New album: The Terror
Artist: The Flaming Lips
Label: Lovely Sorts of Death/Warner Bros.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
As its title suggests, The Flaming Lips’ latest album “The Terror” is not a continuation of the sunny-yet-skewed avant garde rock they’ve churned out at an amazingly prolific rate since the early 1990s. This is not a collection of limp emo ballads, but a foray into the feelings that turn everyone inside out at one time or another.
While the times we’re living in aren’t all that rosy, the anxieties that fuel “The Terror” seem to be of a personal nature. Lead Lip Wayne Coyne’s marriage has reportedly busted up, and instrumental wizard Steven Drozd has just in the last few years emerged from a long stint as a junkie. No matter the cause, the fears/anxieties/worries explored on the sublime space rock of “Be Free, a Way” and “Butterfly” are as universal as sunlight and air.
Much of the musical landscape is filled with the thick, treated sounds of vintage analog keyboards and big, open room drumming. In the case of the 13-minute “You Lust,” Coyne’s vocals and lyrics have never been more emotive.
Even though Coyne delivers the words to “You Lust” in a floating, hypnotic fashion, there’s a bit of rage in the mix. Avoiding the urge to rant is one choice that set the Flaming Lips apart from their angst-y competition. That being said, to hear Coyne address an honest strain of anger is refreshingly unexpected.
On “The Terror,” the Flaming Lips still sound like themselves, albeit an uber-serious version that’s at odds with the tripped-out whimsy of their most recent major work, the “Christmas on Mars” film/soundtrack.
Whether they were trying to shuffle their personae or actually going through some stuff, “The Terror” is a significant album that deserves investigation.
Classic album: In a Silent Way
Artist: Miles Davis
Label: Columbia/Sony
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
“In a Silent Way” was one of the first works that caused noted jazz critic Stanley Crouch to lose his ever-loving mind.
Crouch (and a few other misguided purist critics) viewed albums such as “In a Silent Way,” “Bitches Brew” and “On the Corner” as sellout moves. While it’s true these albums explored rock influences and in turn introduced Davis to a whole new generation of music lovers/consumers, the music itself is blisteringly genius.
Maybe Crouch would have been happier if Davis had stopped progressing and simply played nothing but “So What” for the last 30 years of his life.
Idiotic critiques from non-musicians aside, “In a Silent Way” has stood the test of time and today is regarded by most sane people as one of the great Miles Davis albums. Surrounding himself with the best musicians of the day (Chick Corea, Joe Zawinul, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, John McLaughlin, Wayne Shorter, Dave Holland), Davis leads the band through many jam sessions that were later reconstructed into 39 minutes of flawless, otherworldly music.
The 18-minute opening salvo of “Shh/In a Silent Way” doesn’t so much begin as it morphs into being. Nearly half of the song is over before everyone figures out what to do with and around the melody, but like a good episode of “Columbo,” observing how the mystery is solved is half the fun. Davis, Corea, Hancock, Shorter and McLaughlin throw in solos that are often incendiary.
Much like Richard Wright did for Pink Floyd, keyboardist Zawinul knits everything together with brilliant chord work while Williams’ symphonic drumming drives the proceedings on side two like a jet down a hill.
Even though there is a spacial, dreamlike quality to “In a Silent Way/It’s About Time,” the momentum never lets up. Side two of “In a Silent Way” is in some ways the calmer but equally beautiful sister of later works, such as “Bitches Brew” and “On the Corner.”
No matter the motivation for making “In a Silent Way,” the end result was/is a stunning piece of work.
Jon Dawson’s album reviews appear every Thursday in The Free Pres. Contact Jon at 252-559-1092 or jon.dawson@kinston.com. Purchase books, music and Ken Burns hair-care kits at jondawson.com.