The holidays have come and gone. I should be working my way through a problem from
Jackson, but my heart just isn't really into it tonight.
I received my copy of "Dozen Lies" a couple of weeks before Christmas. I've been listening to it off and off, and it's growing on me, but it's also kind of strange to listen to. I find it totally impossible to listen to without contrasting the songs with those off of "Down in My Alley". Of course the production of "Dozen Lies" is super compared to "Alley", but I definitely think "Lies" was recorded before "Alley". Without writing a review of the album, I would ask anyone to listen to the two versions of "Drink on the Moon". While I can't link to the "Lies" version (you should just go
buy it if you haven't already), you can check out the version from "Alley"
here.
The "Alley" version of "Moon" is raw, the vocals are haunting and the feel is authentic. It is almost an anthem for the artist and the picture his music has painted of him. It is impossible for an artist to create something and not leave a part of himself on his work. While "Moon" doesn't allude to whatever events led to his addiction, it clearly paints a picture of the reality the addiction left him in. The picture is so stark and real; you can practically see Mark face down in an ashtray, you can see him digging through it for that cigarette, and stumbling out the door. The image of such a character staring at his own reflection in a liquor store window is so brutal and real that you just can't dismiss it. The energy in Mark's voice is such that you can hear him critcizing his own existence, yet practically insisting on perpetuating it. The song seems brutally honest and tragically terse and in my mind represents some of Mark's greatest work.
The "Lies" version of "Moon" is slower and, in my opinion, a lot weaker than the "Alley" version. Mark sounds tired and the song loses a lot of the punch it has on "Alley". The mix is kind of sketchy, too. The vocals are much quieter and the bass practically knocks you down. It almost sounds like Mark is still searching for the best way to sing the melody during the second verse. I don't blame his ability or anything; I just think the song matured signifcantly by the time he recorded "Alley". On "Alley" the guitar is reminiscent of something Hendrix would've played, but is just kind of country-twangy when you can even hear it on "Lies". Not that I have an opinion or anything.
After kind of panning the "Lies" version of "Drink on the Moon", I should at least back-pedal on one song so I don't offend anyone. Another that was on both albums was "Cut 'Em Up". I thought this tune was alright on "Alley," but the production for it on "Lies" is just phenomenal. One of the trickier points of "Alley" was the guitar tone. It worked on a lot of songs, but came across sounding brash and a little irritating on a few tracks. This might be one of them. In the "Lies" version, however, the vocal work is just awesome. Hearing Mark both scream and calmly speak in his gravelly voice creates a really cool effect. What is the song about? I don't think I have a clue. I wish I had a little more insight into Mark's thoughts and his story, but... The seque at the the end is really neat, too. If you listen closely you can hear the heavier track get faded out underneath the jazzy acoustic and dreamy humming. Mark and Kenny worked hard on making the tracks on this album kind of fade into one another in dreamy way.
And while I'm thinking about it, what's up with the end of "All the Pretty Ones"? The soft fade-out becomes a campy, twangy country ending. Mark busts into, "Well it's all over now, all except the pain--" and then --BOOM-- you hear a shotgun go off like somebody killing themself. Perhaps this alludes to the track "Kill Yourself" off of "Alley"? It doesn't end there. The country song continues playing in the background as if it is on the radio. It changes over to the song "A Dozen Lies" while we listen to a person walking outside on gravel. A cigarette is lit, a drag is taken, voices talk in the background about "Squiggy" showing up at five in the morning while somebody takes a leak. A bizarre picture and a not so serious introduction to "Drink on the Moon," but I guess I already said something about that.
I hope that there was a decent turn-out for Mark's show at Old Ironsides back on 12/30. I really wish I couldn've seen it. You can't begin to understand the irony in my living fifteen minutes away from the show and just happening to be out of town when it happened. I feel like I've been wanting to see this guy for fourteen years. The only write-up I saw was at VH1.com and they said it was pretty good. I hope he comes up again soon.
Rumor is that the Curry-man is in the studio working on some new material. I'm all ears, Mark, and I can't wait to give it a listen.
justin
