FogBlueInSanFran
Well-Known Member
Recognizing how personal this record is to Rob, I can see how this could be a album that engenders controversy -- or, rather, confusion -- but it’s not because I can’t find a “home” for it genre-wise. It’s not difficult to grasp that Chris Whitley has talent and imagination musically. The tunes themselves have depth -- in fact, this is a downright pleasant listen, not the least of which is because of the quirky, so complicated-it’s-simple guitar, which in parts borders on spectacular (especially on “Long Way Around”) and nods to Pink Floyd as well as Hank Williams. The other reason is Whitley’s voice, which for all intents and purposes, spans the same range as his guitar. I don’t find this record overproduced at all -- the atmospherics wandering in and out pairs nicely with the fact that stylistically, it’s a real melting pot of genres. We’ve got pages and pages on this, but at the end of the day, I think the formal frame of reference is pluralistically country -- which I can like more than certain other genres -- and all else are contributing influences, whether blues or rock or pop or gospel or soul or what have you. And I say this well aware that “Phone Call From Leavenworth” is THE best Led Zep rip I have heard since Soundgarden’s “Superunknown”. If you can be both Plant and Page together, you’ve got some goddamn talent, I’d say. I will add that despite being recorded in New Orleans, there doesn’t appear to be much zydeco finding its way in, which is a bit of a shame given how he's looted the rest of the last 40 years of music for influence. Anyhow, I really enjoyed the bit of drums and the bit of slide guitar and the bit of bass/stick on various tunes, plus the found sounds on “Dust Radio”. Put all this together, and this is a pretty strong package.
But while I am impressed with the music, it doesn’t move me much, and there are a few pretty particular reasons. The first is I am no kind of displaced wanderer. The second is that I don’t feel a cowboy’s view of the lonesome, hardscrabble dusty west (even thirty years ago) has as much relevance in the age of Sunbelt migration. Anyhow it’s a trope that been done over and over, by both real cowboys and pretend ones, and with more feeling than this. Over and over we get the same imagery – dirt, guns, mama, trailer home, etc. As such, the tunes tend to blend together in a way that the music actually doesn’t deserve. Ironically, I was afraid Whitley was a poet and the music was an afterthought once I found out he used to read Baudelaire or whatever in the studio. But he’s no kind of poet. I don’t find the lyrics very personal (save maybe for “I Forget You Every Day”), and they’re certainly not clever, and offer up plenty of cliches. While I can say that about lyrics on plenty of records I love, the music has to be awfully strong for me to overcome it. I guess the fact that I like “Poison Girl” best of all the songs here, and that it thematically doesn’t fit, is jauntier and more off-the-cuff, probably says what I’m trying to say better than anything.
Having written all this, assuming I wasn’t looking for emotional depth, I could happily and comfortably listen to this man play music -- and these songs -- whether backed with a slew of studio effects or busking with an acoustic guitar in the subway, and his command of (and interest in) multiple styles and genres does matter enough that I’m willing to forgive the lyrical sins. Were I in a more churlish mood, I might give this a 6, but that isn't fair. I think the uniqueness here and the talent is worth more. 7 it is.
But while I am impressed with the music, it doesn’t move me much, and there are a few pretty particular reasons. The first is I am no kind of displaced wanderer. The second is that I don’t feel a cowboy’s view of the lonesome, hardscrabble dusty west (even thirty years ago) has as much relevance in the age of Sunbelt migration. Anyhow it’s a trope that been done over and over, by both real cowboys and pretend ones, and with more feeling than this. Over and over we get the same imagery – dirt, guns, mama, trailer home, etc. As such, the tunes tend to blend together in a way that the music actually doesn’t deserve. Ironically, I was afraid Whitley was a poet and the music was an afterthought once I found out he used to read Baudelaire or whatever in the studio. But he’s no kind of poet. I don’t find the lyrics very personal (save maybe for “I Forget You Every Day”), and they’re certainly not clever, and offer up plenty of cliches. While I can say that about lyrics on plenty of records I love, the music has to be awfully strong for me to overcome it. I guess the fact that I like “Poison Girl” best of all the songs here, and that it thematically doesn’t fit, is jauntier and more off-the-cuff, probably says what I’m trying to say better than anything.
Having written all this, assuming I wasn’t looking for emotional depth, I could happily and comfortably listen to this man play music -- and these songs -- whether backed with a slew of studio effects or busking with an acoustic guitar in the subway, and his command of (and interest in) multiple styles and genres does matter enough that I’m willing to forgive the lyrical sins. Were I in a more churlish mood, I might give this a 6, but that isn't fair. I think the uniqueness here and the talent is worth more. 7 it is.
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