Mark Lanegan: Here Comes That Weird Chill

Change is good.

Fans of bands don't always feel that way, but artistic stagnation is simply boring. If you've heard one AC/DC album, you've really heard them all. That might be fine for the people that really just want to hear that same song over and over again, but there's nothing terribly artistic about it. The tough part for artists has to be balancing the desire to grow with the fear of alienating their fan base.

When Metallica re-invented themselves as a softer, ballad-playing band following their early years of playing the hardest, fastest music in heavy metal, many of their long-time fans abandoned them. Luckily for them, they played that new form well-enough that they still sell out venues filled with fans who either enjoyed the new music or forgave them their transgressions.

One of the most common things that I've heard said about Metallica since that change is that they sold out or that they owed their fans better. Well, I won't really play the "sold out" game, but I will say that they don't owe us a thing. I stopped liking their albums so I stopped buying them; they don't owe me anything, and I don't give them the same consideration that I used to.

This is all a long-winded way of getting to this question: what are Mark Lanegan fans going to think of this new EP?

Mark Lanegan has opened for Johnny Cash on a solo tour. He's played Lollapalooza with the Screaming Trees and later with Queens of the Stone Age. He's sang for Masters of Reality, the Walkabouts, and Martina Topely-Bird. Two thirds of Nirvana played on his first CD. He's covered songs by Willie Nelson, Gun Club, Buck Owens, the Leaving Trains, and Bobby Bland. That's a pretty wide variety of influences and styles.

His solo CDs, though, have mostly mined a territory of warm, intimate music dominated by his amazing voice. His last CD, Field Songs, stands out as one of the finest albums I've ever heard--every song is a thing of beauty and the overall feel of the album is as cohesive as you could imagine. This is what fans of Lanegan probably wanted to hear--something that tied them close to their favorite artist, something that made them feel as if he were singing directly to them.

I'm sympathetic. Truly. But if that's what they want, then they'll want to go ahead and pop in Field Songs for another spin. They'll want to avoid this new CD at all costs.

Where a normal artist who slowly builds a cult following might nurture that following, Lanegan decided to take a sharp creative turn and see where it took him. As new and exciting as I'm finding this EP (originally envisioned as a single to support the upcoming full length Bubblegum which should be early next year), it was a creative risk; with it are the good, the bad, and the ugly (but the ugly applies only for us poor unfortunate non-Europeans).

The Good
What an amazing new creative turn this is. There are obvious influences from his work with Queens of the Stone Age, but mixed nicely with his own lyrical style and musical tastes. While it may not be as warm as those earlier solo CDs, I'm thrilled that my favorite artist has decided to keep growing creatively.

Earlier this year, I reviewed a Daniel Lanois CD, Shine, where I was disappointed that this important artist had released a disc that was safe and easy. That most certainly can't be said about Here Comes That Weird Chill.

Opening with one of the best songs on the CD, the listener is immediately on notice that this is not the typical Lanegan disc. "Methamphetamine Blues" is a song that took a driving, industrial beat, mixed it liberally with a blues vibe and a hard rock soundtrack, and spat out something sexy, aggressive, and hard. This isn't good rock, this is great rock.

It moves from that to a disturbing, short little tune. First we here Lanegan singing "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" and then we get his voice layered over multiple voice tracks and a simple electric guitar and drums loop while he starts speaking, "I'm sick of being wicked." If "Steps of the Cathedral" doesn't find a willing filmmaker looking for a song that sets the listener on edge, I'll be surprised.

"Message to Mine" is another bluesy rock number that probably would've fit well on a Queens of the Stone Age album. A nice little rocker--not his best, but one of those tunes that just sways around in your head when you weren't expecting it to come around.

The standout gem in the bunch, though, is still "Lexington Slow Down." I can't say enough for this simple piano and vocals song. Affecting, beautiful, and acting, best of all, as a great showcase for Lanegan's vocals.

Where "Lexington" is beautiful, "Skeletal History" is simply evil. It's a dark and brooding song that has lines like "And who knows my sister? Can't anyone admit the fact that they infected her? She said the sun was going to burn and blister." Little touches of electronic sounds haunt the background while Lanegan sings with a defiant anger. Putting the two songs together is an exercise in contrasts.

From there, it's a turn back to something a little softer. The music for "Wish You Well" is a fuzzy backdrop to a song that sounds, lyrically, like it could have been on any of Lanegan's earlier discs. Listening, it's hard not to catch snatches of a conversation in the background, "Tied the ends and stitched it up / hung my head and wept / but I wish you well." This one is growing on me.

The disc finishes up with a pair of songs under one name, "Sleep With Me/Version." The first song is a fun little sleazy song that fits the title perfectly--a slowly burning groove and a pick-up line for a dark, smoky bar. At least until you listen to it closely. Lyrically, this one is almost as frighteningly screwed up as "Skeletal History." It's backed up by a mostly vocals-free dub of the same song with a little more treatment and noise on top.

The Bad
The tough part here for me is that Lanegan's voice is often overly treated. One of the best possible reasons to listen to Lanegan is his voice. He voice is a versatile instrument. At times, he can be seductive, threatening, yearning, and beautiful. He can sing rock, country, blues, and ballads. And on this CD, we don't hear his voice at it's best--we hear it, often, behind the music and the electronic tricks that give this CD a fuzzy, grungy feel.

And the Captain Beefheart cover, "Clear Spot" simply doesn't work for me. The vocals are treated to such an extreme that it just doesn't sound like Lanegan. While I've seen others that enjoyed it, whatever it was that worked for them passed me by. I have a feeling that I'll end up skipping past this one regularly.

The biggest problem is the muddy sound. That seems to be part of the intent here, but it really does bog down at times.

The Ugly
For non-European buyers, there is one exceptional problem with purchasing this CD. Beggars Banquet has, by design or by accident, neglected to put the vocals version of "Sleep With Me" on the master for the CD. If I didn't have a friend to send me the missing track, I wouldn't know just how good the vocals version of the song sounds. And there is no way to tell from the CD cover whether the copy that you're looking at is the 9 song version or the 8 song version.

This is not, in my mind, a little problem. The CD that you'll see on the shelves here simply isn't complete.

And that brings us to the wrap-up.

The thing that you have to wonder is who Lanegan made this album for? His fans might find "Clear Spot" to be a tough one to stomach, but Queens of the Stone Age fans will probably find themselves skipping over "Lexington Slow Down." Ultimately, he made this CD for himself--for the sheer artistic pleasure of creation.

Along the way, though, he may find that he's alienated some of those fans that didn't want something new from Lanegan. But in this, I think he's taking a very Tom Waits approach to his career. He's pushing new boundaries, and the results may be a bit uneven. This CD, a collection of outtakes, reflects that inconsistent approach.

Where Field Songs felt of a piece, Weird Chill is like a walk during an earthquake. The footing is unsteady, it stumbles at times, but damned if it isn't a rush.

The days where Lanegan could sell t-shirts at his shows that read "DeadSlowRockandRoll" seem to be over, and some will be disappointed. As for me, I'm just curious to see what Bubblegum has in store. That CD will release with 16 tracks and be accompanied, supposedly, by another EP of outtakes.

And if Weird Chill is just a taste of what we're going to be getting next year, then Lanegan is going through an amazing period of growth as an artist that leaves me anticipating his next move. Should you go buy this CD?

I honestly don't know. It's a tough CD that won't be to everyone's taste. There's a song on here for almost everyone, but what about the rest of the disc? I would like to tell everyone who reads this to rush out and order a copy now--but to order the UK version through Amazon.co.uk instead of the mildly crippled American version. I want to tell you to do that, but can I?

I give this a qualified thumbs up. It's a damned fine album--especially for a group of outtakes--but it isn't for everyone and it isn't anywhere near perfect.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go sing along with "Wish You Well."

Posted by zombyboy at December 11, 2003 08:57 PM | TrackBack