The Alpha Band ''Interviews" 1976-78(rec)1988(comp)***

When I saw this LP at the bargain bin in my neighborhood record shop, I initially thought it was an album of actual interviews. There are LPs out there only containing spoken word interviews, but these usually concern more popular artists, people like The Beatles, Doors, Nirvana etc. The Alpha Band aren't really in the same league, which made me curious enough to give it another look - and sure enough, it wasn't a spoken word album at all, but a best-of compilation. Now, all I knew about The Alpha Band was that T Bone Burnett was a member, but that was enough. I mean, he's involved in so many great albums in my collection, either as a musician or -more often- as producer. Surely his own records should also be worth listening? Not that The Alpha Band was a personal vehicle for Burnett - Steven Soles has an equal share in vocals, guitar, and songwriting, while David Mansfield's playing on violin, mandolin, and other instruments is integral to the group's sound. All three of them were members of Bob Dylan's legendary Rollin' Thunder Revue. Apparently, their chemistry was so strong that they elected to keep playing together even after the tour was over. Their eponymous debut The Alpha Band (1976) was recorded and released immediately after the tour ended, and was extremely well-received - by critics and music biz insiders, at least. To my ears, it sounds like an updated take on The Band's folk rock, incorporating power pop and new wave influences - I hear similarities to Elvis Costello and Tom Petty, especially in the first tracks ("Interviews", "Cheap Perfume", "Ten Figures"). "The Dogs" and "Last Chance To Dance" are more country-oriented - the latter features some inspired violin playing, too. From the second album Spark In The Dark (1977) we get "East Of East" (co-written, same as many other Alpha Band songs, by Bobby Neuwirth), electric blues "Spark In The Dark" and Dylan cover "You Angel You". The latter is performed in a Buddy Holly-like rockabilly style, and features one Ringo Starr on drums. Adopting a more commercial sound didn't improve sales, and neither did the famous guests - which may be the reason that their next album, The Statue Makers of Hollywood (1978) was to be their last. There's a strong religious theme to this one; actually, the only song that hits the mark for me is "Mighty Man", which sports a big, Cinematic, sound, and reminds me of the better tracks on Dylan's "Christian" albums from the same period. "Back In My Baby's Arms Again" is a repentant/moralistic country ballad, and "Rich Man" an overlong piece whose only saving grace is Mansfield's mandolin playing. In general, The Alpha Band display great craft in their compositions, playing, and orchestrations. For some reason, they were never as successful as other bands with a similar sound (Doobie Brothers, America, Bread etc.) but they certainly were their equals. Burnett, Soles, and David Mansfield went out of the limelight, producing and playing on other people's records, working on soundtracks, and releasing the odd, low-key, solo album. Their legacy as The Alpha Band is well worth discovering, and this compilation is a good place to start.

**** for The Dogs, Last Chance To Dance, You Angel You, Mighty Man

*** for Interviews, Cheap Perfume, Ten Figures, East Of East, Spark In The Dark, Rich Man, Back In My Baby's Arms Again

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds "Wild God" 2024****

It's been 7 years since the previous time I saw Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds play live at Amsterdam's Ziggo Dome. That concert reminded me why they're one of my favorite bands, in a way that listening to their latest albums didn't; Nick has always been a terrific performer, but his desire to connect with his audience seems to be intensified after his personal tragedy. The loss of his teenage son was recent then, and his grief more palpable. This time, I had the impression that the healing process is well under way. Onstage, he inhabited -as he did in the past- various personas: the crooner sitting on his piano, the storyteller, the actor, the manic preacher, even the rocker - with ample help, of course, from the always fantastic Bad Seeds, augmented this time with a 4-piece gospel choir and Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood. Only downside, to me, was the setlist; half of it was made up from the new album (they played 90% of it), with the other half cherry picking tracks from a deep discography of 20 or so titles.

Recent years had seen The Bad Seeds take a back seat while Cave and his current henchman Ellis drowned their albums in hazy synths. Additionally, Cave has lately often performed/recorded solo on piano, or as a duo with Ellis. To be honest, I wasn't thrilled with that direction, irregardless of the quality of the songwriting; The Bad Seeds are too good a band to be underused. Here, they make a partial return, as the song structure and instrumentation follows more conventional forms. Wild God sounds like a natural progression from Push The Sky Away moving towards a more ambient sound a la Sigur Ros or Spiritualized. Final mix was done by Dave Fridmann (Mercury Rev/Flaming Lips). When you know that, you can't disregard the similarities between album opener "Song of the Lake" and, say, The Lips' Yoshimi or Rev's Secret Migration - all those big, exhilarating, strings and choirs. The choir takes on an even bigger role on the uplifting title track, which is followed by the life-affirming "Joy" tracking the road from tragedy to redemption. It's the song that captures the spirit of Wild God best - Joy was initially going to be the album title, but Cave thought it might be too give the wrong impression, of one-dimentional happiness, when it's about overcoming adversity and finding joy in experiencing life in all its complexity and wonder. "Final Rescue Attempt" is closer to the piano balladry of his critically acclaimed Boatman's Call, with some judiciously applied electronic elements. "Conversion" sounds suspiciously close to something religious, but trust Cave to confuse the personal with the mystical; there's a talk of beauty, and of a girl, and love, of course, either personal or universal. Driven by the gospel choir, the song gets progressively more ecstatic with the repeated chorus of "touched by the spirit" and Cave repeatedly shouting "you're beautiful". "Cinnamon Horses" and "Long Dark Night" are a couple of gentle ballads, followed by "O Wow O Wow (How Wonderful She Is)", a poignant love song dedicated to former lover and bandmate Anita Lane, who passed away recently. The pair co-wrote "From Her To Eternity" during the early years of The Bad Seeds, and collaborated sporadically even after their separation. A recording of Anita nostalgically reminiscing about the old days renders the song even more heartbreaking. "O Wow O Wow" may not be among Cave's best compositions, but it's one of his most heartfelt and touching songs, and as great and generous epitaph as one could ever hope for. The album closes with "As the Waters Cover the Sea", a short song of openly religious nature ("As He steps from the tomb/In His rags and His wounds"... "He brings peace and good tidings to the land" etc). I guess it brings a nice closure to the album, but it's disappointingly unambivalent for Cave, more suitable for a collection of carol songs than for an album called Wild God. Musically, this is a better than average Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds LP, on a par with Push The Sky Away or No More Shall We Part - I will not compare it to their albums from the 80's/early 90's, which to me are untouchable. What's more important, though, and unexpected coming from an artist often portrayed as "dark" or "gothic", is its heart-warming message.

Right now there's also a limited transparent vinyl LP version available. I got mine from a record store in Belgium, as part of an "indie" package (I guess only available at independent record stores?) also including a Nick Cave poster and "Wild God" pin. The artwork is, as you can see, depressingly plain, somewhat inappropriately for an album that's meant to be celebrating joy. Except if the word is used ironically, as in "Joy Division".

***** for Wild God, Conversion 

**** for Song of the Lake, Joy, Final Rescue Attempt, Cinnamon Horses, Long Dark Night, O Wow O Wow (How Wonderful She Is)

*** for Frogs, As the Waters Cover the Sea

Bruce Springsteen "Chapter & Verse" 1966-2012 (rec) 2016 (comp)****

In addition to a bunch of Springsteen albums on LP and CD, I used to have a Greatest Hits CD which I sometimes listened on on my car CD player. Later I swapped it for The Essential Bruce Springsteen, as it came with an extra rarities disc. The latter was re-released in 2015 in an expanded and updated edition, albeit without the rarities. With such available choices, was there any need for another Bruce Springsteen "Best Of" in 2016? Officially, Chapter and Verse was released as a companion piece to the artist's autobiography, Born to Run. Springsteen compiled the songs humself, with the book's readers in mind, meaning this isn't a straight up Greatest Hits-kind thing - although he usually does pick the most popular tune from each album. One would nevertheless guess that anyone taking the trouble to read the 500-page autobiography of a singer must be familiar with their songs, and wouldn't need a reminder in the form of a CD. Which brings us to the real selling point of this, which is the 5 early, previously unreleased, recordings - starting with a typical 1966 garage rocker in the Byrds/Yardbirds vein called "Baby I", followed by a second track by the same band (The Castiles), a wild live cover of "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover" featuring loud guitar and farfisa organ. The sound quality isn't the best, but aren't garage rock and hi-fi supposedly mutually exclusive anyway? Forward to 1970, Springsteen was fronting a band called Steel Mill, which included future E-Street Band mainstays Danny Federici and Steve Van Zandt; "He's Guilty (The Judge Song)" is a hard rocker with soul tones reminiscent of Grand Funk. 1972's "The Ballad of Jesse James" (credited to The Bruce Springsteen Band) is a country/Southern rock ballad. Bruce employs a fake Southern accent here; later, he'd write many similar songs but always sing them in his normal voice. Last among the previously unheard tracks, the solo acoustic "Henry Boy" is the first one where he's immediately recognizable as himself. "Growin' Up" (1972) is another pre-fame song, but this one had been anthologized before, on 18 Tracks. From here on, we get a parade of classics including mega-rockers "Born to Run" and "Born in the U.S.A." and deep cuts like "My Father's House" (Nebraska, 1982), "Living Proof" (Lucky Town, 1992), and "Long Time Comin'" (Devils & Dust, 2005). Only one track per album is included, but that stills leaves a lot of albums unrepresented here. The CD continues with latter-day highlights "The Ghost of Tom Joad" (1995) and "The Rising" (2002), and ends with the title track from Wrecking Ball (2012), seemingly about the demolition of the old New York Giants stadium but, typically for Springsteen, really an ode to the struggles and resilience of working class America. If one is new to Springsteen and looking for a single volume compilation, they'd be better served by the more conventional Best of Bruce Springsteen. Chapter & Verse is a better proposition for old fans who'd like to add the 5 rare early tracks to their collection, or for anyone wishing to track the Boss' evolution from teenage rebel to elder statesman. Preferably while reading Born to Run. 

***** for Born to Run, Badlands, The River, Born in the U.S.A., Brilliant Disguise, The Ghost of Tom Joad, The Rising

**** for Baby I (The Castiles), You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover (The Castiles), He's Guilty (The Judge Song) (Steel Mill), Growin' Up, 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy), Wrecking Ball

*** for The Ballad of Jesse James (The Bruce Springsteen Band), Henry Boy, My Father's House, Living Proof, Long Time Comin'

The Dandy Warhols "Best of the Capitol Years 1995-2007" 2010(comp)****

A few days ago I saw the Dandys perform live, for the second time. What I remember most from the first (2001, at the Rodon Club in Athens Greece) is the sudden realization that I was older than the bands I'm listening to - mistaken though; apparently I'm 3 years younger than singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor, though probably older than some other band members. They do, in fact, still have a young-ish demeanor - after all, they're a rock'n'roll band; and they have the tunes and looks to support it. Their setlist was a mix of the alternative/psychedelic and sing-and-dance-along hits, the latter bundled together towards the end of the concert. Most of those came from "the Capitol Years" covered in this compilation. The band's decision to sign with a major label was a contentious point, as presented in Dig!. This music documentary examined the parallel careers of two underground bands of friends: The Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre; while the former go on to international success, the latter refuse to sell-out and remain a cult band with few, albeit fanatic, supporters. At least that's what we're supposed to think. Anyway, the "sellout" begins with the Dandys' first album for Capitol (and 2nd LP overall), ...The Dandy Warhols Come Down (1997). First single "Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth" set the standards for the band's work, not only with its upbeat rhythm and catchy hooks, but mainly because of its ironic humor, including the trademark line "I never thought you'd be a junkie because heroin is so passée". Another upbeat, danceable, number is "Every Day Should Be a Holiday", presented here in its Tony Lash Mix). "Boys Better" opens this comp with a catchy organ riff, while "Good Morning" (still in their live playlist) is less poppy, with a darker Lou Reed-like vocal, and shoegazey mix of distorted guitars and dreamy melodies. ...Come Down was followed by Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia (2000), which contained mega-hit "Bohemian Like You". A Rolling Stones-like rocker duplicating the sneering humor of "Last Junkie", it got picked by Vodafone for their advertising campaign, turning the band into a household name. "Get off" has a feelgood vibe; could be about sex, drugs or just partying - not quite celebratory though, since "getting off" is compared to a "ball and chain". That album contained a lot of good songs, but this comp only offers three; the last one being an alternate edit of third single "Godless" - another tune sung with ennui and cool sax. For their third major label LP Welcome to the Monkeyhouse (2003) the Dandys tried to up the commercial ante, by employing Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes to produce, adding some disco/glam golddust. Once again the lead single is a ridiculously catchy tune with sneering lyrics, "We Used to Be Friends". Second single "The Last High"(presented here in a new edit) features guest vocalist Evan Dando and sounds like a more electronic Roxy Music. Two more songs from the album ("Scientist", "Plan A") are also presented in alternate versions, and exhibit that same cool synth pop vibe. What nevertheless becomes obvious is that the band is repeating themselves, and a slightly more electronic/less guitar-driven cannot disguise the fact that "The Last High" is similar to "Godless" is similar to "Good Morning" is similar to "Holding Me Up" from their next album Odditorium or Warlords of Mars (2005) . Likewise, the lead single from Oditorium is a re-write of "Bohemian Like You" (although this sounds less like the Rolling Stones, and more like The Primal Scream in their Rolling Stones-emulating phase), while "Smoke It" is a raucous Iggy Pop-like rocker. The comp ends with "This Is the Tide", the obligatory previously unreleased track that's supposed to lure in fans who already own all the band's album. It's not bad - not great either, just a return to their earlier garage rock sound. It becomes obvious that the band got tired of playing the game, trying again and again to give the record label the hits they kept demanding. So they left Capitol and founded their own indie label, Beat the World Records. Their next records wouldn't be short on catchy pop rock tunes, but they'd also indulge their more experimental, psychedelic, side. Best of the Capitol Years focuses on the band's more commercial period. It only presents one facet of the group, and they sometimes sound to be pursuing commercial acceptance too eagerly. It's fun to listen to and to sing along to, in any case.

***** for Get Off, Bohemian Like You, We Used to Be Friends

**** for Boys Better, Every Day Should Be a Holiday (Tony Lash Mix), Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth, Godless (Extended Outro), Scientist (Are Sound Version), The Last High (Edit)

*** for Good Morning, Plan A (Are Sound Version), Holding Me Up, All the Money or the Simple Life Honey, Smoke It, This Is the Tide