Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson
1987 Geffen Records
Produced by Daniel Lanois and Robbie Robertson
Personel:
Robbie Robertson - vocals and guitar
Peter Gabriel - background vocals, keyboards
Manu Katche, Terry Bozzio, Larry Mullen Jr. - drums
Larry Klein, Tony Levin, Abe Laboriel, Adam Clayton - bass
the BoDeans - background vocals
the Edge, Bill Dillon - guitars
Daniel Lanois - Omnichord, guitar, percussion, background vocals
+ others
When this album first came out, I had no real idea of who Robbie Robertson was. I just knew all of a sudden he was being touted as a big deal, with "exclusive" video status on MTV (and a special presentation), a lot of rock radio play, and a lot of big guests all over his debut album. I did not realize until a while later that he had in fact been around a long time, as the main songwriter for the Band, which got its major start as the electric backing band for Bob Dylan, and later striking heaploads of fame on its own, culminating in their swan song, The Last Waltz (a striking concert album and video directed by no less than Martin Scorcese) in 1976, whereafter he went into self-imposed musical exile. I now understand not on;ly how important RR is to the history of rock, but that as a solo artist, he is a formidable composer and one of the last bastions of elder statesmen who have kept their sound their own and not catered to the whims of this weeks flavor. This is largely because the music he creates is meant to last; it isn't timely, it's timeless.
This is not the best of his solo output (his sophomore album Storyville gets that status), but this is a solid album that made a distinct jump from his work in the Band, but that is still grounded in the earthy, folky warmth that has characterized him from the onset. With Daniel Lanois as the production helm, and a stellar cast of session players, here is an album that has aged very well from the attention to sonics that rely less on snappy tricks and more on evincing moods and places; southwestern Americana, Phildephia soul, New Orleans R&B, and just a little dancing with the artier and and edgy.
The album opens with Fallen Angel; swelling keyboards and a slowly bubbling rhythmic set up that burns slowly and provides some excellent vocal interplay with Peter Gabriel in the chorus. It shifts to the brisk rocker, Showdown at Big Sky which outside of sounding a bit cheesy, actually works (Robertson is part Native American, and references to his heritage have shown up regularly on all of his albums). The first ballad - made famous by the cover several years later by Rod Stewart- is Broken Arrow. Robertsons raspy voice works particularly well on this one, showing a vulnerablity in the song that Stewart never managed to pass off. There are more uptempo, straightahead rockers; the very political American Roulette and Hell's Half Acre, which like its title, burns. The weakest link is Sonny Got Caught in the Moonlight, which should have been called This Track Got Caught in the Mixing Room.
There are two U2 collaborations, which without Lanois would probably have stood out as outliers. The somewhat pretentious Sweet Fire of Love could have just as well been a b-side from U2's own Rattle and Hum album. But the closer, Testimony is a foot stomping, horn laden parade of uplifting good noise.
The most interesting track is one that was actually released as a single, replete with arty video featuring RR and ex-Lone Justice frontwoman Maria McKee. Somewhere Down the Crazy River is a four+ minute narrative of desire and estrangement under odd circumstances, the type of story RR seems strangely drawn to write and sing about. With the verses largely spoken, the song has a humid, hot denseness that makes the lyrics all the more present:
Robbie Robertson
1987 Geffen Records
Produced by Daniel Lanois and Robbie Robertson
Personel:
Robbie Robertson - vocals and guitar
Peter Gabriel - background vocals, keyboards
Manu Katche, Terry Bozzio, Larry Mullen Jr. - drums
Larry Klein, Tony Levin, Abe Laboriel, Adam Clayton - bass
the BoDeans - background vocals
the Edge, Bill Dillon - guitars
Daniel Lanois - Omnichord, guitar, percussion, background vocals
+ others
When this album first came out, I had no real idea of who Robbie Robertson was. I just knew all of a sudden he was being touted as a big deal, with "exclusive" video status on MTV (and a special presentation), a lot of rock radio play, and a lot of big guests all over his debut album. I did not realize until a while later that he had in fact been around a long time, as the main songwriter for the Band, which got its major start as the electric backing band for Bob Dylan, and later striking heaploads of fame on its own, culminating in their swan song, The Last Waltz (a striking concert album and video directed by no less than Martin Scorcese) in 1976, whereafter he went into self-imposed musical exile. I now understand not on;ly how important RR is to the history of rock, but that as a solo artist, he is a formidable composer and one of the last bastions of elder statesmen who have kept their sound their own and not catered to the whims of this weeks flavor. This is largely because the music he creates is meant to last; it isn't timely, it's timeless.
This is not the best of his solo output (his sophomore album Storyville gets that status), but this is a solid album that made a distinct jump from his work in the Band, but that is still grounded in the earthy, folky warmth that has characterized him from the onset. With Daniel Lanois as the production helm, and a stellar cast of session players, here is an album that has aged very well from the attention to sonics that rely less on snappy tricks and more on evincing moods and places; southwestern Americana, Phildephia soul, New Orleans R&B, and just a little dancing with the artier and and edgy.
The album opens with Fallen Angel; swelling keyboards and a slowly bubbling rhythmic set up that burns slowly and provides some excellent vocal interplay with Peter Gabriel in the chorus. It shifts to the brisk rocker, Showdown at Big Sky which outside of sounding a bit cheesy, actually works (Robertson is part Native American, and references to his heritage have shown up regularly on all of his albums). The first ballad - made famous by the cover several years later by Rod Stewart- is Broken Arrow. Robertsons raspy voice works particularly well on this one, showing a vulnerablity in the song that Stewart never managed to pass off. There are more uptempo, straightahead rockers; the very political American Roulette and Hell's Half Acre, which like its title, burns. The weakest link is Sonny Got Caught in the Moonlight, which should have been called This Track Got Caught in the Mixing Room.
There are two U2 collaborations, which without Lanois would probably have stood out as outliers. The somewhat pretentious Sweet Fire of Love could have just as well been a b-side from U2's own Rattle and Hum album. But the closer, Testimony is a foot stomping, horn laden parade of uplifting good noise.
The most interesting track is one that was actually released as a single, replete with arty video featuring RR and ex-Lone Justice frontwoman Maria McKee. Somewhere Down the Crazy River is a four+ minute narrative of desire and estrangement under odd circumstances, the type of story RR seems strangely drawn to write and sing about. With the verses largely spoken, the song has a humid, hot denseness that makes the lyrics all the more present:
Yea, I can see it now
The distant red neon shivered in the heat
I was feeling like a stranger in a strange land
you know where people play games with the night
...
God it was too hot to sleep
I followed the sound of a jukebox from up the levee
all of a sudden I could hear somebody whistling from right behind me
She turned around and she said, "Why do you always end up down at Nick's cafe?"
I said, "I don't know, the wind just kind of pushed me this way."
The distant red neon shivered in the heat
I was feeling like a stranger in a strange land
you know where people play games with the night
...
God it was too hot to sleep
I followed the sound of a jukebox from up the levee
all of a sudden I could hear somebody whistling from right behind me
She turned around and she said, "Why do you always end up down at Nick's cafe?"
I said, "I don't know, the wind just kind of pushed me this way."
And it just goes from there into a twisted tale of more verses full of distinct imagery and a storyline that follows like a short film in your head, where the soundtrack does the story and you make the visuals.
This is one well done classic rock album.
You might like this if you like:
U2 - Rattle and Hum
Warren Zevon - Mr. Bad Example
Joni Mitchell - Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm
Keith Richards - Main Offender
Little Axe - The Wolf That House Built
Chris Whitley - Rocket House
This is one well done classic rock album.
You might like this if you like:
U2 - Rattle and Hum
Warren Zevon - Mr. Bad Example
Joni Mitchell - Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm
Keith Richards - Main Offender
Little Axe - The Wolf That House Built
Chris Whitley - Rocket House
posted by theloniusfunk at 9:51 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home