[Message Prev]
[Message Next]
[Date Index]
[Thread Prev]
[Thread Next]
[Thread Index]
[Love & Anger]
[Gaffaweb]
(Cross Posted from rec.music.misc--sorry for the duplication to those few of you who still read both). Those neo-Beatnik folkies from The Village have finally ironed out all their contractual problems with their record company (Gold Mountain), and put an album IN THE CAN. It's supposed to be out on vinyl sometime this or next week... of course, these sorts of scheduling decisions have a tendency to slip. I have an advance cassette copy of the LP, so it does actually exist. It was produced quite competently by Mitch Easter, and features the 3 Squares (Tom, Bruce and Lauren) playing all acoustic instruments (though they get some really electric sounding leads by Bruce out of a classical guitar and some studio mastery from Easter), plus Ex-Television drummer Billy Fica on 'skins'. Actually I think the bass is a large acoustic mariachi bass (like Brian Ritchie uses in the Violent Femmes) that has a pick-up on it, and the record uses a combination of the electric and acoustic-mic'd sounds. It's hard for me to know what this is going to sound like to people who've never heard the Squares before. For some of these tracks these are my third or fourth recorded version... for the most part I think the arrangements are similar to previous recordings, and in the few cases where they changed things it was for the better. These songs are all so familiar to me, I can't help but like it. Side 1 starts with the Squares anthem "New Generation." For the most part this keeps the same strumming acoustic guitars and marching cadence it's always had. Lyrically it's a bit repititious, but jeez, it's hard to write an anthem! Next is "Can't Stop the Rain." The only other recording I have of this is from their aborted Nashville sessions, and it this is a vast improvement over the disco crock-of-the-80's sound that was being pushed on them. No matter, it's still got "Shakin' All Over" for the bass line, and it bugs the shit out of me. Some more nice vocals, but nothing truly exceptional. Some nice prod- uction touches too (a strangely treated piano quietly underscoring some of the vocal lines), and a nice instrumental break in the middle. "You Are Not Alone" is another track first recorded in Nashville. Stripped of the syndrums and studio mayhem this turns into a very nice folk song with Tom taking lead (plaintive) vocals. I tend to be partial to Tom's voice the best (solo--I like the three part harmonies above all), so this tends to set well with me. More cool bongo playing. "D Train" is next. This was a real stand-out from the NYC sessions, but at this point I think they've "over-recorded" it. Bruce's vocal sounds almost like a parody. This will probably be one of those songs that's always better live. A nice arrangement, but this take leaves a little to be desired. Side 1 concludes with Tom's "You Can't Kill Me." Originally this was produced (in the NYC sessions) as a 9+ minute extended jam with spaces for some beat poetry (that never got put in), and fragments of lyrics from other famous folk songs. This is a more stripped down and direct version. They did retain the tribute to Horace Silver (using a musical quote from "Song For My Father"--something everyone and their mother has done). The drumming on this track is a bit quirky... kind of annoying. The bongos are AOK though. Also this version retains the lyric change that the song underwent when they recorded it in Nashville (changing "I'm a Southern man escaping for his life" to "I'm a migrant worker escaping for his life"). I suspect they felt the lyric change prudent while recording in the South, and just decided they liked it better when it came to rerecording it with Easter. Side 2 opens with a song called "Daylight." I don't know if this is an original or not--I suspect not. (Part of the fun of this band is trying to figure out where their songs end and their research begins). The Squares played this the first time they were in San Francisco, and not since. When I heard it on the tape I remembered how much I liked it--and was happy it "made the cut." Beautiful singing, nice harmonies and a punchy arrangement. I think this is going to be the first video--directed by the same guy who did the Violent Femmes "Gone Daddy Gone." Next up is the Squares interpretation of "He Was a Friend of Mine." Musically I think the arrangement is kind of bland, but the vocals rip. As Tom Goodkind says, "We learned this off a Dave Von Ronk record..." to which Bruce adds, "... and if he heard us do it, he'd puke." Real cut ups. "Lay Down Your Arms" is next. This version is pretty true to the one they recorded previously in NYC, and sounds much like their live version--though of course the guitars come through more clearly here. A nice song, but it doesn't grab me (at this point anyway) as much as some of the other tracks. "Samson and Delilah", a real classic, is next. The Squares never sound more like Peter, Paul & Mary than when they sing this. The vocal arrangement is very much the same as used by PP&M on their first album. (I think the Squares liked the link of this song being on both debut albums). I have an older Squares recording of this that sound almost exactly like the PP&M version--but this new version KICKS ASS. The big difference is that the Squares ROCK (doood). They found something in this song that they hadn't found before--the same energy PP&M had in the vocals, but now also duplicated in a more driving instrumental arrangement. This version comes out sounding more like the rave-up the Squares do on "Greenback Dollar" in their live show. "Walls (Polish Union Song)" is a piece the Squares have been playing live for some time now. As I understand it it is an English translation of an actual Polish union song. Each of the Squares gets a chance to sing solo here, as well as harmonize eerily with the others. A nice acapella tag at the end. Apparently there are 4 or 5 tracks that were finished but didn't make the LP. They might turn up as bonus tracks on the CD release (if there is in fact a CD release). I'm not sure what they are (I should be getting a tape soon), but I think they include "Charcoal" "Old Paint" (the updated Greenwich Village version) and "Two Brothers". A lot of other Squares live standards ("Millions Mister" "Bullgine Run" "You Were On My Mind" etc.) are probably never going to make it to vinyl... I get the impression that they wanted to avoid making a "60's Folk Album" in the 80's... Advance orders are apparently pretty good--so these three may find their wider audience yet. ... gt #1 WA^2 Fan "Who can kill a general in his bed? Overthrow dictators if they're red? Fuckin' A-Man (Fuckin' A, CIA) CIA Man (Fuckin' A, CIA)" --The Fugs