Davey
06-11-2009, 10:58 AM
You know, one of those artists that just seem to always make music you like, almost what you envision yourself doing ... if you had that special talent. What would be your story?
My story goes ... always loved the Clean and that big group of bands that recalled them, and the much much smaller group of bands that made them, but a few years ago my buddy from New Zealand (our old rr friend chrisnz) sent me a copy of the 1997 solo album from David Kilgour titled David Kilgour & the Heavy Eights, and it was like a revelation, loved it. I did know the Clean, and had an early compilation, along with one of the reunion albums in the 90s, and always loved that jangly sound. But this is one of those albums that just feels so right, even after all of the many, many listens over the last few years. Most of my like-minded buddies here probably got handshake copies, whether they wanted em or not. It's got that ever-present VU influence at the core, just like the Feelies and (of course) the Clean and Luna, and many other favorites of mine. Great guitar work, and kind of psychedelic sounding, mixed with that jangle sound of the other bands mentioned above. Kind of along the lines of vintage Steve Wynn from those early times with the Dream Syndicate, but a little softer maybe. Wonderful album. Not one that slaps you in the face and declares its greatness right away, but one that you keep playing just because it feels good. Similar in some ways to Yo La Tengo (whom they coincidentally thank in the liner notes), which means that much of the influence comes from the quieter side of the Velvet Underground. Very nice recording too.
So now I have just about all of his solo stuff, before and after the revelation, and simply put, if you love the best of bands like Yo La Tengo and Luna and REM and the Feelies and all the other descendants of the softer jangle rock sound of the Velvet Underground, when Sterling Morrison was more than lost in the shadow, you'll love these records too. His last few are on Merge in the US so are very easy to come by, as opposed to the excellent one before that with the Heavy Eights that I mentioned above, which I think is still NZ import only. All have very nice sound as a bonus, with lots of cool guitar and dreamy melodies. Frozen Orange has the guys from Lambchop backing him along with the Heavy Eights crew, and they recorded it down in Nashville. Listening right now to The Far Now from a couple years ago, recorded over about 3 years at a few different places, and love this one too. Only had it for a few months, so still gets a lot of plays. Another nice sounding recording too.
Heard the Clean may have a new one recorded and set to be released this year. Looking forward to that one.
My story goes ... always loved the Clean and that big group of bands that recalled them, and the much much smaller group of bands that made them, but a few years ago my buddy from New Zealand (our old rr friend chrisnz) sent me a copy of the 1997 solo album from David Kilgour titled David Kilgour & the Heavy Eights, and it was like a revelation, loved it. I did know the Clean, and had an early compilation, along with one of the reunion albums in the 90s, and always loved that jangly sound. But this is one of those albums that just feels so right, even after all of the many, many listens over the last few years. Most of my like-minded buddies here probably got handshake copies, whether they wanted em or not. It's got that ever-present VU influence at the core, just like the Feelies and (of course) the Clean and Luna, and many other favorites of mine. Great guitar work, and kind of psychedelic sounding, mixed with that jangle sound of the other bands mentioned above. Kind of along the lines of vintage Steve Wynn from those early times with the Dream Syndicate, but a little softer maybe. Wonderful album. Not one that slaps you in the face and declares its greatness right away, but one that you keep playing just because it feels good. Similar in some ways to Yo La Tengo (whom they coincidentally thank in the liner notes), which means that much of the influence comes from the quieter side of the Velvet Underground. Very nice recording too.
So now I have just about all of his solo stuff, before and after the revelation, and simply put, if you love the best of bands like Yo La Tengo and Luna and REM and the Feelies and all the other descendants of the softer jangle rock sound of the Velvet Underground, when Sterling Morrison was more than lost in the shadow, you'll love these records too. His last few are on Merge in the US so are very easy to come by, as opposed to the excellent one before that with the Heavy Eights that I mentioned above, which I think is still NZ import only. All have very nice sound as a bonus, with lots of cool guitar and dreamy melodies. Frozen Orange has the guys from Lambchop backing him along with the Heavy Eights crew, and they recorded it down in Nashville. Listening right now to The Far Now from a couple years ago, recorded over about 3 years at a few different places, and love this one too. Only had it for a few months, so still gets a lot of plays. Another nice sounding recording too.
Heard the Clean may have a new one recorded and set to be released this year. Looking forward to that one.