Acrylics was formed by Jason Klauber and Molly Shea in 2008 and evolved into a trio. Their debut album All of the Fire was produced by Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear at his church-studio in Brooklyn, Terrible Studios.
Bobbie Gentry / Reunion
Most famous for her hits, Ode to Billie Joe, and the unstoppable Mississippi Delta, Bobbie Gentry is a sultry-voiced country singer who wrote and produced her own music in a time when it was rare for both women and country singers. Gentry talk-sings the part of a young girl at a large family reunion in this track off her Delta Sweetie album. We first heard it the day after Halloween while driving back to New York from upstate and it made our ride. Starting off with a seductively sparse hand-clap rhythmic figure, Gentry’s Mississippian belle rap, ‘mama can I huh’ enters next. More and more voices and sounds enter the party until we reach a cacophonous fever-pitch. The result sounds like a Charles Mingus arrangement of I Want Candy in a southern baptist church. The song quickly fades back to a whisper before the three minute mark.
Wings / Let Me Roll It
Responding to John Lennon’s venomous How Do You Sleep, Paul McCartney riffs on some of his ex-bestie’s trademarks (tons of slapback delay on vocals and guitar) and owns ‘em.
Neil Young / Come On Baby Let’s Go Downtown
The death of Crazy Horse guitarist and Neil Young’s primary brother-in-arms Danny Whitten casts dark shadows across 1975’s mega-downer, Tonight’s the Night. Sewn into the loose tapestry of bummer gems is a 1971 Crazy Horse live Fillmore East recording of this Whitten/Young composition, which features Whitten’s haunting lead vocals. The ferocious guitar interplay between the two set this song ablaze while their electrifyingly badass vocal harmonies tell a frightening tale of the drug trade. ‘Pretty bad when you’re dealing with the man and the light shines in your eyes, yeah!’ Putting his fallen compatriot in the spotlight, Neil reminds us of the kind of talent drugs can take away from this earth.
Gene Vincent / Race With The Devil
‘Well, I’ve lead an evil life, so they say, but I’ll outrun the devil on judgment day’. This is about a hot-rod chicken run with Lucifer, himself. Gene Vincent leads his Blue Caps to rave-up perfection and Cliff Gallup is luminescent on guitar, ripping TWO jaw-dropping solos, lest we forget he’s the real boss hoss on the fretboard.
The Blue Nile / Over The Hillside
I remember my Dad listening to this record a lot when it came out in 1989. I’m not really sure how he got turned onto this vastly overlooked band and masterpiece of an album. I recall that it reminded him of Stephen Sondheim for some reason, so I’ll always make that association. The Glasgow group, lead by vocal wizard, Paul Buchanan, was originally signed by a local hi-fi manufacturer to showcase the sonic range of the equipment. Needless to say, The Blue Nile sounds awesome on a good system. Their second record, Hats, opens with this tone poem. Twenty years later, I’ve pulled this disk from my folks’ shelf and I find myself both lost in a terrifying landscape of synthesizers and blanketed by warm frequencies. I can’t stop listening.
Sly and the Family Stone / Just Like A Baby
Puts me right back in my stroller.
Nick Lowe / The Beast In Me
We were lucky enough to see a taping of Elvis Costello’s TV show, Spectacle, at the Apollo Theater in Harlem recently. Nick Lowe appeared alone with his acoustic guitar and blew our fucking minds with this one. He wrote this drunk one night with his father-in-law, Johnny Cash, in mind (Cash later did the song, poignantly on his American Recordings). I immediately downloaded Lowe’s original version when I got home from the show and listened to it on repeat. When the glockenspiel enters at the bridge, I am in tears every time. It reminds me of Buddy Holly’s Everyday, Hendrix’s Little Wing and a lot of innocence that I’ve lost.
Bob Dylan / Went To See The Gypsy
Bob went to see Elvis. ‘He was staying in a big hotel’. Elvis is the gypsy.
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The mysterious turn-on re: The Blue Nile can at last be solved – I was the Nile-mad guy who sat Jason’s dad down to listen to “A Walk Across the Rooftops,” back in the day. I love this list, and was startled-happy to see “Let Me Roll It” there, as I’ve recently had it in heavy rotation at my place.