Reviews: Music

Short review by Katherine Willis

ooooh la la i just got my tribute cd today and it is so lovely. i nearly peed my pants over “jack’s valentine” b/c my roommates and i are such fans of the voice-in-the-computer program (we make all the different voices say naughty things, hee hee). i haven’t listened to all of both cds yet but i love love love paul’s “all i need is everything” and drew’s grey monologue redux. i’m happy

So, no time to write a full-out, detailed review of the CD, but having listened to it three times now (it’s competing for time in my CD player with a three-CD set of “the best of Peter Gabriel” that I made the other day - it was going to be one CD, but I couldn’t narrow it down to 80 minutes. ;-)), I am *extremely* impressed. Bowled over, even.

The professionalism of all aspects of the project (except maybe the ability to meet deadlines… just KIDDING!!!!) is very commendable. This could easily sit in a record store and not tip anyone off that it was anything but a professional record. I tend to like the tracks most that are most different from the originals, since that throws the qualities of the song into stark relief (kind of like how the aliens in Dark City wanted to find out what was at the core of identity by switching people’s memories around. Ok, maybe that’s stretching the analogy a bit far…). However, the heartbreaking integrity of some of the straight-ahead tracks is quite moving. I’m delighted that the project also maintains a sense of humor and isn’t just hero-worship.

I thought the choices were fascinating. GDBD was far and away the most popular album, but only one person reached all the way back to TWHF, and the ones who did Ric-heavy songs like Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander (never thought I’d hear an acoustic version of *that* one) tended to take an alternate (electronic) approach to the song that avoided using the guitar. At least, that’s the impression I got from the sound; not intending to impute motives.

So far, the stand-out stunners are (in track order):

All I Need Is Everything - the instrumentation reminds me of Loreena McKennit, with a sultry yet electronic feel to it. Nice string sound, and I like the layering of the instrumentation. The vocal has a mellow quality with just an hint of an edge to it.

Murder - This one kicks my ass. I’d heard it once before, so I knew what to expect, but my appreciation of it has only grown upon subsequent playings. What a wonderfully creative extrapolation of the mood of the song. Is that really Lindsey on the vocals? Wow. Love the eastern flavor from the sitar and the droning thing (what *is* that?), and the percussion is way cool. Easily my favorite track.

Grey Monologue - Drew, you crack me up.

Etcetera Whatever - I saw Ash do this when he opened for OtR at the Ark in 2000, and then he did it at the brunch last month, and I think it’s phenomenal. I’m so glad to have a recording of it. Very emotinally powerful, and the arrangement is simple to support the strength of his voice.

Lucy - Nice energy. I like the guitar sound.

Happy With Myself? - Wow! This one probably wins the “most unexpected” award… no, I take it back. See “Jack’s Valentine”, below. I was very intrigued by
the new lyrics, although I haven’t tried to look at them closely yet and see how they alter (if they alter) the meaning of the song. What prompted you to change the lyrics, Bruce? I liked the sound, too. The change in the pacing was very interesting.

Jack’s Valentine - with Stephen Hawking on vocals. What an idea. I was laughing out loud in my office at this one. Genius!

Happy to be So - I confess, I love Mike’s work, and this was a really rich, mellow arrangement that was sheer delight to listen to.

Nice work, everyone.

Review by Dan Temmesfeld

The Over the Rhine show last night… well, it ROCKED.

openers: Griffin House was good enough to plunk down the remaining funds in my wallet for a CD. Children’s House was unique.

Over the Rhine started out the show with “Spinning”
with Nag Champa floating aall around and a sitar’s
notes bouncing through the air.

Yes, a sitar at an OTR show.

Sweet.

All in all, they played a lot of OHIO tunes (except I
don’t know which version of Bothered they played).
All were a rockin’. They also played All I Need Is
Everything, Latter Days, The World Can Wait, When
I Go (solo was bueno), and possibly some others.

The new guitarist for this tour (Paul) was killer.
I liked him a lot. The sitar, 8 different guitars,
xylophone, and Nag Champa-powered Lap Steel… he tore some of the songs up.

K&L… bring Paul back often. He rocketh.

Dan

Crosley’s freshman offering, OFF THE LAUNDRY, is a great collection of pop songs. The music is tight, the writing is fun and catchy, and the riffs will stick with you. Vince’s voice soars on songs like GIRL LIKE YOU and SOUL SURVIVE, and the first cut, AUTOMATIC, will have you tapping your toes on the very first listen.

“this is not the greatest [concert] in the world… this is just a tribute.”

A review by Dan Temmesfeld.

A Tribute to Over the Rhine
York Street Int’l Cafe - Newport, KY

11 artists, each doing one Over The Rhine cover and one original each.

The orginizer of the event, Ashley Peacock, put together a superb night. The only major malfunction was that York Street didn’t have any Tira Misu on hand… limey bastards!

who played?

• Shannon Lewis (from Set On Edge)
• Nathan & Anji
• Carl Shephard (from Entheos)
• Mark Cormican
• Todd Gilbert
• Chris Flinchbaugh (w/ Kim Nixon)
• Jessica Aguilar Walker (w/ Ashley Peacock)
• Ryan Adcock
• Brownhouse (Kim Nixon)
• Ashley Peacock
• Hypersomnia (Jay & Lynzi & friends)

Awesome show all around!! Truly superb, truly no bad performers all night. It was nice to hear everyones’ own stuff mixed in with their versions of one of our favorite band’s songs.

Highlights — There were many, but here are a few…

• Karin and Linford showed up… It was nice to see them be on the receiving end for a change…
• Shannon Lewis has a great voice. I must say that his original tune “I’ve Gone Somewhere to Be Alone” is a stunningly beautiful song. I snagged a CD of his shortly thereafter.
• Nathan… nice bass. I’ve never seen such a fine homemade contraption, but it had a nice sound in its simplicity. I dug it…
• Carl had a nice voice… I hear he’s a damn good rapper, too…
• Chris Flinchbaugh’s original tune (which I forget the name of) has some great promise… looking forward to the CD, dude…
• Ryan Adcock, Brownhouse, and Ashley Peacock all had stunningly great sets. These three artists seemed to have the most professional aura about them. All great stuff…
• Hypersomnia. Wow. I didn’t know that they were coming down from Michigan for this. I saw them on the list and figured I could lose some sleep to stay for their midnight show ender… Their version of “Murder” on the Tribute CD is my favorite track… Utter rockin’ beauty. Only complaint was that Jay’s vocals on Murder were hard to hear last night. Their 140bpm version of “Latter Days” was also a treat…

What was played (as I remember it):

• When I Go (twice)
• Poughkeepsie
• Etcetera Whatever
• Goodbye (This is not Goodbye)
• Murder
• Latter Days (twice?)
• Like a Radio
• Hej (I Do)
• Paul and Virginia
• Bothered
• … d’oh! Perhaps my brain doesn’t work too well on only 5 hours of sleep… I remember that I liked their original tunes better, though…

sleepy,
Dan

Over The Rhine, the Cincinnati-based band fronted by husband & wife team Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist, have been meandering. Their latest offering, FILMS FOR RADIO on Virgin’s Backporch label, bears the fruit of these wanderings. Over The Rhine has been producing underground CDs for over 10 years, and this project comes after a hiatus of a few years between new releases.

Karin & Linford have been using their time well. This album proves it.

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