Dave Pirner
Faces And Names
»
Dave Pirner
Faces And Names
Ultimatum, 2002
RiYL: Soul Asylum, '70s soul, soul food |
Even Jay Farrar's solo debut last fall, while a better record than the last Son Volt album, wasn't really much of a stretch. Hell, at least Jeff Tweedy of Wilco keeps the façade that he's in a band, even if he's kicked out a drummer and his main collaborator over the past year.
So needless to say, I did not have high expectations when I put Dave Pirner's solo debut on the CD player. Don't get me wrong, I used to LOVE Dave's band Soul Asylum in high school. Although I didn't get into them until after 1992's Grave Dancers Union, their work in the mid-to-late '80s was almost always stellar, and almost always loud. Between '88 and '90, Soul Asylum's records always earned them the "next big thing label," and were featured consistently on MTV's "120 Minutes," a show which at that point was still showing cutting-edge music videos by the best underground bands in the world.
But that all changed with Grave Dancers Union, the album that made the band posterboys for both persistence -- it took 10 years before they had a hit -- and teen angst, even though each member was well into his 30s when the record was released.
Grave Dancers, the band's sixth album, and its ubiquitous "Runaway Train" single put Soul Asylum on top of the charts, and put Pirner, the high-gravelly-throated frontman, on the cover of such magazines as Rolling Stone and, thanks to his relationship with Winona Ryder, on several teen pubs.
It seemed that all the hard work was paying dividends, until MTV and radio stations overkilled "Runaway Train," and the band took three years to follow Grave Dancers up. 1995's Let Your Dim Light Shine was a critical success, but quickly faded after, again, TV and radio played the first single "Misery" into the ground, and Pirner watched his audience, which had ballooned from small clubs to giant amphitheaters, begin to dwindle. The inconsistent Dim Light seemed to be an effort to please both the teenage girls who lapped up "Train" and the band's loyal following, who watched Soul Asylum move from solid Replacement-esque punk-pop to overblown and oversaturated rock stars for prepubescent kids.
Soul Asylum's last album, 1998's Candy From A Stranger, was a slight return to form, but no one, it appeared, was paying attention and the record quickly fizzled out.
The band quietly faded from view, and Pirner took some well-needed time off, relocated to New Orleans and soaked up the insane and incredibly diverse musical culture. Although Soul Asylum is still officially together -- for an amazing 20 years, mind you -- Pirner ingratiated himself in his adopted hometown and, apparently, started writing some songs.
And the result is quite a surprise: Not only is it a strong album, but its not simply 'another Soul Asylum' record. Save one or two songs -- notably the heavy drum- and guitar-laden opener "Teach Me To Breathe" and the feedback-drenched "Much Too Easy" -- Pirner truly does take some chances that he'd never take with Soul Asylum.
For one, the album is quite strongly rooted in R&B and (gasp!) soul. Now those that have followed Pirner and Soul Asylum have surely heard the band's cover of "Sexual Healing," so he's clearly dabbled in the past. With Soul Asylum, though, Pirner never came close to duplicating that sound on record.
But he does here, and, surprise surprise, it's not all that bad. Except for one obvious blunder, the horrendous "364," the album contains some remarkably good, fun numbers.
Pirner's most successful experiments are the falsetto "Tea," the, ahem, groovy "Levitation," and the undeniably catchy "I'll Have My Day." On "Tea," Pirner combines a funky drum beat and guitar sounds with hokey, goofy lyrics. Dave Pirner, goofy? Well, yeah, I guess. Maybe its better to let him explain:
"I don't won't to sound childish, I know it can be done / we can live how you wanna live / we can live with anyone / I don't want to sound crazy / know it can be / we could have tea," he croons.
"Levitation" is a saxophone-tinged slinky number about "doin' the things that you wanna do" and wanting to get "higher, higher, hiiigher, hi, hi, hiiiigher."
However, "I'll Have My Day" is the best of the bunch, with a simple drum beat and about three chords, but lyrics that appear to exorcise his attempts to please too many people with his craft.
"And all of my pride / will rise from this grave / and all of my anger / will find the right place / cause society haunts me / they no longer want me / and peace will be with me / yes I'll have my day."
It almost sounds like Pirner is born again, and as anyone who's heard some of Soul Asylum's earlier records -- especially Hangtime and And The Horse They Rode In On -- knows, that's a good thing.
RODEO ROB | An expert on all things "alt," Rob spends his days covering the energy industry and his nights covering the DC-area bars. Raise yer glass especially high to this man, for he has contributed to this site constantly since its creation four years ago.