Vinyl Lizzy Liner Notes Suck
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MUSIC REISSUES CONTINUED FROM P.58 nelly shindigs, though. Bad news first: The career came about by happenstance, and her ing one of Stevens’ most affecting vocals by vinyl lizzy liner notes suck. While Stephen Dalton’s songwriting reflects that, guileless and free of ramping down, whereas “Changes IV” follows chronology is peppy and competent, a good artifice, even encased in Orbit’s ambient tech- the singer’s vocal fervor to the border of BY R AOUL HERNANDEZ Googling renders it pointless. Insult festers no-caress (the pulsing “Touch Me With Your hysteria. “Tuesday’s Dead” rocks, while key- into injury with fan clubber Greg Hudson’s Love” and atmospheric “Tangent”). That’s the boardist and Yes man Rick Wakeman guests THIN LIZZY equally WTF? interview. For an act as cheeky, definitive Orton given that her folkier side (“I on “Morning Has Broken,” which accompanies Jailbreak (Vertigo) flamboyant, and gay-embracing as Erasure Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine,” “Sugar Boy”) the stardust of “Moonshadow,” another track Universal’s Back (“Chains of Love” is the queer national is rock-solid yet scarcely touches the cool zip- completed in a matter of hours. “Peace Train” to Black 60th vinyl anthem, trumping “We Are Family” on intent zap of the 10-minute “Galaxy of Emptiness” blows its whistle at the close. Each album anniversary series alone), the write-ups are shockingly dull and, or airily heart-tugging “She Cries Your Name.” stitches together an alternate version of the reproduces the stun- no offense, “straight.” Good news: The design The second disc is for completists: duets LP with demos and era live tracks on a sec- ning die-cut record continuity (à la 1992’s Pop!) is lovely, from with the soulful Terry Callier and dusky covers ond disc, both marred by contemporary live sleeve of Lizzy’s immortality maker. Xeroxed flyers to Pierre et Gilles. Portraits of (“It’s Not the Spotlight”). Though Trailer Park material from Yusuf Islam – Stevens’ Muslim Unfortunately, this 180-gram vinyl skips stark poise vs. lush pageantry parallel Vince doesn’t weigh heavily, Orton’s magic remains identity after converting at the height of his like its 1976 counterpart, on the open- Clarke and Andy Bell’s inherent Taijitu: the substantial. fame in 1977. “My songs were probably most ing title track, side-two brand “The Boys stern, intellectual keyboardist and the pranc- ((( – Margaret Moser effective when the innocent, child-centered Are Back in Town,” and even “Cowboy ing cabaret queen. The first two discs come voice spoke loud above and against the clat- Song.” The strum of “Romeo and the as advertised with remixes acting as pure CAT STEVENS tering background of worldly demands.” Lonely Girl,” feeding Scott Gorham’s fila- candy – uplifting, a call-up of Pride Parade- Tea for the Tillerman (Tea for the Tillerman) ((((N ment solo, plus the twin-guitar hostility ready march formations. Disc three, live tour (Deluxe Edition) (A&M) (Teaser and the Firecat) (((( of “Warriors” persist. (( highlights, falls in with just such a gathering. CAT STEVENS – Raoul Hernandez The cherry on top? Erasure’s two decades on Teaser and the Firecat THIN LIZZY the BBC, the set’s DVD providing a fascinat- (Deluxe Edition) (A&M) SERGE Black Rose (Vertigo) ing study of queer politics in the public eye. Van Morrison’s “T.B. GAINSBOURG Lizzy iconographer Really, just watch Bell’s couture evolve from Sheets” precedes Histoire de Jim Fitzpatrick pulls guarded Tintin trousers to turquoise sequined Cat Stevens’ real-life Melody Nelson back from the band’s cowboy chaps with cheek to spare. ones by a year, but (Light in the Attic) debut, Vagabonds ((((N – Kate X Messer when Steven Demetre Thirty-eight years of the Western Georgiou contracted after the release of World, and sci-fi fry Jailbreak to ink BETH ORTON tuberculosis in 1968 Histoire de Melody what they called Phil Lynott back in his Trailer Park (Legacy at the age of 19, little Nelson, you can old town Dublin: Black Rose. Thug life Edition) (Heavenly/ did anyone imagine his still hear the heavy breathing. Collaborating (“Do Anything You Want To”), kinked-up Arista/Legacy) musical trajectory would with composer/arranger Jean-Claude Vannier, metallic funk (“S & M”), bass sorcery Beth Orton’s rela- soon go astral. Released in 1970, produced Serge Gainsbourg left much to the imagina- (“Waiting for an Alibi”), and the closing tively short career and by former Yardbirds bassist Paul Samwell- tion on his 1971 Nabokovian song cycle, title cut – one of prog rock’s darkest a lack of any real hit Smith, and illustrated by Stevens’ whimsy, unfolding an illicit and tragic love story in just blossoms – thrive. 1979. (((( makes this unques- not to mention his English folk strum and seven songs. Then-lover Jane Birkin coos the tionably stellar collection feel light. Sony’s hippie world-view, both Tea for the Tillerman titular name on “Ballade de Melody Nelson,” THIN LIZZY 2-CD package includes the English folkie’s and follow-up Teaser and the Firecat mined a but the sleazy funk basslines and Vic Still Dangerous critically adored 1996 debut, Trailer Park, and “close-knit family of material I’d written post Flick’s wandering-eye guitar-work on opener (VH1 Classic) adds the standard second disc of covers, TB” reveals their author in the deluxe edition “Melody” and orchestral closer “Cargo Culte” New CD Still B-sides, and other rarities. Her arrival in the of the first title. Tillerman dreams of a better drive the LP’s love, sex, and death beauti- Dangerous: Live at mid-1990s under the tutelage of boyfriend/ “day” (“Where Do the Children Play?” and fully. Gainsbourg’s whispered nothings are the Tower Theatre producer William Orbit evoked sighs of plea- “Wild World”), but dramatic piano ballad “Sad mystery no more, translated here alongside Philadelphia 1977 sure during a period awash in the fresh first Lisa” trumps all. Teaser, “night,” is better, the French lyrics. While there are no bonus won’t have the slight warp of its gate- wave of post-1980s female voices. Orton’s the steel-string scratch of “If I Laugh” match- tracks, the accompanying booklet features fold counterpart, but neither does it extensive essays from music writer Andy Beta include a bonus 45 with two additional and electronic musician Andy Votel. An added songs. Neither ripping B-side “Bad BUDDY HOLLY treat: an interview from Rock & Folk maga- Reputation” nor LP-mate “Opium Trail” Down the Line: Rarities (Geffen/Decca) zine, where Gainsbourg tries to describe the (with altered lyrics) appear on Lizzy’s Fifty years after Buddy Holly’s death, rem- idea behind Melody: “I wanted to write a fan- seminal Live and Dangerous. The “sex nants of his genius are still being uncovered. tastical tale, somewhat surrealistic, without and sax” of “Dancing in the Moonlight” Down the Line: Rarities, a companion piece any bearing on reality.” equals “Massacre.” ((((N ((((N to recent 3-CD set Memorial Collection, lacks – Audra Schroeder See austinchronicle.com/earache for an inter- definitive new finds, but it’s an accessible view with Thin Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham. entry point full of historical significance. From ISAAC HAYES the Lubbock native’s first home recording in Black Moses (Stax) 1949, a precocious reading of Hank Snow’s ISAAC HAYES ficially soulful “Part Time Lover.” It’s not that “My Two-Timin’ Woman,” to The Apartment Juicy Fruit (Disco the 2-CD Black Moses isn’t without merit but Tapes, his final solo recordings in Manhattan Freak) (Stax) rather that it was intended for water-bed sex a decade later, this 2-CD collection covers By 1971, Stax under that poster of the astrological-sign sex the arc of Holly’s all-too-brief career. The unre- Records’ Isaac Hayes positions. 1976’s Juicy Fruit (Disco Freak) is touched intimacy of the latter, most of which were overdubbed for the posthumous Buddy had written and pro- as flimsy as its dreadful title. Hayes was liter- Holly Story 2, highlight the earnest sincerity of the singer’s songcraft (“Crying, Waiting, duced more than 200 ally and musically bankrupt, so Juicy’s seven Hoping”). His early potential plays out similarly, notarized here through his Western and soul classics for the hot-’n’-heavy tracks (“Love Me or Lose Me,” bop duets with Bob Montgomery (“Flower of My Heart,” “Door to My Heart,” “Soft Place in likes of Sam & Dave “Music to Make Love By”) rank it in the dubi- My Heart”). Yet, Holly didn’t hit his streak until Elvis rolled through town, resulting in the and Carla Thomas, then ous genre of soundtracks for the hopelessly startlingly confident, rockabilly romp “Down the Line,” the birth of his golden hiccup on retooled the genre with horny. These recordings aren’t highlights of Arthur Gunter’s “Baby, Let’s Play House,” and the jukebox standards collectively known as 1969’s Hot Buttered Hayes’ distinguished career, but they’re music The Garage Tapes. Rough cuts of songs reveal the subtle nuances that separate each ver- Soul and Shaft two of the day, and Black Moses’ crosslike foldout sion, like Holly’s drawn out delivery on the alternate take of “Gone” and eventual perfec- years later. That same year, Black Moses makes South Park’s Chef look like a biblical tion of “Think It Over.” Savor every moment. explored the disco precursor’s string-laden Toulouse-Lautrec. (( ((((N – Austin Powell studio soul, wading into Burt Bacharach’s (Black Moses) treacly, overlong “Close to You” and an arti- (Juicy Fruit) ((N – Margaret Moser 60 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E APRIL 24, 2009 a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e .