New album: They Want My Soul
Artist: Spoon
Label: Loma Vista/Republic
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Consistency and pop music don’t always mix. For the band Spoon, their solid track record has won them a loyal if cult-size following that isn’t afraid of change.
After releasing seven studio albums in 14 years, Spoon took a four-year sabbatical before releasing “They Want My Soul.” Just exactly who “they” are is uncertain, but seeing as how Republic is distributing the album these souls are at least available for lease.
The compressed, claustrophobic sound of “They Want My Soul” makes the songs sound as if they are about to burst. Spoon leader Britt Daniel’s songs are populated by a cast of characters who seem to want a piece of him. Daniel never makes the fatal leap into the land of the poor put upon rock star, but he ventures dangerously close on the title track and “Let Me Be Mine.”
Even though parts of the album are hard to grasp onto from a lyrical perspective, the musicianship saves the day. with latest edition Alex Fischel contributing superb guitar and keyboard parts. Where Daniel’s lyrics are a bit erratic at times, his lead vocals usually hit the emotional bullseye.
There are no songs that jump out as instant classics on “They Want My Soul,” but longtime Spoon fans will most likely enjoy this collection.
Classic album: A Night At The Met
Artist: Robin Williams
Label: Columbia/Legacy
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
When Robin Williams recorded this live set at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1986, the venue hadn’t been met with such a whirlwind performance since The Who performed “Tommy” there in 1970.
Williams’ career was always two-pronged. He emerged in the 1970s as one of the most brilliant/unhinged comics of his or any generation, yet he was also a Juilliard-trained actor. Before his stint on the sitcom “Mork,” he was also a cast member of Richard Pryor’s brief but “Chapelle Show”-inspiring series.
When “A Night At The Met” was recorded, Williams was starting to put his Juilliard training to good use in films roles such as “The World According To Garp” and “Moscow On The Hudson.” Just one year later, Williams’ role in “Good Morning Vietnam” would spring him into the upper echelon of Hollywood, thus putting his stand-up comedy career on the back burner.
If Williams hadn’t started making comedy albums in again in 2002, “A Night At The Met” would have been a fitting epitaph for his stand-up career. Newly sober with a young family focusing his energies, Williams’ combination of thankfulness, wonder and stream of consciousness delivery helped make “A Night At The Met” a classic comedy album of the modern era.
Starting with a Minnie Pearl reference (“HOWDEEEEEE!....whoops....wrong opera house...”), it’s apparent Williams is loaded for bear. Williams plows right into material about addiction (“the sole purpose of alcohol is to make English a second language; the sole purpose of marijuana is to prove that Darwin was wrong”). Like Pryor and George Carlin, Williams was able to take the nadir of his existence and turn it into something funny.
Much of his material is about being a father, but that’s not to say the material is without teeth. As Williams so eloquently describes that first diaper, “you may be a lumberjack; you may have been a Marine...but you’ve never seen kaka like this.” Things get poignant when Williams pontificates what kind of world he’ll be sending his baby into, but his ability to keep things entertaining while throwing in a cold dose of reality was the heart of his genius.
Robin Williams released four stand-up comedy albums, and they are all recommended. Williams was involved in some fantastic movies, but his true genius was best displayed in his stand-up.
Jon Dawson’s album reviews appear every Thursday in The Free Press. Contact Jon at 252-559-1092 or jon.dawson@kinston.com. Purchase Jon’s books at www.jondawson.com.