by Brian Erickson
[CoolDad Note: Brian Erickson is co-host of the excellent Great Albums Podcast as well as frontman for the power poppy Paper Jets. He's a great student of music and an excellent conversationalist, two things that have made for some long talks in the short time we've known each other. When I put out the call for guest posts while I was on vacation, I was ecstatic when Brian stepped up. Thanks, Brian. You're welcome here anytime.]
In anticipation of the forthcoming American Football album, I've come up with a list of my five personal favorite comeback albums, in no particular order. The criteria were simple: Was the artist/band gone for a while and did it seem like they would ever come back? If the answers were, respectively, 'yes' and 'no,' then we were good to go.
My Bloody Valentine - m b v (2013 | Previous Album: 1991's Loveless) - To me, Loveless doesn't sit with contemporaries like Nevermind or Ten or even Parklife in terms of Great 90s Albums. It's more a throwback to A Love Supreme or In a Silent Way in that it challenges us to consider what an album of music even is to begin with. So when m b v dropped in 2013, ending the 22 year-long drought, expectation got replaced by reality, and that reality is both a pleasure, and a departure from what we were previously used to from this band! m b v has a warmth to it largely lacking from most early 90s productions. We even get thrown an actual, true-blue pop song in the form of appropriately-titled, "New You," something My Bloody Valentine had never been quite so outward about before. Sure, "Honey Power," and "Only Shallow" had hooks, but never before has the band presented a song with such balance between its majestic guitars and literate rhythm section. And that's what this album ends up being about: balance. Nine songs, perfectly divisible by three and separated musically as such: noisy, poppy, and driving. Let's hope that it's not another 22 years between albums for My Bloody Valentine. But if it is, at least we know it will probably be worth the wait.
Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here (2010 | Previous Album: 1994's Spirits) - Nobody saw this coming. After hard drugs and questionable decisions landed him in and out of jail multiple times, Gil Scott-Heron would not have been my first candidate for the "Someone Who Will Nail Their Career's Final Act If They Can Manage To Get There" Award. Running at only 28 minutes, Scott-Heron manages to say everything he needs to. The set's most compelling line being "You've gotta pay for the things you've done wrong / I've got a big bill coming at the end of the day." He'd be dead just a year later. They say all great fighters have one last round left in them. Gil Scott-Heron won his by a knockout.
Dinosaur Jr - Beyond (2007 | Previous Album: 1997's Hand it Over | Last album with core lineup: 1988's Bug) - Coming 10 years after the band's last album, and 19 years after its founding lineup dissolved, Beyond is everything you want when a beloved band comes back. The tried-and-true power trio format translates well in the mid-aughts, even when electronic music continued its rise to the top of Indie Rock's ranks. J Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph don't just sound happy to be back together, they sound downright vital. And what makes this comeback one of the best of all-time isn't just the one fantastic first album they made. It's the three (and counting?) that this still-active band has produced in the decade since. There isn't a bad one in the bunch and if this year's sprightly Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not is any indication, Dinosaur Jr is showing no signs of slowing down.
The Wrens - The Meadowlands (2003 | Previous Album: 1998's Secaucus) - This album came to me in relatively real time. I got to it around 2005(ish). My younger sister was a Long Island scene kid who would routinely sneak into The Downtown in Farmingdale, NY to see local bands like Brand New, Glassjaw, or Taking Back Sunday. She made an emo playlist that I supposedly just had to hear. I remember nothing from it but "Happy" by The Wrens, the seven-minute, Pixies-courting opener to their masterful Meadowlands album. I literally jumped up from the computer, got in the car and bought the album upon arriving at the local Borders Books. When I got home, I immediately started learning everything about The Wrens; how they had been railroaded by their major label (Wind-Up Records, home to Creed and Evanescence), and bounced around a bit, marching toward a markedly uncertain future. Seven years went by until The Meadowlands finally dropped. And with it also came hope for everybody approaching (or just north of) 30 years old who still loved playing in a band; who still weren't quite ready to give it up. Gone were the sun-soaked guitar spikes of 1996's Secaucus. Replacing them were...questions. Questions about age, vitality, usefulness, and the value of relationships. Even though The Wrens didn't break up, record labels have been known to hold bands hostage, making them unable to perform or record lest they do their bidding. The Wrens stood their ground patiently as the years continued to melt off the calendar. Their 20s gave way to their 30s and band obligations gave way to day jobs and families. But when they finally saw their opening, The Wrens hit music's equivalent of a walk-off home run making The Meadowlands not just one of the great comeback albums of all time, but perhaps one of the greatest albums the 21st Century may yet produce.
George Harrison - Brainwashed (2002 | Previous Album: 1987's Cloud Nine) - Perhaps inspired by the fruitful Beatles Anthology sessions, or the creative rebirth that his two former band mates had experienced (1992's Time Takes Time for Ringo, 1997's Flaming Pie for Paul), George felt the need to put music to tape again; something he hadn't done as a solo act since 1987. So he started setting songs aside in the pseudo-tradition of his 1970 masterpiece, All Things Must Pass. It had become a bit of a joke that because Harrison had only ever contributed two or three songs to each Beatles album, that - All Things aside - that was all he was really good for on his solo records, as well. He planned a low-key comeback. No deadline or release date. The album would just...happen. He began recording in earnest with help from his son Dhani and his longtime producer Jeff Lynne. What wasn't planned was Harrison's untimely passing in 2001. But his two collaborators carried on in his stead and with songs of light and optimism such as "Any Road," or the wistful "Rising Sun," Brainwashed would have been a comeback triumphant in every way, completely revitalizing Harrison's solo career. But what we get instead is a a beautiful celebration of the life of the man known as The Quiet Beatle, and the best solo album by a member of the Fab Four in nearly three decades.
Honorable Mentions:
David Bowie - The Next Day (2013 | Previous Album: 2003's Reality) - The Starman returns following a decade of retirement and recovery from an on-stage heart attack. While this album is very good, his singular vision would be solidified on 2016's career-capping Blackstar.
D'Angelo & the Vanguard - Black Messiah (2014 | Previous Album: 2000's Voodoo) - If he was waiting until he had something to say, the dawn of the #BlackLivesMatter movement was a good time for D'Angelo to finally say it.
Television - Television (1992 | Previous Album: 1978's Adventure) - Jazzing up the sound of Marquee Moon by slowing the tempo and making brilliant use of space, Television's self-titled album turns out to be a minor masterpiece.
Dr. Dre - Compton (2015 | Previous Album: 1999's 2001) - Inspired by his own past, Dre is still not beyond challenging authority when others might suggest he fall in line. "Why the fuck are they after me?" he asks. Because even after a 16 year hiatus, Dre sounds downright dangerous.
The Who - Endless Wire (2006 | Previous Album: 1982's It's Hard) - The Who turns in a quietly-dignified, remarkably cohesive album, and easily their most inspired since Quadrophenia.
No comments :
Post a Comment