Album Review- Jubilee by Japanese Breakfast

You know I constantly make fun of the more popular Indie Music review sites. At the end of the year, their Best Of lists nearly all match. That doesn’t happen when my friends do the same. That’s because these sites don’t want to be left out of their popularity contest. But, of course, sometimes they do get things right, and when Jubilee by Japanese Breakfast gets put on those lists this year, well, she/they will definitely deserve it. Also typical of the music industry, JB has been nominated by the Grammys as best new artist (5 years and 2 albums after their debut). In any case, I will make a case that “Paprika” is the best song of the year. While I don’t think another song on the record hits that mark (surely an impossibility anyway) it’s a good album that really hits my buttons. Think of dream pop like Alvvays mixed with Beach House and a touch of confessional rock a la Mitski with even a bit of baroque pop, similar to say, Beirut. “Be Sweet” is probably as close as a hit as one gets in the fragmented radio world of today. It’s hard not to ponder how big it really might have been in an atmosphere 15-20 years ago. If “Be Sweet” is too commercially tinged for people brought in by “Paprika”, then “ Kokomo, IN” swings the listener back, and “Slide Tackle” straddles a line between the poles While one can find room for criticism - it’s perhaps too short (under the rather standard 40 minutes) and as is often the case, front loaded with strong songs but a weak back half-it is an album that deserves the many plaudits soon headed this way, and will still be an enjoyable listen years from now when Pitchfork et al., have moved on to the next thing.

Album Review- Limbo by Clan of Xymox

I’ve spent some time talking about A Clan of Xymox, the long running dark wave band led by Ronny Moorings and last year’s Spider on the Wall album. Limbo is the newest album and the follow up to last year's Spider on the Wall. In some ways, it is better in that musically, this is a great beginning to end listen, recalling late 80s dark wave and the early 00s dark wave revival. That absolutely presses all my right buttons. But the album lacks the variety and ambition of its predecessor, so while it’s a great listen, it’s not a particularly memorable one. Vocals are pushed into the background in preference of atmosphere. Ironically, I think the albums theme works against it. Five years ago, dystopian themes might propel a dark wave album like this. But with titles like “Lockdown”, “Big Brother”, “Brave New World” and even yes, “Dystopia”, the track listing sounds at worst, like a loony conspiracy theorist, and at best, unimaginative. Still, this far into their career, CoX have nothing left to prove, and it’s unlikely Limbo will be many people’s introduction to the band (though if it is, it’s a very accessible one). But for an audience accustomed to Xymox and their musical descendants, this is a pretty good genre-style record.

Album Review- Prince

 Everyone knows the legend. Prince has an endless amount of music that has never been released. I will say I have been very happy with Piano and Microphone 1983, Originals and Welcome 2 America and at this point, I would be pleased with one new Prince album a year for the next half century, which seems possible.

Now, although we picture some lost treasure lode, we know all about lost tracks, right? There are rarely classics that never left the shelf. What we may find is some extra songs from an artist’s fertile period (“Scarlet” by the Stones comes to mind). But the process of discovery is exciting.

I would add that even if there is a stigma around otherwise half-baked songs, there probably shouldn’t be. While not considered in serious discussions, I am a huge fan of Bob Marley’s “Iron Lion Zion” and the Beatles “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love”

21st Century Prince isn’t particularly fruitful. Not his fault, of course. Almost every artist with that many albums has used their bag of tricks. Expectations are too high for reality. It is bad enough that we want it to be as good as Dirty Mind or Sign O The Times or Purple Rain, but also as good as Stankonia or Let Love Rule or The ArchAndroid

Like Bowie and Lou Reed, we as fans almost immediately realized how hard we were on the artist, and would give anything for even a new three star album of material. Pitchfork recently did a feature where they re-reviewed albums (an exercise that made me like them less than more) and they bumped up 3121.

I’m not quick to name any 21st Century Prince as essential, but you may already know I particularly love his Plectrum Electrum collaboration with 3rd Eye Girl. I also rate Musicology over the slightly more loved 3121 as towards the top of the Prince album list.

Welcome 2 America gets big points for feeling like a record that Prince would write in 2021. Although, the idea of a theme is a bit overplayed in reviews, it does generally feel like what one would imagine Prince writing circa Black Lives Matter, George Floyd and related news headlines.

So we can quickly mark that this isn’t as good as his 80s albums and not as good as his 90s albums, but W2A is better than most of his recent output.

I think a point in favor is that this seems to be shaped with the purpose of an album. A bit of conventional wisdom is that the album was recorded with Tal Wilkenfield with a power trio in mind, but when she couldn’t tour to support, it was shelved.

I’m not sure how much to credit Wilkenfield or Morris Hayes, but I tended to think even though Prince could do everything on his own, he often sounded more inspired when working with collaborators. Nor do I know what shape the tapes were when Hayes got them, though the sound is contemporary and full, surely this is at least partially to his credit.

I suspect the parts make the whole better. The opener is what you might expect to set the theme, followed by Running Game and Born 2 Die -none of which might stand up as singles but coalesce as a strong political statement. All three song mostly spoken as much sung, Born 2 Die is the apex of this three song start- a bit more light jazz than you might hope for, at least at this point, Prince has your attention.

The album continues the next two tracks with its vibe with Prince sharing center stage with his three NPG singers. Hot Summer is too short to reach Classic Single status as well but it’s got the right feeling.

At this point, the album peaks with one of Prince’s strongest late-career songs Stand Up and B Strong. Like another late classic Anotherlove, this song ironically is a cover. As many great original songs as Prince wrote in his long career, at the end he knew how to find a great song and make it his (as others had done to his songs).

While one might not be surprised that Prince covered a Minneapolis artist, picking what is basically a Bon Jovi-esque anthem from a band’s ninth album is an unlikely pick, he (and quite frankly the band) really make it something transcendent (the original song is better than my description makes it out to be, but it pales in comparison).

The album’s back end is less notable, even if the songs are catchy, they don’t necessarily stand out. Despite critics claiming otherwise, the social thread does manage to flow through the entire record. These songs do fit in, though, which goes to recommending the album.

As someone who anticipated every new Prince album and usually felt slight disappointments, Welcome 2 America ultimately is on the list of better albums in the latter part of his career. I would to think Prince would be happy with it.

Album Review- Crocodiles

 I’ve been following the Crocodiles for awhile. Going back to the core of the band’s previous incarnation as the jazz punk (think Black Flag) band The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower. During a low point in the local scene, I was lucky to catch them at all a places, a botanical center.

In 2009 and 2010, Crocodiles were near the top of the indie world, with two albums for Fat Possum. The name change (think Echo and the Bunnymen) was a clue to where their influences were coming from.

For me, the scene that they were affiliated with- influenced by shoegaze and otherwise lo-if noise pop sounds- is among the greats. Many of the band members that either funneled through The Crocodiles or shared a stage with them- make a list of some of the best bands of that era- Dum Dum Girls, Blank Dogs, Cold Cave, Wavves and A Place to Bury Strangers.

The band has remained busy, if no longer in the indie limelight. In 2020, they released three cassettes (yes, and digital downloads) consisting of cover songs.

What I never expected was that these recordings (collected this year as the nsfw-titled The Complete Sh-tty Times) would be one of my favorite recordings of the year.

There are two things to consider. One is that the duo really nails a certain sound. It’s that sound that made them big a decade ago- certainly influenced by the Jesus and Mary Chain (dipped in the same 60s pop influences the Chain would show) and next door to the Pixies, the Velvet Underground and the second gen Jesus and Mary Chain influenced bands that immediately preceded the Crocodiles like BMRC and the Raveonettes.

The second is that the 18 covers are certainly not the normal. They are very obscure. Even the most recognizable songs are fairly unknown- Freda Payne’s Band of Gold, Hanging Around from Lou Reed’s Transformer, a song off of the first Love album, and early Madonna single “Burning Up”. From there it seems to get exponentially obscure - Robyn Hitchcock, East River Pipe, Henry Badowski, Zounds and a list of great lost punk bands and great early 80a “lost” singles.

It is the perfect covers album for those two reasons. Sending the listener across the internet for the originals, while digging some addictive covers.

Album Review- Lindsey Buckingham

 I’m a big fan of Lindsey Buckingham and maybe not because why you think. You see, growing up, I loved the handful of Lindsey’s solo radio hits which were a bit more esoteric than standard pop fare.

Like many other creative types, I think Lindsey is sometimes his worst enemy. His production tricks, in my mind, often overshadow his work. But in the framework of Fleetwood Mac, he usually is forced into restraints that work for his benefit.

I’m a big fan of 2003’s Say You Will (the Fleetwood Mac album without McVie) and 2017’s Buckingham/McVie ( the Mac without Nicks) but although it’s “interesting”, I’m not as excited by 2011’s solo Seeds We Sow.

The new self-titled album is infamous (though it pales in legend to other Buckingham records of course) as leading to a irreparable rift between Buckingham and Nicks.

It has been met with some very positive reviews. It probably should- Buckingham was always a talented writer. Is what you might expect? Yes and no. At its best, it recalls FMac, but it also has its introspective side.

On the Wrong Side is an example of a song that is as good as anything he ever wrote. It is surrounded by strong songs like I Don’t Mind and Swan Song. The second half of the album has some mellow moments in Time and Dancing. They’re well chosen enough (Time is a 60s Folk tune) but not as attention grabbing. House of Blue Light is fairly throw away but succeeds in that it’s fairly typical Buckingham.

But as always Lindsey tends to overdo it. Power Down wouldn’t be so bad, but the overtracking is too much and turns it into a throw away tune.

I tend to classify this record as I would so many recent records of established artists that are getting outstanding reviews. At the end of the day, this is still a niche record. I like it quite a bit, but I’m a fan. I do think if you like Lindsey even just a little, you will be happy with this. But it’s still a Lindsey Buckingham record. I doubt this record in off itself will make you a fan if you weren’t leaning that way already. Still, that’s okay. Fans, go enjoy the record.

Album Review- The Killers

 The Killers have always been a chameleonic band (less kind critics might use harsher words). It started with a debut that imagine some kind of New Wave Duran Duran/Smiths/Depeche Mode amalgam. They would quickly morph into an imitation of Joshua Tree-era U2. The band went into some wilderness years but having a guest appearance from Lindsey Buckingham was a clue to what they were trying to do.

You don’t have to listen to Pressure Machine for very long to know who they’re mimicking. If one didn’t know any better, one would insist that this must be a band of 19 year olds who recorded the album after a weekend of listening to nothing but Nebraska and The River.

Now, wanting to write songs like classic Springsteen isn’t a bad thing (to me, anyway. Others may want to avoid this album just because of that). It was a cottage industry in the 80s (and sadly despite loud critical plaudits, I doubt many of those artists have much familiarity within the under 40 crowd). The Boss not only looms over even some very successful artists (Mellencamp, Ethridge, Earle to name three) but much of the 21st Century Indie crowd. Brian Fallon (to name one artist) has had a Springsteen-esque career both solo and with the Gaslight Anthem. Even Bruce’s career seems to be defined by his legacy, and every new album confined by those parameters.

So that element is not necessarily a deal breaker for me, but I can understand why it might be for some. Ostensibly, it is a concept album about Brandon Flowers childhood and teenage years in Nephi, Utah. It could be, as Flowers suggests a mix of Sherwood Anderson’s Winesberg, Ohio and NPR’s This American Life. Flowers no doubt has the conviction to pull this off and co-writer Sam Rado has genre-hopped plenty in the band Foxygen.

Working against them is that Flowers has chosen 30 second snippets to open his songs to tie the concept together. That isn’t great for repeated listening. These would be better as separate tracks or perhaps at the end of the song.

Another strike is the album starts off weak. Opening track West Hills doesn’t quite hit the mark. Second track Quiet Town starts with some clunky lyrics and pales in comparison to the Born in the USA deep cuts it riffs off of. But things are turning around by song's end, and now we are at Terrible Thing- an “Atlantic City” without nuance- but as a listener, you begin to be drawn in.

Now, I don’t think it reaches transcendent levels until Track 7 “In The Car Outside” sounds like a Killers anthem. There’s elements of the Boss in there, sure, but they are no longer out front. Track 8 “In Another Life” follows and is as good as (or better).

Most everything else falls somewhere between. Things often don’t quite reach the level of “Glory Days”, but the small town stories generally connect more often than not. “Runaway Horses” adds Phoebe Bridgers to such a good effect, you might not tell it’s otherwise a rewrite of “Free Fallin”. “Desperate Things” definitely has a “Johnny 99” feeling- it’s slow pace builds tension though it may not help repeat listening.

Overall, it’s more good than bad, with the album’s high points putting it over the threshold. At this moment, it stands as a worthy follow up to last year’s Imploding the Mirage and its ambitions more positive than not.

2021 - Island

Album Review- Jim Bob

 One of my favorite albums of last year was also one of the most unexpected.

PopUp Jim Bob was an album from the lead singer of the band Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine. Even for a band from the 90s (and plenty of nostalgia offerings like the Friends reunion), they seemed particularly ensconced in a previous era.

Yet, Jim Bob Morrison was precisely the voice we needed in that strangest of years. If you haven’t, go and listen to “Jo’s got Papercuts” the best single on a album skewering gun violence, fake news outlets and Morrissey, among other things

Carter USM was always biting and clever in their lyrics. Jim Bob hasn’t lost anything navigating a course that sees a lot of critics compare him to John Cooper Clarke and revealing that the lineage was political bands like Crass and Chumbawamba. Morrison finding the best way to comment on society is via character sketches.

Who Do We Hate Today feels very much like a sequel. That’s not a bad thing in this case. Subjects here read like the newspaper headlines: Toxic masculinity, the lockdown, violence and terrorism.

Yet, the standout song isn’t angry, but sweet. A shoutout to the unsung heroes with that trademark JimBob twist on a pop classic- thus we have a song subtitled “You’re so modest, you'll never think this song is about you”.

Elsewhere, you can just about read the track listing with “Karen is thinking of changing her name”, “Shona is dating a drunk woman hating Neanderthal Man”, “The Summer of No Touching” and of course, the title track.

Interesting enough, though the album has had chart success, BBC6 won’t touch it for its Covid theme.

Album Review- Rodney Crowell

 Rodney Crowell has had an interesting career. He could fit in on a list of great country and folk storytellers who have attracted a cult. Yet, he also had a brief run at the top of the charts that many of the best songwriters don’t enjoy. Now, he’s not singular in this (Steve Earle, Roseanne Cash, Emmylou Harris and so on) but there’s not too many, and I think he’s likely to be looked over because of this.

Indeed, if I had not added SiriusXM’s Outlaw Country channel to my musical diet, I likely would not have discovered his 21st Century material

2019’s Texas was praised by the UK music press who ironically seem to appreciate the Americana genre more than we do. Texas was also on my Year End Best list as well.

On that album, Crowell was supported by an All Star cast and the songs felt chameleonic as he would adapt to his guest whether it was Billy Gibbons, Willie Nelson, Ringo Starr, Steve Earle or Lyle Lovett.

Triage has a slightly different feel. It certainly has a reflective, plaintive looking-back-at-life-from-near-the-end feel. Crowell doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, but he is now in his 70s and made it through a fight with a nervous system illness from 2016 through 2018.

All About Love is to me, the gem here- with its references to Trump, Putin and Greta Thunberg among others. But it is also kind of the exception to a generally more somber collection of songs. A title like “The Body Isn’t All There is to Who I Am” is pretty illuminating to the content to expect.

Triage certainly will be more of a cult appeal. More in line with something someone like Jim Lauderdale or Jerry Jeff Walker or any number of those of Crowell’s peers that put songwriting ahead of charts and sales.

(This video seems to be blocked in a bunch of countries- sorry)

Album Review- Car Seat Headrest

 You know I wasn’t going to write about the MADLO Influences EP by Car Seat Headrest. Released this summer, it was paired with a remix EP to re-promote 2020s Making a Door Less Open.

Not that it isn’t easy to write about it. Local public radio played it a bunch and why not- it’s the mix of one of the biggest indie bands and some well known covers.

I wasn’t going to write about it but I looked at a crowdsourced website and we’ll, let’s say I have never seen a more publicly hated album in quite a long time. Now CSH certainly draws attention but I kind of dug MADLO Influences. So here we are.

For starters, the four song cover EP is the most useless form of musical art.

Why is that? One of the more famous EPs of this type is Faith No More’s “Songs to Make Love To”. I bought it. So did everyone else.

Why? Certainly not value for the money. Why did we buy cassingles? U2 had a famous four song EP but it’s really a single player live and 3 B sides. Peel Sessions always sold in four songs. Surely, that seems short now.

Yet I consider Primus’s Miscellaneous Debris to be fantastic. Was there something magical in the fifth song (oh the selection of songs and the Primus spin are the real allure too).

Oh and once you get past five songs, there’s Whatever is Cool With Me, Ska Core the Devil and More, and Jar of Flies to name a few, but at that many songs, it feels like a finished product.

So the four song cover EP is doomed from the start. That it’s a buzzed band and well known songs- we should have known the backlash would be inevitable.

So while I can’t get that excited, I kind of dug it.

MADLO: Influences starts with Golden Years. I suspect like most people my age and under, this seems like an unusual song. It’s so iconic and unusual, that I have vacillated between loving it and hating it, but even so those terms like liking and not liking don’t seem appropriate, it just is. Like the Mona Lisa.

Anyway maybe it’s just me- the other era’s singles are Fame (overplayed and I’m done with it) and Young Americans (overplayed but I could listen everyday) Golden Years is probably the latter.

CSH catches a certain world weariness that is in the original and takes a stab at the falsetto.

Personally, while I would not recommend attempting this song, CSH largely succeed. It is of note, that Moby just released a new album with cover of Heroes. Moby is certainly paying homage not only to the song but the legend of it.

In this CSH in its simplicity is one of the better Bowie covers that comes to mind.

The second song is Substitute. I think I have heard this song too much in versions by The Who and the Sex Pistols. I can’t say much but it is what it is, but CSH does catch a similar intensity to Daltrey. Not bad at all.

Nine Inch Nails March of the Pigs probably gets the most reaction. I suspect this is a Holy Grail for most of CSHs fans who grew up on it.

But I always considered it a bit of a punk song so the shambolic cover with guitarist Ethan Ives on vocals (to me) feels like it has the power of the original.

Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill is on the other side of the spectrum to me. It’s a song so good that anyone can cover it, and it works.

I do like the CSH cover here. Will and the band really put their all into it. It feels sonically ambitious and the vocals nail a certain sense of longing.

Overall, I kind of love this unloved set of songs. Each song may be different from each other but they could easily fit on a CSH album. In that, I have to say I’m impressed.

Album Review- Anika

 Another 2021 find for me is Anika. While I was not familiar with her, she is a British/German political journalist turned musician whose debut disc came out in 2011 and was championed by Portishead.

It’s not that she disappeared for a decade, she’s been a DJ, collaborated with Tricky, ILIKETRAINS and Shackleton, and led the band Exploded View.

The new album Change is her first solo work since that debut. That it is released on Sacred Bones is a good sign, since that label puts out so much quality product.

Every review ultimately seems to compare her to Nico. There is a reason for that, but regardless of the accent,stylistically you can’t get a much better comparison. Of course, there would be no Portishead without Nico, so it checks out.

If you step back a bit, there is a bit of a circa 1979-81 vibe and that is not only the British post punk movement (PiL, Wire, Gang of Four, The Slits, the Pop Group and so on), but simultaneously shows influence from the New York No Wave scene and other bands that were influenced by Suicide.

The title track is the masterpiece here. Surely, one of the best songs here, a straight up Portishead/Massive Attack style electronica. Although most songs follow that path, songs like Freedom and Rights are heavy enough in sound that they would fit unnoticed on an industrial music mix.

Recommended then for those who are still intrigued by the goth side of the Velvets, as well as those who loved the early 00s when Boards of Canada, DJ Shadow and Add N to X were the future of music.

Album Review: U-Roy

 There is so much music that it’s impossible to explore it all. Even with literally entire artist Catalogs online. I mean I have been listening to punk for 30 years and I have barely scratched the surface.

The same goes for other preferred genres of mine- blues, funk, R&B, Prog, Folk even mainstream-style rock.

So it is with reggae (and musical cousins like ska and dancehall). I have really enjoyed listening to classic tracks over the last 20 years but it feels like I have just started down the path.

That track usually looks like hearing the names that get bandied around and then getting to the music. So I was just barely scratching into U-Roy when he passed this year.

2021 also saw the release of Solid Gold U Roy, a Covid delayed disc that was supposed to be a spotlight on the storied toasting pioneer.

Solid Gold is what I call a Supernatural record. There have always been Supernatural records and there always will be, but none has been as successful as Santana’s disc which featured the legend alongside current hitmakers. Prince’s Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic, Run DMC’s Crown Royal and Al Green’s Lay It Down are a few examples of variations of the “Supernatural” album in the last 25 years.

Solid Gold U-Roy despite its title and despite containing some of his most well known songs are all new recordings. Besides a guest list of musicians, sonically, it has some of the biggest names in the industry behind it- Zac Starkey, D Sardy, Youth (the Killing Joke bassist and prolific and eclectic producer, not to be confused with Reggae Legend Big Youth, who more about later) Sly and Robbie, and Dub legend Scientist.

How do you even measure this man’s influence? He’s a reggae legend but there is a direct course from him to “Rapper’s Delight”. There’s the punk angle for anyone who ever listened to the Clash, Operation Ivy or a Two Tone record.

Yet, the biggest and least obvious impact may be on the pop charts. Look through the playlists of past few years and look at all the hits with a toaster like Sean Paul, Shaggy or Shabba Ranks, and you literally are listing some of the biggest songs of this generation.

But of course, Solid Gold is a celebration of U Roy himself and his music and in that, even with impossible goals to attain, it largely is a modern masterwork.

Given the way U Roy makes his art, he needs a solid cast around him, and here he does.

It is interesting to see different reviews and different opinions on what works and what doesn’t.

One song where there is no argument is “Man Next Door”. As in most any case, where Santigold shows up to guest, the results are top notch.

Everything about it is perfect- a cross of generations. The song features in U Roy and Ken Boothe’s 1982 single “Peace and Love in the Ghetto” and most casual listeners might know of it from the Massive Attack/Horace Andy cover on Mezzanine. But here, it is a smooth vibe- something other than pop but no less an earworm, the combination of voices, at once separate but combined, with an incredible beat provided by Sly and Robbie.

After that, no review of this album is complete without mentioning the 15 minute plus Every Knee Shall Bow. Here, U Roy goes back and forth with fellow reggae legend Big Youth in a seemingly continuous ascent over hypnotic guitar from The Clash’s Mick Jones. This is followed by Scientist’s dub.

While these clearly are the highlights, the rest of the album is an enjoyable listen. Opener “Trenchtown Rock” is one of the songs that most critics are calling a misstep.

It is a song I did not like on first listen. It is one of my favorite Bob Marley songs and though I feel I have no ground to criticize Ziggy Marley for singing the song, I can’t help but thinking it needs more edge.

But after those initial listenings and thinking of it more as a tribute than a cover, I have at least partially come around to it.

I don’t think there are any other songs here I don’t like. A lot of critics point out “Tom Drunk” (recorded originally by U Roy in 1970) which matches him with contemporary reggae star Tarrus Riley, but I like it.

Marley gets revisited with Stop That Train which features present day toaster Rygin King. Crossover pop star Shaggy appears on Rule the Nation. Steel Pulse’s David Hinds elevates Soul Rebel. These are all a few of the collaborations- all worthwhile as a piece of the bigger picture.

It is of course, sad we lost this legend, but he has left behind quite a record for anyone who may not be familiar with his work.

Prince documentary

 I watched a documentary on Prince called When Doves Cry. It’s got a lot of one star reviews online but you know I am a sucker for such things.

So let’s get all the negative stuff out of the way. First, the main narrative is driven by an actor playing Prince as opposed to footage of the real artist. Sure there’s plenty of interview footage but the whole thing feels ‘cheap’. I did think the actor was good but it is always going to hurt in comparison.

Though there are some fantastic “gets” of interviews of people who were involved early in Prince’s career- his first manager, his first producer, a mentor and so on-it doesn’t seem like any of them were much around post- Lovesexy.

That’s fine of course, but you have to keep it in mind. Also, his 1985 Rolling Stone interview is a large basis of the material covered here.

The focus here is also on the personality instead of the music, and right or wrong, the filmmakers are buying deep into the Purple Rain mythology.

Now, that might not be that far off. Prince’s upbringing is far from ideal.

The doc picks up on the PMRC controversy and the Warner Bros fight. Important but it’s always tilted towards melodrama.

For example, Paisley Park is drawn up as a compound with Prince as dictator. Another outlook might be it was dream house. Another outlook might be that celebrities as big as Prince have their lives taken from them.

Moving to Chanhanssen to live seems to be the most reasonable celebrity behavior I’ve heard. Also, I suspect Prince was a strict taskmaster like Zappa, but I suspect the musicians knew what they were signing up for.

The drug overdose is hard. Do you play it for sympathy ( the man did acrobatics whilst in high heels and he did that for decades) or do you tackle the subject in a more sensational manner? This doc seems to split the difference.

The tone makes a doc and this doc isn’t always very positive. Prince had a terrible childhood, he lost his firstborn at six days, and died by all accounts alone. Still, you could probably tell similar stories about literally so many people , especially huge celebrities. I had the thought at times that this was more dirge than celebration.

That said, would I recommend avoiding this? Not necessarily. I have been a huge Prince fan for awhile, and I appreciated this look at his life. That said, I took it all with a big grain of salt.

One revelation for me was the Record Company fight over “Kiss”. The label didn’t think it sounded like a single. Obviously, history has marked it as iconic.

One can see why - it doesn’t resemble many radio songs in 1986, but Prince was right. Once you hear that guitar intro, you have to stick around to see what is going to happen.

Listening this Week: Johnny Cash's Bitter Tears

 I found a book that looked quite interesting- A Heartbeat and a Guitar by Antonino D’Ambrosio - a book focused on Johnny Cash’s Bitter Tears album.

I suspected it might be either a nice hidden gem (or maybe not) and comes after really extensively digging into The Cash Discography.

The book wasn’t the light read I expected and it’s focus is equally on the Native American Rights movement, the early 60s NYC folk scene, Ira Hayes, Peter LaFarge and of course, Cash; but it isn’t a particularly easy read- a bit too academic and scattered for my liking- though certainly full of facts.

To be fair, I had just watched a Cash doc that covered the same time frame. Johnny Cash and Me was a reflection of the filmmaker who made a film in the 60s of spending 8 months with Cash called Johnny Cash: The Man His World His Music

It was hardly big budget or essential viewing but I’m glad I watched it. It is interesting to see Cash’s humility and how he constantly tried to help everyone who came to him.

I tend to think of Cash as one of the last truly great artists that every American relates to. I suspect there are a few still living- Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton- but the list is small.

The Guardian puts Bitter Tears on its list of 101 strangest records on Spotify. I tend to agree with Allmusic’s assessment. When I listened to it 50 years later devoid of any controversy, I just hear another Cash ‘theme’ album and a pretty solid one at that.

Cash made a lot of theme albums but what stands out to me is that Bitter Tears came out in 1964. Not 1974, not even 1969. It famously caused Cash to take an ad out in Billboard challenging radio stations to play it.


When I started to collect Cash records in the late 00s/early 10s, this was certainly a favorite. Removed from historical context, it seems another album from some body who had themes- patriotic songs or Western songs or comedy songs or train songs or whatever.


This is six years before Dee Brown’s seminal “Bury Me at Wounded Knee” and almost a decade before Marlon Brando’s Oscar refusal, and a year before Donovan took a Buffy Saint Marie song onto the charts.

Neither D’Ambrosio’s book or Elfstrom’s documentary are essential purchases, but both are great glimpses into one of music's more interesting albums.