Mike Keneally
Wing Beat Fantastic
(Exowax)
"Songs
written by Mike Keneally & Andy Partridge": this is the subtitle
of Wing Beat Fantastic, the much-anticipated CD featuring the fruits of
the collaboration between US musician Mike Keneally and the former leader
of much-loved, long-gone U.K. group called XTC. That this album was eagerly
awaited was clearly demonstrated by the large quantity of reviews whose
excerpts I happened to find on Keneally's website the day I had a look
to see if said album was indeed out. All were very favourable, to say the
least, my point here, however, being how timely they all were. Was I surprised
by that!, being used as I was at seeing those reviews of his albums trickle
very slowly. I think this is a good demonstration of the love many feel
for Partridge, also of the perceived amount of "weight" thought
of as distinctive of each man by those who write about music (which doesn't
really appear to me as being a truthful description when it comes to paying
customers, but that's life).
As
it's succinctly but clearly explained in the CD liner notes (those in need
of longer texts can easily access Keneally's website), the material featured
on the album was for the most part conceived in the course of two one-week-long
writing/demoing sessions - the first in 2006, the second in 2008 - at Partridge's
place, in Swindon, the recording proper taking place in California in 2011
and 2012, tracking by Keneally, with "transatlantic input" by
Partridge. Plus, there is some stuff from various periods, all composed
by Keneally. Having a look on the Web (the album release date was July
24), reading between the lines, it appeared to me as though some fans felt
maybe a bit let down by Partridge non-appearance as a vocalist and instrumentalist,
though it's very clear that that's the way he wanted. (Maybe I'm reading
too much into it, but there's a part in the last track where Keneally sings
"I, as we, sing".)
Now's
the time for me to detonate the little bomb that should explain why this
review is a bit late (and no, it's not because I had to accustom myself
to the sound of the new CD player I just bought): In truth, I never really
liked XTC - there, I said it! - , which made me quite undecided about my
writing this review. Those being the days, back in the day, I found myself
listening to Drums & Wires, and having a look (but of course!) to the
cover of Go 2. Later, I found English Settlement to be a significant step
forward for the group, but I never felt compelled to listen to their music
on a regular basis, my knowledge of the music of the group being on fact
very sketchy to this day (does this disqualify me from expressing my opinion
about Wing Beat Fantastic? Well, that's for readers to decide). The fact
that Partridge produced a Peter Blegvad album called The Naked Shakespeare
didn't help much, Blegvad being at the time one of my favourite "new" artists,
Partridge's production work being in my opinion very competent and quite
intelligent, but totally at odds with the material and the mood of the
album (my opinion, of course, but not Blegvad's record company, of course).
Case closed.
I
have to admit it was with great curiosity that I started listening to this
album. It's a very good album, I think, with just a few minor lows, but
lotsa highs. At times, the album sounded more "English" than "American"
to me, but this is just a red herring, given the sheer variety of
"styles" Keneally has always featured on his albums starting from
day one. Here and there one can hear more "streamlined" musical
developments, but this doesn't mean much, either. The guitar tones - talking
about the electric guitars, since the acoustic guitars, and there are lots
of them, sound more or less the same as before - are a bit "thin" here,
but I'd say that it's obvious the problem was not to have them compete with
the vocals, which are so many and so varied as to defy description. And it's
the function - and so, the placement - of the vocal parts that in my opinion
makes this album so different from, say, Wooden Smoke, Keneally's "acoustic
album" Wing Beat Fantastic is said to resemble: whereas the former saw
vocals often featured as pure colour, the new album has a stronger narrative
element, as shown by the lyrics.
The
album is all good, but it's with the second half that, for me, it really
takes off. Very well recorded - for the most part, by Mike Harris - it
shows Keneally, with a little help of some featured musicians I'll talk
about in a moment, at his multi-instrumental best.
The
album features a few instrumental episodes which function as bridges and
help the whole avoid a (potential) perception of sameness. Album opener,
The Ineffable Oomph Of Everything, Part One, works as a charm, taking the
listener to I'm Raining Here, Inside, which features a drum loop by Partridge:
a perfect mid-tempo for a lively track with good backing by the clear thinking
of old acquaintance Marco Minnemann; fine arpeggios, a classic melody,
and a bridge that to me sounds like pure Keneally, the track has an
"Indian-sounding" coda, which sounds very "English Psychedelia,
circa 1966".
Wing
Beat Fantastic is one of the album high points: dream-like, again with
a drum loop by Partridge, Minnemann again on drums, with solid vocal backing
by Allen Whitman (who's a valuable presence throughout the album) and by
Matt Resnicoff (whose signature I used to read on Musician and Guitar Player
magazines back in the day but who in real life is a much-appreciated guitar
player and producer) adding "depth" and colours. A catchy chorus,
a light bridge, which - with the help of "phasing" - leads us
to the guitar.
The
Ineffable Oomph Of Everything, Part 2 takes us to You Kill Me, for this
writer the only really weak moment on the album. The song combines a lively
tone and a serious text, but the variety of guitar timbres cannot conceal
the monotony of the structure which makes the song appear quite longer
than its already considerable length. A very "English-sounding" melody
- think: The Who - with a solid backing, as it's to be expected, by an
old friend, Nick D'Virgilio.
The
brief, instrumental, Friend Of A Friend takes us to another high point,
That's Why I Have No Name, penned by Keneally, who also sits on drums.
A fine melody with a multi-coloured vocal backing, and many guitars, some
of them
"backwards"-sounding.
Another
high point, Your House is maybe the most unusual track on the album: a
"piano ballad" - which to me sounds as it was written on guitar
- perfectly orchestrated to give the illusion of being "dry", with
a tense naked vocal performance by Keneally, a first for him. The bridge
has a fine development, while the song time framework made me place it side-by-side
to As Far As Dreams Can Go, by Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin.
The
brilliant Miracle Woman And Man is almost a mini-opera, not too far from
10cc, circa Sheet Music. Layered vocals, fine acoustic guitars - and what's
that, a Moog Voyager? (Strange thing, I thought I heard a clarinet here,
though Evan Francis is credited as playing on the last track, where I can't
hear him.)
Variations
on a melody off Wing Beat Fantastic, Inglow flows in a clear, clean way
- acoustic guitars, tabla, keyboards - to end with a brief song.
A
fine odd-meter played by Marco Minnemann at his skillful best - listen
to that snare-bass drum passage - Bobeau features a tasty trombone played
by April West, Alan Whitman on vocals again, evocative rain recorded by
Scott Chatfield in his backyard, a fine contrast between complex verses
and a simple chorus, and a guitar solo whose finger vibrato reminded me
of David Gilmour (!).
Closing
track Land appears to me as playing the same (musical) function as Gentle
Giant's closing track, Three Friends, on their album of same name. Multiple
vocals, Bryan Beller on double bass, Minnemann on cymbals (also Evan Francis
on clarinet?), Keneally on piano and guitars.
Beppe Colli
© Beppe Colli 2012
CloudsandClocks.net | Aug. 31, 2012
