Thursday, March 31, 2011

And He Puts The Load Right On Us




I wonder how many critics will respectfully and politely dole out 3 and 4 star reviews for Robbie Robertson's new, dull CD, "How To Become Clairvoyant?" I'm guessing all of them. I have little to lose by saying this record is one colossal disappointment. Truth be told, I'm not a fan of any of Robertson's solo output, what little of it there is. That's not easy to admit, considering how I feel about The Band. But I did want this record. Now that I've heard it, I don't want it so much.

Let's get the Clapton/Robbie duet out of the way.  Ben Greenman in the New Yorker refers to "Fear Of Falling" as "the most engaging thing either man has recorded in years." Right. And "Little Fockers" is the best thing Robert DeNiro has done since "Meet The Fockers." What kind of back-handed compliment is that? This is one of the ONLY things Robertson has recorded in years. And as for Clapton, one small upward turn of his Twin Reverb knob and suddenly the same narcoleptic music he's been making for 30 years is "engaging?" The track is radio-friendly and more to the point, without balls.

The good stuff:

"She's Not Mine," sounding a bit like the adopted child of Bob Dylan and Peter Gabriel, works because of its simple yet affective melody, and what sounds like some real heart on the choruses. It's nothing new, but I'm a sucker for a good ballad and some harmony.

Robertson's Band-break-up confessional, "This Is Where I Get Off" achieves some heaviosity thanks to its subject matter, and because if you close your eyes, you could hear Danko or Manuel crying out the lyrics. Robertson does a fine job evoking the late, great Rick and Richard with his vocal phrasing. Best thing on the record.

The bad stuff:

"He Don't Live Here No More," a song purportedly about Martin Scorsese, "The Last Waltz," and the debauchery of 1970-something, has cringe-making lyrics about getting drunk on moonshine, living on a fault line, walking in a sundown and heading for a breakdown. Paul Stanley of Kiss rhymed like this with regularity and nobody gave a shit. And Kiss records sounded better. Marcus deVries production sounds as if his last engineering class took place in 1984. I am not amused by the drum machines and synthesized strings.

"Axman" is a bland....very bland...ok...embarrassing song about guitar heroes, name-dropping Duane and Stevie Ray, like it was the greatest idea since the Foreman Grill.

I was a bit excited at the prospect of a Robbie/Trent Reznor instrumental collaboration. Too bad it's on "Madame X," a snoozer written by Eric Clapton.  Do you remember "On The Couch" from the "Paris, Texas" soundtrack? Yeah, neither do I.  Same thing.

"Straight Down The Line" and "When The Night Was Young," well...the songs aren't much more clever than their titles. Each moves along like any number of minor FM radio hits you suffered through while waiting for what you really wanted to hear.

"How To Become Clairvoyant" will come, and then it will go. And that's too bad. I didn't expect "Big Pink," but I also didn't expect something so uninspiring.

16 comments:

steve simels said...

I'll say this for Robbie, his musical supervision on Scorsese's "Shutter Island" was by far the best thing about it. Seriously.

Troy said...

Sorry to hear the album is a dud. I was looking forward to it.

As for not being a fan of Robbie's solo stuff, did you not like Storyville? I thought that one was terrific.

big bad wolf said...

i thought "robbie robertson" mostly worked, and i liked night parade off of storyville. other than that, i think robbie's mostly proved over the years how much he needed the other guys, even though he didn't know it.

Sal Nunziato said...

I didn't really mind either album so much at the time. Didn't love them, but didn't mind them. Neither aged very well, and I find the solo stuff, especially this new one, to be a bit hokey.

Noam Sane said...

I'll say this for Robbie, his musical supervision on Scorsese's "Shutter Island" was by far the best thing about it.

I'll file that one under "faint praise indeed".

Somehow, the corn worked when The Band did it. Levon helped a lot. RR's solo stuff has been mediocre from the start, so this is no real surprise.

Anonymous said...

I agree with you about almost every word you wrote about this album ( very glad to get it, very sad to hear it )
I did love a few songs I still recommend from the solo records ( Good Day To Die (from Native Americans), Fallen Angel and Broken Arrow from the first one, Between Trains (from The King Of Comedy Soundtrack) and the rest of it, vocally and songwriting, um,...-ly sounds forced. The new record almost all sounds that way.

The Band stuff was inarguably brilliant, and there's really not a note since from any of them that can touch it.
Guess Levon was right....

Anonymous said...

Totally with you on this one. A snooze. Also agree with Simels' comment about the Shutter Island music. It actually made me laugh in parts, thinking it was meant to be campily over the top, until I realized at some point the movie was in earnest. Still enjoyed the music.

Bruce H.

Kevin said...

It's a first listen at NPR:
http://www.npr.org/series/98679384/first-listen
Will probably be used as an argument to cut their funding.

Peter Ames Carlin said...

Awwwwww, shit. I was really looking forward to this one. Tho I wonder if I'll feel differently than you all, given my ongoing affection for both 'Storyville' (which I think is brilliant) and "RR," which isn't quite as good, but still has a lot of great tunes to offer. (e.g. 'Broken Arrow,' 'Fallen Angel,' "Showdown at Big Sky,' etc. etc.

I didn't pay attention to RR's movie soundtrack work, so didn't know he had a tune on 'king of comedy.' Are there gems scattered around that I should snap up?

Gene Oberto said...

OK, we've talked about this before, but this was downright spooky.
I just finished your review of Robbie Robertson's new LP worth of tunes and what comes on the iTunes but..."Rag Mama Rag"...
It's like the iTunes (or iPad) is triggered to react to outside stimuli...call it the Amazing Randy mode.
As Count Floyd says, "OOOOOOHHH SCARRRRRY!" stuff in Sweden.
http://tinyurl.com/68sta47

Meanstreets said...

Brother Sal,
I have never forgiven Robertson for his despicable treatment of the great Levon Helm & to a lesser extent, the other members of The Band...
His solo efforts are forgetable, but his bad behavior is not....not by me anyway....

I'm back Sal !!!

Anonymous said...

after hearing it (thank god) before purchasing it - all I can say is...."stop reading my mind, sal.....!"
gmb

Ken D said...

Sad that such a unique talent has become so, well, just so ordinary. I'm disappointed with this new album but for me, nothing will ever diminish the excellence of RR's songwriting for The Band.

Meanstreets said...

Agree 100% Ken D, The Band's greatness is undeniable...including Robbie's songwriting.............

daudder said...

Sal, how wrong you are. The album is a grower. "She's not mine" is really good, really good(both mixes); the guitars on "Straight down the line" are sweet; and i cannot get the hook of "fear of falling" outta my damn head.
Is it Big Pink? nope. but you ain't 20 either...kinda what his point is...
Robbie's voice (and attitude) is an acquired taste, but for a AARP member, man, he should not wait so long between releases..

Sal Nunziato said...

@daudder

I don't like the album. And not sure what "you ain't 20 either" really means. If I was, would I appreciate the hokey lyrics or tired guitar hero retread? Or if Robbie was, would the production not have been as bland? People still make great records when they get older. I don't think Robbie did.

I wasn't expecting "Big Pink." But I really wasn't expecting, "Journeyman," either, which to me, is very similar to "Clairvoyant" only 20 years earlier.