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Monday
BIG EARL
Life on the Line, Volume 2
Mayhem Entertainment
Whither the Athens lap scene?
Whitherever it pleases Big Earl's
second release is out—not only is it
as Impressive as many a major label
record, but it couldn’t hurt lor the
Poverty Task Force to give it a listen
The official website might leave a
little something to be desired, but the
sounds are about on par with what you
hear on the MTV Production doesnT
go as far as thal ol Timbaland. for
example, or Kanye, but for neither rely
ing on samples nor having big names
attached. Life on the Line. Volume 2 is
more than adequate
Earls even learned the trick ol
sticking in a skit now aqd then to pad
out the number ot tracks (a hefty 21)
and theoretically keep it fresh The
thing is. his style ism exactly what I
prefer. It's too reliant on a chanting*
Type sound, too repetitive Irom track
to track, too simple in the lyrical How
None ol that means Big Earl can't play
with the big boys; they're the same
problems I have with Fat Joe. among
others. It Fat Joe does it tor you. so
may Earl
Life on the Line. Volume 2. un
fortunately. is as a whole loo long by
at least half; an EP or extended single
containing 'You Don't Know’ (catchy,
cheesy synth line; clap / snaps). *Here
II Is* (heavy on the whassup's. but
with a nice melodic background) and
‘Hard to luv Me* (electric guitar disco
come-on) would definitely catch the ear
more readily.
Hillary Brown
SHORT ROAR HOME
Short Road Home
Independent Release
On their debut outing, the mem
bers ol Athens' Short Road Home apply
their formidable instrumental skills to
a variety of music with mostly Celtic
origins. The group's lineup is always
subject to expansion, but some ol the
principal participants ol this incarna
tion include multi-instrumentalist/vo-
calisl Noel Beverley (Calliope Fair),
guitarist Daniel Promislow. bassist
Rich Mullinax (16 Tons. Blackmon
Brothers), fiddler Dale Wechsler.
percussionist Andrew Hunt, accordion
player Ken Ross and pennywhistle
players Paul and Emily Matthews.
Much in the same way ol Beverley^
other band. Calliope Fair. Short Road
Home covers vast musical terrain wiln
its selection of material. This time. |ig$,
reels, hornpipes, ballads, waltzes and.
yes. even polkas are all fair game
Whether jigging, reeling or waltz
ing. the band's arrangements provide
a showcase lor each member's instru
mental eclecticism, allowing locus
to rest comfortably on the group as
a whole or on the individual talents _
The mournful ‘Flowers for Mamie
Wylie/ The Secret Wedding* rides on
the Matthews' spirited whistle playing
The grand ‘Ashokan Farewell* and *Up
Slingo* show oN Wechsler's fiddling,
while the festive ‘Ballydesmond Polka*
gets almost everyone in on the tun.
On this disc. Short Road Home has
captured a capable and enjoyable tread
through proud old tunes. Furthermore,
with its deference to tradition but ac
knowledgment of flexibility. Shod Road
Home could bring tears to even Shane
MacGowan's wee beady eyes
Michael Andrews
Shod Road Home is playing al
Little Kings on Saturday. Feb. 25
THE EMPTIES
Dorothy
Independent Release
I want to talk about ‘Dorothy.’
not so much the entire live-song EP.
but rather its titular final track. Those
who are friends with ‘Dorothy* will
recognize her immediately She is that
shy (sometimes hidden) little track
that appears at the end of usually bold
and creative albums that want to go
out with a whimsical, earthy whimper
rattier than a splashy bang.
I quite like 'Dorothy' and her
usual friends, and I've listened to her
soft failing rain and parsing cars and
footsteps on gravel or wet pavement
many a time Much of Dorothy is retro-
fied rock, more about crossing Lenny
Kravitz with The Shadows than it is
about capturing the free-ranging spirit
ol the artistic mind and ending it with a
floating Buckley-esque vocal So when
‘Dorothy’ turned up at the end ot this
EP from Athens locals Matt Knutson
(vocals, guitar), Ben Wills (bass). Josh
Lewis (guitar) and Dan Buttars (drums).
I was pretty surprised. It actually feels
like ‘Dorothy* is here by accident, that
somehow her spirit was left in the stu
dio Irom a previous recording session
and she somehow ghosted herself onto
the end ol this EP.
The only othei way I can take the
inclusion of ‘Dorothy* is il she is a
statement of intent—as il The Empties
are saying. *We were a retro. Atlanta-
sounding rock band, but our next effort
will t>e much more Athens-sounding,
much more creative.’ If that's the case,
then we don't need ’Dorothy* to tell
us. because 'Dorothy* becomes a
moot point as a preemptive admission
ot guilt.
Ben Gerrard
The Empties are playing WUOG
905 EM'S *Live in the Lobby * on
Tuesday. Feb 28.
CAT POWER
The Greatest
Matador
Earlier this year, an issue of The
eXile. an often funny, always angry
newspaper run by Americans living in
Russia, led with ‘That '90s Sham.* a
sprawling takedown ol 100 question
able tads that infested the Clinton
decade "Lo-fi was a good idea in the
hands of the right people,* goes No.
50 ‘Like in the hands of Guided By
Voices But Smog and Cat Power.. try
listenin' to them now It doesn't sound
authentic*
Putting aside questions ol au
thenticity and the hall ol mirrors into
which they lead, there are a lew ol
other things left unstated a) the name
“Will Oldham.* b) the fact that, at least
in the case of Cat Power, the shabby
studio aesthetic jibed with an overall
anti-showmanship that could be a pain
in the ass for us. but certainly had to be
worse for Chan ‘Cat Power’ Marshall
herself—a troublesome pose indeed,
if Indeed it was a pose; and c) the last
six years of output from Smog and Cal
Power, which bears little resemblance
to their old stuff
While Smog has gravitated toward
a more lackadaisical C&W-deuved
sound of late, Marshall shoots that
moon entirely on The Greatest, wherein
she recruits the seasoned Memphis
studio cats Mabon ‘Teeme* Hodges
and Leroy ‘Flick* Hodges and. much
as Oldham did on his new Nashville
self-tribute Greatest Palace Music.
makes a country album that would
sound like country !o your weird uncle
in Comer The unfortunate thing is
that if you grew up on Moon Pix and
look Marshall's raw. vulnerable ‘lo-fi*
stuff seriously, it's going to sound like
Vonda Shepard So it goes.
Emerson Dameron
1^. JbU f 4M RrWAiVi
r
-♦ .*T>.
DR. JOHN
Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack:
The Legendary Sessions, Vol. Two
Clean Cuts
Like most great artists, piano
man Dr. John has learned to change
and grow as he aged First there was
the character-driven namesake thal
inspired creepy voodoo chants on his
legendary dehut Gris-gris. then the
Meters-backed, funk one-two combo ol
his breakthrough albums Gumbo and
In The Right Place. Then came a more
surprising turn as he seemed settle into
a more subtle and quiet style, reaching
its zenith with back-to-back albums
featuring the man himself sitting down
with just a piano: Dr. John Plays Mac
Rebennack and The Brightest Smile
In Town.
The latter has been re mastered,
re-titled, and given the deluxe treatment
for this release (the former had the
same done two years ago). The results
are. simply, amazing a raw recording,
with refined musical backgrounds. The
fact that Dr. John uses his birth name
(Mac Rebennack) in the title gives a
him into Ihe level of honesty involved
There are instrumental songs and vocal
songs, covers and originals, all |ust
one man and a piano. This combination
allows lor an album mellow enough
lor the background, but with enough
bite (because it is. after all. Dr John) to
keep an intense listener intrigued An
excellent example is album's standout
track, the Doc Pomus co-penned ’Your
Average Kind Of Guy.’ which combines
tiie soft piano of a candle-lit dinner
with the darkly tinged lyrics of a Drive-
Bv Truckers song So goes the rest of
the album
For Dr. John fans, this is another
great highlight in his musical history.
For casual listeners, it's a multi-taceted
CD that bridges genres and therefore
blends into many different settings
(though beginners would do just as
well picking up any ot tt»e aforemen
tioned albums)
Will Brooks
JULES SHEAR
Dreams Don't Count
MAD Dragon/ Ryko
A little above R Stevie Moore in
the name-recognition department, but
not by much, and primarily known
(when so) as the dude who used to
host ‘Unplugged’ or possibly as Ihe
dude who wrote Cyndi Lauper s ‘All
Through the Night.’ Jules Shear is the
kind ot generally overlooked songwrit
ing genius who, in the comedy thal
is our universe, would be likely to be
finally recognized lor an album like
Dreams Don1 Count, which contains
lew remnants of the impeccable sense
of poo he's displayed on previous
efforts
‘Do What They Want' has a bit of
bounce fo it. but mostly we re in the
land of wistfulness (note presence
of accordion, cello and viola). Shear
performed some ol these songs at
his Sautee-Nacoochee show this past
November, and the feeling that the al
bum provokes is much like that evoked
at the concert a sense of comfort and
warmth and coziness opposed to the
cold world outside And this is different
from that resulting Irom some of his
earlier records, which was more along
the lines of *ow* and *woo.‘ The sound
quality is clear and beautiful, and the
songs themselves are likewise, espe
cially 'You Anymore* and ’Accustomed
to the Clearness * They could just use
a little more pep alongside to set off
the pretty strings and overwhelming
gentleness.
Hillary Brown
32 FLAGPOLE.COM-FEBRUARY 22,2006