Chris Stamey New Songs 20th Century Album Review
The new album by Chris Stamey is quite remarkable because information technology is unexpected, at to the lowest degree on the surface. Singer and cofounder of indie rock legends The dBs, the songs on his New Songs For The 20th Century collection are every bit much forward-seeking as they are retro-nostalgic. If y'all know Stamey'southward music, this album won't really surprise you because you know he has already written many wonderful pop songs in a archetype sort of vein over the years with The dBs and on his solo recordings. For instance, tucked away on The dB's fabulous 2012 album Falling Off the Heaven is a contemplative tune chosen "Far Away and Long Ago" which could have easily fit in this collection.
New Songs For The 20th Century was inspired by sheet music Stamey found in the bench that came with a pianoforte he bought — old school piano benches typically had a elevator off seat that revealed storage space for music and such. Taken by the music he found on those pages, he immersed himself in these songs past the likes of Cole Porter George Gershwin, Jerome Kern and others. From there he composed his ain song cycle of new songs inspired by those vintage flavors.
At the end of the day a great vocal is a great song no matter what form it is presented and New Songs For The 20th Century is clogged of timeless hooks, choruses and clever wordplay.
The only other pop-rock artists I know of who have accomplished something akin to this are Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson. Moody and blue, these New Songs For The 20th Century at times feel like they could take fit on Costello's more torch-jazz oriented albums such as Due north and his collaboration with Burt Bacharach called Painted From Memory. And I brand this comparison as the highest of compliments considering it's non easy to practice what he's doing here!
Some of my favorites so far on New Songs For The 20th Century include "Manhattan Melody" and the clever "I Don't Believe In Romance." In that location are and so many other cracking songs here — this album is a rich listening experience.
Many terrific musicians in Chris Stamey's orchestra bring this music to life. From the official press release nosotros acquire: "Vocalists on the 2 volumes of this lush, orchestrated, jazz-flavored outing include jazz legend Nnenna Freelon, popular icons Marshall Crenshaw, Don Dixon, and Caitlin Cary (Whiskeytown), North Carolina stalwarts Skylar Gudasz and Brett Harris, and exciting newcomers Millie McGuire, Kirsten Lambert, and Organized religion Jones. Highlights include Django Haskins (The Old Ceremony) and renowned saxophonist Branford Marsalis together on the Irving Berlin-like overture "Manhattan Tune (That's My New York)," and rise-star pianist Ariel Pocock singing "At that place's Not a Deject in the Sky." Cary adds a bit of Americana into the mix, with "Your Terminal Forever Later on." All are backed by the "ModRec Orchestra" (named afterward Modern Recording, Stamey's studio abode base in Chapel Loma, North.C.) with Neb Frisell, Nels Cline (Wilco), and Matt Douglas (Mountain Goats), also as N.C. jazz virtuosi soloists Stephen Anderson (the Dominican Jazz Projection), John Chocolate-brown, Will Campbell, Jim Crew, and Dave Finucane taking turns at the microphone."
Not exactly what yous might expect from a musician who was in a rough-and-tumble jangly ability popular band in the 80s! Merely it makes perfect sense when you terminate to think that Stamey had recently been the music director for the wonderful and lush tribute to Big Star – – known as Large Star's 3rd — an assemblage that toured widely and issued a great terminal concert Blu-ray Disc which I reviewed here on Audiophile Review (click here for that).
At nowadays, the 26-song New Songs For The 20th Century is available on CD and information technology sounds really good with no unappealing brick wall or other digital anomalies apparent to my ear. You can also notice information technology streaming on Tidal in CD quality which sounds pretty good too, perhaps a tad more than digital-feeling but nothing that would actually arrive the mode of your enjoyment of the music. If yous have a subscription to Tidal, you can find it streaming hither. Perhaps someday nosotros'll go a vinyl incarnation at some point in the near futurity. I'll bet this music would sound great in that format.
Chris Stamey's New Songs For The 20th Century sounds only right for these curious 21st Century times. It's a refreshing recording. You should listen to it.
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Source: https://audiophilereview.com/audiophile-music/chris-stameys-star-studded-20th-century-songs-ring-true-for-21st-century-times-on-cd-tidal/
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