Category: Rock (Page 69 of 241)

Jay Farrar & Benjamin Gibbard: One Fast Move or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur

November 19, 2009 /


RIYL: Neil Young, Greg Laswell, Hem

It’s fitting that this modest film based on the life of one of America’s most iconic authors would garner a soundtrack composed and performed by two of today’s most compelling alternative musicians, Jay Farrar and Benjamin Gibbard. Jack Kerouac, of course, helped define the underground subculture of the late ‘50s and early ‘60s with his novel “On the Road,” influencing a generation of displaced and rebellious individuals who dared defy the norms of a placid society. While they may not be quite so influential, Farrar and Gibbard’s efforts with Son Volt and Death Cab for Cutie, respectively, have nevertheless had a lingering impact on other artists who have ventured away from the tried and true and immersed themselves in similarly adventurous realms.

Arousing both literary and musical interests, One Fast Move or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur documents its subject’s subsequent retreat from a culture he helped create, a period when he hid himself away at poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s cabin in Big Sur in an attempt to cope with his doubts and depression. Using Kerouac’s own words, interspersed with commentary from surviving contemporaries and such avowed devotees as Patti Smith, Tom Waits and Robert Hunter, the film explores his shattered psyche and sad circumstance that led to the author’s eventual downward spiral.

In that context, Farrar and Gibbard weave a lilting musical tapestry, one that emphasizes low-lit harmonies, a predominance of acoustic guitars, gentle melodies and a sweep of pedal steel. The 12 songs create a weary ambiance that fits the film’s somber pastiche; fitting midway between the somber sensitivities that characterize Farrar’s usual demeanor and the more effusive sounds that characterize Gibbard’s Death Cab duties, songs such as “California Zephyr,” “Low Life Kingdom” and “These Roads Don’t Move” give the soundtrack an amiable sway and an unobtrusive appeal. Kerouac may furnish the narrative, but Farrar and Gibbard help manipulate the mood while providing the score with its easy appeal.

After one look and a single listen, Gone is not easily forgotten.

One Fast Move webpage

Americana, Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Folk, Pop, Rock

Led Zeppelin: Good Times Bad Times; A Visual Biography of the Ultimate Band

November 18, 2009 /

For fans of iconic rock band Led Zeppelin, there will forever be a hole in their collective heart stemming from the tragic death of drummer John Bonham in 1980. There have been several attempts at reunion performances, most recently in 2007 with Bonham’s son Jason pounding the skins for a tribute to Atlantic Records’ founder Ahmet Ertegun. But there has never been another tour, or any new music from the band, nor any real promise of such. And as difficult as that may be to swallow for a Led Zep fan, it may be best to remember these guys as they were – pioneers of hard rock, filling arenas with loud music and prompting young musicians everywhere to dream of becoming rock stars.

And it’s easier to remember the good times when you have books like “Led Zeppelin: Good Times Bad Times (A Visual Biography of the Ultimate Band)” by long-time Led Zep researchers Jerry Prochnicky and Ralph Hulett. This 200-plus page hardcover is filled with some incredible shots of the band from the early days when they were known as the New Yardbirds, all the way up to that 2007 performance that features a white-haired Jimmy Page on guitar. Throughout, there are live shots, shots of the band hanging out at home with their families, shots that might be considered ubiquitous and others that are quite obscure. Sometimes photos can tell a story better than words can, and in this case the authors have put together one of the finest retrospectives possible. The only thing missing is an accompanying music CD, but we suggest drawing from your own Zep collection, and crank it up really loud while you peruse. It’s the only way. (Abrams Books 2009)

Book reviews, Rock

Robyn Hitchcock: I Often Dream of Trains In New York

November 17, 2009 /

4/5 Stars
RIYL: Syd Barrett, Bonzo Dog band, XTC

Always the eccentric, predictable only in his unpredictability, Robyn Hitchcock has never been an easy character to decipher, frequently defying easy accessibility and offering only rare opportunity to peer below his songs’ psychedelic sheen and to meditate on his melodies. Consequently, the concert film “I Often Dream of Trains In New York”, is a rare treasure in that it gives a more intimate view of the man and his muse via a thorough track-by-track replay of an early album many consider his signature achievement.

Hitchcock’s no stranger to cinema, of course. Last year’s documentary “Sex, Food, Death… and Insects” offered a surprisingly candid potrait of the artist in creative mode, a follow-up of sorts to the musical portrait captured in Jonathan Demme’s critically lauded “Storefront Hitchcock.” Hitchcock had a cinematic reunion with Demme more recently in fact, when he was given opportunity to perform a pair of songs in Demme’s current film, “Rachel Getting Married,” following up his acting debut as one of the protagonists in Demme’s remake of “The Manchurian Candidate.”

Regardless, it’s Hitchcock’s allure as an artist with a curious magnetism and slightly off-kilter wit and regimen that enthralls his followers, and if “I Often Dream of Trains in New York” seems to strip away that elusive veneer, it doesn’t detract from his charm or appeal. Performing in a stripped-down acoustic setting and backed by multi-instrumentalist Terry Edwards and guitarist Tim Keegan, he revels in the sentiment, sarcasm and wry irony parlayed by such numbers as “Up to Our Nex,” “I Often Dream of Trains,” “America” and “I Used to Say I Love You,” songs that take on an idyllic, folk-like serenity in this live setting. Even so, the a cappella “Uncorrected Personality Traits” brings to mind the bizarre, unabashed silliness of the Bonzo Dog Band, while a cassette recording of “Sometimes I Wish I Was a Pretty Girl” serves as ample reminder of Hitchcock’s penchant for bizarre lyrical twists. It’s fitting then that the tracks are interspersed with Hitchcock’s own commentary on the origins of these songs, relayed, appropriately, from a seat on a train. Likewise, a bonus feature, “Beyond Basingstoke” offers further illumination and enlightenment.

A must-see for all Hitchcock aficionados, “I Often Dream of Trains in New York” is also an ideal passage for the uninitiated. (Yep Roc 2009)

Robyn Hitchcock website

Alternative, Concert DVDs, Progressive, Psychedelic, Rock

Them Crooked Vultures: Them Crooked Vultures

November 17, 2009 /


RIYL: Queens of the Stone Age, Led Zeppelin, Nirvana

Ever since Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri parted ways, Queens of the Stone Age have been missing a certain “oomph.” It hardly seemed right to continue with the name anyway, since the dynamic between Josh and Nick was a big part of what made that band so great in the first place.

For now, anyway, Josh is putting the Queens name aside, even though Them Crooked Vultures could have easily been called a Queens record simply by virtue of the fact that Songs for the Deaf drummer Dave Grohl is providing TCV’s undulating rhythms. And although Josh is the dominant voice and guitarist of Them Crooked Vultures, to say that he is outweighed by the mere presence of his bandmates – bassist John Paul Jones and drummer Dave Grohl – is an understatement. But make no mistake, Them Crooked Vultures is very much a Josh Homme record. All the raunch and sleaze he brings to Queens of the Stone Age is here (sample double entendre: “Don’t hold it against me, unless it gets hard,” from “No One Loves Me and Neither Do I”), as is that magical de-wussified angst he does so well (see “Bandoliers,” an awesomely rockin’ breakup song if there ever was one).

But what distinguishes TCV from Queens is ultimately that rock-solid, locked-in rhythm section created by Jones and Grohl. Yes, at times it does kind of recall the groove of the groovingest Led Zeppelin, and Josh will occasionally match that with some Zep-like riffage. And though most of the songs are worthy of the musicians playing them, the record starts to drag towards the end… just like the last two Queens records. But this is a small complaint in light of the fact that John Paul Jones is playing in a kick-ass rock band once again, Dave Grohl is back behind the drum kit where he belongs, and Josh Homme is showing no signs of slowing down. Rarely does a “supergroup” get much better than this. (Interscope 2009)

Them Crooked Vultures MySpace page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

Foreigner: Can’t Slow Down

November 16, 2009 /


RIYL: Boston, REO Speedwagon, Survivor

Mick Jones recorded without Lou Gramm once before on 1991’s Unusual Heat. Now with the seemingly permanent departure (although in the world of sports, music and professional wrestling, never say never), Foreigner has released Can’t Slow Down, exclusively through Wal-Mart. Kelly Hansen, formerly with Hurricane, fills the large shoes of Lou Gramm rather admirably with a sincere and effective effort on the new material. Interestingly enough, Hansen, although without the same depth and power as Gramm, has a very similar voice and pulls off the classic foreigner stuff very well. The three-disc collection includes the new album, a collection of remixed classics and a concert DVD of this line-up performing the hits. The new material like the title track and “In Pieces” will fit in well within the catalog. Formulaic as it may be, complete with the big production of veteran Rock Producer Marti Frederiksen, it is full of hooks and incredibly well executed. Jones is not appreciated enough for his ability to write crunchy but catchy rock tunes. Can’t Slow Down features a couple of ballads, as Foreigner records are required to by law, to do and they are decent. The remixes take the old material and tweak them to where the audiophile will only be able to tell (they are the originals and not re-recorded by this line-up). The concert DVD is a blast, and to see the 60+ year old Jones lead his band through the classics with energy and great guitar chops, is a pleasant surprise. Watching him sing lead on “Starrider” is a gas. (Foreigner 2009)

Foreigner MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop, Rock

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 Eat Sleep Drink Music

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑