Hello everybody!
A big "Hey!" to Kevin and Amanda -- it was great to talk and hang out with
you guys before and during the show last Saturday. Thanks for making a fun
show even more enjoyable. You guys are the best.
And an extra big "Hey!" to Dede. Yeah, we were at the show -- we missed
you not being able to be there but when you get a chance to go last minute,
ya go ;-) I also have to respectfully disagree with you about One Simple
Word. It is one of my favorite Connells records. I, for one, love the way
that Hugh Jones forced Doug to sing on that record!
But I have also been thinking about the issue of past, present, and future
Connells sound. Isn't it interesting that the Connells have created so
many fine records. And the sound has not just frozen in time, consider the
Ramones as an example of that. I mean from Boylan Heights to Fun and Games
to One Simple Word to Ring to Weird Food and Devastation to Still Life --
there are incredible songs about heartbreak, the vacillations of life,
understanding, misunderstanding, and the awkward moments in-between.
I was one of those who initially struggled over Still Life. I cut my
musical teeth on the Replacements, Husker Du, Soul Asylum, early R.E.M. and
more of those staple bands of mid-80s college music hey day. Hell, I even
played songs like "seven" and "hats off" during my first year in college
radio from a new band called the Connells. Yet, Still Life did not move me
on my very first listen. And I KNEW the first moment that I heard it that
without significant promotion, an album of laid back and thought provoking
introspective songs would not do well. However, I have changed my mind
about Still Life. I believe that Still Life stands out among the Connells
work. Not because of the collective approach or the sparse production
(especially as compared to Boylan Heights -- play them back to back and you
might hear what I am thinking) but because it highlights the song writing
and tight arrangements that the band is capable of accomplishing. This is
not a record that a young band is capable of, this is a record from a band
that has some depth and maturity.
With that said, I would like to hear less of Steve's keyboards on songs
(especially at the end of songs), more vocal strength from Doug (someone
should tell him that it is ok to yell and growl once in a while like he did
on OSW), and more harmonizing between Mike, Doug, and George. Those are
the major complaints that I have, although the band is tighter and more in
sync (No groans, please) than I have ever heard or seen. Steve Ritter fits
the new material so well that it is scary to me. As a die-hard Peele fan I
thought that no one could replace Peele. Well, Peele may not have been
replaced but Steve R. does a fantastic job on percussion! Also David's
playing has much improved over the years. Has anyone else noticed that he
rarely uses a pick anymore? His plucking and brushing the strings with his
fingers has added a depth to the low end of the band's sound.
I think this next album will be great not just because I am friends with
band members or I am engaged in some futile argument about good versus bad
music. I think songs like "Put Down" and "31" are strong high tempo songs.
If "31" isn't the single, I think I will shoot someone. "Gladiator Heart"
when done with two guitars and Doug's singing is beautiful. I do not care
at all for the whole band arrangement that I heard last Saturday. Some
times less is more. Still Life coveys that sentiment clearly. There is
an aching emptiness conveyed by Doug's imploring over the guitars "And its
my day to show you..." George's "The Deal" is a complex jazzy song. It is
a lot of fun and would sound great sequenced right before "Gladiator
Heart." "Back in Blighty" has a clear Boylan Heights feel think "Scotty's
lament" telling a story about being in a strange yet comforting (and dare I
say humorously mean-spirited) place.
Ok, the controversy over "Rusted Fields." I love "Rusted Fields!" I have
only heard it once but for those of you who have heard it and "Bust,"
Wouldn't it sound great after "Bust." The two complement each other very
well. "Bust" needs a little something thought -- Mike should sing a
falsetto part in my humble opinion. But "Bust" is a terrific song as well.
I love the melancholy of these songs. You can't get better than the idea
of a missing something -- whatever it may be -- that you know would
complete you and you just can't reach it. I am excited about the new
record. A mature, tight band playing songs that evoke the collective
conscience of loss and hope. It does not get any better than that for me.
And there is another Mike song called "Nowhere" (right, Dede I am not sure
about the title) and a couple of George and Doug songs that are still being
worked on or played around with. Clearly the band has plenty of good songs
for the next record. And they are working on software to produce the songs
themselves. Lets hope that this control allows them to create music that
we all know that they are capable of making. So I, for one, do not want to
see the band return to some nostalgicized past but to build on what they
have done in the past and forge new music in the future. If that sounds a
little over the top, sorry but we know what they can accomplish by
examining the past. I just don't want them to repeat the past but to learn
from it.
Sorry about the length folks, but I wanted to hit a few points and
contribute to our recent discussions.
Take care everyone and hope to see you all at some future Connells shows.
-Art
Dr. Arthur J. Jipson
Department of Sociology, Gerontology, and Anthropology
Miami University
500 East High Street, Oxford, Ohio 45056
513-529-2637 (O) 513-529-8525 (F)
[log in to unmask]
http://www.miavx1.muohio.edu/~ajjipson
"Wishes, I suppose, mean nothing when they're... tossed away"
-M. Connell, "I Suppose" from the record _Boylan Heights_
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
To unsubscribe from the Connells list, send unsubscribe in the body of a
message to [log in to unmask] or contact [log in to unmask]
|
