A Two for Tuesday so to speak. M. Ward’s latest album A Wasteland Companion is a return to form to the spellbinding off kilter acoustic that albums like Post-War had made people expect of the mysterious M. Ward, a man with a tuneful warble, and the silent Him of She & Him. Do yourself a favor and go through this man’s albums (You can skip Hold Time) and you’ll find an artist who isn’t afraid to take ventures into silent 30’s films musical territory, as well as cover songs from the greats like Pete Townshend’s "Let My Love Open The Door" and David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”. “Primitive Girl”, the track featured here, is evocative of its title with simple and bright acoustics, shining like the titular girl herself.
A Wasteland Companion was released on April 10th, 2012 on Merge Records. You can find all versions (including the stunning vinyl package) on Merge Records here, and the digital version on iTunes here .
G. Love & Special Sauce has always been a hit or miss band for me, either they nail it, or the hip-hop/blues sound that they sought to define becomes too aimless and unfocused, the lyrics too simplistic, or too overwrought. Philadelphonic, the 1999 release finds the band breaking new ground and it makes it a fascinating listen. There are flaws, “Numbers” is a prime example, “Relax” barely scrapes out of its lazy wordplay through its fantastic arrangement, and there are plenty of those to go around. Anchored by the fantastic rhythm section of Jimmy “Jazz” Prescott and Jeffery “Houseman” Clemens and boosted by fantastic backing vocals, the songs that shine are full of energy and a wonderful mix of instrumentation. “Love”, the song featured above, finds G. Love’s hip hop blues at its most downright plaintive with a wonderful guitar melody. “Dreamin’”, the album opener, takes an upbeat message that could have certainly fell flat if not for the wonderful meld of sampled (the guitar from “Clean Up Woman” in this case) to organic instrumentation. “Kick Drum” features an old soulful groove and wonderful harmonies that bolster an otherwise crude song about foreplay while “Rodeo Clowns” would be the worlds introduction to Jack Johnson. Even the turns at rapper are good natured fun, with “Friday Night (Hundred Dollar Bill)” leading the pack, and “No Turning Back” and “Honor and Harmony” rounding out the fantastic arrangement, lackluster lyric section. Check out some of the album highlights below.
Philadelphonic was originally released on Sony Music Distribution on August 3rd, 1999. You can find the digital version on iTunes here .
Even today, The White Album, the double album that The Beatles released in the turbulence of 1968 has a particular resonance in the quality of its songwriting, never before or since would a Beatle album contain such biting social commentary or such a deluge of output in a wide variety of genres. Lost in the shuffle is the timeless “Long, Long, Long” a George Harrison number that would lay the groundwork for indie rock balladeers like Elliot Smith, an ironic result for a man whose work so often preached transcendance in spiritual form. Nevertheless, the quiet, and quite profound number that follows the chaos of “Helter Skelter” remains potent and important to this day.
Without the rest of The Beatles to reign him in, John Lennon’s solo career became dogmatic in the quest to bring equality to the world. “Imagine” and “Give Peace A Chance” and “Power to The People” may have more infamy than this cut off of his 1974 release Mind Games but “Bring On the Lucie (Freeda People)” was perhaps the better anthem. Building upon a slide guitar melody, the song is rife with what would become John Lennon’s signature sound, a powerful message that is backed by clean cut drumming, in the pocket bass lines and swaggering horns. No wonder that this song was chosen to play over the credits of the great film Children of Men. For all his faults, Lennon’s talent was in making anthems that still resonate today.
The Art of the Mixtape 