New Multitudes
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sam6025 wrote:I went to the local indie music shop to pick this up today. I dig it, I do. However, I will admit disappointment that it sounds more like a 4-way split than a collaborative effort.
That's what I thought when I heard it on the web stream. A kind of "your turn, my turn, his turn" affair. A collaboration between all four would have been much more of an interesting vibe.
Can someone explain to me why I can't download this from the store? Or for that matter, why it's not even LISTED in the store? Sharon? Anyone? I have no need for a physical CD and would rather give my money directly to the artists, not Amazon. I've checked what I feel are all the relevant places and/or sites, e.g. Anders Parker, Centro-Matic, My Morning Jacket, Rounder Records, etc. I get that Jay lacks the desire for self-promotion but goddamn, he's killing me.
I think there's certainly a grain of truth in this. However, I also think there are both exceptions to the rule and other perspectives from which to approach your point... For instance, I have been really struck with Jay's backing vocals, especially on all of Jim's songs and on Anders' "Fly High." To me, Jay's harmonies here really stretch what we're used to from him (see Jay's backing vocals on "Revolutionary Mind" and "Talking Bed Blues" in particular). Also, I would argue that "VD City" sounds less like Centro-matic than an Uncle Tupelo/Centro-matic hybrid (which could never be a bad thing!), channeling Neil Young, naturally. In addition, the moments at which all four voices seem to come together (as in the chanted "out of order" lines in "Hoping Machine," among others) are, I think, the high points of the record -- times in which the collaborative element of the project become most evident.sam6025 wrote:I went to the local indie music shop to pick this up today. I dig it, I do. However, I will admit disappointment that it sounds more like a 4-way split than a collaborative effort. Odd part is, I'm not a big My Morning Jacket fan, but Yim Yames' Revolutionary Mind is probably my favorite song on the first couple of listens.
I will reiterate, it is a good album, just Anders sounds like Anders solo, Jay sounds like Son Volt, Will sounds like Centromatic and Yim sounds like My Morning Jacket...It's cool, but there is a definite disconnect between each song, no cohesive sound that carries from one track to the next.
I think we should also remember that these songs were not composed as a group -- from what I can gather in interviews and such, each of these guys composed these as individuals, on their own time. Part of the "magic," I've heard Jim say, was coming together and discovering what everyone else had crafted in the months they spent alone with Woody's words. It's a bit unfair, I think, to expect these four prolific writers to sound like anyone other than themselves, a feat that - if possible at all - would require putting each of their individual careers on hold to compose in a collaborative format. We also should keep in mind that Jay and Anders started working on this way back in 2006 (six years ago now). Think about the other sparks of brilliance each of these four have delivered during that time. Perhaps none of these individual projects would have come to fruition had their energies been devoted to making the 'New Multitudes' work sound more like a four-piece with a unified vision. And if they had done so, what of their respective individual artistic visions might have been glossed and lost in the process?
In other words, perhaps the brilliance of this record is that it hangs together as well as it does while also allowing each artist's "voice" to be heard loud and clear.
My 2 cents,
Tim in Chapel Hill
New date added for Newport Folk Festival. Pretty decent lineup as well. Jackson Browne!
http://www.newportfolkfest.net/lineup
http://www.newportfolkfest.net/lineup
I went to the local indie music shop to pick this up today. I dig it, I do. However, I will admit disappointment that it sounds more like a 4-way split than a collaborative effort. Odd part is, I'm not a big My Morning Jacket fan, but Yim Yames' Revolutionary Mind is probably my favorite song on the first couple of listens.
I will reiterate, it is a good album, just Anders sounds like Anders solo, Jay sounds like Son Volt, Will sounds like Centromatic and Yim sounds like My Morning Jacket...It's cool, but there is a definite disconnect between each song, no cohesive sound that carries from one track to the next.
I will reiterate, it is a good album, just Anders sounds like Anders solo, Jay sounds like Son Volt, Will sounds like Centromatic and Yim sounds like My Morning Jacket...It's cool, but there is a definite disconnect between each song, no cohesive sound that carries from one track to the next.
Best $3.99 I've ever spent save the times I've probably purchased an excellent pint for $4. Thanks Amazon.dcarter wrote:New Multitudes is the Amazon mp3 deal of the day. $3.99 with digital booklet. dcarter is enticed when New Multitudes is so cheaply priced.
http://www.amazon.com/New-Multitudes-di ... =163856011