Next exit, Clarksdale

[tiverson@xxxxxxx (Thor Iverson)]

Vinod:

>-- In all that recent mess about "Steve Albini's good, he did Nirvana and
>PJ Harvey, what happened on this album", that Thor and others (I believe)
>were mentioning, you all are forgetting that he also worked with Bush.

True.  Then again, Plant worked with Phil Johnstone, so everything's relative...

>-- What exactly is the story about Phil Johnstone?

Broken home, years paying his dues in hair bands, the "melon" incident, a
few bad Prell trips, 4 years in the slammer for "Barneyism," rehab, the
"monkey" incident (not the one involving Tina Louise), Plant's band, and
now he sells pencils.

Jean:

>Purely my opinion, okay?  This song sounds as if P/P are trying to ride a
>current trend by making this the first single from the album.  Yes, _we_
>know that they were doing Arabic influence twenty-five years ago--but
>"Most High" just sounds like the trendy stuff Madonna is doing nowadays.
>It's eminently monotonous and forgettable.  Electronic.  The music
>sounds...canned.  The lyrics haven't grabbed me at all, and the singing
>is just...serviceable.  And where is Jimmy?

Not to argue with your opinion on the song, but I'd stress that
better-quality recordings will help that "electronic" sound.  With improved
sound, this track is a lot more powerful and organic.  The first time I
heard it, I agreed with you, but the various versions that have passed
through these ears have really impressed me.

>Now I can only hope that the rest of the album is different from the one
>song I've heard.  ...Please?

Actually, it is.  "Most High" is by _far_ the catchiest tune, the one with
the biggest hook, the only one that makes you want to get up and move
around.  I don't know if you consider that a good thing or not, but there
it is. ;-)

Chris:

>Like almost everyone here, I've been lucky enough to get a copy of WIC.
>I've been listening to it for about a week. I think it's a great, great
>album. True, it took me a couple of listens to reach that opinion. As, I
>think, Thor had written, it's a complex work, and can take repeated
>listenings before you "get it".

It's partly that, and partly just that it requires serious _attention_ to
really hear what's going on.  Listened to in a casual, half-hearted way, I
think the album is pretty repellent, because there's nothing to attach
one's self to.  But with intense listening, it really opens up.  In other
words, set aside a few hours to listen to this one if you really want to be
sure of your opinion.

>BTW, if you had listened to Unledded, you wouldn't have been taken by surprise.

Agreed.  This is a natural progression -- you can hear the way a song like
"Most High" moves right out of the groundwork laid by "Yallah" and the
Egyptian "Kashmir," the harmonic structures of some of the ballads are the
obvious next step after the chordwork of "Wonderful One," etc.

>IMHO, Most High is a monster track, (Jimmy was right, some will call it epic)

I made the mistake of listening to it right before I went to work.  I've
been unable to get it out of my head all day.  It really is mesmerizing,
after a while.  I can't wait to hear it live.

Sunila:

>No,one more thing. I don't know why, but I had a feeling that Thor would
>change his mind about WIC strange isn't it? ;-)

It's the whiskey.

Actually, I didn't really "change my mind" -- I just made it up after more
listens.

- ----
Thor Iverson - tiverson@xxxxxxx
Internet Content Coordinator & Wine Critic - The Boston Phoenix
http://www.bostonphoenix.com/ - http://www.providencephoenix.com/
http://www.worcesterphoenix.com/ - http://www.wfnx.com/