Assault Shrapnel #6
(Contrary to what you see on Assault, we still have time to lovingly peruse our old music collections. With that in mind, Jere has fired up his iPod, set it to “random album” and reviewed the first three things that pop up. We call it Assault Shrapnel, where nothing is off-limits and you don’t know what’ll hit you!)
The Who -- Face Dances
“Disappointing” might be the most apt description of this album. After the refreshing blast of “You Better You Bet” and “Don’t Let Go the Coat,” it quickly dissolves into the unmemorable “Cache Cache.” Most dispiriting is the fact that John Entwistle’s voice is in terrible shape -- thin, worn-out -- on “The Quiet One.” His songwriting acumen doesn’t fare much better. The onset of early ’80s production turns their once-muscular synths into melodic crutches for (arguably) the first boring Who album. It’s not all down spots, though. Aside from “You Better You Bet,” “How Can You Do It Alone” is a jaunty bit of pop-rock and “Another Tricky Day” is a much slept-on closer. Strangely, it seems like the passing of Keith Moon decreased their ambitions; this album is fairly humble, a trait that hardly describes The Who at their best.
Led Zeppelin -- The BBC Sessions
For a long time, this was the best live album Zeppelin fans had. Maybe you don’t need three versions of “Communication Breakdown,” two of “You Shook Me” and two of “I Can’t Quit You Baby” all on the same disc, but I know one fifteen year old boy who thought these performances were amazing and just different enough to justify having them all. That said, this is definitely an area mostly reserved for hardcore fans, neither capturing the full grandeur of their concerts (as on How the West Was Won) and, again, containing so many repeated songs as to feel tedious. It does have a live version of “Dazed and Confused” that lasts less than an eternity, though (…plus another version that’s about 18 minutes slog, err, I mean, long), which is kind of a novelty. Plus, a couple covers aren’t available elsewhere and are better novelties.
P.S. Why does it seem that there aren’t any official-release-worthy concerts of latter day Zeppelin? All the live albums seem to wrap around, at latest, Houses of the Holy. Their concert DVD (not that awful movie, the other one) has some, but seriously -- not a single full soundboard-quality show from their last tour? I know, (I have bootlegs) they weren’t so great on that tour, but it doesn’t take a Mick Jagger to market the shit out of “The first official live version of ‘Kashmir’!”
Bob Dylan -- Shot of Love
It’s strange that this week’s Shrapnel is three classic rock giants’ lesser-known albums. Bob Dylan’s Shot of Love completes his “Christian” trilogy in a way that points to Dylan shaking loose from the dogmatic lyricism of Saved and from religious music in general. “Every Grain of Sand” is simply a gorgeous hymn. It was improved years later by Emmylou Harris, but the base is here. Elsewhere, Lenny Bruce gets a ballad mourning his death, and “The Groom’s Still Waiting at the Altar” is the kind of bluesy shuffle you’d imagine Dylan can do in his sleep. It’s still good, though, and musically Dylan and his band are much more awake than they’d been on Saved. Aside from “Every Grain of Sand” and “Property of Jesus,” nothing here is memorable. It makes for a great gem for anyone wanting something that approaches Slow Train Coming in terms of Christian music, however small that audience may be.
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About the Author
Jere is not from Chicago. Nor is he from Parts Unknown. But he sure loves to hear things. Follow him on Twitter!Email this Author | All posts by Jere
Wäre jetzt nicht im gegen denken.. ach jo könnte man sich gut Wissen aneignen bevor man zu derartigen Entschlüssen kommt ..