Album Review- Graham Parker- Last Chance to Do the Twist

I am happy to finally getting around to writing about Graham Parker. 

Parker was a much critically acclaimed musician when I was becoming a fan myself in the 80s. 

Like Elvis Costello, he had several good albums, so multiple albums would show up on Best Album Ever lists- it could be 76s debut Howlin Wind, 76s follow up Heat Treatment or the general consensus (and my favroite) 79s Squeezing Out Sparks. Parker never quite crossed over like Costello (or Joe Jackson), despite some attention and minor hits (1985s Wake Up Next you You and 1988s Get Started, Start a Fire barely denting some charts), he mostly remains a bit of a cult figure. 

By the time I got to him, his contemporary work was getting mixed reviews- 88s Mona Lisa’s Sister and 91s Struck by Lightning It worked out well for me then that Parker’s oeuvre got well represented with 93s Passion is No Ordinary Word anthology. 

I never obsessed with Parker as I might have with Costello but here was a career where there certainly are enough gems (like another contemporary Nick Lowe) in with some rubble - it is a pretty solid condensation of a career. By the end of the 90s, I was still chasing after Parker though media attention was fleeting. He had released 14 albums when I last had followed him with 96s Acid Bubblegum (which didn’t include his numerous live albums- at least two being treated as major works) Parker had always been prolific and he has remained so, though he has slipped under the radar in a way that Costello (or even Lowe or Jackson) never did. 

I was never going to be surprised if he did resurface in a big way and 2023s Last Chance to do the Twist was a minor explosion- getting tons of buzz in a brave new world of social media conversation and online alternative broadcasting options. “Twist” is a fun record of a veteran songwriter having a nice late career resurrection. 

Album 23 by most counts of a 47 year career Is it one of his best works? I would hesitate to go that far- it's a pretty solid, though not outstanding record- but I wouldn’t argue if someone thought so. There are some highlights for anyone plotting a career anthology. It is a perfect bookend (hopefully new launching point) for a reappraisal of a real talent. It is also ironic that the man critics always called the 'angry young man' always struck me all his career as a cranky 73 year old, he is only reaching that age now. 

Even in its weird moments though -they aren’t out of place - a love song to Cannabis, the reggae rap of Dem Bugs, the Spanish Inquisition joke in Wicked Wit. Though I would not say its his best work, I think this is the comeback we all hoped for, and fans of his previous albums will be plenty pleased. (If you want the late period Parker classic album in my opinion- I will put in a suggestion for 2007 Don’t Tell Columbus but you may have to wait a bit for that story). 

 2023 - Big Star Records

Album Review- The Gaslight Anthem- "History Books"

I fell in love with the Gaslight Anthem from the first listen which was 2007s Sink Or Swim, though if was probably 2008 when I heard it, just prior to their bigger introduction to the world - The 59 Sound.

The Gaslight Anthem are a band that you probably love or find annoying. They put their influences all over everything- The Clash, Miles Davis, Tom Waits and so on. The best comparison has always been Social Distortion - a modern after-punk updating of an ideal 1950s of greased hair and motorcycle gangs. But of course, musically , the bands aren’t really that close.

Where Social Distortion pulls from late 70s Hardcore punk (Frank and Rikk Agnew were in an early lineup), The Anthem sound like they were listening to Springsteen, Petty and the many Springsteen clones of the same time period.

I may or may not have realized it but it became clear around 2010 that the indie rock scene had a heavy Springsteen influence - Arcade Fire, Hold Steady, Titus Andronicus, Against Me!- and if I hadn’t noticed it, I was listening to the Sklar Brothers when they pointed it out.

I was a huge fan of Springsteen and 90s Indie Rock and the two did not really mix together. He was still very much one of the most newsworthy artists of the day- certainly not very “cool”. That the indie scene finally caught up with him isn’t surprising

It’s clear that the Gaslight Anthem and the aforementioned peers grew up listening to say, the Replacements, the Pogues and Billy Bragg and Bruce wasn’t a left field choice. (We know GA has covered Pearl Jam and Nirvana so they very much of their age).

There seems to be an almost mirror like quality for Springsteen and Joe Strummer. Both representing this artistic hero of the working class and the oppressed. If Bruce did climb to the charts, he had got there by being adored by The Ramones and Patti Smith.

The story of the Gaslight Anthem (my version) mimics another Springsteen following, the Killers, insomuch as they debuted with a fresh sound but seemed to be grinding to diminishing returns over time, calling it quits (or nearly quits) and finding their way back to revitalize themselves.

In the case of Gaslight Anthem, the 59 Sound is probably where everything works, but subsequently over time, we arrived at their 5th album - 2014s Get Hurt and its hard to see where the earnest populism stops and Bon Jovi style arena rock begins.

In this case, the band went on hiatus and Brian Fallon worked on solo projects. Fallon’s solo stuff is pretty good and he blended a few influences but worked on honing those songwriter skills.

It’s a similar story to the Killers who followed a similar path and then seemed refreshed when they came back. When the Killers came to their seventh album, 2021s Pressure Machine - they made one of their best albums yet.

Pressure Machine was ambitious and clearly an attempt by that band to make their Nebraska or The River.

I am not sure Gaslight Anthem’s 2023 album History Books is any more ambitious than anything else the band has done, since they always have written anthems, but a few songs do feel particularly “heavier” and literate.

It is indeed a much better album now that they have come back after being apart than their previous two records. And Hearland Rock was always in their mix, but yes “History Books” and “Michigan 1975” do feel particularly deep.

The sound seems to cut the middle between the bands standard anthem fare and Fallon’s mellow bluesy side - which works well. I run counter to a review I read that says this wouldn’t be a good starting point for the band, as I feel it probably would.

There is a particular crunch on the record that is more in line with their last record than Fallon’s solo work. Peter Katis produces (The National, Interpol, Frightened Rabbit)

Of course, you can’t talk about the Springsteen influence without mentioning Bruce is actually on the title track. Yes, the “circle of life”- Bruce actually encouraged Fallon (the story goes) to get the band back together and write a duet for the both of them.

“History Books” probably doesn’t need Bruce. Fallon starts the song and his style isn’t that much different. Still, if you can get Bruce, then you do. It fits as an homage, a passing of the torch or whatever you want to make of it.

A decade ago, Gaslight Anthem felt like one of the most exciting bands on the planet. History Books brings that feeling back.

Album Review- Tribes "Rabbit Head"

Baby, the 2012 album by Tribes is one of my favorite albums of the last twenty years. The band were born out of the Britpop buzz diet of Pixies, the Smiths and the Clash. A mix of youthful energy and Marc Bolan-inspired vocals- the band seemed picked from the early heyday of Suede and Supergrass (and championed by Frank Black) 

The problem with drawing from that pool is found in reviews like Allmusic which mentions several bands in comparison- Nirvana, Razorlight, Oasis, Blur and indeed Pixies, T Rex and Suede. Allmusic also slights them with a three star review of the debut which would put it on my list of #unlovedmusic 

Tribes has a very common band template. Buzz debut followed by second album then label drop (Island Records in this case). The difference is that they now show up ten years later as if it was business as usual. 

Both 2013s Wish to Scream and 2023s Rabbit Head fall short of the debut. But they do contain three or four killer songs that make them worthwhile.

Songs like “10 Ways to Improve Your Life” and “It’s All Borrowed” are nice adds to the catalog with guitar crunch. There are some missteps like where they try to get clever with “-Ism” or lean into Yard Act-isms.

But of course they are best at those Suede-like swoops like “Hard Pill” and “Dad I’m Not A Tough Guy” and the all out “Medicine” I won’t pretend there’s a lot of nuance here. 

You are probably going to know right away if you like this or not. It’s not going to “grow on you” after time. It’s a blast of energy and if you long for the days of the Libertines, the Fratellis and the Kaiser Chiefs, then enjoy.