Classic Album Revisited: Emmylou Harris - Wrecking Ball

The early ’90’s could not have been a better time for Country music. It was a global industry, perhaps bigger than it ever was, and with acts like Garth Brooks and Billy Ray Cyrus, millions of records were shifting quicker than ever before. Brooks himself would fill stadiums all around the world. His songs were unavoidable. Urbanites everywhere had no shame in making pricks of themselves at Karaoke parties, bus trips and weddings, as they would grasp a belt-buckle, do that irritating nod at the start of each line and get incredibly excited because the song had the word ‘ass’ in it. Yep, Country music was everywhere, in all its 1950s conservative white right-wing glory. It was hell on earth, although that’s probably an insult to the devil - ‘At least he fucking jams’, as the Bill Hicks reminded us, right?

Adding insult to injury, the global industry that Country Music was becoming saw a greater focus on younger acts and less attention directed towards the established names such as Johnny Cash, George Jones and Emmylou Harris. Harris parted company with her record label Reprise after the release of a live album in 1992. After this she signed to Electra Records, home of an array of artists with a more specialised leaning such as Natalie Merchant, Jackson Browne and, in the past, influential figures such as Phil Ochs and Tim Buckley. Such a label could accommodate the ambitiousness of an artist like Harris in a way that her previous bosses couldn’t or wouldn’t.

Around this time Harris spoke out at the staid environment that was engulfing Nashville: “It seemed like everything had a sameness to it. There's always some good stuff out there, but overall, the more popular country music has become, the more constricting and narrow it's become.”

It was vital for Harris that her latest project at this time was to be everything that the mainstream Country fare populating the charts was not. ‘Wrecking Ball’, released in 1995 was just that, and much more with it. Harris collaborated with influential producer Daniel Lanois for the project. This was a big step for a start, as Lanois’ experimental approach alone was on a different planet from the safe regimental production of Nashville.

Lanois was perhaps most noted for his work with U2. Along with Brian Eno, Lanois was instrumental in developing the Dublin band’s sound with the seminal ‘Unforgettable Fire’ album in 1984, ‘The Joshua Tree’ in 1987 and again with ‘Achtung Baby’ in 1991. He was also responsible for revitalising Bob Dylan. Dylan’s 1989 collaboration with Lanois, ‘Oh Mercy’, was Dylan’s best-received album of what was previously a very uneven decade.

For ‘Wrecking Ball’ Lanois recruited many of his regular studio colleagues, such as Larry Mullen Jnr, Malcolm Burn, Brian Blade and Daryl Johnston. Neil Young also appeared, adding vocals to a number of tracks, including the title track which he penned himself.

Lanois’ atmospheric guitar sound, which coloured ‘Oh Mercy’ so beautifully, makes its mark instantly on the opening track ‘Where Will I Be?’ It’s immediately evident when we hear Harris’ lucid vocals merge with the Lanois sound that this is going to be a perfect marriage of varying layers and textures, all appropriate and serving a purpose. So packed with sound and activity is the track that it’s almost two minutes before any trace of a bass guitar is introduced.

Renowned as a great song interpreter, Harris literally breathes new life into material written by the likes of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Lucinda Williams, Jimi Hendrix and Steve Earle. On the title-track her emotive whisper backed by a minimal arrangement and a Neil Young guest vocal has a haunting quality that is even superior to the original; Young would surely conceded this too. Her reading of Dylan’s ‘Every Grain of Sand’ also possesses a passion that studio production perhaps diminished slightly on Dylan’s original.*

Of the original material that Harris and Lanois collaborated on, ‘Deeper Well’ has a dusty Southern mystical quality. Simplistic and tribal in rhythm, it’s a stand out track on an album mostly jammed with songs written by the cream of American songwriters – perhaps the ultimate compliment to Harris.

Lanois’ greatest success on ‘Wrecking Ball’ was to maintain the quality of Harris’ vocals amid the new environment in which he had placed it. It was a formula that worked and worked well. So impressed was Harris with ‘Wrecking Ball’ that she worked with Lanois yet again for the follow up, 1999’s ‘Red Dirt Girl’. The focus this time was to be on material penned by Harris, including a moving personal ode to her father on ‘Bang The Drum Slowly’. It was another well-received collaboration, and another vindication of Harris’ decision to play by her own rules.

Naturally the straight-laced Country set did not take to ‘Wrecking Ball’ very well. Harris had already foreseen the lack of airplay it would receive on the mainstream Country stations now populated by a younger blander breed of performer. But it wasn’t about airplay. It was about following an artistic instinct without the constraints laid down but the suits and Stetsons. Harris continues to play by her own rules with a dignity and self-determination that is to be admired and taken note of. As Nashville becomes an increasingly corporate enterprise, it’s good to know that there are still a few real outlaws out there.

*for the best version of Dylan's 'Every Grain of Sand', check the Dylan Bootleg Series Volume 3. It's rough, ready, not always in tune, and basically a demo, and there's even what appears to be a dog barking in the background, but it possesses an emotion that is slightly lost in the eventual and still impressive studio version in my humble opinion.

Cosmic Dancers - The Glam Icons

“Then comes pancake factor number one. Eyeliner rose hips and lips gloss are such fun”

So sang Lou Reed on ‘Make Up’ from his 1972 album ‘Transformer’. It was a record that heralded Reed’s cross-over from the Warhol Factory to an underbelly of glamour, transgender politics and experimentation. The record is laced with seedy, curious, impulsive characters who subscribe to a new found hedonism and desire to ‘take a walk on the wild side’.

The flower-power culture of the sixties may arguably have been painted black by Charles Manson and his ‘Family’ in the summer of 1969. That same summer saw the premier of Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda’s counter-culture opus ‘Easy Rider’. As half a million hippies descended on Max Yasgur’s farm in Bethal, New York for ‘three days of peace and music’, Peter Fonda’s “Billy, we blew it” line in the film’s penultimate scene belied the optimism of the smoke-hazed Woodstock air.

The start of a new decade seemed to accentuate such growing cynicism. It’s perhaps inevitable that there would be a desire to bring some colour to the fore again. A year before Reed’s ‘Transformer’ record, Marc Bolan and T. Rex topped the British charts with ‘Hot Love’. The song created a template for what became known as Glam Rock: rock ‘n’ roll riffs with themes of gold, mythology, literature, classic hollywood and science-fiction, a hand-clapping drum beat and a sense of self-importance, with an emphasis on the ‘Pop Star’ as icon, idol, visitor from another planet. ‘Glitter’, ‘make-up’, ‘platform shoes’, ‘cross-dressing’ and ‘glamour’ all became key words and key factors. The modesty of the folk-hero was replaced by a candid bowing before the superior being that now was the ‘Pop Star’.

After a number of transformations and gender bending characters, David Bowie created Ziggy Stardust, an intergalactic rock-star with a penchant for excess who ‘took it all too far, but boy, could he play guitar’. With a dynamic partnership with guitarist Mick Ronson (with whom Bowie co-produced Reed’s ‘Transformer’ record) Bowie’s not-of-this earth appearance, helped greatly by having two different coloured eyes (the result of a school fight with a friend), allowed him the opportunity to create a persona to project the sci-fi fantasies of ‘Starman’, ‘Life on Mars’ and even the pre-apocalyptic ‘Five Years’.

This alter-ego even gave Bowie the scope to journey into varying places, even death in his signature track ‘Ziggy Stardust’. Bowie took this to further extremes at a live show in London’s Hammersmith Odeon in 1973. When coming out for the encore, Bowie announced out of the blue:

“not only is this the last show of the tour. But it’s the last show that we’ll ever do!”.
True to his word the audience were witnessing the death of Ziggy Stardust. Bowie soon took himself to LA to re-make re-model, and in white blizzard of milk and cocaine ventured into what he liked to call ‘plastic soul’.

Out of the art school came Roxy Music, fronted by Bryan Ferry, who merged the glam template with his Hollywood leading man looks to create an glamourous hybrid. Brian Eno created the cosmic soundscapes that gave Roxy their initial signature sound. Lyrically post-modern, Roxy took the sexual revolution and subverted it with shadowy loners and global jetsetters stuck in-between the extended sax solos of Andrew Mackay and the sonic ambience of Eno’s synth.

NME Journalist Mick Bell reflected in 1979 on the colour injected by Roxy Music into a dreary suburban no-mans land:

“It was special, fine art English rock: the ’50’s, ’60’s and the deadened ’70’s all rolled up into one immediate wham. Suddenly Roxy Music proved that fashion was fun – we were all dressed up with somewhere to go. Until they arrived 1972 was an extremely dull time. Roxy were the arbiters of taste, the first break of a new wave, encapsulated for posterity.”

Glam Rock had infiltrated mainstream pop by 1972 and soon many of its art school traits were diluted into something that could be sold to the masses. Brummie rockers Slade stripped the music of its pretention and created a fine body of stomping schoolyard good time rock anthems. They also made the foray into film in 1974 with the critically well-received ‘Slade in Flame’, a story of the rise and fall of a fictional rock ‘n’ roll band, played by the band themselves.

‘Slade in Flame’ surprised and confused as it was quite dark and belied the good-time rock ‘n’ roll persona of the band. Far from a celebratory affair, it delved into the more unglamourous aspects of being in a rock band, and its conclusion is quite bleak. The critics applauded. Many fans scratched their heads.

The album that came with the movie is regarded by many critics as Slade’s best. Much more diverse than what they were known for, ‘Slade in Flame’ showed a band with a finer scope than many of the contemporaries they were lumbered in with. Highlights included the anthemic ‘How Does It Feel’ and ‘Far Far Away’.

The Sweet, Alvin Stardust, Gary Glitter and The Rubettes all benefited with chart-topping pastiches of Bowie, Bolan et al. Despite this, the fact that these, admittedly good toe-tappers, had such a grip on mainstream Britain was something to take note of because it appeared that the USA was not as accepting of the Glam movement.

Much more conservative (still to this day!) about sexual ambiguity in music, even the mildest hint of androgyny was never going to make a positive dent American market. Their own glam exponents fared poorly. The New York Dolls, despite the obvious impact they were to have with the emerging punk scene, were cast as industry outsiders marrying the rock ‘n’ roll excess and looseness of The Rolling Stones with the cross-dressing flamboyence of Bowie.

While Lou Reed had chart success with ‘Walk on the Wild Side’, the adult subject matter was edited on mainstream radio. Success was to elude Philidelphia songwriter Jobriath completely. Hopes were high that he would become the US Bowie. Electra Records signed him reportedly for $500,000, and a huge promotional campaign began. Despite his obvious talent and ability to create rousing mini-musical ballads such as ‘Be Still’ and ‘Heartbeat’, it was never going to be for Jobriath. Openly gay and with an alien androgyny to rival Bowie, it was clear that commercial success was never going to be a reality. He soon faded into obscurity, making a living performing at parties and diners right up to his death with an AIDS related illness in 1983.

In the sphere of Glam Icons Jobriath deserves to be more than a footnote. Over 30 years since his two solo records were released, his influence is now just beginning to be realised as those who have been influenced by his work tip their hats his way – namely iconic figures in their own right: Morrissey, Gary Numan, Elton John and The Pet Shop Boys.

By 1975 the Glam Icon was in decline. Its main players had all moved on to other fields and genres. There was also a changing of the guard which demanded that things came back down to earth a little bit. Despite the obvious influence of Bowie, Bolan and The New York Dolls on the emerging Punk of The Sex Pistols and Siouxsie and the Banshees, the DIY approach leaned more towards a chaotic dissaffection rather than glamour. The ghosts of the Glam Icons could be heard yes, but it was important that they were not to be seen.

This was not the case in the late ’70’s as experimental post-punk band Japan displayed many elements from the Glam period, none more so than singer David Sylvian, whose vocal style and penchant for make-up echoed David Bowie. The band were out of the step with the post-punk New Wave sound that was in vogue at the time, and were dismissed as Bowie copyists by the music press. Yet in truth, tracks like ‘Ghosts’ and ‘Quiet Life’ had a scope and ambition that saw them as honourable heirs to their heroes as opposed to a mere tribute act.

The same could not be said for the vapid New Romantic scene of Culture Club, Visage, Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet, which was to follow in the early ‘80’s with global chart success. Taking just the surface factors of the Glam Icons and even Japan, whose sound was lifted by Duran Duran for their hit single ‘Planet Earth’, the New Romantics were bereft of the soul and substance which made the Glam era such a seminal period in popular music.

Does it have a significance in today’s musical circles? Guitar music is so steeped in a desire to be ‘real’ that any sense of theatre or dramatics is almost frowned upon. Ironically, the country where Glam’s legacy is most visable now is the US: in Marilyn Manson’s cartoon devil and the mascara emo of My Chemical Romance – both of questionable substance and merit. Still, the music of Bolan, Bowie and Roxy Music lives on and new generations are constantly being introduced to those records. As long as we dance ourselves out of the womb, there will always be room for a bit of glamour in popular music and forever an anticipation of another alien coming to visit us soon.

Some selected personal favourites:

T-Rex – Cosmic Dancer, Hot Love, Metal Guru, Children of the Revolution

David Bowie – Life on Mars, Moonage Daydream, Quicksand, Five Years, Ziggy Stardust, Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide

Roxy Music – Re-make Re-model, Virginia Plain, In Every Dream Home A Heartache, Street Life

Slade – Cum on Feel The Noise, Far Far Away, Mama Weer All Crazy Now

New York Dolls – Personality Crisis, Jetboy, Trash

Jobriath – Be Still, Heartbeat, I’m A Man

Sweet - Blockbuster

(for Greg Rogers: the best Boss North of New Jersey!)

Turn On, Tune in, Download!

So, did you all go online for your Radiohead album yesterday? Many within the music industry now believe that this ‘honour system’ approach of offering the public the opportunity to download an album for whatever price they feel like is the future. It could well be, but it’s worth stressing that such a thing has been going on prior to Radiohead’s ‘In Rainbows’ album. Juliana Hatfield, for one, took a similar approach last year. But Radiohead are certainly the first global band to adopt the approach. Of course, it’s hardly a risk after millions of records already sold. Such a system would not serve a new up and coming act well.

So, enough of the exterior nonsense! Is the album actually any good? In my opinion – yes and it improves with each listen.

Lets just say something here and now. Radiohead already did ‘The Bends’. Radiohead already did ‘OK Computer’. These records are perfect. Why would they want to make them again? It just gets to the point when things become formulaic. A band or artist worth a damn should always be in the process of ‘becoming’, of ‘creating’, not recreating. Radiohead are not Def Leppard. I’ve always applauded the band’s desire to strive for something new, even if it meant falling on their arses. What better way to do it than publicly! I loved ‘Kid A’, hated ‘Amnesiac’ and liked ‘Hail To The Thief’. I’ve lived with ‘In Rainbows’ since yesterday and it just gets better.

Along with Aphex Twin, it’s obvious that Thom and the boys are fans of Boards of Canada and Broken Social Scene – ‘All You Need’ and ‘Jigsaw Falling Into Place’ reflects that respectively. Drummer Phil Selway is in fine form once again throughout, coming up with jaunty up-tempo rhythms and beats, particularly on ‘Reckoner’ and ‘Arpeggi’. ‘House of Cards’ is classic Radiohead, and could be up there as one of their finest tracks. Yorke’s soulful vocal delivery is given a chance to breathe in a manner that being just one part of a mass experiment has, in the past, limited. This too can be said for the track ‘Nude’ – just beautiful. A lot of these tracks have been played live over the past year or so. I, for one, cannot wait to hear them seer into the night air at the live venue sometime soon.

So forget about the talk of downloads etc. Do what you must to get the album, but do get it. It’s worth the complete lack of hassle!!

There are worse dilemmas

(Jack L) (Damien Dempsey)

If you’re not sitting in your room dissecting the new Radiohead album that you downloaded for free, then there a couple of gigs around Derry and Donegal tomorrow, October 11, that may be of interest.

Dublin singer-songwriter Damien Dempsey returns to the Balor Theatre in Ballybofey, Donegal to perform an intimate set. Having already seen Damo previously in this venue I can assure you that you will not be let down, even if his latest album, ‘To Hell or Barbados’, is a bit of a damp squib, give or take a few tracks. There’s already enough juice in the Damo canon to keep the Donegal crowd stomping tomorrow.

Irish crooner Jack L returns to Derry tomorrow night and performs at the Playhouse, now in its temporary quarters – St Columb’s Hall, while refurbishments take place at the Artillery Street venue. Jack is quite the extravagant performer, with a style that leans strongly on Scott Walker, with echoes of Bowie, Nick Cave and (am I the only one who hears this?) Cathal Coughlan. Expect to hear various selections from Jack’s back catalogue, including original material from albums such as ‘Wax’, ‘Metropolis Blue’, latest album ‘Broken Stones’ and also he may venture into the Jacques Brel tribute territory once again too.

Between the two I stumped. I’m a nosey bastard, so I may just venture down to ‘muckerville’ to see how the Playhouse crew are getting on down below at St Columb’s.

Rufus is a Hit Man!

I had the good fortune to be able to catch Rufus Wainwright at Belfast’s Waterfront last night. It’s the second time I’ve seen him perform at this venue and the third time in total that I’ve seen him – his acoustic set at last years Electric Picnic festival was one of the highlights of the weekend.

The extravagant gentleman and his fine array of backing musicians did not let us down. Together they projected a sound that, you’d like to think, the Waterfront Hall was exclusively designed to accommodate. His voice is a priceless instrument of which he has total control. A three-piece horn section alongside guitars, bass and drums backed him. Rufus himself shifted between piano and acoustic guitar throughout and also indulged in the occasional old-style crooner moment.

The set focused heavily on his recent ‘Release The Stars’ album, with ventures into the ‘Poses’ and ‘Want’ albums. There was also the occasional hat-tip to his Irish heritage. This was most vividly realised during a show-stopping version of ‘Macushla’ (Irish for ‘Heartthrob’), which he dedicated to one of his favourite singers, legendary Irish vocalist John McCormack. Rufus stepped away from the mic and let the fine acoustics of the room work their magic.

The most jaw-dropping highlight of the night was undoubtedly the Judy Garland sections. Last year Rufus re-created in its entirety Judy Garland’s 1961 Carnegie Hall concert. The self-proclaimed ‘Gay Messiah’ covering such an iconic figure within a faction of the gay community may sound a bit too predictable. But to see it before your very eyes is to see something that will live long in the memory. His rendition of ‘A Foggy Day’ was flawless. I don’t think the audience breathed throughout the song.

Rufus took it to the other extreme for the encore. Dressed in a white robe, he seated himself, put his lippy on (as you do). The lights dimmed in the room. When they came on again Judy Garland greeted us circa 1961, suited in a dinner jacket, top hat, tights and heels! It was Rufus at his most camp and self-indulgent. I honestly didn’t think his encore in Belfast two years ago would be topped – ‘Oh What a World’ in red stilettos and angel wings – but I was wrong. Here he was, with legs many women would kill for, strutting around to ‘Get Happy’, with his band suited and booted as backing dancers. It truly was one of the most bizarre things I’ve ever seen at a concert, and I’ve seen Bob Dylan dance!!

Where next for Rufus? Do we dare even try to imagine? It’ll be fun finding out, that’s for sure!

Where were you?

A constant gripe about Strabane that I’ve noticed down through the years is that nothing ever happens here. Often I’ve, quite rightly, had to agree with this notion. For too long we were by-passed for nearby sprawling metropolis that is Derry City. It wasn’t always like this.

There was a time when Strabane was a commercial epicentre where business and entertainment walked hand in hand and sat right on the border with the Republic of Ireland. There was the Commodore Cinema and The Palladrome Ballroom where all the major entertainers in the country came to perform. In a reverse of the trend that exists today people CAME to Strabane. It was the place to be in the fifties and early sixties. My old man and young muckers just like him used to hitchhike from Derry to Strabane on a Saturday night, suited and old-spiced up with Rock Hudson hair-do’s (remember, this was the late 50s!!) ready to seduce the local girls with an apparent charm that the local lads were seemingly bereft of.

It was a golden time for the town. Of course things were to change dramatically as the sixties drew to a close when all that was golden was literally blown to pieces. Entertainment since then has been scant. But perhaps there could be a change in the air if we could but notice it. Part of me thinks that we are so conditioned into thinking that there is nothing to do or see in Strabane that we fail to see the reality of things, which is that Strabane can be quite thriving with activity.

For instance, last Friday was a night that, in my opinion, had a little something for everyone out there. While the usual bemoaners were probably sitting in their local, supping on the same pint, in the same chair and again cursing the lack of events in Strabane, the town was rife with activity.

Admittedly he’s not my thing at all but Dominic Kirwan was keeping the blue-rinsed Highland Radio listeners entertained in the town’s new Alley Theatre. There were discos galore. The Farmers can be quite good on a Friday and Saturday night – 2 DJs both called Mickey as it happens. OK, wee plug there lol! Dicey Rileys had English singer-songwriter Frank Turner on Friday night and a great gig it was for anyone with more alternative leanings. The gig was poorly attended and those who missed it missed out big in my opinion. I’ll be reminding them of that gig when they next bring up the lack of things going on in Strabane. There’s plenty going on. Stop whinging, get out there and cheer the fuck up! As a famous Strabane-man once sang: paradise is here......although he probably meant Donegal!!

www.myspace.com/frankturner