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| From | Michael Bennett <mrhonorama@ameritech.net> |
| Subject | Re: One You Did and One You Didn't |
| Date | Sat, 31 Dec 2005 07:44:53 -0800 (PST) |
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1. Thought I'd Love But Didn't -- perhaps love would
be a bit strong, but after hearing all the praise for
Sufjan Stevens' Illinoise, I had high expectations.
Unlike Stewart, I did not know Stevens' prior work.
But his comments about the album are pretty much on
the mark -- my two biggest complaints -- 1. His
lyrics are not well-constructed and don't fit the
music in a way that enhances them. This is
exacerbated by his non-descript vocals. 2. He is a
very slack composer -- there are parts of songs that I
like, but often tunes meander along until they hit a
nice riff or orchestral part and then get back to
muddling.
2. Didn't think I'd love, but I did -- The new Paul
Weller album. While I've never hated his solo stuff,
his albums always fell way short for me -- usually
just a few good tracks. On his latest, Weller is
really on top of his songwriting game and hits a lot
of different styles. And his voice seems to be
getting better. This won't make my Top 20, but it
came close. The best thing he's done since The Jam
broke up.
3. Nouvelle Vague -- I don't recall if I posted about
it on Audities, but I saw them play a gig here in
Chicago this fall. It was a lot of fun. They played
HotHouse, known for experimental jazz. It was part of
Chicago's World Music Festival -- a fair amount of the
audience was clearly unfamiliar with the band, and NV
won them over. They had two vocalists -- one a bluesy
growler, the other the gamine woman who does most of
the vocals on the album. And Stewart is also on the
money about Tuxedomoon's "In a Manner of Speaking" --
Nouvelle Vague uncovers a standard from an unlikely
source.
Mike Bennett
--- Stewart Mason <craigtorso@verizon.net> wrote:
>
> > THOUGHT I'D LOVE BUT DIDN'T...
>
> ILLINOISE -- Sufjan Stevens
>
> I like this more than I've liked any of Stevens'
> records so far, but
> despite all the rave reviews I saw about how it was
> a huge leap beyond
> his extremely spotty earlier albums, I still think
> this record is
> pretty deeply flawed. Musically, it's the
> Polyphonic Spree crossed
> with the High Llamas, but not as good as either.
> Lyrically, his
> ornate song titles are the best thing he has going
> for him. There are
> parts of this record I like a lot, but overall, it's
> just terminally
> precious.
>
> > DIDN'T THINK I'D LOVE BUT DID...
>
> NOUVELLE VAGUE -- Nouvelle Vague
>
> I thought it sounded like a cute giggle, but nothing
> more. As it
> happens, though, it's a hugely entertaining giggle:
> the songs are
> completely transformed into lush electronic-tinged
> neo-bossa nova, a
> style I happen to love, and they work perfectly well
> on their own
> merits. Proof of this is that my favorite song on
> the entire album is
> one of several I'm completely unfamiliar with in its
> original form,
> Tuxedomoon's "In A Manner of Speaking."
>
> S
>
>
>
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