sing about Vietnam.
Now you may have a point that the socially conscious elements of the lyrics are depressing because it demonstrates not much has changed in the last 50 years - we still have babies and homelessness. Perhaps even the lyrics are styled to reflect that but it is also a false narrative. Compare your own childhood with your children's. My grandma didn't have a fridge when we grew up. Now my kids grandma has a fridge full of puddings we used to only get to enjoy at Christmas.
It's hinted at in Habits but in 50 years we've gone from people fighting for opportunities to succeed to a mental health crisis because there is so much pressure to "succeed". I know plenty of young men under incredible stress because they are told they should have a side hustle and passive income. They expect to pass their driving test and go straight into a BMW. You can't even buy crap cars anymore.
My own daughter has said her life goal is to be a housewife and have babies. I wanted to remind her of all the women who fought for her right to be educated etc. but if they fought for her right to be a doctor why does that mean she needs to be unhappy chasing something she doesn't want?
At the risk of sounding like an old white man screaming at the clouds - kids these days don't even know they are born but too many people are intent on telling other people they are oppressed. In some cases people are but other times people are blowing things up out of all proportion on behalf of others.
The lyrics really bugged me because they felt so old fashioned and cynical. Of course this could all be my white privilege talking but even that phrase whilst having an element of truth is so ridiculously used to bludgen and silence people it annoys me.
This post is not sponsored by Talk GB or whatever it's called
Having four granddaughters from 10 - 17 I have a little insight into the world of young people and it scares the bejesus out of me. Not just the future threats which their generation have to face but the here and now of the world they live in.The consequences of covid on their mental health, the impact of social media on their lives, the average behaviour of males in their age group, the standard of education they are provided.Some good non-music points in there, Mr B.
I think that the world is tough on younger people in certain ways - certainly the price of houses and cars being obvious examples - but as you illustrate, for most people the standard of living in this country is exceptionally high.
People moaning about things on other peoples behalf really bothers me. Obviously not those who are campaigning on behalf of others for life-changing matters, but those who are intent on messing things up based on a, b and c in the media when there are much bigger things to worry about.