As noted yesterday, I'll be otherwise occupied for the next few days, but I thought it would be fun during the blogging downtime to take a look back at 1990 and some of my favorite releases from that year from the perspective of two decades on. Today: My original circa '90 fanzine review of a lovely acoustic detour by thefavorite sons (and daughter) of Hoboken, N.J.: Yo La Tengo.
Yo La Tengo, "Fakebook" (Bar None) Rating:4/4
I'll be otherwise occupied for the next few days, but I thought it would be fun during the blogging downtime to take a look back at 1990 and some of my favorite releases from that year from the perspective of two decades on. First up: My original circa '90 fanzine review of the debut album by the fine Scottish pop band Teenage Fanclub.
Teenage Fan Club, "A Catholic Education" (Matador) Eating:4/4]
These Scottish pinups could never be accused of startling originality—no band that reverently looks up to Dinosaur, Jr.’s third-generation Neil Young/Velvets pisstake could.
Every musician wants his or her music to be heard by as many people as possible, and to that end, one of the big advantages for bands in Chicago is that the city is within easy striking distance of so many other Midwestern burgs.
White Mystery
As summer (finally) draws to a close, things remain pretty sleepy in the club and theater world, and/or dazed from festival hangover. But there still are some fine shows flying just below the radar.
Robert Plant, "Band of Joy" (Rounder) Rating:3/4
Throughout a long and often rewarding post-Led Zeppelin career, that band’s legendary golden god often has stretched out in unexpected directions, challenging himself and his fans as he endeavored to shake the soul-killing taint of nostalgia.
Yes, there have been missteps: The Honeydrippers’ genre exercise added nothing to the rockabilly canon and wasn’t really worthy of the supergroup billing, and I am no fan of “Raising Sand,” the sleepy and conservative 2007 collaboration with Alison Krauss that was rewarded with an armful of Grammys, including album of the year. But Robert Plant is nonetheless the rare classic-rock hero whose latter-day work doesn’t detract from and seriously soil the music that made him famous.
As every Zep fan knows, Plant first caught Jimmy Page’s ear when he was singing with the psychedelic soul/blues group Band of Joy, which also featured the mighty John Bonham on drums. The 62-year-old singer’s reasons for resurrecting that name for his current project are unclear—he told the U.K. press that he feels “somewhere between a teenager and an old man, making my debut album.
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan, "Hawk" (Vanguard) Rating: 3/4
Three albums into their mirror-universe take on the classic ’60s country-pop collaborations between Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood—here, Belle and Sebastian ork-pop veteran Isobel Campbell is the songwriter, producer, and Svengali and former Screaming Tress and Queens of the Stone Age vocalist Mark Lanegan is the gruff-voiced boy toy that she lovingly employs—there are hints that the unlikely beauty and the beast duo is running out of inspiration.
A new duet partner, the unremarkable emo-folkie Willy Mason, pops up on a few songs; Campbell handles some others in solo mode, and an uncharacteristic instrumental and covers by Hank Williams and Townes Van Zandt (two of ’em!) help fill out the 13 tracks.
Yet if this is the lesser installment in their joint discography, “Hawk” still has some stellar moments, and it’s hardly a shameful way to cap the trilogy. “Come Undone” is a lovely, gently swaying pop gem that cheekily nods to James Brown’s “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” (Ha!
Last month's torrential rain storms hit a lot of Chicagoans hard, and the music scene was not exempt: The local indie label Graveface Records, home of Black Moth Super Rainbow, Jason Molina, Octopus Project, and other worthy acts, took three feet of water in its Logan Square headquarters, and the owners say insurance didn't cover the loss of more than half of their inventory.
One of the few exciting summer music festivals that A.) doesn't detract from the city's existing music scene by drawing acts away from the clubs, and B.) offers a unique experience and distinctive aesthetic that can't be had elsewhere, the Chicago World Music Festival starts on Sept. 21 and runs through Sept. 30.
The city's Department of Cultural Affairs, which lovingly curates the event, has announced that it will kick off with a three-day tribute to the arts and culture of India, and a handful of other acts have been leaked pending release of the full schedule.
