Now, two years after his 2002 twin releases -- both originally composed for the stage -- Alice and Blood Money, Waits has again rewritten the plot and altered the scenery with Real Gone. Eschewing piano for the first time and relying on "human beat-boxing" for much of the percussion, Waits reprises familiar roles and adds intriguing new ones. The sonic strum und clang remains, of course, as does Waits' gravel-pit voice and fractured, poignant tales. But familiar set pieces like the haunting elegy "How's It Gonna End," the noir ballad "Dead and Lovely," the Carney-speak of "Circus" and the anti-war hymn "Day After Tomorrow" work as foils for new characters like the cut-and-paste funk king of "Metropolitan Glide," the midnight bluesman of "Don't Go Into That Barn," and the wailin' gospel preacher in "Make It Rain."
Real Gone was recorded in an old Mississippi schoolhouse, and the swamp oozes up through the floorboards and into these songs, particularly when Marc Ribot pitches fits with his frenetic, syncopated guitar shards (as on the pulsating "Hoist That Rag"). One or two songs wander into overtime ("Sins of My Father" clocks in over 10 minutes), and Real Gone may lack the overall lyricism of Frank's Wild Years or the "what the hell?" shock value of Swordfishtrombones, but this is classic third-wave Waits. As the record's title implies, he is a feverish backwoods holy man speaking in tongues, dramatizing our wicked ways and preaching doom with unabashed zeal. It's a natural extension from his earlier incarnations as singing Bukowksi and Kurt Weill cabaret host, and taken together they've made him an unparalleled actor on the American musical stage. Long may he run.
Track to Burn: "Hoist That Flag"
Rating:
--John Schacht
The Mothers Anger
The Mothers Anger
Dionysus
By now, it's no big news when a band employs the drummer/guitarist "duo" model. Most of these bands are usually blues-based in origin, as that kind of music lends itself quite well to such an interpretation (See Son House and others riffing away, a steady boot-tap beat their only accompaniment).
The Mothers Anger, a two-piece from Israel, don't dig quite so deep in the course of their rock & roll archeology. Sure, drummer/vocalist Jimi and guitarist/vocalist Stitch use all the requisite vintage equipment, and even tabbed the MC5's Michael Davis as producer for their first full-length. And yes, Stitch does do the whole Jack White thing, simultaneously playing bass lines and guitar. The sound, however, is equal parts Nirvana-style feedback-driven melody, Sabbath-like THC riffage, and MC5 abandon. However, there's also an element of the avant-garde in the band's squall, especially in free-form freakouts like "Scream" and "What's Wrong With Meat?"
The album does wear a little thin after a while, much like the record's trebly sonics. It's still a whole lot of fun, however, and proves that no matter where you're from, America is still the holy land for that wonderful noise we call rock & roll.
Track to Burn: "Scream"
Rating:
--Timothy C. Davis
Richard Buckner
Dents & Shells
Merge
Richard Buckner's stormy voice sung over the quiet/calm of his sad yet hopeful songs has mended as many hearts as it has broken. With his first release on North Carolina's Merge Records, Dents & Shells brings Buckner back to 1997's near-perfect Devotion + Doubt. One of Buckner's strengths has been to surround himself with musicians stellar enough to raise him above the self-indulgent mold of the average singer-songwriter. This time drummer King Coffey (Butthole Surfers) and bassist Andrew Duplantis (Meat Puppets II) flesh out the sound, nowhere more impressively than on "As the Waves Will Always Roll." Coffey disproves the truism that drum solos are boring and pointless, playing up a thunderstorm, wrenching and strange, the perfect complement to this angry love song. Yet nothing melds with Buckner's sound quite like a pedal steel guitar. The opener, "A Chance Counsel," is a dance between the golden steel tones and Buckner's not quite rusted but definitely iodized plea. Buckner's finally getting some due, ironically because of a Volkswagen ad featuring one of his songs from 1998's Since. But with a voice this expressive and songs this heartbreaking, it's not surprising people are impressed -- it was just a question of exposure.
Track to Burn: "As the Waves Will Always Roll"
Rating: 1/2
--Tara E. Flanagan