Dave Alvin and the Guilty Men: Out in California
Hightone HCD 8144
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 It has become
commonplace for music writers to obsess over the near disappearance of classical music
from the cultural landscape, but think about this: When was the last time you heard a
great rock album?
I mean, what happened to rock? It fragmented, shattered on
the implacability of corporate radio's ever-tightening playlists. But real rock --
intelligently written for adults and played by bands with decades of collective experience
playing their instruments -- now seems as sweetly old-fashioned as a Jane Austen novel.
Maybe it is. At the core of the best straight-ahead rock
was a reliance upon tradition every bit as solid as that of any classical composer
enamored of the sonata allegro form. As for the concept of being able to play together,
it's starting to seem almost quaint.
Now, I'm not attempting to elevate "Tripe Face
Boogie" to the same lofty pantheon as Beethoven Op. 132 quartet, but (paraphrasing
Boulez) there's many a Beatles song I value more than entire operas by Hentze.
Great dance music, from Beethoven's 7th symphony to
"Spanish Moon," just makes you feel good -- with no hangover or noxious
side effects. And when combined with lyrics that actually mean something, rock music can
be as intoxicating as a beautiful woman and a spring evening combined.
So you can understand my delight at discovering Dave Alvin
and the Guilty Men's Out in California. It's "only" rock 'n roll, but
it's honest, heartfelt, and affecting. And I like it.
Out in California is a live album, recorded in
August 2001 in Long Beach and January 2002 in Santa Barbara and Pasadena. It sure doesn't
sound like the average live record, though -- its sound is crisp and articulate, with
phenomenally natural instrumental sound. There's absolutely none of that "empty
box" quality to Out in California's sound, but neither is there any of the
direct-input sterility that some live recordings substitute for it. Vocals, drums, and
acoustic guitars have lots of open-air support to their sounds -- and Alvin's guitar solos
have that ringing bloom you only get from playing an amp that's being excited by the other
amps in an electric band.
(Does that make any sense to you non-guitarists? Maybe not,
but there's a real difference to the sound of a guitar amp played in an isolation booth or
a recording studio and one that's in the midst of a loud band playing together -- and
that's what Alvin's amp sounds like here.)
Don't get me wrong. Dave Alvin's a great guitarist, but Out
in California isn't a recording of him endlessly noodling -- he only takes a few solos
and he really makes 'em count. What this record is, is the recording of a hot band on a
good night. The Guilty Men are an awfully hot band, too -- looking at their picture in the
CD's gatefold, I'd have to call them, ummm, seasoned. But mama mia are they
ever tight!
The keystone, of course, is the one-two punch of Gregory
Boaz's bass guitar and Bobby Lloyd Hicks's drumming. These two guys lock into a space-time
interaction that Einstein couldn't have fathomed (but the little girls understand) and the
rest of the band cruise upon this foundation, playing with dynamics and harmonies the way
a housecat plays with a mouse. It looks like fun . . .
Unless you're the mouse, of course.
Then, there're the songs. They're what Alvin calls
"acoustic and electric folk music" -- and that seems about right. Songs range
from real folk classics, like "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down," to Bo Diddley's
"Who Do You Love" and Bo Carter's hokum classic "All 'Round Man" to
(of course) original Alvin songs, such as "Abilene," "Haley's Comet,"
and the inevitable (but no less welcome) "American Music."
Alvin doesn't have a crooner's pipes or phrasing, but his
deep, rich baritone, cracks and fissures and all, has a robust honesty that perfectly
suits his style. Like the band's playing, his singing is powerful and effective --
besides, these aren't pretty songs. "Haley's Comet" is about fame's fleeting
nature, "Abilene" is about longing to escape from an old life, and "Fourth
of July" is about the death of love. That sounds depressing, but so do translations
of most lieder. What makes the fusion of words and music so powerful is precisely
what adding music does to the words -- it mirrors and amplifies them, sometimes changing
the literal meaning of a lyric with a wistful harmony or an unresolved chord.
And so it is on Out in California. The power and
strength of rock transforms these songs -- dare I say, ennobles them?
If, like me, you've missed intelligent, committed rock that
matches instrumental virtuosity with the need to say something, don't hesitate a minute.
Buy Out in California. Heck, buy two -- encourage Hightone to make more like this
one and treat a friend at the same time. Like the record itself, the gesture will make you
feel real good.
...Wes Phillips
wes@onhifi.com
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