Well, Sometimes is Just Works that Way...

The more I hear about Here Comes that Weird Chill and Bubblegum, the more I really want Mark Lanegan's next CDs in my possession.

Now.

Anyone who knows me well knows that patience may be a virtue, but it sure as hell isn't my virtue.

And that's precisely why this Rolling Stone interview with Mark Lanegan is just killing me right now. The desire to hear the other songs on the EP (Chill) and LP (Bubblegum) is just growing immensely. And the bastard has gone and moved the release dates back for both of them!

Lanegan's sixth album, due in January, is called Bubblegum and features guest spots from Greg Dulli, QOTSA bandmates Josh Homme and Nick Olivieri as well as P.J. Harvey.

"She sings a saucy duet with me on 'Come to Me,'" says Lanegan of Harvey. "And on a more straight ahead song called 'Hit the City.' I like it when she does the scary quiet stuff and the balls-out stuff too. It was really nerve-wracking for me. I'm really a big fan of hers -- she's a great singer and I'm a bricklayer."

I've heard part of "Hit the City," and think that if the rest of the CD lives up to that then we're looking at an amazing work of art. I was surprised (and thrilled) to find that Harvey guested on two songs.

A pair of former Guns n' Roses members, Izzy Stradlin and Duff McKagan, turn up on Bubblegum as well. "Having them singing on the record is like having Keith Richards and Ron Wood singing with you," says Lanegan. "I've known Duff and Izzy for quite a while. I was sort of a houseboy for Duff and his wife for a long time."

Duff showed up on Lanegan's last CD, playing drums on a few songs. It worked then, it'll be good to see his return. It is pretty cool, though, to see a couple of the guys from G'n'R showing up.

Lanegan is also planning to release an eight-song EP on November 4th. Titled Here Comes the Weird Chill (Methamphetamine Blues, Extracts & Oddities), the set includes "Methamphetamine Blues," a song Lanegan kicked around for the better part of a decade before laying down.

"I've been messing around with it as far back as my first solo record," he says. "My guitar player Mike Johnson made fun of it. I tried a couple more times over the years to finish it and I actually put it over some beats and that made it a little easier. It needed some kind of rhythm, which is what he was trying to tell me. Either that or he was just saying I sucked."

I'm playing with the idea of posting "Methemphetamine Blues" up here for everyone to hear. Brilliant song, and I'm glad he took the time to get it right.

When we first heard about Bubblegum, though, it was supposed to be released this summer. Then in late September. Now it's been pushed back to January or February of next year, and Chill won't be out until October.

Damnit.

Read the article.

The following is the track listing for Chill, and does nothing but whet my appetite to hear the whole thing. Hurry up!

Methamphetamine Blues
On the Steps of the Cathedral
Clear Spot
Message to Mine
Lexington Slow Down
Skeletal History
Wish You Well
Sleep With Me/Version

Posted by zombyboy at September 12, 2003 11:35 AM | TrackBack