FEATURED REVIEW...................................................31 JANUARY 2005
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Artist:
NEKO CASE |
Neko Case can sing the pants off a Baptist.
That's a compliment, trust me. Singing the pants off a Baptist is no mean feat. Bubba notwithstanding, it is far more difficult to sing the pants off a Baptist than it is, say, an Assemblyman of God--(Or is that an Assembly of Godsman? An Assemblitarian of God? What are those bastards called, anyway?)--among whose ranks number such pants-dropping luminaries as Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart. (Lest I offend anyone belonging to the Ass. of God, I will point out former Attorney General and AG-member John Ashcroft has been doing his damnedest since the late 70s to sing people's pants back on. To hear Ashcroft's 1995 hit "Blessed Be That City"--a Cheezeball Hall of Shame Nominee--right click link and select "Save target as.") But I digress.
The latest offering from Neko Case--The Tigers Have Spoken--finds the golden-throated siren belting out 11 lucky numbers. The tracks were recorded live (mostly) during several 2004 shows and feature the Sadies as her backing band extraordinaire. The album mixes covers (Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Soulful Shade of Blue," Katherine Irwin's "Hex" and Loretta Lynn's "Rated X") with originals ("If You Knew," "The Tigers Have Spoken," "Blacklisted," and "Favorite") and throws in a pair of traditional tunes for good measure ("This Little Light" and "Wayfaring Stranger").
The album's biggest weakness? It clocks in at under 35 minutes (and that includes the "hidden" 12th track--an introduction to a live performance of "The Tigers Have Spoken" in which Ms. Case advocates feeding children to tigers. Brilliant. I'm sure it's tongue-in-cheek, but I wish it weren't.) I suppose that this is some sort of coy marketing strategy--not the advocation of infanticide, but the release of a 30-odd minute live disc. A new studio album is due early this year, and this, I would hazard, was conceived as a promotional gimmick.
If this is indeed a promo for Case's next album, it succeeds beautifully. Not only does the length of the album leave you wanting more, but--and this bodes well for the upcoming studio album--the live disc's strongest tracks are the two new compositions: "If You Knew" and the title track, "The Tigers Have Spoken." (The former is available for download from her label's website for what is certain to be a limited time--right click, select "save target as." If the link is broken, well, Anti decided to quit giving it away.)
Lyrically, "If You Knew" seems little more than a cheezy pop song from the late 50s or early 60s. Take a gander at the opening six lines:
"If you
knew what I know
You wouldn't go to see her
At least not believe her
When she says that she wants you.
Well, you're just another puppet
She's not even keeping score..."
To abuse the hackneyed review cliche: when you hear this song for the first time, you'll swear you've heard it before. And likely on oldies radio. Coming from Neko Case, however, this is no innocent girl-group ditty. She knows something, and it has nothing to do with a sock-hop.
In summation: The album is a solid listen, if something of a tease. Expectations are high for the new studio offering. A negligable half-cheezeball is awarded to Ms. Case for the odd echo-chorus business on an otherwise stellar "Wayfaring Stranger."
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A NOTE ON THE RATING SYSTEM:
5 CHEEZEBALLS = UNLISTENABLE SCHLOCK
3 CHEEZEBALLS = A DIFFICULT SLOG
1 CHEEZEBALL = THE ODD FORGIVABLE MISSTEP
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