A Walk in the Bark
Currently checked out from Brand Library:
The Real Bahamas in Music and Song
The Best of Louie Louie, Vol. 2
Gene Vincent's Greatest Hits
Jan and Dean's Greatest Hits
Roscoe Holcomb - The High Lonesome Sound
AC/DC - High Voltage
John Lee Hooker (collection of early hits)
James Brown - Live at the Apollo 1995
Clifton Chenier - King of the Bayous
The Black Crowes - Lions
Vanilla Fudge (s/t)
Rough Guide to the Music of Louisiana
The Fiery Furnaces - Gallowsbird's Bark
Gallowsbird's Bark is a little uneven, but the best songs on it might be my favorite FF songs. Hearing the albums in the strange order that I've heard them actually gives them a more interesting progression, as their sound gets more focused from Blueberry Boat to EP to Gallowsbird. They approach sound with an inquisitive experimentalism that reminds me of The Residents, but it benefits from being applied to concisely written pop songs, and here they're sometimes playing straight-up rock-n-roll. I can say without any hyperbole that Matthew Friedberger has one of the coolest wah-wah guitar sounds in rock history. His guitar sounds like a cat meowing. And, while it sounds great delivering a melencholy melodic line on "Here Comes Summer," when that sound gets applied to sharp blues licks as on "I'm Gonna Run" (or, for that matter, when Eleanor's piano flourishes get applied to a barrelling rocker like "South is Just a Home") it's a sound that hits me as right as the classic Butthole Surfers merger of traditional rockin' moves and weird, alien noises. And I may actually be mistaken in my sexist assumption that Matthew plays guitar and Eleanor piano, but either way, the idea of these two siblings that have probably been playing together all their lives is so cool, and the fact that so many of their lyrics seem like they might emerge out of some imaginary world that the two have been making up stories about since they were wee makes it even more fascinating.
Also, until just now, I had misread the title as "Gallowsbird Park."
Anyway, here's a toast. Rest in peace, Little Milton and Ibrahim Ferrer, and happy 75th birthday, Betty Boop.
The Real Bahamas in Music and Song
The Best of Louie Louie, Vol. 2
Gene Vincent's Greatest Hits
Jan and Dean's Greatest Hits
Roscoe Holcomb - The High Lonesome Sound
AC/DC - High Voltage
John Lee Hooker (collection of early hits)
James Brown - Live at the Apollo 1995
Clifton Chenier - King of the Bayous
The Black Crowes - Lions
Vanilla Fudge (s/t)
Rough Guide to the Music of Louisiana
The Fiery Furnaces - Gallowsbird's Bark
Gallowsbird's Bark is a little uneven, but the best songs on it might be my favorite FF songs. Hearing the albums in the strange order that I've heard them actually gives them a more interesting progression, as their sound gets more focused from Blueberry Boat to EP to Gallowsbird. They approach sound with an inquisitive experimentalism that reminds me of The Residents, but it benefits from being applied to concisely written pop songs, and here they're sometimes playing straight-up rock-n-roll. I can say without any hyperbole that Matthew Friedberger has one of the coolest wah-wah guitar sounds in rock history. His guitar sounds like a cat meowing. And, while it sounds great delivering a melencholy melodic line on "Here Comes Summer," when that sound gets applied to sharp blues licks as on "I'm Gonna Run" (or, for that matter, when Eleanor's piano flourishes get applied to a barrelling rocker like "South is Just a Home") it's a sound that hits me as right as the classic Butthole Surfers merger of traditional rockin' moves and weird, alien noises. And I may actually be mistaken in my sexist assumption that Matthew plays guitar and Eleanor piano, but either way, the idea of these two siblings that have probably been playing together all their lives is so cool, and the fact that so many of their lyrics seem like they might emerge out of some imaginary world that the two have been making up stories about since they were wee makes it even more fascinating.
Also, until just now, I had misread the title as "Gallowsbird Park."
Anyway, here's a toast. Rest in peace, Little Milton and Ibrahim Ferrer, and happy 75th birthday, Betty Boop.
posted by Chris Oliver at 9:10 AM
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