Love-Hounds-request@EDDIE.MIT.EDU.UUCP (03/25/87)
Really-From: ebm@ernie.Berkeley.EDU (Grady Toss)
(Cross Posted from rec.music.misc--sorry for the duplication to those few
of you who still read both).
Those neo-Beatnik folkies from The Village have finally ironed
out all their contractual problems with their record company
(Gold Mountain), and put an album IN THE CAN. It's supposed to
be out on vinyl sometime this or next week... of course, these
sorts of scheduling decisions have a tendency to slip.
I have an advance cassette copy of the LP, so it does actually
exist. It was produced quite competently by Mitch Easter, and
features the 3 Squares (Tom, Bruce and Lauren) playing all
acoustic instruments (though they get some really electric
sounding leads by Bruce out of a classical guitar and some studio
mastery from Easter), plus Ex-Television drummer Billy Fica on
'skins'. Actually I think the bass is a large acoustic mariachi
bass (like Brian Ritchie uses in the Violent Femmes) that has a
pick-up on it, and the record uses a combination of the electric
and acoustic-mic'd sounds.
It's hard for me to know what this is going to sound like to people
who've never heard the Squares before. For some of these tracks
these are my third or fourth recorded version... for the most part
I think the arrangements are similar to previous recordings, and
in the few cases where they changed things it was for the better.
These songs are all so familiar to me, I can't help but like it.
Side 1 starts with the Squares anthem "New Generation." For the
most part this keeps the same strumming acoustic guitars and
marching cadence it's always had. Lyrically it's a bit repititious,
but jeez, it's hard to write an anthem!
Next is "Can't Stop the Rain." The only other recording I have
of this is from their aborted Nashville sessions, and it this is
a vast improvement over the disco crock-of-the-80's sound that
was being pushed on them. No matter, it's still got "Shakin' All
Over" for the bass line, and it bugs the shit out of me. Some
more nice vocals, but nothing truly exceptional. Some nice prod-
uction touches too (a strangely treated piano quietly underscoring
some of the vocal lines), and a nice instrumental break in the middle.
"You Are Not Alone" is another track first recorded in Nashville.
Stripped of the syndrums and studio mayhem this turns into a very
nice folk song with Tom taking lead (plaintive) vocals. I tend
to be partial to Tom's voice the best (solo--I like the three part
harmonies above all), so this tends to set well with me. More cool
bongo playing.
"D Train" is next. This was a real stand-out from the NYC sessions,
but at this point I think they've "over-recorded" it. Bruce's vocal
sounds almost like a parody. This will probably be one of those
songs that's always better live. A nice arrangement, but this take
leaves a little to be desired.
Side 1 concludes with Tom's "You Can't Kill Me." Originally this
was produced (in the NYC sessions) as a 9+ minute extended jam with
spaces for some beat poetry (that never got put in), and fragments
of lyrics from other famous folk songs. This is a more stripped down
and direct version. They did retain the tribute to Horace Silver
(using a musical quote from "Song For My Father"--something everyone
and their mother has done). The drumming on this track is a bit
quirky... kind of annoying. The bongos are AOK though. Also this
version retains the lyric change that the song underwent when they
recorded it in Nashville (changing "I'm a Southern man escaping for
his life" to "I'm a migrant worker escaping for his life"). I suspect
they felt the lyric change prudent while recording in the South, and
just decided they liked it better when it came to rerecording it with
Easter.
Side 2 opens with a song called "Daylight." I don't know if this
is an original or not--I suspect not. (Part of the fun of this band
is trying to figure out where their songs end and their research
begins). The Squares played this the first time they were in San
Francisco, and not since. When I heard it on the tape I remembered
how much I liked it--and was happy it "made the cut." Beautiful
singing, nice harmonies and a punchy arrangement. I think this is
going to be the first video--directed by the same guy who did the
Violent Femmes "Gone Daddy Gone."
Next up is the Squares interpretation of "He Was a Friend of Mine."
Musically I think the arrangement is kind of bland, but the vocals
rip. As Tom Goodkind says, "We learned this off a Dave Von Ronk
record..." to which Bruce adds, "... and if he heard us do it, he'd
puke." Real cut ups.
"Lay Down Your Arms" is next. This version is pretty true to the
one they recorded previously in NYC, and sounds much like their live
version--though of course the guitars come through more clearly here.
A nice song, but it doesn't grab me (at this point anyway) as much
as some of the other tracks.
"Samson and Delilah", a real classic, is next. The Squares never sound
more like Peter, Paul & Mary than when they sing this. The vocal
arrangement is very much the same as used by PP&M on their first album.
(I think the Squares liked the link of this song being on both debut
albums). I have an older Squares recording of this that sound almost
exactly like the PP&M version--but this new version KICKS ASS. The
big difference is that the Squares ROCK (doood). They found something
in this song that they hadn't found before--the same energy PP&M had
in the vocals, but now also duplicated in a more driving instrumental
arrangement. This version comes out sounding more like the rave-up
the Squares do on "Greenback Dollar" in their live show.
"Walls (Polish Union Song)" is a piece the Squares have been playing
live for some time now. As I understand it it is an English translation
of an actual Polish union song. Each of the Squares gets a chance to
sing solo here, as well as harmonize eerily with the others. A nice
acapella tag at the end.
Apparently there are 4 or 5 tracks that were finished but didn't make
the LP. They might turn up as bonus tracks on the CD release (if there
is in fact a CD release). I'm not sure what they are (I should be
getting a tape soon), but I think they include "Charcoal" "Old Paint"
(the updated Greenwich Village version) and "Two Brothers". A lot
of other Squares live standards ("Millions Mister" "Bullgine Run"
"You Were On My Mind" etc.) are probably never going to make it to
vinyl... I get the impression that they wanted to avoid making a
"60's Folk Album" in the 80's...
Advance orders are apparently pretty good--so these three may find
their wider audience yet.
... gt
#1 WA^2 Fan
"Who can kill a general in his bed?
Overthrow dictators if they're red?
Fuckin' A-Man (Fuckin' A, CIA)
CIA Man (Fuckin' A, CIA)"
--The Fugs