Disc Reviews
by Max Ink Staff Writers
The The Police - Can’t Stand Losing You - Surviving The Police
The The Police
Album title: Can’t Stand Losing You - Surviving The Police
By Michael Sherer
Posted: Mar 2015
Label:
(1822) Page Views
There’s nothing like a truly inside view when it comes to making a documentary, and a band member of the main subject couldn’t be more so. Andy Summers and director Andy Grieve have delivered a strong and touching portrait of Summers’ life before, during and after his nine years as the guitarist of The Police. Released by independent studio Cinema Libre, it’s in theaters now. This was a special screening at AMC 25 in New York City due to Summers appearing after it for a Q & A.
The film is narrated by Summers, 72, and traces his life from his early days growing up in Lancashire, England. His world changed dramatically upon receiving a guitar, and he hardly put it down. Summers went on as a youngster to play in jazz type groups throughout the pub circuit, but never had any real success. He thought he had “made it” when Eric Burdon called him to join his new group, Eric Burdon & The New Animals, in Los Angeles. Summers readily accepted and moved there. Unfortunately though, Burdon soon broke up that band. Poor and in stuck in LA, Summers floundered until he couldn’t go any further. He then returned to London. If he hadn’t, he never would have been able to join The Police, as that’s where Stewart Copeland and Gordon Sumner, who went by the name Sting, had assembled their new group with original guitarist Henry Padovani. Summers had a few bizarrely coincidental encounters with Copeland and Sting, especially the former, which led to them taking in Summers in ‘77 and booting out Padovani. The band’s gradual but meteoric rise to fame and fortune plays out through the film.
Summers is a keen photographer, something he started doing in earnest in ‘79 while on tour. Summers’ photos, always in black and white, coupled with great and rare archival video footage, provide eye and ear candy to any Police fan like myself.
We learn of many interesting tales. One is that while trying to make it big the band had a spot on the famous British television show, (called telly there) “Old Grey Whistle Test” which back then could launch talented unknowns into stardom. The band made it on stage for their spot with minutes to spare as Sting narrowly avoiding eye damage from a can of exploding hairspray. To his great luck, there was an eye hospital very close by, and they washed his eyes from the spray. He wore large, dark glasses for the show.
Summers talks of how all three band members bleaching their hair blond unified them and gave them a unique look, something that Copeland smartly initiated early on. Summers also spoke about how, during their club playing era during the height of punk, they were spat on by the audience while performing. This was a common occurrence in those days as a sign of approval, and was called gobbing. It left Summers feeling like he had already had enough. Fortunately he kept going.
For me the film yielded many surprises and personal details not only about Summers, but about the whole band and the changes they went through as individuals and as a unit. Fame comes at a price, often heavy, and personal relationships such as marriages can easily flounder when competing against the dizzy competition of fame, money, groupies, drugs, alcohol and constant touring and recording schedules. Touchingly, Summers talks about how he lost his wife Kate when she divorced him in ‘81, but then they reunited in ‘85 and have been together ever since. They have a daughter and twin boys.
One of the funny and light moments in the film is when Summers was in Asia taking photographs and just happens to be passing a Karaoke Bar while those inside are singing “Every Breath You Take,” The Police’s biggest hit. A bemused Summers wanders in, unrecognized, and joins in the singing. It is only when he removes his hat that those around him see that it is none other than a band member himself that they have been singing with. Many posed photos were then taken, of course.
At the Q & A after the screening Summers engaged with the intimate crowd and happily answered about a dozen questions, some quite thoughtful. I told Summers that as a teenager I told one of my friends that I had just got a Police record, to which they replied “quiet, don’t tell anybody!”, thinking it was the literal police. I also asked Summers how the band got their name. He replied that Copeland thought of it, as he felt they should have an edgy, strong name that fit the era.
When the band broke up in ‘86, they were different people than when they started, and much of the brotherly bond they shared had gone away. Yet they were the biggest band in the world at that time. See this fine film and find out why, and everything that happened in between.
Ben Miller Band - Any Way, Shape or Form
Ben Miller Band
Album title: Any Way, Shape or Form
By John Noyd
Posted: Feb 2015
Label: New West Records
(1981) Page Views
Salvaging junkyard discards to cruise through tubular Delta blues with sweet molasses passages and revved-up bluegrass grooves powered by inventive intentions, Ben Miller Band’s sideshow revival piles washtub bass, thrift-store guitars and pimped-out washboards and spoons into an unbridled hybrid whose lo-fi ride sits on sizzling acoustic traditions. Tossing raw vaudeville spunk beneath tight firestorm performances, “Shape,” bakes an infectious selection of blue-collar politics, home-sick head-trips and honky-tonk relationships into what the band fondly calls Ozark Stomp. With over ten years of road-tested excellence behind them, the Missouri country-punk trio plies hi-octane refrains to moonshine-primed good-times, leaving ample room for tender memories and active imaginations. Finding themselves opening once again for the mighty ZZ Top, Ben Miller and friends play Madison’s Overture Center March 30th.
Seth Avett and Jessica Lea Mayfield - Seth Avett and Jessica Lea Mayfield Sing Elliot Smith
Seth Avett and Jessica Lea Mayfield
Album title: Seth Avett and Jessica Lea Mayfield Sing Elliot Smith
By John Noyd
Posted: Feb 2015
Label: Ramseur Records
(1903) Page Views
Over the course of three and a half years, frequent tour-mates, Avett and Mayfield assembled a loving tribute to their favorite starry-eyed songwriter, Elliot Smith. Choosing a dozen gems from a breath-taking body of sensitive memories turned wistful epistles, the soothing duo’s unhurried approach enrich Smith’s poetic pop. Ranging from sad and bashful to upbeat and bittersweet, “Sing,” balances scrappy happiness and beautiful resignation in cozy chamber-folk strings and simple understated guitar. Smith’s blissful melancholy profits from gorgeous voices fleshing out his sad introverted searches with earnest, intertwining harmonies connecting tender reflections to literate sympathies as the pair’s subtle touches reinforce each song’s fragile intimacy, majestic modesty and melodic honesty. Catch Seth and Jessica when they hit the road, visiting Chicago’s Athenaeum Theater March 20th.
The Dodos - Individ
The Dodos
Album title: Individ
By John Noyd
Posted: Jan 2015
Label: Polyvinyl
(2191) Page Views
Lyrical lozenges skate gracefully over impatient syncopation as the three-pronged dynamo of voice, guitars and drums propel, ”Individ,” into fearlessly engineered musical pyramids; monuments to introspective momentum and integrated haste. The latest from San Francisco’s fluent duo arrives craftily packaged in rippling arpeggios, nimble cymbals and stomping flamenco; a boxer’s ballet balanced between choreographed collapse, crooning pursuits and enchanted cantering. Rhythmic precision fueled by passionate flash, compact thrash and subtle jazz, “Individ,” sail each song into aching prog-pop arches and arduous post-rock harbors that hark back to earlier furious curiosities while pushing forward into mature concerns. Jump-cut Olympians casting molten thunderbolts in cackling quicksilver, the Dodos’ patrolling control steer their always energetic experiments into multi-storied territories, punctuating heavenly streams in agitated blazes of endless invention.
Jesse Christen - Fixations
Jesse Christen
Album title: Fixations
By Sal Serio
Posted: Nov 2014
Label: Vibe Studios
(3027) Page Views
Hot on the heels of last year’s ‘Gate Of Charity’ album, Sioux Falls guitarist Jesse Christen’s sophomore CD release ‘Fixations’ is one to stand up and take notice of. Right out of the gate, “Sprung” reminds me of the string bending guitar histrionics of many of the 70s leading rock gargoyles. As the back cover quote from Christen claims, this disk is indeed a “detour from today’s disposable entertainment and cult of commercial celebrity”.
“Steamin’ Mark” starts with a smoky late night blues club feel, before building in to a reverb-drenched Trower-meets-Mick-Taylor type of jam. The ghosts of Cream and Zeppelin make their shadowy presence known from time to time, but the overall vibe of the ‘Fixations’ release is not in any way to be confused with “retro”, as these vibrant compositions breathe in and out with a clean and invigorating contemporary rush.
Christen’s wah-wah and tasteful use of effects cut through the fabric on the aptly titled “Splittin’ The Sheets”. It is quite impressive how many different musical personalities come in to play over the course of this CD’s 12 tracks, especially given the fact that this is an all-instrumental effort. Case in point, the nod to country pickers displayed during the acoustic “String Me Along”.
The coup de grace might be “Side Hack Dog”, which builds from a smooth slide exercise to a full blown multi-layered guitar hero workout, complete with shimmering backdrop picking, crunchy rhythm breaks, and a mile-high soaring solo that breaks through the sonic sound barrier. Without question, this CD is my favorite new “fixation”.
Drunk Drivers - It’s Always Weekend
Drunk Drivers
Album title: It’s Always Weekend
By Sal Serio
Posted: Nov 2014
Label: Crustacean Records
(3186) Page Views
An homage to the working man’s oasis. The days when a regular guy or gal can sleep in after staying out way too late the night before, achieving new heights of unabashed inebriation. One would assume that a band named the Drunk Drivers would have the market on that concept, and this CD proves that notion unequivocally correct.
“It’s Always Weekend” marks the DDrivers first recorded output in seven years, and is their sixth overall release in the span of their legendary two decades as a two fisted drinking rock ‘n roll band. All the classic DD elements are present: the pulsating bass, chunky rhythm guitar riffs, sing-songy farfisa organ, and the “dare to take me seriously” dry but tuneful vocalizations of lead Drunk, Bernie Sensation.
To this end, this circular audio document is deemed a no-brainer to appeal to the stalwart DD fan. But, what would the uninitiated think? I believe the reaction would involve smiles, singing along, some amateur dance steps, a drink or two (or three), and just plain behaving like you don’t give a damn who’s watching. Except, leave the driving to the professionals. It’s always weekend!
Lion's Mouth - Lion’s Mouth
Lion's Mouth
Album title: Lion’s Mouth
By John Noyd
Posted: Nov 2014
Label: Area 44 Music
(6262) Page Views
Transplanted from Madison, WI to sunny L.A., Midwesterners Sara Wexler and Chelsea Zareczny carry an arsenal of powerful acoustics to their self-titled debut. At the core of the duo’s roar sits the tightly-knitted sympathy between drums, guitar and vocals; artfully intertwined for an energetic ride that is fueled by punk-rock fever, soulful alt-folk feeling and hospitable pop craft. Propelled by a voice filled with earnest yearning, Lion’s Mouth races in majorly layered riffs battling a persistent percussive blitz whose furious tag-team curiosity surges in a flurry of crackerjack accents and driving counterpoint. Amazingly the blissful bluster never overwhelms the sensitive sentiments lying at its quaking heart as the band wrestles with scandalous modern-day romances trapped among dynamic second chances, romping and stomping in melody-heavy sincerity.
The Mascot Theory - Hand Me Down Miracles
The Mascot Theory
Album title: Hand Me Down Miracles
By John Noyd
Posted: Oct 2014
Label: Stone After Stone Records
(2776) Page Views
Strong songs backed by muscular musicianship, big-shouldered rodeo, “Miracles,” flexes in impeccable country-rock confidence reveling in rootsy jubilations. Well-known players from the Madison area, TMT took their top-tapping anthems, bittersweet ballads and locomotive folk to Nashville and returned with a solid, brawny album that stands tall tackling honey-roasted hoe-downs and scorching homesick blues with lightning-swift vigor. Trading in lonesome leads, reflective duets and cavalry-charging quartets all four musicians sing, adding to the already talented craftsmanship of trademark licks and rhythmic riffs carrying sincere lyrics packing battle-scars and heartache inside twice-told tales. Catch the charming barn-burners November 8th and help out a good cause when TMT along with five other ace bands play Madison’s High Noon Saloon’s Flannel Fest to benefit the Keep Wisconsin Warm Fund.
Gruff Rhys - American Interior
Gruff Rhys
Album title: American Interior
By John Noyd
Posted: Oct 2014
Label: Turnstile
(2508) Page Views
Cemented with inventive experiments embellishing cultural legacies and examining transient family, “American,” is a tour de force discourse disguised in harmonic feasts, shifting in chromatic ballads while doused with fabulous patter and retro-fitted traditions. A book, a film, an album and a personal journey, the Super Furry Animals songsmith-auteur retraced the steps of a wayward Welsh ancestor who sought a lost tribe of Welsh-speaking Native Americans linked to a twelfth-century prince. Wound around folk-tale documentaries and childhood mythology, the free-thinking space-pop converts first-person learning into endearing cosmic swan-songs, hard-wired campfire sing-alongs and lounge-friendly ghost-stories. A pioneer lyricist steering syncopated soft-rock concoctions around jaunty psychedelic relics, Rhys compiles a sentimental compendium of solid-state hybrids whose charming pedigreed whimsy yield music-hall free-for-alls stretched into marvelously unexpected dimensions.
My Brightest Diamond - This Is My Hand
My Brightest Diamond
Album title: This Is My Hand
By John Noyd
Posted: Oct 2014
Label: Asthmatic Kitty
(2001) Page Views
The doubly-blessed love-child of Laurie Anderson, Kate Bush, Annie Lennox and Lene Lovich; the multi-talented and serenely fashionable Shara Worden is the unnaturally gifted voice that powers My Brightest Diamond into epic treks through monstrous imaginations. Employing brass bands and heavy-handed percussion to the band’s ethereal post-modern cathedral built from vaulting melodies tied to high-minded harmonies and perplexing confessions; “Hand,” manages to channel grand symphonic concepts into bubbling substance for an accessible space-capsule of funky art-rock intrigue that enflames shameless hearts through hip-swiveling rhythms while capturing passionate magic in provocative thoughts and bewitching mystery. Walking a vibrant tight-rope between speculative intellect and infectious fantasy, the effervescent MBD brings its rich meta-pop charisma to Madison’s High Noon Saloon November 14th and Milwaukee’s Vogel Hall November 15th.
Agnes Obel - Aventine (Deluxe Edition)
Agnes Obel
Album title: Aventine (Deluxe Edition)
By John Noyd
Posted: Oct 2014
Label: PIAS America
(2380) Page Views
Haunted Danish singer-songwriter’s sophomore effort; the deliciously judicious, “Aventine,” gets the deluxe treatment just in time for a fall tour that delivers Obel to the elegant Stoughton Opera House November 2nd. Padded with bonus tracks, live recordings and a remix by soothingly surreal film director David Lynch; the deluxe edition reinforces what was already a wonderfully ephemeral chemistry bonding ghostly devotion alongside delicate melodies. Compelling minimalism whose subtle urgings infiltrate weightless cadence with deep-seated feeling and strong longing, Obel’s pleasantly reticent sentiments waltz between devilish detachment and clinging intimacy as her warm coercing voice loses itself in prancing piano and impish strings. Wary, yet utterly inviting, the beautiful elusive moods, “Aventine,” conjures float with unerring grace born from spacious patience, hesitant temperance and hushed trust.
Ex Cops - Daggers
Ex Cops
Album title: Daggers
By John Noyd
Posted: Sep 2014
Label: Downtown Records
(2375) Page Views
Giving in to their deep-seated pop impulses, Ex Cops shed their freshmen effort’s knotted indie-jangle for a smoother, silkier sound. Cultivating a beautiful fusion of sweeping sequined grooves, the bright brooding duo have built a glossy monster whose lean, careening struts carry nefarious feelings to breathless heights, capturing a bastion of pivoting rhythms packing fractured passion inside bombastic hooks. A dazzling cabaret crushing lush constructions leveraged with edgy cleverness and heady synthetics, “Daggers,” staggers its neo-romantic talents to tackle heartbreak and ecstasy, vetting guilty pleasures through world-class flash anchored in well-honed craft, seamless neon dreams and prime electro-diva delights. All dressed up with places to go, the supple couple open up for rock’s stylish beguilers, DUM DUM GIRLS, October 23rd at Madison’s High Noon Saloon.
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