Bernie
Registered: March 2003
Posts: 515
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Review Date: Wed February 4, 2004
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: Not Indicated
| Rating: 5
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Pros:
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Excellent playing and compositions
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Cons:
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n/a
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As I mentioned in a thread last week, I started writing this a long time ago and *just* got around to completing it. I hope it generates some interest in this recording by a longtime contributing TDPRIer. There is truly a lot (both Tele and non-Tele) to get from listening to American Hips.
JC has been in NYC for two plus years now and this is the first recording to come out since he’s relocated there from San Francisco. It is also his first recording as the electric trio. The trio format affords a lot of space for each player to fill, but interestingly, the music is played without an eye for filling all that space with playing. The music moves, breathes, with all of its harmonic richness *hanging* in the air. Dan Rieser and Tim Luntzel provide perfect accompaniment for JC’s compositions, never overplaying and allowing the music to really breathe and take hold of the listener. They play with the song’s form and punctuate the music at unpredictable times, which makes for a completely enjoyable, unique and (for us guitar players) enlightening listening experience.
I’ve found that, IMO, Jim is hitting his stride – I think he can be characterized as a “three note guy” (recognizable within the three notes, anywhere in the song.) One of the greatest contributing factors to creating this unique sound is Jim’s remarkable talent in his choice of notes, in either the melody or harmony of a song. Along with that, his ability to coax tones and textures with his right hand out of the simplest of rigs is astonishing. He’s one of the tops in wrenching out the full potential of a plain old Telecaster and amp – as has been mentioned here before – no tricks, no mods, no pedals, no secret weapons - just talent and taste.
So if you’ve been hedging on getting this one, you might do well to give it a shot. After all, he’s one of our own!
So here it is: American Hips, track by track:
**From the liner notes: “All tracks on this album were recorded live in the studio”
1. American Hips
JC begins with a theme played in the style close to many of our hearts – pedal steel. It’s a deceivingly simple bend-y kind of melody. It sounds like a clean loud Tele with a bit of hair on it. Very interesting too, is the middle section when bass player Tim Luntzel lays out and lets JC and drummer Dan Rieser interact for a while. A nice, upbeat starter to get you warmed up for the rest of the CD.
2. Watchin' You Drown In A Mud Puddle
The steely sound continues. During the opening phrases you can hear his amp humming in the background, which, to me, is a *good* sign (also tells you how loud I listen to this CD.) The rest of the trio joins in and they’re all making music that gives as much importance to silence as it does to notes, which creates a very open environment for JC to play in. This musical principle seems to be at work throughout the entire CD. It sounds like JC trusts these guys. JC makes it through a (de-)tuning key solo - whew… - segues into the higher, “normal” notes on the guitar, then RETURNS to de-tune some more! (Remember – live in the studio…) Makes one wonder if that poor Princeton speaker going to handle this…
3. Sweet Dreams – JC’s guitar and NJ’s voice perfectly compliment each other. I love her subdued style and grace, which are such rare qualities in young women singers (and the songs they sing) these days. The JC guitar solo epitomizes restraint and respect for the tune and Norah’s interpretation of it.
4. Cat Under A Car
JC revisits my fave tune from Live at the DuNord. The DuNord version was in no way tentative, but it sounds like JC really sunk his teeth into this song this time around, as did the band. The feedback at the beginning and end frame an ominous melody underpinned with a spooky bowed bass. JC’s music tends to have a very visual, cinematic quality with an intensity that only a really loud guitar can achieve. Pretty frickin’ good combination, I’d say.
5. Bought Some Swampland In Florida
Jim’s gift of melody shines here. His use of reverse bends betrays that pedal steeler in him (again…). These slow ones really highlight how effective just letting the note hang there can be. Deep and melancholy, soothing and heartbreaking.
6. Jim's Blues - “Cool. I’ve never heard the blues played like *that* before….” So says a friend upon hearing this the first time. This is an ultimate compliment for someone taking a shot at a blues, IMO. Jim’s Blues is a very atypical blues performance by all musicians involved. The blues chord structure is there, but that’s about it. JC doesn’t try to sound like BB or Albert or Freddie or Roy or anyone else we’re familiar with, but succeeds in making the blues his own, and *that’s* what it’s all about, ain’t it? JC *owns* the chords at 2:52 - 3:03. Yes, *owns* them.
7. Stella
Again, Norah Jones graces this tune, this time an original JC melody (“Lipton Tea” from Live at the DuNord). Norah is such a breath of fresh air, and both she and Jim seem to embrace a quality of not being rushed and letting the music play them when it needs to.
8. Roy Buchanan's Cousin
The rhythm section sounds like something out of a David Lynch film. Jim slips and slides over the top of it at the start, stutters and skips through the middle, restates the theme at the end. Beautifully dissonant at times, this song has an unpredictable quality that just…works. Classic JC.
9. Between Your Toes
Another slow one with lots of breath. Because of it’s dynamics, draws you in and keeps you there. Songs like this must be really difficult for a rhythm section to negotiate, but Reizer and Luntzel support it beautifully.
10. Freaky Dreiky
My personal favorite tune on this CD. JC has a talent for writing unusual melodies and songs. This song is a perfect example - seriously twisted melody, leads into equally twisted improv on twisted melody, but JC (somehow) makes it work, and work well. The rhythm section sounds like a giant ogre laying waste to the countryside (I mean this in a *good* way!) as JC weaves his way up, down and around the carnage. This is the soundtrack for something very weird, I just don’t know what…This is Tele strangling at its very best. How does he write stuff like this? How do he come up with 00:52 to 1:03?!?! Fun, and funny stuff that must be incredible to see performed live…
11. Michelle
The music starts, and all of a sudden you realize that it’s “Michelle”. Another one that really draws you in through its dynamics. JC and band really demonstrate their ability to *make* you listen by playing less and through thoughtful, interactive performance.
12. Like, Hello?
JC plays the head with that picked near the bridge tone then launches into the fun part with a playfulness and humor reminiscent of the first two 10GC recordings. Lots of energy and creativity on the improvs, but it’s TOO SHORT. Just play ‘til your fingers fall off, OK?
13. Ain't She Sweet
In the tradition of “Mr. Sandman” and “This Old Man” JC takes on an old chestnut and puts his stamp on it. This tune has been played so many times where the chord sequence has been played up and down and sideways, this take caught me off guard. Beautifully played, the music just spills out of the speakers with an intentional focus on the melody – played in such a way that brings out a melancholy quality in the song. This treatment of a song is something that JC is quite adept at…
The great thing about this recording (and any JC recording) is that you’ll find such a diverse selection of music and styles, all imbued with the JC touch. From “Ain’t She Sweet” to “Freaky Dreaky”, there's always a lot of musical ground covered – and all the while the music is performed with thoughtfulness *and* musical abandon. But what comes through loud and clear is that JC understands how music can completely involve and transport the listener. It can make you crazy and bounce off the walls, laugh out loud, or make you cry. It's all there in American Hips.
If you made it this far, thanks for your patience, and Jim, thanks for the great music.
The END.
-Bernie
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"Wise men talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something." - Plato
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