1. Neko Case, who swooped down out of Canada in 1997 with The Virginian, turned up the twang with her 2000 release Furnace Room Lullaby. “Guided By Wires”, the second track from this record, calls everyone who claims to be vintage country into question. With the combination of her arcing voice, a simple backing band, and lyrics that pledge allegiance to her heroes on the radio, Case put a dent in the side of the catchphrase “insurgent country”, approaching her work with an authentic sound that didn’t sound like a revival at all.
2. Paying tribute to the “voices that did comfort her”, Case relays a few life lessons she learned, noting that “even in my darkest recollection/ there was someone singing my life back to me”. Riding a loping beat that suggests the white lines of a highway flying by, Case speaks of her life being “made of short stories”, a concept she would explore further on Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. The refrain finds her admitting that she “owes much to the nameless and all the surrogates/ for those who were singing my life back to me.” Not only does Neko’s voice rattle around in a vintage echo chamber, the guitars chatter with a sound free of modern effects, and the whole track resonates with the sound of people playing music live in a room. The sound is possibly best described as not “vintage”, but “real”. With a stripped down sound that leaves her nothing to hide behind, Case’s lyrics are refreshingly simple and straightforward.
3. So much of our musical history is made up of the music we hear before we are old enough to put the record on ourselves. Rhett Miller spoke of his parents playing the Kingston Trio, and Danny Balis talked about his father playing Merle Haggard’s live records. Neko doesn’t get specific, but she doesn’t need to: the ghosts of Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, and Dusty Springfield live in her music. Though she would follow her muse further away from this sound with later records like Middle Cyclone, Case pays tribute to her heroes and writes herself into the history of country music with “Guided By Wires”, which may one day rush out of someone’s stereo and re-create the experience she describes.
Neko Case – Guided By Wires
Posted: October 22nd, 2009 | 4 Comments »
I had the chance to talk to Danny Balis the other day. Balis fronts the King Bucks and recently released his first solo record Too Much Living, and is probably better known as the producer of the award-winning Hardline on KTCK in Dallas, Texas. Five Records is an occasional feature of artists talking about the music that inspires them. Read more of these posts here.
Merle Haggard
Okie From Muskogee
“Merle Haggard’s live records, “Fighting Side Of Me” and “Okie From Muskogee” made me want to pursue a career in music. They were both very rushed and unedited live albums from the early 70’s. I never remember not listening to these albums…a real country show: short, the hits, some covers, guest appearances, instrumentals, good stories between songs. It’s what i aspire to do with my sets now.”
Bill Withers
Live at Carnegie Hall
“I always admired Bill Withers – he was very understated, and came off as a real stand up guy. His “Live at Carnegie Hall” record shows a minimalist soul man in the 70’s when R&B was alot of glitz. I love the way the recurring theme in his instrumentation was the acoustic guitar, but this is not country, it is pure soul. It just oozes out of your headphones.”
Townes Van Zandt
Live at the Old Quarter
“While I was making Too Much Living, I listened to a lot of Townes Van Zandt, particularly “Live at the Old Quarter”. Those songs had a familiar feeling that I was going through at the time, and the poetic lyrics were a real inspiration to dig deep and not go with cliches. There is a fine line between creating beautiful poetry and making ham-fisted metaphors. Townes knew that difference.”
Gram Parsons
Grievous Angel
“I wish I had written “Return of the Grevious Angel”, in my opinion, the greatest country song ever written. Reeks of heartache, the road, and self abuse. Plus, Emmylou…what else can be said?”
Phosphorescent
To Willie
“Phosphorescent’s “To Willie” is something I have listened to a lot lately. This is an indie kid that did a tribute to Willie, but he absolutely owns it. He took the difficult task of covering classic songs that don’t necessarily need to be touched and made them his own. When I hear it I really believe they could be his own tunes. His version of “The Last Thing I Needed the First Thing This Morning” still makes me weep and I actually like it better than Willie’s.”
Danny Balis – If You’re Trying To Kill Me
Posted: October 9th, 2009 | No Comments »
