Day 2: Radiohead and Robbie

NOTE: It says Wednesday, but I posted this Thursday morning, I promise. A couple of new releases (or fairly new, in one case) have pleasantly surprised me.



The first is Radiohead's latest, The King of Limbs (pictured above). It is in the vein of Kid A and Amnesiac, but there is something a little more interesting and less forced about this one. The bleeps and blips are still there, as is the cold ambient soundscape, but it is also a bit busier, musically, which I like. I still have no idea what Thom Yorke is singing (I view his vocals as just another instrument). In the opener "Bloom," underneath the bleeps is a jazzy bass line that really grooves. There are several interesting layers of sound here. "Morning Mr. Magpie" features some guitar patterns that remind me of some of the Afro-pop of Paul Simon's Graceland (just the guitar playing). Radiohead seems to have expanded their sonic palates a bit, and that is good if they want to stay interesting.



The other one is Robbie Robertson's latest, How To Become Clairvoyant (pictured above). From the iTunes samples, I was not very impressed. Robbie hadn't made a record in ten years, and the samples sounded a bit bland. This is one of the cases where the samples do not do the actual songs justice. One of the things that I have admired about Robbie's solo career (this is his 5th solo record) is that, musically speaking, he made a complete break from The Band. He purposely steers clear of the acoustically-based, organic, pioneering Americana that The Band perfected. His solo records are sonically dense, slick, very produced, and I respect that. He bathes his music in layers of synthesizers, samples, electronic beats...all things that would have been anathema to The Band's ethic.

He is off his Native American obsession that dominated his previous two records, and is back to vague tales of American myth, backroads and forgotten bluesmen. His weakness has always been his lyrics, and they are still a bit forced and hackneyed here, but I really dig the acquired taste of his smoke-ravaged vocals (there is a reason that even though he wrote the bulk of The Band's material, he was not one of their three lead singers). Like his other records, it is not solid from start to finish, but there is much to enjoy and cherry pick. "Straight Down the Line" is a groovy opener, the moody title track is great and features the best lyrics on the album, and instrumental closer "Tango For Django" is both graceful and surprising. "She's Not Mine" is the only true stunner here, but I enjoy the overall mood he creates (his music is always big on consistent mood), and it compares favorably to his underrated sophomore effort, Storyville. It is good despite Eric Clapton's heavy involvement in co-writing and playing on it. It is a record that will reward repeated listens.

Anyway, both are records that I had modest hopes for, and have come to really enjoy them in recent days.

Radiohead's The King of Limbs, ***1/2 out of *****
Robbie Robertson's How To Become Clairvoyant, *** out of *****