By Thomas Conner
© Tulsa World Various Artists " 'Til We Outnumber 'Em" (Righteous Babe Records) This long-delayed recording of an all-star 1996 Woody Guthrie tribute concert at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (which celebrated the opening of the Woody Guthrie Archives) is as uneven, prickly and poignant as Guthrie's own life and legacy. Sketchy performances of brilliant songs, jaw-dropping renderings of mediocre movements, oddly edited bits of readings from Guthrie's writings — "'Til We Outnumber 'Em" is a joyous jumble, a striking collage artwork showing how many colors, styles and genres of music make up the current ideal of Woody's vision. Aside from the jerky sequencing and a few hard travelin' renditions, there are some crystalline moments: Ani DiFranco's spare, sweeping shattering of the preciousness built up around "Do Re Mi," Billy Bragg's rascally cooing through "Against th' Law" (tuneless lyrics to which Bragg wrote new music), Bruce Springsteen — the king of car songs — sputtering and vrooming through "Riding in My Car" and the full-cast, full-on, fully transcendent "Hard Travelin' Hootenanny," featuring everyone from Billy Bragg to Arlo Guthrie. Alternately frustrating and fascinating, just like the man in question. BY THOMAS CONNER
© Tulsa World Billy Bragg & Wilco "Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 2" (Elektra Records) The first round of this unique collaboration — British folk-rocker Billy Bragg, American roots-rock band Wilco and various friends interpretting previously unrecorded lyrics by songwriting icon and Oklahoma native Woody Guthrie -- simply begged for a sequel. In fact, according to Bragg and members of Wilco, the first Grammy-nominated "Mermaid Avenue" album, released two years ago, was created with this follow-up in mind. "We knew we'd need another shake when we put the tracks together for 'Mermaid Avenue,'" said Wilco's Jay Bennett, guitarist and co-author of some of the music here. "We even chose songs for the first record based on that. The first album gave a broad view of Woody. It was intended to draw people in. This album is less folky." Less folky, indeed, but much more expansive, ambitious and eclectic. "Volume 2" builds on the pleasant, accessible (and historically important) introduction of the first outing by stretching Woody's ideas through a constantly changing landscape of musical styles, from ramblin' country blues to '60s folk-rock to rollicking roadhouse protest punk. The result, though, is still somehow cohesive. Instead of flying apart in a whorl of splattered Jackson Pollock mess, "Volume 2" holds together like a pointillized Seurat painting — a million separate moments of color that unite to create a single image or impression. Even lyrically, they are disparate subjects, from flying saucers and airplane rides through heaven to Stetson Kennedy and Joe DiMaggio. What unites these songs is difficult to describe. It has to do with attitude, spirit and what Tom Wolfe once called the Unspoken Thing, but mostly it's the fact that the musicians assembled here understand and transmit the optimism and humility of the man in question. It's important, too, that this record is such a tangled collaboration. Were it simply Bragg's solo tribute to the late Guthrie, the inevitable tunnel vision would exclude the multiple opportunities available in these lyrics. A solo effort also would focus the attention selfishly on one performer — an approach not at all suitable to the legacy of the ultimate Everyman. In addition to Bragg and Wilco (sometimes together, sometimes backing each other up, sometimes completely separate), Natalie Merchant — a guest on the first "Mermaid" — turns in one song, the child-like "I Was Born," and deliberately anachronistic young blues singer Corey Harris takes the lead on "Against th' Law." The constant mix scatters any professional egos that might otherwise spoil such a project and therefore keeps us listening to the songs themselves — their humor, their poignancy, their simple and direct expressions of both trivial and earth-shattering themes. It's about the music, not the messengers. This was the case on "Volume 1," but it's almost more successful here largely because of the musical integrity of Wilco's input. Bragg is still at top form, bouncing cheerily through "My Flying Saucer" and spitting out "All You Fascists" as if it were one of his own anti-fascist rants, but Wilco's alternative innovative and derivative fashioning of music for these lost lyrics makes this volume of "Mermaid" a richer, more compelling experience. Bennett and singer Jeff Tweedy fashion "Airline to Heaven," a light-hearted daydream about soaring through heaven on the wings of a prayer, into a stomping, kinetic flight, Tweedy singing through his nose like Dylan the whole time. "Feed of Man" is a socially urgent lyric, and Wilco's bluesy, British Invasion stroll helps the words to grab the listener by the collar, with Tweedy this time spitting out his lines in about two notes as if he were the Animals' Eric Burdon. "Secret of the Sea" rings like the Byrds, and "Blood of the Lamb," a nakedly religious hymn, wobbles along on a woozy Farfisa and Hammond organ like it's being delivered by a carnival chaplain. These new sounds, these old shades — once again this is the testament to Woody's immeasurable importance as a songwriter. Strangers and stragglers still find redemption in these old lyrics, and musicians continue to turn half-century-old songs into brand-new, brilliant creatures. In an era of quick-burn stars, it's almost difficult to comprehend the impact a man could still make 33 years after his death. But here's another example of Woody's continuing imprint — long may it last. |
Thomas Conner
These online "clips" reproduce a self-selection of my journalism (music etc) during the last 20+ years. It's a lotta stuff, but it only scratches the surface. I do not currently possess the time or resources to digitize the whole body of work. These posts are simply a bunch of pretty great days at the office. Archives
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