I drop the needle on the opening track of the
LP, which is also its title track. “What Kind Of World” sets the stage similarly
to other charged Brendan Benson album openers such as, “Folk Singer”, “My Old
Familiar Friend”, and “Spit It Out”. The song starts as a simmer and moves
through the verses slowly reaching a rolling boil. The tune makes a fitting LP
opener, and the perfect introduction to the rest of the tracks. “Bad for Me” is
the second track on the LP and in another time and place could be a career
defining song for Brendan. What I mean by this, is that in this age of singles
and mp3’s, “Bad for Me” is destined to languish as an LP song. Only fans
who buy the album will ever have the opportunity to hear this amazing work. This is unfortunate because “Bad for Me” is a lush
stroke of pop melodism that makes me think of McCartney or Badfinger’s Pete
Ham. These artists are responsible for such towering rock ballads as “Maybe I’m
Amazed”, and “Without You” respectively. It’s rare to find a song with such a
stellar combination of lyrics, vocals, and production. Following “Bad
for Me” are two examples of the perfect rock songs, “Light Of Day”, and “Most Of The Time”
which harken back to Brendan’s earlier albums, “Lapalco”, and “Alternative To
Love” with their arrangements and“power pop” sensibilities. “Light of Day” starts with a purely
Brendan Benson phased guitar intro which contrasts the dark vibe of the lyrics. Feel, lyrics, and hook, this tune has it all. “Most
Of the Time” immediately gets me going, and is a shining example of Brendon at his best lyrically
and musically. The verse, “The last time I checked I was about the size of an
insect, with just about as much to say”, hits me where it counts as Brendan
scats the lyrics across the swelling groove. Before I can catch my breath, “Keep
Me” slithers out of my speakers with a tender funk which frames the verses sung
by Brendan and Young Hines. The middle eight of this tune is one of the special
moments on side one, and is a goose bump moment for me. Side one comes to its
glorious conclusion with the psychedelic swamp sounds of “Pretty Baby”. The
syrupy tribal pulse of this song leaves me no doubt as to who was responsible
for some of the production specialties on the two Raconteurs LP’s. This is a very heavy and atmospheric way to close side one, leaving
me with a swell of anticipation, as I flip the record to side two.
The flip side of
the LP starts with “Here in the Deadlights” which began its life as a candidate
for the “Raconteurs 2008 LP “Consolers of the Lonely”. This song feels right at home
on Brendan’s album, being a great way to set the stage for the songs to follow.
The high energy continues with “Met Your
Match” which feels like it moves at a furious rate, even with the well thought
out verse that takes its time. The track listing of this LP is incredibly
effective, and illustrates Brendan’s love toward the medium of vinyl.
Making me feel like a stumbling drunk with its sideways groove, “Thru the
Celing” is another gem in this LP of glistening stones. Brendan’s voice soars
over the levitating chorus “I’m weightless, I’m shapeless, I’m invisible”. I’m
starting to think side two of this record is where it’s at! This assertion is
supported when “No one Else but You” quietly tip toes in, flaunting its very “Wings”
vibe. I think to myself, “I’m so happy music is still this good!”. Only Brendan
can compose a song with a melody this powerful, and sing it with such conviction.
This may be his best vocal performance of the record. Absolutely stunning. “Come
On” blasts me back to reality with a big fuzzy bass and stellar instrumentation. Again, I feel that this is a nice placement for
this song in the track listing, and a fitting lead in to the LP closer, "On the Fence". “On the
Fence” is a swinging, smoky, campfire stomp that sounds like a long lost Gram Parson’s
track. This is also due to the vocals of Ashley Monroe who also lends her
abilities to this song and “Pretty Baby”. Brendan is a master of whatever genre
he chooses to work with. “On the Fence”
is a great upbeat close to the album, that finds me satisfied and flipping the record back to side one for more.
“What Kind of
World” is a dramatic and diverse collection of songs that illustrate Brendan
Benson at the peak of his musical maturity. I will refer to this record as a “grower”, a record that will
sneak inside your room in the middle of the night, whisper its melodies in
your ear until it is a part of your consciousness. It’s clear to me Brendon has
fully developed his own sound, and I can’t wait to see where it goes next. There are intricacies and dynamics contained on this record that other artists have either forgotten about or are too lazy to use. “What
Kind of World” is a record that gives me faith in where rock is, and where rock is
headed.
I f*ckin' love Brendan Benson!!! Great blog!
ReplyDeleteSteve - Great review. I'm finding this album a "grower" with me too. At first I thought it wasn't the album BB needed to release but as it's been spinning up on my iTunes I keep going back to it.
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