I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was a good one. As I was eating my meal yesterday, I thought I should start to gather my year-end lists and start posting the good and bad of 2008. I might as well start with the bad, so here we go with the most underwhelming record of 2008; Motley Crue's Saints of Los Angeles.
Ever since the Crue reunited in 2005 and the tour was a success, the band has been talking about releasing an album of all new material which they finally got around to this past June. Sadly, it showcases a band who are former shadows of themselves.
I found myself unimpressed with it upon my initial listens and as I went back a few weeks ago to give it another spin, I found that my gut instinct was dead on. This is largely a Nikki Sixx solo project where Mick Mars (the only good thing on this album) got to write his own riffs. Tommy Lee and Vince Neil didn't bother showing up until their drum and vocal parts were needed. Plus, instead of pulling in a producer to guide them and give them criticism, the band hired a buddy of Nikki's and the end result is an album no one will remember or even give a second thought to a decade from now.
My full review can be read over at antiMusic at this link.
I've read part of the speech Gene Simmons gave at Billboard Touring Conference in New York this week and ironically, he sounds like the CEO of a car company yearning for the good old days. I understand him being a capitalist and all, but his comments are uncalled for and one of the primary reasons the music industry is faltering and why the concert industry in the next two to three years will falter even worse than recording industry.
Below I will take parts of the Billboard article originally published at this link and beneath each paragraph, I will give my comments.
Having recently completed a 30-plus-date European tour, Kiss will "eventually when we're ready tour America," co-founder Gene Simmons said during a keynote address today (Nov. 20) at the fifth annual Billboard Touring Conference, held at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York.
Translation: KISS will tour the US when the promoters pay their asking price. But because every promoter in the US lost money on the 2004 KISS tour, no one is jumping at the chance to promote what will ultimately be a losing venture without Peter Criss and Ace Frehley on board.
Referring to Kiss as the "juggernaut of all rock'n'roll brands," Simmons said the band is currently working out future tour details. "We've been talking with [manager Doc McGhee] about Europe and then doing a year-long tour maybe this coming summer, but we'll see," Simmons said. "Kiss and Queen, that would be a smash. That would kill. So far (it's) 50/50."
Translation: KISS loves their money and even though we can't sell out arenas and sheds on our own, we want to bring another classic rocker out with us, jack up the price and only play 80-minutes (see Aerosmith/KISS tour 2003). Hey, if KISS and Queen actually toured together next summer, you would actually have a whole group of original members between the two groups (2 from KISS and 2 from Queen). My only question is whether Gene would make Brian May and Roger Taylor wear Ace and Peter's make-up?
During the address, Simmons, who is also a reality TV star and entrepreneur, stressed the duties of being a live performer. "I don't care if you're Axl Rose, forgot to tie your shoelaces or your father molested you when you were three -- you're a bitch if you don't show up onstage when it says 9 o'clock," he said, drawing loud applause from the audience.
OK, so Axl goes out onstage late, who doesn't know this? I'll tell you what, I would rather take the chance of seeing Axl and GNR slay me the way they did in 2006 {review here} than seeing Gene call it in every night playing the same exact KISS songs we saw between 1996 and 2000.
"You need to have the integrity and self-respect to respect the promoter who paid you the money in advance, the hall and the people who makes all our lives possible," he continued.
Question for Mr. Simmons: So, when you could barely sell a third of the sheds in 2004 at prices of $25, $50 and $75, did you actually return money back to the promoters? Hell, they reduced lawn tickets here in Chicago to $10 and there were still barely 12,000 people there. Plus, that's not counting the hundreds or thousands of tickets that were papered. I am guessing KISS didn't shed a tear over the fact that every promoter lost money on that tour. This is the longest period KISS has ever gone without going out on a full scale tour of the US. It's not because they don't want to, it's because the guaranteed money is not there for them with two original members missing.
Speaking to an audience of primarily concert promoters, venue officials and booking agents, Simmons warned those in the live entertainment industry that it wouldn't be wise to lower concert ticket prices. "Don't do that, you're training an entire generation of people to pay less for something and then more for something else," he said. "They won't know what the value is and they'd rather pay less every time."
In 2000, KISS did their so called "Farewell" tour and tickets cost $25, $50 and $75...very reasonable. KISS no longer has Ace or Peter with them, so their prices should be significantly lower than that. If you bought a new car in 2000 for $20,000 and in 2008 you have 80,000 miles on it, do you really think you deserve $20,000 for your car now?
No concert ticket should ever be over $100 with service charges. Bands like KISS, tickets should be $50 and under...and $25 more if they bring back Ace and Peter. KISS had a top ticket price of $45 on their 1996-1997 and guess what, they still made millions. The cost of taking a show on the road hasn't gone up that significantly. If they claim it has, they're lying.
Hey Gene, maybe if you actually created some new KISS music, I would feel differently.
Simmons stressed that the touring business needs to quickly think about the future of its model. "Thank God you're the last vestiges of a dying breed, because the record industry is already dead, because we trained the people [that] they don't have to pay for stuff that they used to pay for," he said. "The record industry allowed that and people are shocked they're out of business."
Translation: "I make no money from the sales of records, so I need to kiss (no pun intended) every one's ass here so you will overpay me for a future tour where you will ultimately lose money."
Ticket prices are out of control, service charges are out of control, artists ego's are out of control and promoters will eventually have the floor beneath them fall out as the public will wise up and realize that no concert is worth more than $75. If the concert promoters DO NOT lower prices, then Mr. Simmons will have no industry to suck money out of. The irony of all of this, is that the cheaper the ticket, the more likely fans will buy merchandise, seek out and buy their music and most importantly...come back to see your show again. Would you rather sell a $50 ticket to someone who will spend money on merchandise, follow your music and come year after year to your shows? Or do you want to charge someone $150 for an experience that will ultimately put a poor taste in their mouth, turn them off from wanting to buy merchandise or music and make them feel entitled to download your music for free?
Meanwhile, Simmons expressed his discontent with the fact that Kiss, which he co-founded in 1972, has not yet been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "A lot of those guys on the board can go and get my sandwich when I want, and I mean that in the nicest way," he said. "There are disco bands, rap bands, Yiddish folk song bands in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but not Kiss. I believe we have more gold records in America than any other group, but it's OK."
Spoken like a true PR person. Is KISS an important band? Hell YES! They deserve to be in the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame, but I wonder if Gene has ever heard of how to attract more bee's with honey instead of vinegar. If he stopped talking about it and putting down the Hall, they may let him in.
This speech proved that Simmons is as far out of touch with reality as the CEO's from the major car companies in Detroit. People have less money than ever to spend and I can tell you, they are not going to spend it on a band whose best days are behind them and a band who is missing two original members. If you bought a Toyota car with a Ford engine, would you pay the Toyota price? I don't think so.
The ever clever and witty Chuck Klosterman has weighed in on Chinese Democracy...
Anyone who read Klosterman's Fargo Rock City knows he has an affinity for GNR and an album fifteen years in the making needs a deep dive into the music and Klosterman does just that courtesy of the Onion's AV Club. Here's a sample:
As for the music—well, that's actually much better than anticipated. It doesn't sound dated or faux-industrial, and the guitar shredding that made the final version (which I'm assuming is still predominantly Buckethead) is alien and perverse. A song like "Shackler's Revenge" is initially average, until you get to the solo—then it becomes the sonic equivalent of a Russian robot wrestling a reticulating python. Whenever people lament the dissolution of the original Guns N' Roses, the person they always focus on is Slash, and that makes sense. (His unrushed blues metal was the group's musical vortex.) But it's actually better that Slash is not on this album. What's cool about Chinese Democracy is that it truly does sound like a new enterprise, and I can't imagine that being the case if Slash were dictating the sonic feel of every riff. The GNR members Rose misses more are Izzy Stradlin (who effortlessly wrote or co-wrote many of the band's most memorable tunes) and Duff McKagan, the underappreciated bassist who made Appetite For Destruction so devastating. Because McKagan worked in numerous Seattle-based bands before joining Guns N' Roses, he became the de facto arranger for many of those pre-Appetite tracks, and his philosophy was always to take the path of least resistance. He pushed the songs in whatever direction felt most organic. But Rose is the complete opposite. He takes the path of most resistance. Sometimes it seems like Axl believes every single Guns N' Roses song needs to employ every single thing that Guns N' Roses has the capacity to do—there needs to be a soft part, a hard part, a falsetto stretch, some piano plinking, some R&B bullshit, a little Judas Priest, subhuman sound effects, a few Robert Plant yowls, dolphin squeaks, wind, overt sentimentality, and a caustic modernization of the blues. When he's able to temporarily balance those qualities (which happens on the title track and on "I.R.S.," the album's two strongest rock cuts), it's sprawling and entertaining and profoundly impressive. The soaring vocals crush everything. But sometimes Chinese Democracy suffers from the same inescapable problem that paralyzed proto-epics like "Estranged" and "November Rain": It's as if Axl is desperately trying to get some unmakeable dream song from inside his skull onto the CD, and the result is an overstuffed maelstrom that makes all the punk dolts scoff. His ambition is noble, yet wildly unrealistic. It's like if Jeff Lynne tried to make Out Of The Blue sound more like Fun House, except with jazz drumming and a girl singer from Motown.
Beyonce- I Am… Sasha Fierce Album review 1.5 Stars By Anthony KuzminskiBeyonce is a pop princess who has created a handful of really exquisite and catchy pop songs full of release and mental abandonment. She’s not an A-grade talent in my mind, but you can’t tell me that “Crazy In Love” and “Irreplaceable” are not great pop singles, because they are. I wish I could say the same about the songs on her latest album, I Am…Sasha Fierce. The album is to display her two different sides and according to Beyonce, she didn’t want to “mix the songs together” according to her father. But when you go to buy this album, prepared to be confused. The album is being released in a series of configurations. The cheapest (and most widely available) will be a standard edition with thirteen songs, but there is a deluxe edition with sixteen songs and then there’s two more songs available on the Japanese edition and through iTunes, confused yet? Well, we’re just beginning because the songs are arranged in a series of two discs (labeled “I Am…” and “Sasha Fierce”). More confused? Wait until you hear the album.
Beyonce has made a career of making a splash out of every career move because ultimately, without the razzle and dazzle, I am not sure if anyone will remember her. It’s a shame because she shows promise, but as a song on the deluxe edition displays, “Ego” is out in full force. Her performance this past weekend was solid and inspired…until a wind machine started blowing through her hair, deflating how I felt about the performance because with that one idiotic decision, it came to light that this is all about show and having nothing to do with soul. Sadly, I Am…Sasha Fierce falls victim to the same traps.
“If I Were A Boy” and “Single Ladies” are solid pop singles, but the dichotomy between these two distinct personalities prove to be a tad too much for one to digest, even on multiple listens. The “I Am” disc is ballad heavy and ultimately, after the first two tracks, you drown in a sea of snoozing as there is nothing noteworthy about the remainder of the ballads aside from the caressing chorus of “Halo”. However, while most of the album to this point proved to be nothing more than a largely uninteresting affair, the second half “Sasha Fierce” proves to be more embarrassing than enlightening. Songs such as “Radio”, “Diva” and “Ego” are directionless and not brave but misfires as Beyonce proves to be out of her league on the techno-electronic heavy tunes. “Ego” should have been cut live in the studio with a horn section…the key is to be timeless, not timely. She almost pulls off “Sweet Dreams” and “Scared of Lonely”, but her reliance on the more experimental computer generated sounds dates the song immediately. Instead of writing from within, you hear a confused artist who has too many cooks in the kitchen. “Video Phone” isn’t catchy in the least and is a low point of her career.
Ultimately, I Am…Sasha Fierce can’t even be saved by cutting the best tracks to one disc. The two lead singles are easily the best of the bunch with “Halo” coming in a distant third. Aside from “Single Ladies”, the second album is largely a throwaway offering little insight into her psyche or soul. While a song like “Crazy In Love” will be played in clubs years from now, it’s unlikely anything from this double album will stand the test of time. There is far too much filler here and I’m surprised someone didn’t say something to her and beg her to pair the disc down to a much more digestible ten songs. This album is drenched in self-indulgence and finds a pop-star more consumed with success and trying to stay relevant than making the best possible pop music possible. When this album was handed into Sony, someone should have sat her down and mentioned two words: “Chris Gaines”.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com.
Bruce Springsteen fans are shuddering in their shoes today as the world premiere of his latest single, “Working On A Dream” was premiered during Sunday Night Football and well, it may have been Bruce’s ultimate “Jump The Shark” moment. There have been numerous moments in the past where we all thought Springsteen’s holier than thou legacy was tarnished, but this is where the question is no longer a question but a fact. The song is a clichéd song that sounds as if it was written by a five-year old. One friend wrote to me and said it sounded like a Bon Jovi tune and I felt the person was off base, because I can’t think of anything Bon Jovi has recently done that is as cringe inducing as this (“Bells of Freedom” comes to mind, but at least I give the Bon man credit for at least trying to be genuine). Even though I am sure Springsteen is optimistic of the change in the White House, I largely feel he missed the boat here. Regardless of change, the world is failing and at its feet in ways no one has seen before. In a time where unemployment is rampant, I need more than someone to tell me they’re “working on a dream”, I need them to tell me that the world is one messed up place I need my artists to bleed with me; I need them to tell me that there’s a reason to believe and that it ain’t no sin to be alive.
I have seen Bruce Springsteen in concert more than any other performer and his career is storied, but as the years go on, I am starting to feel as if he no longer has his hand on the pulse of the nation. This is a man performing at multi-thousand dollar fund raisers for big-whigs and the cost of these shows are an impossible ticket for his average fan (the average price with service fee’s is over $80). There was a time where Springsteen understood his fans and their struggles. I no longer feel as of he does. In truth, with rare exceptions, most of Springsteen’s work for the last fifteen-years has come from a distant third-person perspective. While he embodied a third-person storytelling early in his career, I always felt that those stories and struggles were coming from first hand experiences. How many hardships can a man have who makes around $100-million per tour? The less he reveals about himself, the less interesting his music gets. The last time he laid it all on the time was on the much misunderstood Lucky Town from 19992 and since then, only in certain songs has he really let us inside. I’m all for penning an optimistic and cheery tune, but in a world where there is mass confusion and chaos, this is the best Springsteen can come up with?
For years, Springsteen biographer Dave Marsh has ridiculed bands that went down these routes and deemed them as “sell-outs”, ditto Springsteen’s manager Jon Landau. They embody a holier than thou attitude and how they could be willing to allow their golden child to stoop to these levels. They have often maligned other acts that do such things and none of them have been as embarrassing as this one. It’s hard to believe that Springsteen is actually co-opting his art with the NFL. This is something he has spent decades trying to avoid, but apparently he no longer can. In late 2005, Springsteen re-upped with Sony for a $100-million contract, a deal which brought a large amount of head-scratching throughout the industry. He hasn’t had an album sell more than four-million copies in the last twenty-years (and it was a Greatest Hits disc). When U2 and Prince did the Super Bowl, it was entirely about the music. In U2’s case, it was about healing in a post 9/11 world. I sat there and watch the Irish Band evoke pure passion, emotion and empathy through the television set. A near impossible feat considering their mega-status but they pulled it off. Bruce is co-opting his image, his music and his latest release with the NFL. This is something I would expect out of Bon Jovi (who is a self-proclaimed football fan), not Bruce Springsteen. This most likely is coming at the urging of Sony whom he sold his soul to. His last record, Magic only managed to shift two-million copies worldwide. Not an impressive number at all. The music industries rules have changed and instead of coming up with inventive new ways to market his music, Springsteen and his management have taken the easy way out by partnering with the NFL. This is a sad state of affairs for an artist who once stood for the little man and was against using his music on a poorly edited football reel. Apparently the multi-millions in his bank account have blinded him. How much success and money does one man need? Shouldn’t the music be enough?
My only question is…can an appearance on American Idol be next?
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com. U2 Superbowl #1
Bruce Springsteen's 'Working On A Dream' Set For January 27 Release On Columbia Records Bruce Springsteen's new album 'Working on a Dream' has been set for January 27 release on Columbia Records. 'Working on a Dream' was recorded with the E Street Band and features twelve new Springsteen compositions plus two bonus tracks. It is the fourth collaboration between Springsteen and Brendan O'Brien, who produced and mixed the album.
'Working on a Dream' Song Titles:
1. Outlaw Pete 2. My Lucky Day 3. Working On a Dream 4. Queen of the Supermarket 5. What Love Can Do 6. This Life 7. Good Eye 8. Tomorrow Never Knows 9. Life Itself 10. Kingdom of Days 11. Surprise, Surprise 12. The Last Carnival
Bonus tracks: The Wrestler A Night with the Jersey Devil
Bruce Springsteen said, "Towards the end of recording 'Magic,' excited by the return to pop production sounds, I continued writing. When my friend producer Brendan O'Brien heard the new songs, he said, 'Let's keep going.' Over the course of the next year, that's just what we did, recording with the E Street Band during the breaks on last year's tour. I hope 'Working on a Dream' has caught the energy of the band fresh off the road from some of the most exciting shows we've ever done. All the songs were written quickly, we usually used one of our first few takes, and we all had a blast making this one from beginning to end."
'Working on a Dream' is Bruce Springsteen's twenty-fourth album and was recorded and mixed at Southern Tracks in Atlanta, GA with additional recording in New York City, Los Angeles, and New Jersey.
According to BWBK, The NEW YORK DOLLS and legendary record producer TODD RUNDGREN have been reunited for the first time in 36 years. Rundgren will produce the Dolls' new album at his studio on the island of Kauai. Production is scheduled to start in January 2009.
This is the first time in 36 years since Rundgren originally produced the New York Dolls eponymous debut album, The New York Dolls, which included the classic songs 'Personality Crisis', 'Trash', 'Jet Boy' and 'Private World'. Rundgren will be reunited with original Dolls founding members, David Johansen (vocals) and Sylvain Sylvain (guitar, vocals).
"We're really excited to be working with Todd again," says David Johansen. “We're hoping to recapture the same magic on the forthcoming album."
The album, which is yet untitled, will be released on the Atco label through Warner Brothers. The Atco label has been specially re-launched. The New York Dolls are one of the first signings to the label. The Dolls will follow the release of the new album with a world tour in 2009.
Rundgren is currently touring Europe with his new album Arena.
This is a far superior use of Rundgren's time rather than touring with the Cars or touring to half empty halls. I loved the last Dolls album to pieces and am hoping this one can live up to the hype.
Paul Stanley-One Live KISS Live DVD review 3.5 Stars By Anthony Kuzminski KISS fans are a disgruntled bunch. It’s hard to blame them, because like Charlie Brown, they feel like they have had the football yanked from them one too many times. Ultimately all KISS fans want some kind of new music from them. Artists tend to believe fans only want to hear their hits, but isn’t it ironic that aside from The Who, virtually no one has been able to be relevant without releasing a new album here and there. Hell, even The Who eventually relented and forged new songs. Since 1990, KISS has released three studio albums. For the record, when Guns N’ Roses unleashes Chinese Democracy later this month, that will be their fourth record since 1990 (I’m counting The Spaghetti Incident). KISS fans are loyal to a fault. The love of their heroes is so devout that it often blinds them. Ultimately, people need something more than the same greatest hits on every tour, they need to feel like the artists care and want to create. This has been missing from KISS for well over a decade. I remember seeing KISS on their co-headline jaunt in 2003 with Aerosmith and ultimately, while I enjoyed the show more than I imagined I would, it was ultimately disheartening as I felt I was watching a band that was shadows of their formers selves. What KISS seemed to be missing was a mission and purpose.
A lot is said about Gene Simmons and most of it is hard to argue with as he makes no apologies for his love of money. His partner in crime, Paul Stanley, is most likely just as guilty in the marketing, re-release and merchandise schemes, but because he at least pretends to care, he is viewed as the lesser of two evils. It also doesn’t hurt that it has always been about the music for Paul (at least I think it is). Back in the 1980’s when Gene was consumed with movies, his own record label and furthering his ego, Paul was in the studio keeping KISS alive (no pun intended). From 1983-1989, Paul Stanley was KISS. We can credit Paul’s solo tour from 1989 with opening the KISS vaults and having them dig deeper into their catalog on future tours. Next to Frehley’s solo disc, Stanley’s is the next best of the ill-fated 1978 solo albums and surprisingly to this day, it holds up incredibly well and doesn’t sound dated. All of this brings us to the One Live KISS live DVD just released from Stanley’s solo tour two years ago. I’m happy to say that his solo trek and show was brimming with vitality I haven’t seen since the so-called “Farewell” shows in 2000. Stanley hired the house band from the “Rock Star” television show and their provide an oomph and slamming drive to KISS classics and Stanley’s solo work. The DVD sadly contains no extras but provides nearly two-hours of a revitalized and reenergized Paul Stanley proving he still has the need to create and prove people wrong. In fact, I preferred hearing the KISS classics with this band, than the counterfeit KISS currently touring. “Lick It Up”, “Got To Choose” and “Hide Your Heart” sound as fresh and invigorating as they ever have and the band breathes new life into these classics. Then there were songs I had forgotten about, including “A Million To One” from Lick It Up and “Magic Touch” from Dynasty. Then there’s Stanley’s solo work including songs from his 1978 solo album including “Wouldn’t You Like To Know Me”, “Move On”, “Tonight You Belong To Me” and “Good Bye”. His 2006 solo album, Live To Win is represented by the title track, “Lift” and “Bulletproof”, each an improvement over the album versions. This is why it’s so vital to take your music to the read, the live performance peels layers off and reveals the music in a new light. After watching this DVD, I have already revisited both of Stanley’s solo discs multiple times. The only parts of the performance I found lacking were the inclusion of such obvious material like “Love Gun”, “Strutter” and “Detroit Rock City”. The KISS catalog is so rarely dug into in concert, I wish Stanley would have skipped any and all KISS classics in favor of forgotten gems like “A Million To One” and “Magic Touch”. I’d still kill to see “Mr. Speed”, “Flaming Youth” and “Love Her All I Can”. Regardless, it’s hard to complain when Stanley executed a stellar set list that proved there is still life in the Star Child.
The overall look of the DVD is spectacular. All too often I tend to find artists taking shortcuts when they put these DVD’s out. They often go on the cheap not hiring a competent director, shooting on cheap video over film and documenting their legacy with half-talents. That is not the case here. Its clear Stanley has come to realize the importance of documenting all phases of one’s career and he didn’t cheap out here. Paul Stanley’s One Live KISS DVD features an artist whose hunger still roars when he hits the stage. From the opening thunder of “Live To Win” to the finale of “Good Bye”, One Live KISS is a document of an underrated musician whose hunger matches those of unproven artists and simultaneously reminding KISS fans why we became hypnotized by their image and music in the first place.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com.
Butch Walker: Sycamore Meadows Album Review 4.5 Stars By Anthony Kuzminski
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said “life is a journey, not a destination”. I’m overtly optimistic person and I truly believe that no matter how successful an artist becomes that they believe that each film, poem, book, song or album is part of the ongoing journey. However, this isn’t always the case. All too often people become consumed with perception and there’s nothing worse than failure, so instead of following their hearts, they follow the money. As a result, they become far too content with their life and become numb to everything around them and they end up at a dead destination sidetracking their journey. Fortunately Butch Walker hasn’t fallen under this career inflicting spell. When Walker released Letters in 2004, you could feel the throbbing earnestness of his pain. This automatically gave him credibility; brutal poetic honesty shines through as each song appeared as if it was a page from his diary. His 2006 album The Rise And Fall Of Butch Walker And The Let’s Go Out Tonites was a brave glam-rock departure/throwback and one I admired, but have found to not to be as compelling as Letters because I didn’t feel as if his soul was tortured. Talk about impractical expectations for an artist to live up to.
Artists are at their best when they bleed. When they feel pain, their superstar status dissipates and they become just like us. This is what makes albums like Bob Dylan’s Blood On The Tracks, Peter Gabriel’s Us and Bruce Springsteen’s Tunnel of Love such crucial masterpieces where larger than life stars let their guard down and allowed us into their tortured psyche. They say the truth sets you free. Artists are more believable and engaging when their rock star aura melts away. Beneath all of the glitz and glamour are humans who feel pain just like you and me. Walker’s life has been on a topsy-turvy ride in the last twelve months and the doubt, anguish and desperation he has experienced has been crafted into his most mature and enduring work to date, Sycamore Meadows. Titled after the street where his house resided before a fire destroyed it (and everything he owned) last November, it’s a somber, philosophical and ultimately invigorating record. One track may be moody and melancholy and right around the corner is thunderous and primal redemption. It’s almost as if Walker decided to write his autobiography and set it to music. Full of illuminating and discerning layers, each listen of Sycamore Meadows is more gratifying and revealing. Sycamore Meadows is a dreamy and raw vista full of insurrectionary rage finding a fine balance between innocence and experience.
If “American Girl” is the greatest song Roger McGuinn never wrote, then Sycamore Meadows lead-off track “The Weight of Her” is the best damn song Tom Petty never wrote with a high octane chorus that will elicit sheer aural bliss about “the truth about girls” according to Walker. The last song written for the record gushes with soulful pop-sonics and surprisingly is unlike the rest of the album. In fact, Walker has created a wholly unique twelve-track opus where no two songs are alike. Shifting between boisterous rockers and more solemn weighty numbers, Walker’s production is flawless. He spent more time crafting this record than any other of his career and it shows. This is a record that very easily could have been over-produced, but ultimately Walker restrained many of the arrangements allowing the songs to breathe and ultimately make them illuminating. “Going Back/Going Home” was written at the urging of his manager in the wake of the fire and it may be the best thing Walker has ever written. The discreet life-affirming reflective song where he offers up insight into his entire life and career but at the end it becomes apparent that he indeed is in tune with himself and where he needs to go. It’s true, you have to go home and acknowledge your past in order to go on with the future. “Here Comes the...” is a power-pop ballad but instead of being drenched in over-production, the track is quite organic with minimal instrumentation and a heartfelt backing vocal by P!nk. If any A&R men are left at the major labels, they would have an up and coming artist cover this one as an entire career could be made on it. “Ships in a Bottle” was written in the weeks in the aftermath of the fire, but the luster of the lyrics is that while they are visceral, they are obsolete enough to allow the listener to paint their own picture of survival. One of the elements of Sycamore Meadows that radiates is the sense of loss, longing and the yearning to move on. Ultimately, one can wallow in their own sorrow, but how does one get from Good Friday to Easter Sunday?
“Vessels” is about the dissolution of a relationship features jaded verses with a furious chorus laced with the ever ringing catchiness of Walker’s best work while “Passed Your Place, Saw Your Car, Thought of You” has a desperate atmosphere surrounding it but the lyrics anchor the emotion. Once again, Walker decided to let the lyrics breathe amidst minimal instrumentation and they lacerate with a primacy missing from records these days. The last record to be this intimate and philosophical was Will Hoge’s 2007 opus Draw the Curtains which wound up being my top disc of that year. Despite the internal need to expunge, Sycamore Meadows has a number of musically muscular and ferocious anthems including “The 3 Kids in Brooklyn” which features an intoxicating “la-la” chorus that is pure Walker. It is ready-made for radio and shocks you back to life like a defibrillator after you have flat lined. There’s a biting and unrelenting truthfulness to the lyrics on the whole record as Walker is a no-nonsense rocker exposing the contradictions of labeling and society as a whole. “A Song for the Metalheads” is a folk tune that very easily could have been transformed into an arms-to-the-air anthem for the masses but one listen and you’ll know it’s exactly as it should be. “Closer to the Truth and Farther from the Sky” was written to be a tear down the walls anthem along the lines of “Born To Run”, but at the last minute, Walker removed the drums from the track and in some ways, it is refreshing as it allows the lyrics to shine through. When I spoke to Walker last summer about the record the one word he told me that would sum up the record was “introspective” and this is never truer than on “ATL” which has a bedroom intensity and intimacy not heard on record since Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska. For an artist who has made a career of creating rich melodic records made for radio, Walker finds the perfect fit for each of these tracks never overreaching and never under delivering; Walker always finds the perfect medium that showcases the song in the best light possible.
We need artists to bleed artistically for us to find a centered life, because it reminds us that even their lives are not perfect. What makes Butch Walker so refreshing is his willingness to not sugar coat any of it. The brutal truth is here for everyone to dissect and indulge in. As the world crumbles around us we need the affirmation of these artists to be blunt and tell us the world is one messed up place, bad things happen to good people, but ultimately we must prevail. Sycamore Meadows features an artist at a crossroads with his foot on the gas pedal full speed ahead towards redemption with a unified and assertive collection of songs. However, while the speed normally causes most artists to lose sight of who they are and where they came from, Butch Walker has a close insightful eye on the rear view mirror completely aware that the past is never far behind. Unlike most artists who either forget or wallow in their past for their entire existence, Walker has found a powerful middle ground where he embraces the past so when he see’s it sneak up in that mirror, he can smile while simultaneously rolling down the windows and cranking the radio to ten in anticipation of that next great life journey.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com.
I'm not a country music fan. Don't get me wrong, I admire the art form and view many of the classic country artists (Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams) to be nothing short of sheer brilliance. However, in the last few years I have been semi-seduced by country music. It's sometimes not even about the music, but about the attitude. Sadly most of country these days has more raw voltage than some rock concerts these days.
That being said, I worship at the altar of Keith Urban. He's a consummate performer who has more in common with John Mellencamp than Garth Brooks. Watching him perform his new song, "Sweet Thing" on the CMA's and as my wife turned to me and referred to his music as "highly listenable". Urban has a penchant for melody and the song anchors itself on a brilliant chorus. As a live performer, Urban (for my money) is one of the five best live acts on the planet at this time. The new single isn't edgy or rabid but it's memorable amidst sustained power chords and layers of subtle instrumentation. For those of you who have not taken a close look at Urban, give his music a closer listen, you'll be surprised.
I always check the readership of my blog and every once in a while I see a huge spike in readership. It's usually based on one review...and this time it was my AC/DC live review which was classified as "Highly Recommended Reading" by AC/DC News which can be found here.
On a side note, my wonderful editor, Adam Bielawski over at Unrated Magazine, shot some killer shots of AC/DC in Chicago and all of them can be viewed here on antiMusic.
In my last twelve days at work, I've logged at least 13-hours each day, so writing has taken a back seat. I have a slew of new reviews to get put up in the coming week, so stay with me. Butch Walker, Arizona, Paul Stanely, KISS and others!
More soon...
xT
Right now, right here, there is nothing wrong. I love the fall. I love the smell of it, I love the colours. And now that the leaves have made their predictable descent to the ground, I love the stoic trees who seem to say "We're not going anywhere, we're staying right here as always, and we'll look pretty again next year." I love the whole feel of the fall. Today, the chill in the air cuts through the drowsiness and weariness of life and nudges me and says "You're alive, enjoy it, and breathe deeply." And Christmas is still coming...
AC/DC-Pulling Out Their Big Guns October, 30, 2008 Allstate Arena-Rosemont, IL By Anthony Kuzminski {Photo Credits}
In the creation story according to Genesis, God created the heavens and the Earth in six-days and on the seventh day he rested. My theory is that after a day of rest, God stood up and decided he needed a little boost before he went back to work, so he lifted his hands and said “Let There Be Rock” with Angus and Malcolm Young in mind. AC/DC, aside from the Ramones, may be the most pure and primordial rock n’ roll band the planet has ever seen. Their model is simple, yet inspired; four chords and the truth. They’ve never wavered from their simplistic blues based bad-ass riffs. At one point this appeared to be holding the band back in the mid-80’s, but time has told a different story, ultimately it’s their saving grace as they’ve never jumped the shark or tried to execute something that was not within them. They have never catered to the public’s tastes, the public has followed AC/DC’s cue.
AC/DC rolled into Chicago not having played here in seven-and-a-half years. As I walked inside the arena and found the audience buzzing from the mere thought of these five guys hitting the stage. The energy within the walls of the Allstate was palpable. It was as if this was once and for all a real rock n’ roll show that would put all others to shame. I still love live music and find Chicago to be one of the best cities in the world to catch a live show, but in a day and age where promoters and acts charge upwards of four-figure amounts for the best seats, it leaves a sour taste in everyone’s mouth. However, AC/DC remedied this by making every seat $89.50. Plus, every seat on the floor and lower level was “paperless” and could only be picked up at the arena by the credit card holder; brilliant. Everyone was in their seat ready to rock fifteen-minutes before the band hit the stage because no one wanted to miss a single second. These aren’t stock brokers who overpaid merely to be seen, the show was full of true fans who would sacrifice their first born to just be in the building. All of the fans in attendance were on a level playing ground and when the lights went off, it could be felt.
Over a third of the audience had bought the $15 glow-in-the-dark devils horns they were selling and what a sight it was to behold when the lights went off. A cartoon was projected on the screens and everyone seized their eyes upon it. The rock n’ roll train was boarding and 17,000 inside the Allstate were aboard and ready to rock as a train literally erupted on stage amidst a flurry of pyrotechnics. Drummer Phil Rudd and bassist Cliff Williams were understated yet performed with a highly skilled and dynamic force that steered the train all night while Malcolm Young stood in the background providing his mean and menacing riffs while singer Brian Johnston was up front and center with a gleaming smile…which left the school boy, rock n’ roll’s ultimate bad-boy misfit, Angus Young front and center as he danced, grooved and shook all night long to AC/DC’s always magnificent and vintage riffs. Kicking off with the appropriately titled “Rock N’ Roll Train” noticed was served that there would be no detours over the course of their roaring 105-minute set.
Over the course of the 18-song set the crowd sung, swung and swayed along to every last note. “The Jack” featured Angus stripped down to his AC/DC boxers, but more importantly, he shredded away on his guitar with an incandescent blues riff that could make legends rise out of their graves; the same could be said about his brother Malcolm, who is arguably one of the five-greatest rhythm guitarists in the history of rock n’ roll. “Hells Bells” found Brian Johnson swinging on a rope as the bell summoned roars, “Shoot To Thrill” and “Whole Lotta Rosie” soared out of sleazy riffage and “Thunderstruck” did just that with its unyielding and tight groove. Even on the new material off Black Ice including the title track showed everyone how down and dirty rock n’ roll is done. “War Machine” found Brian Johnson as throaty as ever, “Anything Goes” wore its melodic grooves better in concert while “Big Jack” was a throwback that I bet most in the audience didn’t realize it was a new song. People call them one-note wonders, but the reality they are among a handful of acts whose music truly doesn’t age. Play selected tracks from any of their albums and aside from the different vocalists; you’ll struggle trying to differentiate an era to the music.
“Back in Black” made men hard and women wet by eight simple clicks of Rudd’s cymbals before that slithering riff encompassed the arena in a rare concert moment where the crowd’s roars were louder than the band. The arms-to-the-air “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” had fists flying concurrently during the chorus as if it were the opening of the Beijing Olympics. The opening chords of “You Shook Me All Night Long” provided a euphoric eruption so volcanic I’m not even sure the crowd knew what to do with itself. The reaction to “T.N.T.” was equally cinematic. You know those immense concert performances you see of the band on DVD and on VH-1 Classic where the crowd loses their minds to the sheer power of the performance? Yeah, it was exactly like that as fists flew in sync to the sky. What I loved about this show was it encompassed five-members; no hired hands, backing singers, hidden keyboard players and most importantly, none of the five members looked tired or bored. This was a show that is simultaneously theatrical while maintaining all of the essential and core elements of rock n’ roll and the blues. During the main set closer, “Let There Be Rock”, Angus played the guitar on his head amidst a rising mini stage on the opposite end of the floor. Remember when rock n’ roll used to be this fun? Most bands would take a breather in the encore, but one forgets the term “power ballad” is not in AC/DC’s vernacular. During the ballistic encore of “Highway to Hell” and “For Those About To Rock We Salute You”, flames, smoke and lights rained down on the audience as AC/DC’s forever youthful riffs and beats rung inside the minds of everyone who witnessed the spectacle of it all.At the night’s conclusion, it made you yearn for bands like Aerosmith, BonJovi, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna and the Rolling Stones to take seven years off to make their fans this hungry again. Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder.
Amidst a stack of Marshall's AC/DC delivered 105-minutes of pure rock n’ roll ecstasy full of four-chord blues based rock that was completely unrelenting and unpretentious. Rock n’ roll is about making you feel like you belong and this is something missed out on indie bands who stick their noses up at mainstream attention. At its best, music is a communal affair where misfits can stand side-by-side with their nemesis. Rock n’ roll was meant to be a group experience for the masses. Does anyone have any idea how hard it is to connect with this many people? This was one of those nights where everything came together; the band’s performance, the hunger of the crowd, the musical timing, the building and the songs. It was one of those rare concerts where every moment was truly perfect and nothing and no one could steer them off course as AC/DC’s rock n’ roll train was full steam ahead and will be for the foreseeable future. As the crowd ventured out into the night, you can be sure they’ll be talking about it for not just weeks and months…but years to come. I see upwards of fifty-concerts every year from the intimate clubs to the stadiums and they don’t get much better than this. In the end, when God said “Let There Be Rock”…this is exactly what he imagined…I can promise you that.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com.
Politics is a difficult and touchy subject. It may be even stickier than religion and blood runs hot when its discussed. Often, most people (liberal and conservative) hate it when artists speak their political beliefs and I can understand this. It's not easy to change someone's mind when your life and your views have been forged from an early time in your life and your own unique experience. With that being said, I often don't find artists to get political enough. I don't care which way you swing, but I find the art to come from it to be much more vivid, real and potent.
One artist whose career was cut short due to politics was Little Steven Van Zandt. You know him best as Springsteen's right hand man or Tony Soprano's...but beneath both of those roles is a vital and blood brimming artist who wears his heart on his sleeve. His first two solo discs are magnificent and it's a shame they are both out of print. With that being said, the greatest song he ever wrote and it's not pro-liberal as you may expect, but more importantly, it brims with genuineness. It's beautifully poetic and is one of my favorite songs from the last quarter of a century. Once again, beneath the ugliness of this world, we once again find solace in music.
"I Am A Patriot" And the rivers shall open for the righteous (X2) And the rivers shall open for the righteous,someday
I was walking,with my brother And he wondered,oh,how I am I Said what I believe with my soul Ain't what I see with my eyes And there's no turning back this time
I am a patriot, I love my country Because my country is all I know I wanna be with my family People who understand me I got no place else to go... I am a patriot...
I went was,with my girlfriend She looked so fine,I said,"Baby,what's on your mind?" She said,"I wanna run like the lions Released from the cages Released from the rages burning in my soul tonight" I am a patriot, I love my country Because my country is all I know I wanna be with my family People who understand me I got no place else to go...
And I ain't no communist And I ain't no socialist And I ain't no capitalist And I ain't no imperialist And I ain't no democrat Sure ain't no republican either I only know one party,and that is freedom I am,I am,I am...
I am a patriot,and I love my country Because my country is all I know
And the rivers shall open for the righteous (X2) And the rivers shall open for the righteous,someday Someday,someday,someday...
It couldn’t be a more beautiful autumn day, this Tuesday, November 04, 2008, or a more exciting one. I’ve been closely following this presidential race since it began, and the day is finally - finally! - here. I actually took the day off of work for the occasion and woke up at 8:30 a.m, which is a miracle of almost biblical proportions upon a quick survey of my sleeping patterns. I got up, watched some election coverage, then walked the tree-lined path to Uptown Waterloo, where I sat outside eating breakfast and reading the paper.
Now I’m at Starbucks, enjoying an anniversary blend, and have been in my musical glory, as over the music system some of my favourite singers have been playing. There’s been “You’re Getting To Be A Habit With Me,” by Sinatra, “Come Rain or Come Shine,” by Billie Holiday, as well as songs by Nina Simone and Johnny Hartman.
As has been the case during the campaign, on this election day I am thinking about the themes of hope and fear.
After the attacks of September 11, 2001, the American leadership went on the offensive, sending their formidable military to Afghanistan, and then, in error, to Iraq. This wasn’t a surprise. After all, if someone came into my house and attacked my family, my initial reaction would probably be to take measures to ensure they didn’t do it again. But would it change my outlook on life, change the kind of person that I am? Would I become a hostile person, so enraged by being wounded that I would cast aside hope and optimism?
After 9/11, it seemed that under George W. Bush and his administration, America became known as the attackers, the aggressors, which in turn dimmed the image of the shining city on a hill, the example for the rest of the world to look for inspiration. The policy of pre-emptive military strikes arose, and the president labeled countries which he had disagreements with as members of an “axis of evil.” The American government has acted without the support of the United Nations – which I admit seems quite impotent – but still it wreaks of the position that the country will do what it pleases and that it doesn’t have much interest in what other nations think. America has been on the offensive.
But let’s talk about being defensive for a moment. On 9/11 America as a nation was deeply wounded. It went on the attack, but it also hunkered down and bolstered homeland security. I realize this is necessary because when someone, or in this case a country, is wounded, you want to examine the reasons for it and try to avoid being hurt again in the same way in the future. But when building walls and preventing vulnerabilities becomes a primary focus, something else can take place. Hopes for the future and commitment to the dreams that an individual or a nation has cherished, they are smothered by defensiveness and fear. Perhaps this is something that has happened south of the border.
When thinking of individual pain, I think that people can be hurt deeply and then they can shut down. They close the windows, and even board them up with wood and nails. Having dreams and being a positive person, though, requires, I think, an opening up and a certain vulnerability.
So what’s the trick? I don’t think any person or nation should be a doormat to be trampled on, but if we are wounded I think we should try our best to do a couple of things. The first one is really hard: Let It Go. To do this we have to realize that things that happen to you or that are inflicted on you, they may hurt like hell, but they do not define you. You have always been a wonderful and unique person, and you are still. Then we must Move On and keep dreaming. Easier said than done, I know. It requires things like boldness, strength, belief in yourself.
Going back to the election, I will admit that I hope that Barack Obama wins tonight. One of the things that has inspired me about him has been his call for national unity, especially earlier in the campaign. It’s a hopeful message of bringing people together. Republicans, Democrats, whites, blacks, straight and gay people. Hope affords the bringing together of people with widely diverse opinions and backgrounds. Fear, though, makes us suspicious of people who are seemingly different than us.
I anxiously await for the results to come pouring in tonight. For now, though, I’ll finish up my coffee and pumpkin scone here at Starbucks.
Tina Turner has always been a wonderful interpreter of songs and sometime in 1984 or 1985, she started covering Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing In The Dark". It must have been short lived as there are very few recordings available. However, one of them happened to be in Japan from 1984. Sadly the person who put it up on YouTube disabled the embedding link, but you yourself can catch the performance at this link.
I've always felt this is one of Springsteen's most underrated tunes and no matter how many times I hear it or how dated the keyboard sound on it, it makes me smile. A ode to lonliness and the need for human touch has never sounded as fun. There is a haunting solo version Bruce pulled out a handful of times on his 1992 tour where it was just him and his electric guitar {Link here}. For many this was the way the song should have been recovered and it wouldn't have been out of place on an album like The River. Alas it wasn't meant to be and Bruce went on to selling 30 million records and singles from Born In The USA. His revved up and revamped performances of the song beginning in 2002 are epic in concert and whenever he and the E Street Band tear into it, it proves to be an enthralling moment that proves that while rock n' roll may not be able to solve the world's problems, it allows you to dance your problems away for a little while and in the end, that's all we can ask of music.
KISS Ikons Box Set Review 3-Stars By Anthony Kuzminski Let’s be blunt…shall we? The world needs another KISS compilation like Paris Hilton needs another fifteen-minutes of fame. Since KISS reunited in 1996 and put the make-up back on, they have been shameless in their drive for sucking as much money from their die-hard fans as possible. Now, back in the 1990’s, I didn’t mind it…at first. With each new release we at least got something out of the deal; unreleased live tracks on You Wanted the Best…You Got It, the unreleased Carnival of Souls album, great remasters and even a new KISS album (Psycho Circus). However, post 1998, KISS came to the realization that more money could be made from merchandise than from the music and as a result, they came to the conclusion to not spend weeks, months and sometimes years working on new records when they wouldn’t see big money at the end. Since then, KISS has released no fewer than nine compilations. What makes these releases such a slap in the face to fans are their lack of unreleased material. Their 2001 box set included only 100-minutes of unreleased material despite the collection including upwards of 400-minutes of music. Their Alive 1975-2000 box set was a step in the right direction, alas, when one listened to the unreleased Alive IV from 2000, you immediately realized why it was shelved in the first place. Hell, I’m not even counting the hack Symphony Alive IV release from 2003 (c’mon, don’t tell me you actually listen to this album). Time and time again, KISS has proven to spit in the face of the people who gave them the keys to the kingdom. The biggest insult with these compilations is their lack of imagination. However, the ninth compilation in the last eight years, Ikons remedies a few of these issues.
First things first…the package offers no new recordings whatsoever. Yes, it may be viewed as another bitch-slap to KISS fans, but could you imagine if they had included eight rare songs on this release and we had to buy it? I’d be livid, so I have to look at this package and review it for what it is. Other KISS compilations has been lacking in the department of originality, but fortunately Ikons is not. It’s a four-disc package with one full disc of music dedicated to each member of the classic KISS line-up; Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. Why didn’t someone think of this before? It makes sense and ultimately shows why the core original line-up of this band is the one that will remain ingrained in the minds and hearts of everyone forever.
For the first time in a few decades, I look upon this new package as one that makes sense. Sure, if you already own all of the albums, there’s nothing new here for you. With that being said, this package has a more defined purpose and presence than even their 2001 Box Set. Each disc is chock full of a pseudo Best of for each KISS persona. The sound is stellar (far exceeding the 2001 box set and just a small notch over the 1997 remasters), the packaging is A-grade (killer pictures and presentation) and the liner notes, written by Curt Gooch and Jeff Suhs are superb and almost worth the price of the set alone. Alas, all of this is merely a prelude to what’s most important- the music. What I enjoy most about the song selections is that they did not choose the most obvious inclusions. Paul and Gene’s discs contain no new music past 1979 (Dynasty), but each one includes solo tracks and even the odd album track, showcasing that there was more to KISS than meet’s the eye. Gene’s “Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em” is a forgotten favorite while Paul’s “Mr. Speed” reminds us time and time again that their album cuts provided a more menacing punch than many of their singles. Peter’s disc is the weakest of the four, but it does contain almost every song he added a vocal to including some forgotten classics from Hotter Than Hell (“Mainline”) and Dressed To Kill (“Getaway”) reminding me once again why I fell in love with this band in the first place. The standout disc in the set is Ace Frehley’s. One listen to this disc and it’s no wonder why most true KISS fans consider Ace their favorite. His music was easily the most consistent and in tune with who KISS was. Even as KISS grew poppier with the times, Ace stayed true to his rock n’ roll roots, showcased on such decadent and menacing tracks as “2000 Man”, “Talk To Me”, “Hard Times” and “Darklight”. Ace is the only member to have more than one song post Dynasty on this collection, a testament to the quality of his material even as the band lost its way amidst confusion and uncertainty in the early 1980’s.
If a newbie KISS fan were to ask me where to begin with their collection, I’d tell them to start here. What makes KISS such an undeniable force is their ability to open the doors for so many during their introduction to music. Yes, it’s largely about the comic book image, but one of the reasons we all love KISS goes beyond some nostalgic face painted memory; we love the music. Ultimately it was the music that crawled into our souls and provided us with the key to uncovers greater treasures in rock n’ roll. While listening to Ikons I couldn’t help but smirk and remember a time where I could listen to this music for enjoyment and not have the feeling that Gene Simmons was pick-pocketing me. What makes this collection so enjoyable is listening to the four unique individuals who made KISS possible. There’s a reason KISS can’t consistently tour anymore and it’s because Peter and Ace are not in the band. Their replacements may be more versed in their musicianship, but they lack the history and more importantly…the soul of who KISS is. Ikons made me fall in love all over again with a band who is vital to not just mine, but millions of music fans around the world. Ikons demonstrates who KISS was at their best; Gene, Paul, Ace and Peter.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com.
Scorsese by Ebert Book Review By Anthony Kuzminski Scorsese by Ebert; three glorious words that should make you immediately stop reading and head out the door to your nearest bookstore or to Amazon.com. If you’re still reading, then it appears I have some convincing to do. Scorsese by Ebert is one of the finest books to ever be written on the medium of film. The world’s greatest living director has been adulated with much deserved analysis from the world’s most esteemed film journalist. I can think of no greater pairing of author and subject that is as potent as these two.
I’ve written a few hundred thousand words on music in the last few years, but what many do not know is that my desire to express myself came from my love of film. Back when I was in college, I found myself in a funk that would last pretty much my entire college experience. Music stopped speaking to me during this time and left me in the cold (aside from my insatiable interest in a number of classic artists). My only escape from the ache was cinema. Early in my freshman year I took a deep dive into the world of Martin Scorsese. What I discovered was someone who created art that shook the foundations of my soul and boiled my blood. Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, After Hours, Mean Streets, The King of Comedy, Casino…each film pierced my heart, mind and soul as if I was struck by a bolt of lightning. When I watched Taxi Driver I no longer felt alone, my luck appeared to be far greater than that of Paul Hackett’s in After Hours and the self inflicted loathing that Jake LaMotta imposed upon himself in Raging Bull proved to be a portrayal that was too thorny for me to watch more than once because it hit close to home. Yet, no matter how hard it was to see these characters rage with internal demons, it helped me understand and come to terms with my own. But then there was The Last Temptation of Christ, which took me at least four viewings to fully grasp it and ultimately allowed me to come to terms with my own Catholic guilt because he showed me a Christ unlike any other; one that was human and one I could relate to. I would often venture to the theater by myself and watch movies in my basement until the early morning hours seeking solace and answers from them. Even though Scorsese’s world was one full of chaos and confusion, I felt at home when I spent time with his films. It reaffirmed my inner strength and ultimately reminded me that beneath all of the sin and ugliness of the world was redemption.
On the flip side of directors like Scorsese were the critics Siskel and Ebert. As early as I can remember, I watched Siskel and Ebert when they were on television. Ironically, I didn’t see a lot of movies until I reached college, but somehow, it never stopped me from watching them every Saturday night on television and being enthralled by what they loved and hated. When I started watching two and three movies a day in college, their show became as vital as Sunday Mass to my life. Whether I agreed with their opinions or not didn’t matter; I was enthralled by their camaraderie and was eternally grateful for exposing me to films I never would have known about which were often championed on the show. It was this same championing that brought Martin Scorsese and Roger Ebert together. Ebert wrote the first review of a Scorsese film in 1967, I Call First which was later renamed Who’s That Knocking At My Door. That review is in this book, as is his latest Shine A Light from this past April. Ebert has been pondering this book for years, almost decades, but the University of Chicago press convinced him he had enough material from the last forty years to gather for an entire book and what a stunning tribute it is to both Ebert and Scorsese. What differentiates Ebert from other newspaper journalists is that he writes as if every piece were his last. There are no lazy reviews, each is well written, researched and edited as if it’s ready made for a book. One of the most astonishing aspects I discovered was how spot on and concise Ebert’s writing is over his entire forty year career. One part of me was disappointed that Ebert chose to not to start from square one and compose new prose for this book, but that ultimately would have been a mistake. The book contains every word Ebert has ever written on Scorsese including interviews and there are plenty of new reflections here to make this new to even the most ardent Ebert and Scorsese fanatics (like myself).
The book has something for everyone. It’s split into six sections each with a new introduction, full length reviews of every single Scorsese film, interviews, special writings, six reconsideration's, a full 1997 conversation from Ohio State University and lastly five reviews from his “Great Films” series, entitled “Masterpieces”. No stone is left unturned and the most interesting and revealing are the “Reconsideration's”. The films chosen for the “Reconsideration” piece range from his conflicted feelings of The King of Comedy to his four-star review of The Last Temptation of Christ. Writers often don’t have the ability to always accomplish everything they want in a review due to space limitations and deadlines. More importantly, time and further life experiences provide you with a new perspective. Some albums and films take time to reveal their true colors and in this space Ebert offers a new insight into these films rather than revisionist reviews and even in a few cases shakes the sugar off the lens. It’s refreshing to hear him still be conflicted about The King of Comedy but on the other hand, he is able to do a more revealing and intuitive review for The Last Temptation of Christ (his original was more about the controversy surrounding the film rather than its artistic merit). He doesn’t backtrack so much as offer fresh and updated viewpoints that are as engaging as any review ever written on Scorsese.
Martin Scorsese was the first artist whose admiration and love of his art forced me to try and find a vernacular I could convey. Watching and discussing the films wasn’t enough for me. I needed to articulate something more. On the morning of March 13, 1998 my senior thesis Martin Scorsese: Made In America-The Great American Narrator was coming out of the printer in my house when I opened the paper to see that on that very day, a Twenty-Fifth Anniversary print of Mean Streets would be opening that day at the Music Box Theater (Ebert’s review that appeared two days later is in the “Masterpieces” section of this book). It was such an ironic and suitable end to my college career, that I caught the film twice in the following week and felt like I needed to dissect it, discuss it and expunge my feelings onto paper. The world needed to hear it as well. The same went for Ebert whose career and life parallel’s Scorsese (they were born six-months apart) and no other film critic has written as extensively on this master director, as this book demonstrates.
I have tried to think of a comparative relationship to the world of sports or music in relation to Ebert/Scorsese and I can’t think of one. Maybe if Robert Christgau wrote a book on the Rolling Stones or if Chuck Klosterman wrote about KISS, we’d have a viable comparison. Regardless, I only wish that every book on film was filled with a tenth of the enthusiasm and sentiment as this one. Far too many books are light on heart and heavy on distant rhetoric. While these books are well researched and executed, I find myself detached from them. Ebert’s prose is inviting and intellectual, especially when the topic is one he admires as much as Martin Scorsese. The book is a testament from two artists whose love of the cinema has no limits. Its one thing to be brilliant and knowledgeable about a subject and it’s another to evoke emotions from your work; Ebert and Scorsese both have a way of ultimately poetically expressing a cathartic view of the world and that is why they are the greatest artists of their respective mediums working today. Scorsese by Ebert is an illuminating and insightful look at a virtuoso director written by a virtuoso journalist; it’s the Citizen Kane of film criticism.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com. Scorsese on Charlie Rose 1999
I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was a good one. As I was eating my meal yesterday, I thought I should start to gather my year-end lists and start posting the good and bad of 2008. I might as well start with the bad, so here we go with the most underwhelming record of 2008; Motley Crue's Saints of Los Angeles.
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