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Re: (TV) the Wonder
Ooooh, Ray, I'm going to have to take exception to this. Caveats:
Sure, the drum machine on Cover is awful. Yup, Tom's voice is pretty
strange on Words, and both of them have some massive sibilance in
places. But I submit these arguments for these records:
* The extremely hot guitar playing on "Present Arrived"
* The ultra-classic song, "Postcard from Waterloo"--not only is the
song perfect, but the solo exhibits a breathtaking balance between
tenderness and fire.
* "Words from the Front" itself, with its archetypal displays of
Verlaine's tension-and-release solo construction, with the emphasis
on tension. (How 'bout that great pedal point, huh? Huh?)
* And while probably all of us would also point to the rocker "Coming
Apart," I'd also cast a vote for the comparatively lush,
heartbreaking "True Story" and the stripped down tension of "Clear It
Away" (Sounds like he _erased_ guitar parts, or at least way, way
undermixed 'em. That's punk spirit for you.)
Cover has its moments as well:
* The atmospherics of "Five Miles of You" and its echoing solo that
scales the heights and plumbs the depths, announcing to all and
sundry that, make no mistake, this is _Tom_Verlaine_ playing.
* The almost cubist romantic new wave of "Travelling"
* "O Foolish Heart," a great song that rises way above an awful drum machine.
...and the other tunes in aggregate.
Both those albums are way nearer to my heart than _The Wonder_. I'll
agree, though, that "Prayer" was a fine bright spot on that disc.
Is it an argument, or mere contradiction? You decide.
-Maurice
At 5:05 PM +0000 1/31/01, Ray wrote:
----- Original Message -----
That's my least favorite studio thing he's done.
really? i like it a lot....it shines like a precious gem esp. if you compare
it to the dull,uninspired,horribly produced career nadirs that are "Words
from the front" and "Cover".
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Maurice Rickard
http://mauricerickard.com/
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