T
Theo van Gogh Martyrs Brigade
Guest
Re: That's funny. I had just listened to "The Caution Horses" some days ago!
> Theo, as someone who appreciates the Junkies, I thought that you may find
> this album of especial interest.
> Tarnation - "Gentle Creatures"
> Given that Tarnation's frontwoman Paula Frazer is best known for her work
> with the L.A. post-punk band Frightwig — and since Gentle Creatures is,
> after all, a product of the arty 4AD label — the absolute-torch-and-twang
> authenticity that defines the record is a wonderful surprise; ethereal yet
> earthy, the album's strength derives from all of its seeming
> contradictions. Powered by Frazer's deft songwriting and smoky vocals,
> Gentle Creatures is melancholy and gorgeous, its love songs and ballads
> cloaked in reverb and gothic imagery. What Tarnation shares with its 4AD
> stablemates is an uncanny knack to build and maintain a rich, dense
> atmosphere; the record is dusky and otherworldly, haunted by the spirits
> of failed relationships, late-night radio transmissions, and other ghostly
> presences.
I do seem to like lots of stuff on the 4AD label, and a lot of stuff labelled "shoegazer." Looked 'em up on Amazon, unfortunately there are no sound clips. But they're now on my wishlist and will be ordered the next time I order a batch of stuff from there. If they're like the Cowboy Junkies AND Nick Cave, they must be cool. But if they suck I will flame you for it.
I don't have 200 More Miles yet. I actually only have three Junkies CDs, which is strange because I consider the Trinity Session maybe one of my ten favorite CDs of all time. Are their more recent studio albums as good as their first few?
> And, interestingly, here is a joint review of both said album and The
> Cowboy Junkies' "200 More Miles!"
> 200 More Miles, and Gentle Creatures
> Sam Hurwitt reviews Cowboy Junkies' "200 More Miles" amd
> Tarnation's "Gentle Creatures".
> By Sam Hurwitt
> - - - - - - - - - -
> December 02, 1995 | You're driving through the moonlit desert, under the
> influence of a woman on the radio singing in a sweet, somnolent murmur.
> The band's playing a country blues so slow you reckon they're being paid
> by the hour. There's something hypnotic about the slow throom of the bass
> and the chanteuse's warbling that's liable to run you off the road if you
> aren't careful. A band so mellow they're practically inert, the Cowboy
> Junkies may be an acquired taste -- and a threat to highway safety -- but
> they can easily become addictive. The Junkies' languid, bluesy country
> stylings have earned them many fans who normally eschew twang. Margo
> Timmins' silky, haunting vocals breathe life into her brother Michael's
> offbeat, poetic lyrics; it's hard to listen to a song like "Misguided
> Angel" or their version of Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I
> Could Cry" without getting chills. As lovely as the Junkies are, I've
> never been tempted to see them in concert. Rightly or wrongly, I picture
> them as particularly euphonious shoegazers -- sweet medicine for the ear,
> but not much to look at. So I picked up their newest release, "200
> More Miles" -- a 2-CD collection of live performances spanning the
> band's decade-long history -- with a degree of detached anticipation.
> Concert albums tend to fall into two categories: either they sound lousy,
> in which case you had to be there to appreciate them, or they sound
> terrific, in which case you really had to be there. "200 More
> Miles" definitely rests on the more pleasant end of the scale. Few of
> the songs, though, are substantially different from the preexisting studio
> versions. There are some beautiful renditions of "If You Were the
> Woman and I Was the Man" (a duet with John Prine) and the almost
> upbeat post-love song "Sun Comes Up, It's Tuesday Morning," but
> we've more or less heard them before. There are some long solos and
> messing around on "Murder, Tonight, in the Trailer Park" and
> "Walking After Midnight," which, for that reason, end their
> respective disks. Only two songs, both covers, are foreign to the band's
> previous five albums. Containing many of the Cowboy Junkies' more popular
> songs, "200 More Miles" is designed to appease the fans and to
> lead intrepid neophytes to the band's other platters. Hopefully it will
> succeed in that goal: this may be a fairly representative sampling of the
> Junkies' oeuvre, but it's not their best work. Those who crave more
> narcotic country tuneage may look to San Francisco's Tarnation, which
> manages to be at once darker and more traditional than the Junkies.
> There's a throbbing threnodial drone reminiscent of Nick Cave infesting
> their album, "Gentle Creatures," but otherwise it echoes the
> hoary honky-tonk hits of 1961. (Think Patsy Cline on smack.) Songs like
> "Two Wrongs Won't Make Things Right" sound like they could have
> been on the juke at a soda fountain three decades ago. The music's rootsy
> quality is accentuated by singer/songwriter Paula Frazer's voice, laced
> with a pronounced Georgia twang. Her wails and ululations lend an eerie
> resonance to her world-weary love songs, evoking a world both dingy and
> lush. On the first track, "Game of Broken Hearts," Frazer's
> voice rings out with a tinny echo, as if she's singing in an empty high
> school ballroom once the prom-goers have fled. A palpable melancholic mood
> pervades "Gentle Creatures," one that seems a bit homogeneous as
> the disk spins on. Perhaps anticipating this, the band packed most of its
> stylistic aberrations in the last half of the album, including the surf
> dirge "The Hand" and "It's Not Easy," sung by steel
> guitar player Matt Sullivan, which almost sounds like a Monkees ballad.
> I'd recommend a bit of Tarnation as just the thing for a lazy Sunday
> evening, but for best results I'd prescribe taking it in small doses.
> Theo, as someone who appreciates the Junkies, I thought that you may find
> this album of especial interest.
> Tarnation - "Gentle Creatures"
> Given that Tarnation's frontwoman Paula Frazer is best known for her work
> with the L.A. post-punk band Frightwig — and since Gentle Creatures is,
> after all, a product of the arty 4AD label — the absolute-torch-and-twang
> authenticity that defines the record is a wonderful surprise; ethereal yet
> earthy, the album's strength derives from all of its seeming
> contradictions. Powered by Frazer's deft songwriting and smoky vocals,
> Gentle Creatures is melancholy and gorgeous, its love songs and ballads
> cloaked in reverb and gothic imagery. What Tarnation shares with its 4AD
> stablemates is an uncanny knack to build and maintain a rich, dense
> atmosphere; the record is dusky and otherworldly, haunted by the spirits
> of failed relationships, late-night radio transmissions, and other ghostly
> presences.
I do seem to like lots of stuff on the 4AD label, and a lot of stuff labelled "shoegazer." Looked 'em up on Amazon, unfortunately there are no sound clips. But they're now on my wishlist and will be ordered the next time I order a batch of stuff from there. If they're like the Cowboy Junkies AND Nick Cave, they must be cool. But if they suck I will flame you for it.
I don't have 200 More Miles yet. I actually only have three Junkies CDs, which is strange because I consider the Trinity Session maybe one of my ten favorite CDs of all time. Are their more recent studio albums as good as their first few?
> And, interestingly, here is a joint review of both said album and The
> Cowboy Junkies' "200 More Miles!"
> 200 More Miles, and Gentle Creatures
> Sam Hurwitt reviews Cowboy Junkies' "200 More Miles" amd
> Tarnation's "Gentle Creatures".
> By Sam Hurwitt
> - - - - - - - - - -
> December 02, 1995 | You're driving through the moonlit desert, under the
> influence of a woman on the radio singing in a sweet, somnolent murmur.
> The band's playing a country blues so slow you reckon they're being paid
> by the hour. There's something hypnotic about the slow throom of the bass
> and the chanteuse's warbling that's liable to run you off the road if you
> aren't careful. A band so mellow they're practically inert, the Cowboy
> Junkies may be an acquired taste -- and a threat to highway safety -- but
> they can easily become addictive. The Junkies' languid, bluesy country
> stylings have earned them many fans who normally eschew twang. Margo
> Timmins' silky, haunting vocals breathe life into her brother Michael's
> offbeat, poetic lyrics; it's hard to listen to a song like "Misguided
> Angel" or their version of Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I
> Could Cry" without getting chills. As lovely as the Junkies are, I've
> never been tempted to see them in concert. Rightly or wrongly, I picture
> them as particularly euphonious shoegazers -- sweet medicine for the ear,
> but not much to look at. So I picked up their newest release, "200
> More Miles" -- a 2-CD collection of live performances spanning the
> band's decade-long history -- with a degree of detached anticipation.
> Concert albums tend to fall into two categories: either they sound lousy,
> in which case you had to be there to appreciate them, or they sound
> terrific, in which case you really had to be there. "200 More
> Miles" definitely rests on the more pleasant end of the scale. Few of
> the songs, though, are substantially different from the preexisting studio
> versions. There are some beautiful renditions of "If You Were the
> Woman and I Was the Man" (a duet with John Prine) and the almost
> upbeat post-love song "Sun Comes Up, It's Tuesday Morning," but
> we've more or less heard them before. There are some long solos and
> messing around on "Murder, Tonight, in the Trailer Park" and
> "Walking After Midnight," which, for that reason, end their
> respective disks. Only two songs, both covers, are foreign to the band's
> previous five albums. Containing many of the Cowboy Junkies' more popular
> songs, "200 More Miles" is designed to appease the fans and to
> lead intrepid neophytes to the band's other platters. Hopefully it will
> succeed in that goal: this may be a fairly representative sampling of the
> Junkies' oeuvre, but it's not their best work. Those who crave more
> narcotic country tuneage may look to San Francisco's Tarnation, which
> manages to be at once darker and more traditional than the Junkies.
> There's a throbbing threnodial drone reminiscent of Nick Cave infesting
> their album, "Gentle Creatures," but otherwise it echoes the
> hoary honky-tonk hits of 1961. (Think Patsy Cline on smack.) Songs like
> "Two Wrongs Won't Make Things Right" sound like they could have
> been on the juke at a soda fountain three decades ago. The music's rootsy
> quality is accentuated by singer/songwriter Paula Frazer's voice, laced
> with a pronounced Georgia twang. Her wails and ululations lend an eerie
> resonance to her world-weary love songs, evoking a world both dingy and
> lush. On the first track, "Game of Broken Hearts," Frazer's
> voice rings out with a tinny echo, as if she's singing in an empty high
> school ballroom once the prom-goers have fled. A palpable melancholic mood
> pervades "Gentle Creatures," one that seems a bit homogeneous as
> the disk spins on. Perhaps anticipating this, the band packed most of its
> stylistic aberrations in the last half of the album, including the surf
> dirge "The Hand" and "It's Not Easy," sung by steel
> guitar player Matt Sullivan, which almost sounds like a Monkees ballad.
> I'd recommend a bit of Tarnation as just the thing for a lazy Sunday
> evening, but for best results I'd prescribe taking it in small doses.
