Initial Thoughts:Within a few seconds THoSN sounds significantly more polished than CT. As mentioned in yesterday's post I'm familiar with "New Coat of Paint" the opener: It's a boozy, juke-joint style blues song about painting the town red. It has a pretty irresistible piano part and TW sounds good with a full band behind him here, nice drumming and good bass playing that know how to get out of the way of TW's piano line.
Any TW fan worth his salt knows he's capable of a good weepy ballad, but "San Diego Serenade" is maybe a bit much.
We hear a new TW voice for the first time on"Semi Suite," a deep croon, totally gravel free, unusual. "Semi Suite" is pretty clever, but so far the record is as remembered: practically a Dr. John cover album...
I was talking last night with Rachel (girlfriend) about the progression of TW's subject matter. He's still in the sad old man phase of his song writing. It's good, no doubt about it, but it isn't that interesting to anyone who isn't a sad old man. Later on, TW writes songs about hookers and hobos that are so good that it doesn't matter how little you have in common with the protagonists, you still feel for them.
"Diamonds on my Windshield" is a breath of fresh air. It asks something of the listener. It plays like a road-tripper's playground chant. This is one which will require a lot of repeat listens. Nothing else so far has really begged for that (though they'll all get it anyway). Title track is very nicely orchestrated, we're on an upswing now.
Still upswinging, "Fumblin' With the Blues" is nicely reminiscent of cinematic, dark old blues songs like "Dyin' Crapshooter's Blues" and "St. James Infirmary Blues." TW using his voice for good effect, the band is nice, great little flourishes when necessary, otherwise competent. "Please Call Me, Baby" is pretty forgettable at the moment, "Depot Depot" isn't bad, but muted trumpet solo aside it's still lacking a lot in the way of originality.
These shady character songs, they're still in the hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold mold, that is, they're about the good side of all these shady characters. While that is a tried and true story, in the end, it's a lot less interesting that simply taking those characters for what they are: shady.
Well, the breakdown in the middle of "Drunk on the Moon" is why it's never a good idea to give up on a song (or an album) based on an initial distaste. That was unexpected, and now I'm intrigued. Well played, Tom.
So, in the end, this felt like a concept album in more than one way. Let's pretend (and I didn't listen hard enough this first go 'round to confirm) that all of the songs on this record took place on the same Saturday night. The last song would be a nice end-cap to that album, but, as is often the case with concept albums, too many of the songs suffered in the process making them fit the record. Rarely does one strain of inspiration really carry an entire album, and this feels (at least at the outset) like it was lacking inspiration for big chunks. I don't want to write it off, though, looking forward to a week of finding things that I didn't think were there.
Standout Tracks:
- "New Coat of Paint" - a lot of fun, well executed, really nice piano (which was surprisingly rare on this record...)
- "Fumblin' With the Blues" - see above
- "Diamonds on My Windshield" - more going on here than on the rest of the album combined, maybe
- "(Looking For) The Heart of Saturday Night" - nicely minimalist, a good song in it's own right.
-K
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