Chimpomatic

Wallace And Gromit: A Matter Of Loaf And Death

(dir. Nick Park)

BBC1

Wallace and Gromit return in a "classic who-doughnut mystery" just in time for Christmas. If you're a fan of the Aardman pun-filled charm, there's plenty to enjoy in this half-hour outing, in which we find our cheese and tea-loving heroes running a bakery (Top Bun) with all their usual Heath Robinson-style robotic chaos. 

Things are all going fine until Wallace falls for the charms of Piella Bakewell, a former star of the Bake-O-Lite bread commercials and her poodle Fluffles. Will she bring too much of her womanly touch to the mill? Will Fluffles send Gromit running to the doghouse? And why isn't Wallace more worried about the "cereal killer" who's been attacking all the local bakers in the area?

Full of lots of daft touches, visual gags and Hitchcockian nods, it's another success from Aardman - proper family entertainment that doesn't dumb down for kids or spend too much time being overly sly for grownups. Just wish it didn't take so long for them to knock these films out. Coronation Street's Sally Lindsay joins Peter Sallis on voice duties.

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4th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

(dir. Alex Gibney)

HDNet Films

"Of all the correspondents, he was the least factual, but the most accurate." Frank Mankiewicz, George McGovern's 1972 campaign manager,

Great doc on the original wildman behind a typewriter, Hunter S Thompson. Packed with footage from the many highlights of his psychedelic journey through the American Dream: hanging with the Hell's Angels, fending off lizards in Vegas hotel bars, heading out on the campaign trail with George McGovern, talking football with Nixon, running for sheriff, hunting boar with machine guns and ingesting a seemingly non-stop diet of bourbon and drugs.

All his co-pilots are here - along with some of the people he took shots at along the way - the mighty Ralph Steadman whose scratchy drawings brought the Gonzo ethos to life, Rolling Stone head honcho Jann Wenner, Tom Wolfe, Jimmy Buffet, both Mrs Thompsons, Johnny Depp (who played him in the Terry Gilliam film), Pat Buchanan, Jimmy Carter and George McGovern.

It's a film that plays it pretty straight - but that's probably wise when your subject is so out-there. Engaging, moving, inspiring and funny, it's a very enjoyable tribute to a man who planned his own funeral years before shooting himself.

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3rd Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Pavement

Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedance Edition

Domino

The Pavement re-release juggernaut continues at full-steam (wait, didn't the last review start like that?), with album number four now getting the super-deluxe treatment. Perhaps more than the previous efforts, Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition is truly jam-packed with goodies, stretching it out to an epic 155 minutes.

In the overall canon of Pavement's work, support for Brighten the Corners may be a little divided. The album sold considerably more that it's predecessors - and features a couple of bonifide hit singles in Stereo and Shady Lane - but much of the scattergun rambling charm of the earlier albums had perhaps been polished away. In retrospect, the album shows a logical progression in the band's sound, and pre-dates the evolution of Malkmus's excellent solo albums - and can hardly be labelled as 'conventional'.

Sure, the chorus of Stereo is catchy and conventional, but it's surrounded by unhinged guitar work and primal vocals - not to mention the spoken word interruptions ("I know him, and he does" retorts Bob Nastovich in his best Wayne's World voice, "And you're my fact checking cuz".). Shady Lane crams a 20 minute epic into less than 4, while the show-stopping Embassy Row commits an orchestrated guitar riot to tape.

Conventional, perhaps not - but if you take Spiral Stairs' slightly out of place efforts out of the mix (Date W/ IKEA, Passat Dream), the original album is at least pretty cohesive for a Pavement album. Bring the collected b-sides into play however and it's a different story, transforming this into a sprawling, but thoroughly engaging trip.

Outtake/B-side The Hexx has already been featured on Domino's Worlds of Possibility compilation (albeit in a more concise form than the versions here), while Beautiful As A Butterfly and Cataracts lead into the raft of additional tracks that formed the b-sides of the singles from this period. The highlight of the rarities section of this release has to be the Radio 1 Evening Session, which provides studio quality recordings of the band running through The Hexx, Harness Your Hopes and Winner Of The, with the undisputed highlight being the band's cover of The Killing Moon - a track that provides perfect ammo for a stretched-out work-out.

Admittedly things taper away with some of the other live tracks from the era, but as the zany double barreled finale of Space Ghost Themes I & II come around (from the Space Ghost Coast To Coast TV show), the notion that Pavement had entered a more 'straight-forward' mainstream period is a distant theory.

While the Crooked Rain and Wowee Zowee re-releases arguably watered down their excellent starting points, Brighten The Corners here seems even better that the original - perhaps due to me approaching an album I perhaps was overly dismissive of from a fresh perspective. Either way, as these re-releases have shown, this was an incredibly productive band - kicking out 2 1/2 hours worth of decent material per album cycle, while the young pups these days struggle to produce a 12 track album and a couple of b-sides.

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2nd Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Danielson

Trying Hartz

Secretly Canadian

The double disc Trying Hartz compilation brings together a sampling of the work of Daniel Smith - recorded under various names, including Danielson, Danielson Famile and Brother Danielson. Perhaps best known for his well-received 2006 album Ships, the compilation provides an interesting document of the metamorphosing artist, as he fins his feet and cements his direction.

While musically Smith is influenced by his Christian 're-awakening', this is not your typical religious recording - although gospel certainly plays a part in defining the rambling indie artist, as he pulls in guitars, banjos, sample and more.

This is a well put together package that avoids the usual inconsistency of a compilation and remains a cut above the typical demos package, with a pretty crisp production - although it is lacking when it comes to bottom end, and that doubles in intensity due to the consistently high-pitched vocals. Things also lose a little focus as the album starts pulling from a live catalogue.

From the roaring opening and shuffling drums of Animal In Every Corner to the delicate banjo balladry of Daughters Will Tune You, there is plenty to recommend here - and the seemingly scattergun approach actually forms a pretty consistent shape. The problem is, without the unhinged craziness of Deerhoof, or the dogged persistence of Sufjan Stevens, things can easily drift into no mans land.

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1st Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Neil Young

Sugar Mountain Live At Canterbury House 1968

Warner Bros

Great entry in the ongoing Neil Young archive marathon. This set's taken from a solo gig he played soon after walking out on Buffalo Springfield in 1968 to see if, you know, he'd be able to hack it as a solo artist or not...

Full of lots of bits of chat - talking about growing his hair; what he gets from writing songs ("you know, besides residuals"); introducing "new ones" and Springfield hits like Mr Soul (which apparently "took only five minutes to write - and it takes only five minutes to sing. If you can think of any words I should change after I finish, be sure and let me know!"); playing tantalising little excerpts of others like Winterlong without actually going into it (maybe he hadn't written the words yet); talking about his time working in a Toronto book store (he got fired for "irregularity" - some "really great diet pills" were involved...); and generally perfecting that fragile acoustic sound that we know and love... 

Won't necessarily win over any new fans, but if you're on board the Young train (or electric car) you'll enjoy it. Completists should note that it won't be included in 2009's bumper Neil Young Archives Vol. 1 (1963 – 1972) 10-disc Blu-ray and DVD package.

Tracklist:

Emcee Introduction 
On The Way Home
Songwriting Rap
Mr Soul
Recording Rap
Expecting To Fly
Last Trip To Tulsa
Bookstore Rap
Loner
I Used To Rap
Birds
Winterlong/Out Of My Mind
Out Of My Mind
If I Could Have Her Tonight
Classical Gas Rap
Sugar Mountain
Sugar Mountain
I've Been Waiting For You
Songs Rap
Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing
Tuning Rap/The Old Laughing Lady
Old Laughing Lady
Broken Arrow

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28th Nov 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Cat Power

The Dark End Of The Street (EP)

Matador Records

Another round of mix-tape ready covers from Cat Power - with these leftovers from the Jukebox album sessions taking in Creedence, Otis and The Flying Burrito Brothers amongst others.

As with Jukebox itself, this record provides something of a mystery. While the song choices are more in keeping with my personal favourites than the previous album, the delivery is just plain predictable. Marshall gives a perfectly acceptable delievery of every song, but adds little personality to the originals and just sounds like a lounge room crooner - leaving you to think, "what's the point?".

Like watching X-factor, you occasionally are struck with how difficult that last high pitched warble might have been, and although you know Simon Cowell won't be giving her any grief there's just not much future in it past that Christmas number one.

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27th Nov 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Mighty Underdogs

Droppin' Science Fiction

Def Jux

In the mid 90's and early 2000, whether going under the name Solesides or Quannum, this crew, consisting of members of Blackalicious, Latyrx and DJ Shadow, couldn't put a foot wrong and without resorting to mindless thug-rap they crafted their own brand of mindfull hip-hop that displayed an unrivaled lyrical dexterity and creativity. All their releases whether solo or collectively involved collaboration and together amassed to a group of artists forging their own way in this game and just getting stronger and stronger by the year. With the massive collaborative release Quannum Spectrum in 1999 and Blackalicious' NIA the following year they seemed to be reaching their creative peak and, in my opinion, have slowly shrunk from those heights ever since. Gift Of Gab's raps became far too conscious of their do-good nature, Lyrics Born's solo releases were almost too aesthetically pleasing and possessed little of the edge he previously exhibited and Lateef The Truth Speaker briefly shone in his Maroons project but then all but disappeared. DJ Shadow kept up his end for as long as he could but then even he had to fall and did so gloriously with The Outsider.

So that said, the thought of Gift Of Gab teaming up with Lateef again for this Mighty Underdogs project more than moistened my palette for a return to form and seeing that is was all taking place on the ever-reliable Def Jux label was further proof of an imminent comeback. Sadly this isn't the case and it really pains me to say that. My criticism of the last two Blackalicious albums, that they are far too riddled with preaching lyrics about spirituality and love, are not my criticisms here and some may argue that I am beng slightly and unfairly hard on the boys. I have been wanting them to toughen up for ages, to spit out the odd swear word and show they are human, so when they finally do, on tracks like Gunfight and Aye I cringe like my dad's trying to be cool. I don't know why but it all sounds slightly forced and fake.

Everything's in place here for a great record. Lateef's flow is as tight as it always used to be and Gab's dexterity and speed with which he delivers his lines is top notch. While not quite matching up to Quannum Spectrum's use of guests, heavyweights like MF Doom and Casual make a richer tapestry - not to mention the DJ Shadow produced UFC Remix. But the inclusion of Chari 2na, Jurassic 5's self proclaimed 'Lyrical Herman Munster,' on War Walk only highlights how this genre has moved on, leaving behind these MC's - whereas an artist like Doom seems as fresh now as he did over a decade ago. So after much agonising deliberation I deduce that the key thing missing on this record is a sense of relevance. Time, and indeed Hip Hop has moved on since their heyday and though there may well never be a couple of MCs quite like Lateef and Gab it's what they rap about here that makes them seem irrelevant. As the album title suggests it's definitely fiction that is being dropped here and their tendency to use obvious narrative concepts as the basis for many of the songs is what makes the record so awkward. Gunfight sees Lateef assume the character of a heat-packin' wild west cowboy, Ill Vacation is a jaunty little holiday song while Science Fiction is, guess what, all set in outer-space and seems to run over what sounds like the Man With Two Brains soundtrack. One of the most puzzling and cringing of these concept tracks is Aye where all the protagonists are lusting after a certain female of rather sluttish tendencies. Not only is the concept of these righteous MC's sniffing round some ho quite curious but it also reminds me of the Latyrx classic Lady Don't Tek No and I am instantly made aware of the gulf that exists between the two songs.

Hands In The Air keeps things simple and for that reason works well, no over-ambitious concepts, just the solid rhymes over simple beats and Laughing At You is a triumph for the same reasons: it stays simple. Victorious is a great way to end the record and one that comes from a retrospective angle as both MCs reflect on a triumphant career. This record is by no means bad but it's impossible to form a critique without comparing it to these guys' previous work and it's at this point that the record falls very short of the mark. This crew and all their affiliates defined an era of hip hop for me and their continued commitment to a different moral path to many artists of the genre has always been inspirational, so it pains me all the more to see them left behind. I am sure they all have a lot more to contribute but they really need to reassess what they're about before the next release.

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26th Nov 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

30 Rock

Season Two

NBC, Five (eventually)

Still a mystery why Five have been sitting on Season Two of this excellent sitcom - especially after Tina Fey's starring role in the US election this year. They're promising it's going to be on around February/March, but if you can't wait, the US DVD's been out for a bit now, and is a great watch. 

From Werewolf Barmitzvah, to Milf Island, Jack's powerplay for the top dog spot at NBC/GE and Kenneth's never mention-it-again-party, this second series proves 30 Rock is a show that's fast becoming a sitcom classic. It's up there with Arrested Development and Malcolm In The Middle in terms of detail, snappy dialogue and fast-moving plots - can see it evolving into something as strong as Seinfeld if it's left to run and run (never a given in the ruthless world of noughties network TV). They even slip a Jerry cameo into the first episode, when Jack invents Seinfeld Vision - inserting clips of Jerry into any show he likes...

Other guest spots to enjoy this season include Carrie Fisher with a great Leia, Matthew Broderick as a beleagured Bush employee, Rip Torn reprising his role as Don Geiss and Edie Falco as Jack's opposites-attract Democrat Senator lover.

The DVD comes with some interesting extras - for once, some you'll actually want to watch beyond the usual deleted scenes. Best is the table read-through for one of the episodes, where you get to see the cast rehearsing their lines and cracking each other up as they go through the script. Interesting to hear slightly different versions of some of the lines, and variations on the delivery as well. There's also a behind-the-scenes look at Tina Fey hosting Saturday Night Live (the obvious model for 30 Rock), the cast being interviewed together, and a shaky video showing them in a live read-through of a script on stage at a small improv theatre during the writers' strike. 

If you haven't got round to getting into 30 Rock, you're missing out. (And so are Five here in the UK... hurry up dudes.)

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25th Nov 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet