Jeff McCord on the month’s new releases
Butch Hancock
Two Roads
“Civilizations wearin’ thin/Like an old sad shirt.” BUTCH HANCOCK pulls no punches on his latest diatribe, WAR AND PEACE (Two Roads). Hancock emerges from his Terlingua exile with his first solo album in six years, and he’s obviously been brooding out in the desert. Those reticent to have another singer explain peace=good, war=bad should observe caution: There’s a lot of that here, along with other familiar targets—greed, piousness, xenophobia. Leftist intellectuals will bristle at the oil and voting-machine conspiracies. Neocons will find the attacks on Bush and religious zeal hard to swallow. In between, the preaching limits Hancock’s usual poeticism; a few times it sinks things entirely. But there are triumphs, like the wistful, if false, hope of “Toast” (“I raise a glass/I banish thought”). Best of all is the opener, rendered a cappella—brave for a singer whose weather-beaten voice is at best an acquired taste. “Go find someone who’s thirsty,” he sings, “and give them water.” There’s perhaps a bit too much water under the bridge in today’s world for that to work, but Hancock’s passion is palpable enough to convince you otherwise.
Bob Schneider
Shockorama
Being Sandra Bullock’s onetime boy toy as well as the leader of a scatological frat band known as the Scabs is not the résumé from which instant respectability springs. He’s no critic’s darling, yet Austin rocker BOB SCHNEIDER seems utterly unconcerned with such things (he once had the cheek to name one of his albums I’m Good Now). It’s precisely this nonchalance that has led to his success and longevity. Schneider has not only survived an indirect hit from Hollywood but also the fickle clutches of a major label, and he seems to have emerged pretty much the same guy: He hasn’t shaken his potty mouth, and he hasn’t been spending a lot of time with Kierkegaard either. But for those (admittedly male) listeners who’ve sat perplexed through Schneider’s more sensitive leanings, THE CALIFORNIAN (Shockorama) shoots off the starting line and never slows down. Sure, there’s some faux-U2 anthemic drivel, as well as a drunken sing-along that’s probably really funny to his friends, but there’s also a handful of propulsive pop rockers. And the album sounds great, even if, or maybe because, it never aspires to anything more than a good time.
What Made Milwaukee Famous
Barsuk
Your band can’t get going? Here’s some advice: Take a look at your singer. If his or her vocals lack character, there’s little chance of moving beyond the odd house party. There are many reasons the self-released debut from Austin’s WHAT MADE MILWAUKEE FAMOUS, Trying to Never Catch Up (Barsuk), is now being nationally rereleased, with four new songs added, but a big one is singer-songwriter Michael Kingcaid. Even before this release, Kingcaid’s voice, finding the sweet spot between smooth and edgy, cut through the creative pop drone of his band with ease and landed a slot on last season’s Austin City Limits program (WMMF is one of a very few unsigned bands to ever appear there). Amid expected guitar and drum bursts sit expansive keyboards and a keen melodic sense, and Kingcaid’s lyrics are distinct and unpretentious. You’d never believe that a line like “make it bearable to be careful with each other’s emotions” fits into a song as insanely catchy as “Hellodrama.” Okay, there are a lot of breakup tunes, and the ghost of Radiohead sometimes looms large. But this is still one impressive debut. Watch this space …
Barbara Orbison
Barbara and Roy Orbison were married nineteen years before his death, in 1988. Just released are three of the legendary rocker’s classics, Crying, In Dreams, and Sings Lonely and Blue (Monument/Legacy), along with the new DVD documentary, In Dreams, which Barbara helmed as executive producer.
The DVD is fascinating. It must have been a labor of love to put together.
I hang in there as much as I can. I’m really good at looking at it in bits and pieces. When it all is together, sometimes it gets a little overwhelming. I can’t separate myself. It’s not just the emotion that it brings; it’s the perfectionism too. It’s very difficult when you work with film, because you always want to get it so right.
You’ve been tireless in your work to preserve Roy’s legacy, and you’ve set up a charity for the homeless in his name. What’s next?
There’s a successful play [on Roy’s life] in England that needs to be brought here. There’s a whole week at the beginning of November at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, in Cleveland, that is all about Roy. And I’m also going to be in Washington. We have a petition to get Roy on a postage stamp. If you go to our Web site [royorbison.com], you can sign up.
