Bob Mould – Patch The Sky

 

Bob Mould – Patch The Sky

By

Jesse E. Mullen

 

You’ve led two critically acclaimed and highly influential groups. You’ve inspired dozens of groups to follow in your footsteps. And now you’ve made two recently acclaimed albums about aging as a punk musician. Where do you go from here?

So was the story of Bob Mould in 2016. The former Husker Du and Sugar leader had felt rejuvenated in the wake of his 2011 memoir See A Little Light. And writing the book seems to have greatly influenced his style of songwriting in the years following it.

If 2012’s Silver Age showed Mould making sense of the challenges of aging, 2014’s Beauty & Ruin was even more specific. Songs like “Let The Beauty Be” read like letters to Mould’s younger self. “Hey Mr. Grey” turns middle-aged cliches into a rock anthem.

Like his hero Pete Townshend before him, Bob Mould is always best when working within a specific concept. So, when Mould announced Patch The Sky for release in March 2016, fans had high hopes it could measure up to both of the albums preceding it. But how does it stack up?

Leadoff track “Voices In My Head” features a rising and falling melody, and warm (slightly fuzzy) electric guitars. But the lyrics tell a slightly darker picture. Mould sings of “strange hallucinations” and shutting out the outside world. He also broaches the topic of suicide.

The song ultimately has a positive conclusion, however. Towards the end, Mould sings of “getting on with life instead” and letting go of all his “ghosts and demons.” It’s atypical subject matter for a Mould opener, but one which stirs the thoughts of the listener.

Elsewhere, Mould is in more familiar territory. The powerpoppy “You Say You” and “The End Of Things” again show Mould’s affinity for loud, up-tempo Who-styled rock. “Daddy’s Favorite” could have fit on Beauty & Ruin with Mould again addressing his younger self. With both of his parents now deceased, Mould was able to fully reflect on his upbringing.

I would be remiss not to mention the band chemistry at play on this album. Drummer Jon Wurster of Superchunk is a force behind the kit as always. His muscular fluidity, sheer power, and tight fills bring the songs to life. It is tempting to say that he is the best drummer Mould has ever worked with. (No offense to Grant Hart or Malcolm Travis.)

Bassist Jason Narducy plays with a melodic heaviness that blends with Mould’s fuzzy leads. A strong guitarist in his own right, Narducy’s role is almost that of a rhythm guitarist – similarly to Lou Barlow’s role in Dinosaur Jr.

Of course, Mould is the star of the show, playing and singing his heart out. He is in fine voice throughout, singing (and occasionally shouting) his way through melodically. As the singer and songwriter, he is naturally the emotional center. But his performances are indeed commendable.

“Black Confetti” is perhaps the best song of all. A blurry, fuzzed-out shoegazing track, it displays Mould’s love for My Bloody Valentine. Mould has made no secret of his love for that group’s 1991 opus Loveless. He wrote extensively in his memoir of how it felt like a distillation of all he had wanted to achieve with electric guitars in Husker Du.

Here, he is finally able to capture the sound in one song. A whirring, droning minor key guitar melody with barre chords and plenty of tremolo gives the track a hazy feeling. And the tight mid-tempo drumming of Wurster holds the entire thing together. The cumulative effects of the production, sonics, and arrangement are hair-raising in their meditative qualities.

With Patch The Sky, Bob Mould proves again that getting older can be a great inspiration in the right hands. While some artists may be limited by their advancing age, Mould isn’t afraid of the ghosts of his past or the voices in his head.

Merge/2016

 

 

 

 

 

Chuck Prophet – Homemade Blood

 

Chuck Prophet – Homemade Blood

By

Jesse E. Mullen

 

A lifestyle change is difficult no matter the circumstances. But sobriety is an especially difficult transition for those with addiction. Try making this change in the freewheeling world of rock ‘n’ roll, and you can magnify the difficulty tenfold.

Chuck Prophet is an American musician from San Francisco, CA. He has been involved in music since the 1980s when he joined cowpunk stalwarts Green On Red as lead guitarist. But it wasn’t until 1990 when we saw what Prophet was capable of as a singer songwriter.

That year he released his debut solo album Brother Aldo on Fire Records. Because Fire were – and still are – a British label, it sold modestly stateside but attracted critical acclaim. The song “Scarecrow” in particular showed Prophet’s gifts, sounding like Neil Young mixed with San Francisco contemporaries American Music Club and Engine 88.

Prophet followed up with Balinese Dancer in 1993. A more expensive sounding affair – better production, better separation between instruments – it was more of a refinement of the debut than a massive leap forward. Still, it had several strong songs.

The next album was when the problems started. 1995 saw the release of Feast of Hearts. Prophet was altogether unhappy with the production and overall sound of the record. A change was needed to solidify his status as a rock great. So, he quit drinking.

Sobriety has a different effect on different people. Sometimes a person will find religion or acquire a taste for fruity seltzers. But for Chuck Prophet, the change led him to looking inward and finding a new confidence in his abilities. A confidence he lost while making Feast of Hearts.

When Homemade Blood came out in 1997, Chuck Prophet was an artist reborn. He was finally ready to take on the world. The question was, was the world ready for him? And would Homemade Blood take him to new levels of critical and commercial success?

Opener “Credit” features some of Prophet’s most expressive guitarwork to date. The opening riff sounds a bit like “Dirty Blvd.” if it was written by Keith Richards. Once the solo hits, Prophet is on fire, playing a clean country rock solo with fast fingers.

Lyrically the song is a hilarious tale of a man running out of favor with his credit card company. He eventually pushes too far – by taking an expensive vacation he can’t pay for – and is left stranded in Paris.

Credit Kurt Lipschutz – no pun intended – for writing a set of lyrics that are both funny and relatable. The San Francisco poet had been functioning as Prophet’s Robert Hunter since Brother Aldo. But here, the pair were firing on all cylinders, writing songs and words that combined and contrasted perfectly.

“You Been Gone” features excellent wah-wah lap steel from Max Butler. Homemade Blood was Butler’s first stint in Prophet’s backing band – then called The Bible Dusters – but it wouldn’t be his last. Butler would maintain his role as lead guitarist for the next three albums.

He plays the first half of an excellent solo with a heavy digital delay, crossfaded with Prophet’s clean fingerpicking. He would continue to be at Prophet’s side until he retired from touring in 2004. Fortunately, Prophet found the equally gifted James DePrato in 2007.

Credit must also be given to the excellent mix work by Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie. According to Prophet’s website, the famed Boston duo mixed the whole album in just 72 hours. If that is the case, it is truly an amazing feat.

While the album was tracked live – and thus didn’t have many overdubs – it is feasible that mixing sessions would be shorter than an album with extra instruments. Still, it is impressive, judging by how well balanced the sound is. It is easily the best sounding record Prophet had recorded to that point, with ample separation between instruments, and seamless blends between instrumental breaks and verses.

Lyrically the track describes leaving your hometown and returning years later, only to discover that everything has changed. It’s a strong metaphor for growing older, and the fading innocence of youth. At 34, Prophet had to have related to the sentiment. But elsewhere the subject matter was a bit vaguer.

On “Inside Track,” Prophet and Lipschutz show their knack for mixing Dylan-esque imagery with Flying Burrito Brothers-styled country rock. Greg Leisz adds psychedelicized pedal steel to the track, and it’s an absolute banger of a tune. It’s a list song in the style of “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” and it’s a thrill to sort through the cryptic language.

Perhaps “New Year’s Day” is the best track on the album. With the holidays usually being a festive subject for songs, Prophet tells a darker story (with Lipschutz’ help). A couple separated by prison walls, with the man moving back in with parents and barely scraping by as a custodian.

When Prophet sings “don’t cry, it’s new year’s day again,” he is singing to himself as much as he is to everyone else. Musically, the song is just as poignant. The great Greg Leisz’s pedal steel adds color to every line. Prophet’s guitar plays flawlessly with a clean digital delay.

But it is Stephanie Finch who is the track’s secret weapon. Her harmonies during the chorus add a glimmer of hope. She gives the track an emotional resonance and a duality it would not otherwise have. An absolutely stunning song, “New Year’s Day” remains a career highpoint.

Chuck Prophet was mostly out of step with contemporary indie. He was more interested in blending his influences – Tom Petty, Lou Reed, Alex Chilton, a plethora of country rock – with the live-in-the-studio rawness of early rock ‘n’ roll. It didn’t sell a lot of records at the time, but it’s a winning formula for career longevity.

Homemade Blood might not have sold a ton of records, but it has aged better than most albums from 1997. Consistent songcraft and musicianship mixed with the brooding darkness of his situation lead Prophet to gold. And it was only the beginning of an artistic winning streak which continues to this day.

Cooking Vinyl/1997

 

 

 

 

 

Fountains of Wayne – Utopia Parkway

 

Fountains of Wayne – Utopia Parkway

By

Jesse E. Mullen

Being a filmmaker is a lot like leading a band. You block out shots with precision. You direct your actors into position. And you coax the best performances you can out of them. Perhaps no musician understood this better than Adam Schlesinger.

The Fountains of Wayne bassist and main songwriter met singer Chris Collingwood at Williams College and quickly formed the group. They released an eponymous album of power pop in 1996. But it was his soundtrack work that brought him to a new level of fame.

Tom Hanks contacted Schlesinger to write the music for the 1996 cult film That Thing You Do! Having his name attached to an a-list actor meant that Schlesinger had doors opened to him that no one would’ve previously thought possible. He did soundtrack work for numerous film and tv productions.

All of which informed his writing when Fountains of Wayne returned to the studio to record Utopia Parkway. The sound was bigger, almost cinematic in scope. But the question still remained – could Schlesinger equal the impact of his soundtrack work, both critically and commercially?

The album opens with the title track. It’s mid-tempo piano rock until the chorus when the guitars crash in and the groove changes to a start-stop rhythm. Lyrically, the song describes the struggles of a budding band to adjust to life on the road.

It would be depressing if not for Collingwood’s upbeat delivery. Buying a cheap van, girlfriends who miss you on tour, not playing any original music. This band can’t catch a break. It recalls the story of That Thing You Do!, where a young band struggles to adjust to having a hit record.

“Red Dragon Tattoo” and “It Must Be Summer” are both catchy power pop in the vein of the debut album. Schlesinger’s melodic hooks never sounded better than within the context of Fountains of Wayne. As a tight band with chops and chemistry, they take his songs to another level.

“Denise” is a post-grunge styled track which evokes the sound of The Smashing Pumpkins. It tows the line between pastiche and parody but is an effective summation of the era. Schlesinger was smart to not take the idea too seriously and the song succeeds because of this.

“Prom Theme” might be the highlight of the album. Upon first glance of the title, one would assume the song would be uplifting. But there is a darker edge to the lyrics. Schlesinger’s narrator is already thinking about the future and not in an optimistic way. He discusses aging and completely forgetting about his date.

The lyrics in the chorus paint a desperate picture. He addresses his date and tries to live in the moment. He wants to make it a perfect night, knowing full well it can never be recreated. But the true genius of “Prom Theme” is that it’s not about a teenager on prom night. It’s a man in his 30s looking back on fading youth.

Musically, the track is piano-led baroque pop with strings and Burt Bacharach horns. Chris Collingwood’s vocals form an emotional center around the lush arrangement, and he brings an optimism to his performance not otherwise heard in the lyrics.

Schlesinger is again in slower territory on “A Fine Day For A Parade.” A minor key power ballad about a housewife drinking her days away, Schlesinger shows that not all is right in suburbia. The track also shows Schlesinger’s skills as a craftsman. It never becomes overwrought or bogged down by a sagging tempo – unlike many ballads of this era.

Alas, success was not to be with the album. When Utopia Parkway was released in April 1999, the reviews were mixed with Pitchfork calling the lyrics “banal” and the music a “mall-walking soundtrack.” The band was dropped by Atlantic later in the year.

However, success was still in their future. The long-awaited follow up, 2003’s Welcome Interstate Managers had their biggest hit in “Stacy’s Mom.” Fountains of Wayne disbanded in 2011, citing creative differences. And Schlesinger died of COVID-19 in April of 2020. He was 52.

But Fountains of Wayne will always be remembered as masters of power pop. Although they had their biggest success later on, it was Utopia Parkway that laid the groundwork for that album. Adam Schlesinger created beautiful work – That Thing You Do!, Ivy – but he may have peaked here.

Atlantic Records/1999