Light Summer Reading
Bryan Rodgers
2003-06-28
When I write stuff and people use it on their websites or in their magazines, I have a tendency to try and be very serious and artful in my writing. Though it usually backfires, I have seen the fruits of this effort pay off in bemused smirks as I see my long-forgotten quips and quotes pop up on band posters, press pages on websites, advertisements, etc. There is not going to be anything that savory this month. There have been some great CD's around though. It's interesting that many of the best albums released this year have been from veterans. John Scofield eases his way through more young-at-heart jazz in "Up All Night", his best album since 1996's "A Go-Go". Steve Winwood makes a triumphant departure from his lingering Top 40 sound on his new album "About Time", which spotlights his love for African and Cuban rhythms in a trio setting. Winwood's Hammond Organ playing is central here, with help from drummer Walfredo Reyes, Jr. and guitarist Jose Neto. Going even farther back in time is "How The West Was Won", a house-rumbling 3-disc live release from the legendary Led Zeppelin. Recorded in California during the band's 1972 tour, this set offers the clearest and most immersive Zeppelin experience yet. Steely Dan has also emerged from whatever secret place they record with a pleasing new album called "Everything Must Go." It's not life-changing stuff, or even comparable to the output of the band's heyday, but it is Steely Dan and it is just as pessimistic and cryptic as you can imagine. Overflowing with their trademark all-too-perfect production techniques, "Everything Must Go" displays the stubborn creativity of a band that has barely changed. There's plenty of good stuff from the younger set too. One of the coolest albums I have heard this month is "These Are The Vistas" by The Bad Plus, a piano trio that breathes new life into the avant-jazz sector. The album is stunning as a debut, and the broad range of cover tunes gives it personality. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is turned into a foot-shuffling, odd-tempo reconstruction that brings new dynamics to the song structure. Electronica gets re-routed into a melancholy pop instrumental on their retooling of Aphex Twin's "Flim". The lingering piano lead translates perfectly into The Bad Plus' idea. Most quirky is their take on Blondie's "Heart Of Glass". This quintessential tune of the 1980's has its lyrical melody turned inside out via the piano. On this tune, the band's tightness is evident in the way they revitalize the rhythm of the song and jaunt off into brief improvisations. Athens, Georgia's Bluestring has broken out of their initial mold and morphed into a huge-sounding groove-pop ensemble. Their second CD is self-titled and was recently released on Butch Trucks' Flying Frog Records. The band breezes through a full set of harmony-laden songs that accentuate their fine studio craftsmanship. The best thing about Bluestring is that they are just as tight in concert as they are on this new album. It's an invigorating sound that makes you feel young, even if you are. Saxophone lion Skerik has released an album titled "Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet", and if the title doesn't give you some indication of what to expect, approach with caution. Wildly inventive orchestral funk is lashed with Skerik's aggressive sax playing. The brass is in full force here, as Skerik leads five horns on the disc. Skerik's tendency to make form seem like chaos is the driving force behind the album, which vaults between tricky compositions and spastic creativity. This disc runs rampant like a child at a playground! Speaking of the age of innocence, I went to an amusement park for the first time in 2 years this past June 21, the first day of summer and the longest day of the year. It was "Paramount's" King's Dominion, just north of Richmond, VA. I gave in to the relentless Americanism of it all. I can't decide which was funnier, seeing a giant American flag lashed to the observation deck of the park's faux Eiffel Tower, or watching people toss their coins in ornamental fountains all day. Folks, you paid forty bucks to get in the place! After a long day of thrill riding and walking, the real challenge came: driving 3 hours back to North Carolina. Even though I had been hauling my ass around a giant theme park all day, I felt fine after a Mountain Dew. I reflected on how much I had gained from insane driving experiences, and how much money I had saved by tearing down the highway as opposed to crashing at hotels. It's all because of music, anyway. That day at the park, I likened everything to music, and on the drive home I formed associations between rides and bands. So if Kings Dominion was Jam Nation... The Volcano Blast Coaster reminds me of The Disco Biscuits. Go figure that this is my favorite ride at the park. This one is as scary as it is beautiful and it hurls you along from a dead start to speeds around 55 MPH. Plunging through the darkness, the coaster takes another magnetic slurp of energy and catapults you out of the top of the volcano. Then it's gravy as you whiz around the mountain, looping and corkscrewing all the way. By far the most comfortable coaster at King's Dominion, The Volcano is smooth, fierce, and recklessly fun. The Rebel Yell reminds me of Widespread Panic. The first coaster built at the park, The Rebel Yell always brings back fond memories. Like a trusty canine, the Yell is always there, and it seems to be in no danger of being demolished any time soon. The ride is vintage wooden coaster, a bit jerky but life-affirming and classic. The coaster's graceful hills roll like a monstrous Schools bass line. The Drop Zone reminds me of Phish. This new ride seats more people than any other at the park. You and 79 of your newest death-partners are lifted 380 feet in the air, feet dangling beneath you, and then you're ceremoniously dropped like a wayward golf ball. As you speed up to 72 MPH, you think you might not make it. Then the merciful slowdown kicks in, you get off, and you're immediately ready to ride again no matter how long the wait. It's an addictively joyful experience. I won't go any further at the risk of stretching the truth...three paragraphs on roller coaster/band relations is enough. Right now we're packing up for the Higher Ground Music Festival in Terra Alta, WV, which will have happened by the time you read this. In the interest of Karma, I won't formulate a preconceived review of the fest. The lineup looks amazing though! Maybe I'll type a bit about that next month.
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