Thurston Moore to Band of Horses: Dan’s Faves from 2007

 

 

Thurston Moore-Trees Outside the Academy

 

Now that I am not in a touring band anymore, it is a rare occasion that I have the opportunity to garner both free entrance to hip concerts and access to backstage shenanigans. On a recent trip to that lovely old stomping ground of mine, so beautifully called the City of Angels, I once again had the gracious experience of entering the pearly gates of rock star heaven courtesy of Dave G., my personal St. Peter and the husband of the editor of this here rag. This idyllic episode would none other lead me down the yellow brick road to meet the wizard of alternative noise/punk rock, Our Lord of this day, Thurston Moore. But, that has nothing to do with how much I love his latest solo release Trees Outside the Academy.

 

This recent solo release (since 1995’s Psychic Hearts—an album I really did not enjoy) is no less than amazing merely for its 180 degree turn in musical style. Moore seriously departs from his well-renowned Sonic Youth moniker as the master of guitar noise to a more subtle and laid back pop-friendly format and regains admiration for his future career as a solo artist.  Trees Outside the Academyfinally proves that Moore is not a one trick pony.  Breaking away from tradition, Moore dabbles in the musical pleasantries of songs that focus more on lyrics and the interplay between acoustic instruments, mainly guitar and violin provided by Samara Lubelski. This is a fabulous and well-crafted work that documents his ability to create multiple harmonic structures. This newfound diversity of Moore’s should not offend die hard Sonic Youth fans (though there are a few signature noise effects); in fact, it should enlighten them to the fact that Moore is versatile enough to pull off both conventional and unconventional song structures in one fell swoop.

 

Iron And Wine-The Shepherd’s Dog

 

Somewhere between the lo-fi recorded release of The Creek Drank the Cradle and his collaboration with Calexico on In the Reins, I discovered a newfound glory for the music of Sam Beam, a.k.a. Iron and Wine, and he discovered a newfound glory in the world of hi-fi recording. On this latest release, Beam takes the valuable lessons he has learned from the guys of Calexico and applies them to his own music, and the outcome is magical.

 

The Shepherd’s Dog is magical in the sense that it is a treat to be able to appreciate Beam’s introspective lyrics and lush orchestrations that seemed to get buried on his previous recordings.  Apologies to all you lo-fi snobs, but I have never been a big fan of music that makes you work, and with the step up to hi-fi, Iron and Wine have forged a beautiful work of enjoyment and entertainment that I find relaxing and a pleasurable pastime.  Granted, I am a little biased towards Calexico and the impact they have had on Iron and Wine’s recording techniques, but upon first listen to The Shepherd’s Dog you will agree with me that this is both a far superior recording than Iron and Wine’s previous outings and the album that will bring Sam Beam the limelight he so rightly deserves. 

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss-Raising Sand

 

Who would have thought that the leather-lunged rock icon of heavy metal vocals would ever connect with the lacey-soothed country icon of progressive bluegrass vocals and create a virtual masterpiece of a recording? For once, first impressions were completely wrong and for that I am glad. When I first read that Alison Krauss and Robert Plant were collaborating on a recording, my gut feeling was to bust a gut. I was reared on the mighty pipes of Led Zeppelin’s Plant and later in life I became infatuated with the delicate pipes of Alison Krauss. But, to put the two together, I would have never fathomed, let alone go on the record and claim that this may be the greatest duet recording of the 21^st century.

 

Guided by the iconic producer T-Bone Burnett, this project could have collided into a mere wreck on the highway, but thanks to Burnett’s wisdom and wizardry, it turned out to be a streamlined ride down the cradle of the interstate. Instinctual prowess was the guiding light and the comforting factor in leaving behind their respective notoriety and allowing both Krauss and Plant to blaze new trails on Raising Sand.Rather than rely on their well-documented styles, Krauss and Plant challenged themselves by stepping out of their respective boxes to create something both strange and beautiful that may be the archetype for the future of folk-rock endeavors.