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Monday, May 11, 2009
CD review: Meat Puppets
Matthew Rogers
Meat Puppets
‘Sewn Together!’
(Megaforce)
B
Thanks to their early association with legendary hardcore punk label SST Records, rock trio the Meat Puppets have long shared a place in the history books among ’80s underground success stories such as Hüsker Dü, the Minutemen, Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth. But where those bands combined crushing guitars with alternating waves of rage and melancholia, the Meat Puppets, led by brothers Cris and Curt Kirkwood, have blended punk with country and psychedelia to forge an oddball take on Americana that many a desperate music critic has dubbed “cowpunk.”
The lovably easy-going, midtempo form of rock has served them well since breakout 1984 album “Meat Puppets II” and makes for a disarming listen in their 12th and latest, “Sewn Together.” Across 12 rambling, charming, gently psychedelic tracks of alt-country, the Puppets reassert themselves as an act whose work is rarely grandiose or revelatory but a low-key treat best enjoyed casually on the porch with a beer in hand. When Curt Kirkwood advises us on “I’m Not Into You” that “The things I say and do/Should be of no concern to you,” it serves less as angry rejoinder and more as a good-natured guide to listening.
The opening, title track sets an ideal precedent for the rest of the album, with its traditional Meat Puppets guitar/bass interplay and sing-along harmonies that wouldn’t be out of place on “Sesame Street.” Similarly sunny crowd-pleaser “I’m Not Into You” is a rollicking country ditty with a toe-tapping banjo solo. Single “Rotten Shame,” an upbeat rocker imbued with a catchy guitar riff, might be the band’s best attempt at an accessible crowd-pleaser since 1994’s minor radio hit “Backwater.”
The many forays into ballads are less successful. “Go to Your Head” commits popular music’s cardinal sin — being boring — while closer “Love Mountain,” winning tambourine aside, packs an album’s worth of cliches into four minutes.
Fortunately, the missteps are few and far between. Even weak tracks like “Clone” sport odd pleasures, like its nonsensical, surreal fairy tale lyrics, or the cheerful use of whistling on the otherwise somewhat-typical honky-tonk tune “The Monkey and the Snake.” That leaves “Sewn Together” with more than enough high points to recommend it to longtime Meat Puppets fans, though newcomers should start with the more consistent “Meat Puppets II” or “Up on the Sun” and double back only if they like what they hear.
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CD reviews: Mike Farris, Jason Lytle, The Grateful Dead
Mike Farris and the Roseland Rhythm Revue
‘Shout! Live!’ (Columbia)
C+
Farris is a notoriously fiery live performer, but this sounds like “American Idol” goes to church. The former Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies singer possesses an impressively acrobatic voice, and the band’s terrific, but I’m not feeling the soul.
Backed vocally by gospel ringers the McCrary Sisters, who take over on “I’ll Take You There,” Farris traffics in melisma that becomes like vocal traffic over the course of this album. The Larry Bird of hard gospel music he’s not.
This Sunday at a little white church in Fayetteville, Roy Green of the Soul Invaders, not to mention hundreds of other singing preachers, will blow this glorified bar band record away. — Michael Corcoran
Jason Lytle
‘Yours Truly, the Commuter!’ (Anti)
B-
After his band Grandaddy ended its run in 2005, frontman Jason Lytle moved from California to Montana, where he began working on an autobiographical solo effort. While the resulting album doesn’t stray all that far from the lush electronic pop production of his Grandaddy efforts, the most powerful moments come from the sparser arrangements, where Lytle seems more comfortable bearing his soul.
He begins the opening, title track singing, “last thing I heard I was left for dead,” a reaffirmation to himself and his fans that he is still capable of making music. Similarly, on the piano ballad “I Am Lost (And the Moment Cannot Last),” Lytle paints a moving picture of a musician struggling to regain stable footing. Unfortunately, weaker tracks like “Brand New Sun” and “It’s the Weekend” give the album an uneven feel. — Peter Mongillo
The Grateful Dead
‘To Terrapin: Hartford ‘77’ (Rhino)
A
Many fans consider the 1977 spring tour to be the best run of the Grateful Dead’s storied career. This three-CD recording of the last show on that tour lives up to that hype with a set full of vintage Dead moments, including a soaring 19-minute ‘Sugaree,’ as well as a near-perfect version of the operatic ‘Terrapin Station,’ a song that was then new to the band’s repertoire. A groove-heavy ‘Not Fade Away’ has enough bounce that it might almost be confused for Jerry Garcia’s more soulful solo work if the song didn’t segue into the emotional ‘Wharf Rat.’ A lot of Deadheads probably already have a copy of this show, but the crisp quality of this recording makes it worth a listen. — P.M.
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Marcia Ball, Clifford Antone win blues awards
Marcia Ball and the late Clifford Antone won big at the the 30th annual Blues Music Awards May 7 at the Cook Convention Center in Memphis. The Blues Music Awards are produced by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization established to preserve and support Blues both past and present.
Clifford Antone was inducted by Marcia Ball into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame the night before. His sister Susan Antone accepted the award on his behalf.
“It was so great, so nice,” Susan Antone said. “Everyone was there. Marcia gave a wonderful speech about Cliff. “
Also that night, Ball also inducted Irma Thomas into the Blues Hall of Fame.
Ball herself won the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player award on May 7. “She was totally surprised,” Antone said.
Speaking of ol’ Pinetop, Perkins joins Charley Pride and Marty Stuart to headline the third annual Mississippi Grammy gala May 28 at the Horseshoe Casino and Hotel in Tunica, Miss. Proceeds benefit the Mississippi Blues Commission’s Blues Trail.
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Do not expect Perry to do much jumping around during Jane’s Addiction’s set Tuesday at the Erwin Center
This is too bad, as Perry’s dynamism is a pretty big part of their live energy. One hopes for the best.
