VANDAVEER - THE WILD MERCURY

Vandaveer is a folk rock group from the DC area via Kentucky.  This record is the newest release from the band and I had the pleasure of seeing this group perform in a rather intimate setting.  I saw a living room show.  It was dramatic and amazing.

Stripped down to some simple acoustic arrangements, the performance was mesmerizing and more than I ever thought it would be.  I absolutely loved watching this soulful poet sing and play his guitar with his group accompanying him.  It was a heavenly experience.  One I hope to repeat again in the near future.

I'm aware of the band enough to be familiar with their music and I have to say, this new album is somewhat quieter than previous efforts.  It seems more comfortable and relaxed.

I'm still digesting this record.  Vandaveer is one band with some seriously complex lyrics and some tricky vocal arrangements allowing them to play with the ideas and concepts they're trying to convey with new dimension and vocal inflection.  Thus far, I love the disc and I usually just put it in and let it play.  I like some songs more than others, but not to the extent I would say any of the tracks on the disc aren't enjoyable.  I like every single cut on this record enough to consider the entire disc a hit.  They really did a great job on this one.  It's absolutely delightful.

For those of you who aren't in the know, Vandaveer have two vocalists.  Mark Weidinger and Rose Guerin.  They harmonize together on the songs.  Weidinger takes the lead and sings solo bits without Guerin, but when she joins him, the sound their voices create is something unearthly and emotive.  You can't help but feel the songs washing over you like warm water.  It feels both relaxing and thoughtful at the same time.

I will say this record has more of a country vibe to it than previous efforts, but it's a most satisfying listen.  Weidinger actually reminds me of a more clear and melodic Bob Dylan.  He also demonstrates a preoccupation with life and death.  But not in a morbid way.  Rather, he spends his time wondering about the minutes and hours in between birth and death.  How we fill our time and what we choose to focus our energy on.  His musings are challenging, thought provoking.  He's a thinking man's Dylan.

I can't say enough about this lovely piece of music.  All I can do is suggest you pick it up and if you get the chance, see this incredible band live.  They are, for lack of a better word, enchanting.

My final words:  SPELLBINDING MUSIC AS ELUSIVE AND MYSTICAL AS WILD MERCURY.  BUY IT!!!

VANDAVEER - THE WILD MERCURY
01. But Enough On That For Now
02. A Little Time Off Ahead
03. The Wild Mercury
04. A Little Worse For The Wear
05. Holding Patterns
06. Love Is Melancholy, But It's All We've Got
07. To Be Young, To Belong
08. The Final Word
09. Absolutely Over The Moon
10. A Pretty Thin Line

FLEETWOOD MAC - SAY YOU WILL

"Say You Will" came at a time of change for Fleetwood Mac and the world in general.  It's the first album with the conspicuous absence of Christine McVie.  It's a tribute of sorts to the lives lost from terrorist attack on the World Trade Center towers.  It was Fleetwood Mac's first attempt at using technology to prevent CD ripping and illegal downloading.  And finally, the disc came out when groups were trending away from buying CDs in favor of digital downloads.

I spent a whole afternoon looking for the songs from this disc online to download and I think I never found the whole album.  I eventually settled for the few songs I could find.  But now, I actually own the disc myself!

Usually, Fleetwood Mac CD's are based on a very simple formula.  Each songwriting member contributes a certain amount of songs and the disc will bounce back and forth between the tracks.  With the noticeable lack of Christine McVie numbers, "Say You Will" becomes a toss up between Lindsey Buckingham songs and Stevie Nicks songs.

The first song is a Buckingham number and it's called, 'What's The World Coming To'.  I won't get too in to depth on each song other than to say my general thoughts as this disc is very long.  I like this number and it reminds me of something you'd here on "Tango In The Night".  'Murrow Turning Over In His Grave' is another Buckingham number and starts off sounding like a country pluck fest, but the vocal arrangement and delivery is so different and interesting...  It reminds me of the classic, 'Tusk'.  Very different and musically complex.  This is why Buckingham is a great musician.  'Illume (9-11)' is the first Nicks track.  I have to say, in general, the music she does with Fleetwood Mac is often quite different from the material she releases on her own.  There's more musical complexity on the stuff she does with F.M.  That's probably because Buckingham is arranging her songs.  Though poignant, this track isn't as exciting at the two previous songs and leaves you wanting more.

'Thrown Down' is the next Nicks track and it ups the ante for her on this disc.  Instead of staying monotone, Nicks sings up and down her proven scale and gives some variety on this track.  It's very exciting.  'Miranda' is a Buckingham tune and it features more complex vocal acrobatics over the music.  Another Lindsey song, 'Red Rover' is up next.  It's a frantic little number and can set you on edge if you're not ready for it.  There's a number of tempo changes happening throughout.

'Say You Will' is the title track and is a Stevie Nicks composition.  This is an awesome ditty.  It features a lovely duet between Nicks and Buckingham on the chorus.  The two have a natural harmony together.  Their voices compliment each other well and you can get carried away by the sweet sound they create.  'Peacekeeper' takes us back to Buckingham's writing and this one maintains the harmony between the two lead vocalists.  It incorporates something that sounds like South American pipes playing over the chorus.  'Come' stays in Lindsey territory.  It's a moody number.  Somehow, I expect it reflects his real life personality.  The haunted melody drowns itself into the next Nicks song.  The natural progression between these two is compelling.  'Smile At You' may increase the tempo, but it doesn't alleviate the dark mood.  

'Running Through The Garden' starts out in a similar place, but quickly changes and picks the album back up and gets the beat pumping again.  'Silver Girl' is the third Nicks number in a row and pulses up at you from some distant place.  It seems like it will drop the bottom out of the momentum but it keeps the groove going.  Lindsey is back with 'Steal Your Heart Away'.  There's some delicious harmonizing on this one.  Very thrilling.  It's followed by 'Bleed To Love Her' and it's also a great tune.  Next up is 'Everybody Finds Out'.  Stevie has a habit of writing songs about an imaginary woman she narrates about.  This song falls into that category.  You always suspect she's singing about herself in the third person, but it can get annoying at times.  On this song, it's not so bad.  The groove is there and F.M. are in the pocket.  They deliver this one in excellent form.

'Destiny Rules' is a song I'd expect to find on "Trouble In Shangri-La".  Absolutely wonderful.  'Say Goodbye is Lindsey's outro and it's a complicated farewell.  One you couldn't leave the album on.  Therefore, Nicks come back with the final 'Goodbye Baby'.  This lullaby is almost sad and perfect for ending the disc.  

And that would be it...  If this were the album.  But my version includes a disc with additional tracks.  The first number is a Bob Dylan cover called 'Love Minus Zero/No Limit'.  Lindsey takes over lead vocals here and delivers a wonderful version.  'Not Make Believe' is the 2nd track and it's a Stevie Nicks number.  This is a strong number by her and seems a shame it wasn't included on the regular album.  The final two tracks are live songs recorded for AOL Sessions.  You get 'Peacekeeper' and 'Say You Will' to round out the disc.

Although it didn't break records like other Fleetwood Mac albums have, this is a satisfying album.  It's got all the elements that make Mac the band so many people love.  It's a shame Christine McVie wasn't a part of it.  Her absence is notable and the one failing this disc has.  It's a collection of strong material and one that should've done much better commercially.

My final words:  A WELCOME REUNION FROM GOOD FRIENDS LONG AWAITED AND GREATLY ENJOYED!

FLEETWOOD MAC - SAY YOU WILL

01. What's The World Coming To

02. Murrow Turning Over In His Grave

03. Illume (9-11)

04. Thrown Down

05. Miranda

06. Red Rover

07. Say You Will

08. Peacekeeper

09. Come

10. Smile At You

11. Running Through The Garden

12. Silver Girl

13. Steal Your Heart Away

14. Bleed To Love Her

15. Everybody Finds Out

16. Destiny Rules

17. Say Goodbye

18. Goodbye Baby

BONUS DISC

01. Love Minus Zero/No Limit

02. Not Make Believe

03. Peacekeeper (Live From AOL Sessions)

04. Say You Will (Live From AOL Sessions)

PRINCE - FOR YOU

I'm pretty sure I've detailed my exposure to Prince in another post. How I came to really love and appreciate his work. Even though "For You" is Prince's first record, it's actually about the 5th or 6th for me. In fact, I think it was the last of his back catalog I purchased while catching up with him. When I was younger, I thought the further back you went, the crappier Prince's music got. I was so deeply connected to the sound of "Purple Rain" and "1999". Anything that didn't fit nicely into that sound was crap to me. However, since Prince was the only artist I knew of who was creating this music, I bought the older material and gave it a chance.

I think I have a unique perspective on the record. For me, it essentially followed the bigger hit records. And comparatively speaking, it isn't nearly as incredible as his later work. At the same time, I've had many, many years to listen to this work and invest in it on different levels. When you look at it like that, it shouldn't surprise you to learn I've grown to love this record. As I've discovered Prince through the years, I've developed an ear for his composition and his musicianship. I can listen to music and have a basic idea of when it was written and I can place it in his musical development. It's fascinating to listen to this earlier work and see how he evolves. I'm not sure there's ever been an artist you could so minutely trace their progression as much as Prince.

As much as I love the music here, I'm missing something. And it's the same thing I miss with most popular music. There's a strong heterosexual vibe on this record that I can't relate to. I'll go more in depth about that as I discuss the songs. But that barrier often prevents me from enjoying Prince's music as fully as I'd like.

'For You' is the title track and is basically a multi-layered vocal track with Prince singing the same lines over and over in different keys. The choral quality of the tune is rather pretty. And oddly prophetic. The simple lyrics are:
"All of this and more is for you.
With love, sincerity and deepest care,
My life with you I share."
Who knew at the time how much of my life I would share with Prince. And he with me and millions of fans worldwide. 'In Love' is the next song and I like it, but it always seems a bit murky to me. I've never quite related to the lyrics and when you consider lines like:
"I really wanna play in your river"...
it's not hard to understand why. This is a song so steeply based on heterosexual relationships, a gay kid like me could never fully appreciate the content. Same thing with 'Soft And Wet'. The one thing this track offers that 'In Love' doesn't is a more interesting musical arrangement. It's got a lot of quick starts and stops, but also interesting keyboard motifs happening. This song is one that really showcases Prince's ability to use his voice as an additional instrument to heighten arrangements. As he progressed, this became more normal and anticipated; but here is the first time you really see him blending his voice in innovative ways.

'Crazy You' is one of my favorite tracks on the record. I love the acoustic arrangement, the meandering beat and the desperate narrative delivered in a calm and somewhat sad voice. 'Just As Long As We're Together' is actually a track made from two separate songs. The instrumental bridge is a song Prince wrote called 'Jelly Jam'. It's shortened a bit, but it's an interesting combination. 'Baby' is another song I quite like, but don't really relate to. The song is basically about a guy finding out his girlfriend is pregnant and the song is his response to her news. Not in the sense I don't want to be a father or have kids. More from the standpoint of the relationship between the man and the woman.

'My Love Is Forever' is one of the faster paced songs on the record and is another one I really love. This album is loaded with more mid-tempo and slow material than faster stuff. But it should be noted it's also showcasing Prince as a song writer and musician. I think it would have been a stronger record if he'd focused on music he'd already demonstrated a mastery of rather than moving so broadly all over the board. 'So Blue' is another ballad based heavily on the accompaniment of acoustic guitar and discusses the sadness of losing a love. It's another track I love. The closing number on this record is 'I'm Yours'; which is essentially a rock and roll number with distorted electric guitar.

The majority of this music is performed by Prince in a falsetto voice. He's always said this was his natural singing voice. As a vocalist, I think Prince is great because he can use his voice as an instrument. His speaking voice is rather plain, but his singing voice is highly expressive. He can sound beautiful or ugly depending on the emotional context of the lyric. I have a great appreciation for vocalists of this nature.

As I've come to understand music more and more, I've started to see "For You" in the context of the music of the time and the artists who inspired Prince. It's quality is very similar to the singer/songwriters of that period, like Carole King, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond and Joni Mitchell. Prince obviously admired these people and his approach to this record reflects a need to demonstrate his kinship to them. It is a showcase record more than a true debut. It attempts social commentary on 'Baby' as teenage pregnancy was becoming more common and less of a taboo. Still, underage sex and unwanted pregnancy were huge topics of concern back then. Less so today.

It hasn't stood the test of time as well as other Prince recordings, but I still find the music enjoyable and fun to listen to. Give it a chance if you're so inclined. My final words: SHOWCASE RECORD ON THE CUSP OF GREATNESS.

PRINCE - FOR YOU
01. For You
02. In Love
03. Soft And Wet
04. Crazy You
05. Just As Long As We're Together
06. Baby
07. My Love Is Forever
08. So Blue
09. I'm Yours