Where to begin?
I guess with a disclaimer/warning. This starts off as a review and ends up being one of my long-winded philosophical things. I can’t seem to help it. I’m going to raise some issues that some might perceive as being in some way negative. If you know me and/or have followed my writings through the years, you know my trust and belief in this band is unwavering. I don’t raise these issues to be negative. I raise them because I care about these three men, what they’re attempting to do, and the community that we have formed around them.
First things first: The title. I’m thinking the release date is not an accident. Sure, discs always street on Tuesday, but it feels like this particular Tuesday was picked for a reason. There’s definitely some politics on this record. Even Rats is the most obvious example. (Too bad Old George didn’t make it on. I love that tune.) The connection to the dead president might be two warnings for which he is famous in some circles. The first is his Military-Industrial Complex speech, given as he was preparing to leave office:
http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~hst306/ ... ndust.html
The second is a passage from a letter Ike wrote to his brother in which (some say) he describes the current administration rather presciently:
http://wonderwheels.blogspot.com/2005/0 ... quote.html
Or it could be a snare drum reference.
Or it could be that it’s a cool word to say over and over again.
Now, how about what’s on the disc? The short story: This record is amazing, both sonically and in what it represents for the band. At this point, I can safely say that this is my favorite Slip studio disc since Gecko. <nostalgic sigh>
It’s already been said that this record is “radio ready.” There are many sounds on here that will be right at home on modern, alternative, and college formats.
Another way to say it: this record is much more “produced” than previous efforts. The mix is great. Ellard and BAM did a wonderful job and the mastering is also quite fine. The disc translates pretty well on all the systems I’ve listened to so far, with the exception of the 20-year-old family room system where the tired old low-end amp and speakers are having trouble with Andrew’s drums on Airplane/Primitive.
I don’t want to get into a song-by-song rundown, but there are some things I’ve got to point out.
Someone made reference to Brad’s vocals being “dialed in.” I agree. The doubling on Children is immediately recognizable as a great choice. That’s used to great effect in varying degrees throughout the disc. For instance, the thickening and harmonies on Suffocation Keep in no way detract from the beautiful intimacy. I also think that Brad has made some great choices for the vocal approaches throughout this disc. Lines that used to really strain his voice are reconfigured to play to his strengths. If Mr. Ellard had a hand in these decisions, kudos to him.
There are some LARGE guitars throughout this disc.
If you had told me 5 years ago that I’d hear a Slip tune open with a layered vocal “Yea-ah” and “woo-hoo’s”, I’d have looked at you a little funny. But there it is on If One of Us… And you know what? I love it!!! Hey, are those string patches on this tune? I can’t find any string credits for it. Again, never thought I’d see it, but it’s a perfect fit.
Speaking of strings, beautiful cello (performance and recording) on Suffocation Keep.
Oh, you know what? I do have what may be a problem with this disc. Does it sound to anyone else like there’s a dropped beat at 2:44 in Airplane/Primitive? Not a musical error – a disc problem. I’ve gone over this spot dozens and dozens of times and done the counting and it sounds like my disc just skips a beat.
If any of you musically/rhythmically conversant folks could check this out, I’d appreciate it. If my disc is defective, I may just have to fly out west to a gig and demand a replacement.
Okay, I wasn’t going to do a track-by-track, so I’ll stop there and talk more generally.
As for the “lead-off single”: First Panda in Space. Really. No question.
I can see the attraction of Mothwing Bite, but I don’t know about it as the first single. Children of December or Even Rats have radio breakout written all over them. Everything about them points to a concerted effort to score airplay and generate excitement: arrangements, sonic choices, lots of hooks… Each tune is a complete package saying “you need to hear more of this band.” If One of Us… will be the perfect follow up, showing that they can handle the ballads. (“Handle the ballads.” Heh. There’s an understatement.)
In today’s world, soundtrack placement is often what breaks bands. Look for If One of Us…, Suffocation Keep, and/or Life in Disguise as the background for emotion-laden scenes in prime time TV dramas on WB (or whatever has replaced WB in the great wasteland sweepstakes.) Much of the record would be a natural fit for soundtrack placement in independent films.
What I’m getting at (in case it’s not obvious) is that I think that with the right support from BarNone, this disc can break this band wide open. BAM has made a conscious effort to take it to the next level and this disc succeeds.
But there are “tradeoffs.” I’ve been thinking almost constantly about this stuff since I listened to IKE for the first time (I’ve been listening constantly since) and my thoughts are all jumbled together, so I hope this makes sense.
I think we’ll all agree this disc has a level of production beyond any studio effort from BAM so far. It’s an aural candy shop, for sure. But I found myself thinking that people discovering the band through this disc might do so via the candy rather than an appreciation for the musicians themselves. On previous discs, what you heard was 3 amazing musicians. On IKE you hear 3 amazing musicians using the studio as an instrument.
(Is this BAM’s Revolver? Is BAM’s Sgt. Pepper to follow? Does this mean they’ll stop touring and live in the studio? No, don’t think it. That way lays madness.
)
Sorry, where was I? In a world where almost any half-assed singer can be made palatable through auto-tuning and Pro-Tools allows for the construction of music without the need for instrumental competence, do mainstream consumers (people listening on the radio) take it for granted that records will sound this good and not think about the souls involved? Certainly, if they give IKE repeated listenings and pay attention, they’ll hear beneath the surface and discover that what makes this disc so great is the 3 souls that make up the band. But will they ever understand the importance of the little hints they hear of things like Andrew’s bare feet on the ground in Africa, time spent in South America, the intelligence, feeling, and fully present absorption of experience behind the lyrics, the fact that yes, Marc plays that fluidly and powerfully in real life, not just with the help of digital editing and processing, etc., etc.
I think we’re all expecting that a lot of people will discover this band through this disc and will want to see them live. A certain percentage of them will experience BAM live and get IT. Some won’t and will move on. But it’s possible that for at least a while we’ll find ourselves at Slip shows with MUCH larger crowds, not all of whom have the kind of relationship with BAM that develops from seeing them in very small places with small crowds and the personal interaction (musical and otherwise) that results.
Where the hell am I going with this? I find myself wondering if this is BAM’s TOG moment. TOG? Touch of Grey. (Yes folks, he’s once again dragging the Grateful Dead into this.
) Dead concerts were a wonderful place to be for many years. Then, in 1987, the Dead released In The Dark, along with their first top ten single, Touch of Grey. Suddenly, Dead shows were filled with people whose only experience with the band was that one radio hit (and the stereotypes they’d picked up from mainstream media). The scene changed drastically, in many ways, for the worse. Some would say that was the beginning of the end. Certainly, the Deadhead community struggled mightily from that point on until August of ’95.
Am I saying I wish the band would continue to be appreciated only by us chosen few? No, of course not. I wish Andrew, Brad, and Marc every success and pray hard that they will be able to comfortably support themselves playing music for as long as they like and that the path will get easier for them soon. (It’s no secret that life on the club circuit is VERY hard.) The only way that happens is if more people know about them.
Am I saying this is the beginning of the end for the Slip and our community? No, of course not. As I alluded to in my Helsinki review, I think this is a beginning of a new adventure. My point is that where it leads may be, in part, up to us.
The interesting questions for me are:
-Is there any way to avoid the “negative” side-effects of a band’s growth, such as the dilution of the energy (internal and external) that got them to that point?
-What, if anything, can the community of long-time Slip fans do to help insure that this period of change and growth is a healthy one for all involved (band, long-time community, newcomers)?
Yeah, maybe this is all a bunch of philosophical BS.
Yeah, maybe I should lighten up
Or maybe some day people will see this release and what happens next as a pivotal point in the history of a major band. Can the actions of those in front of (as opposed to on) the stage make a difference in that history?
Maybe I think too much.
But, as Laurie Anderson once said:
“And when I do my job, I am thinking about these things.
Because when I do my job, that is what I think about.”
I have no answers. Yet. How ‘bout you?
peace,
hoby