Christopher O’Riley “True Love Waits”
Odessey
One of the most telling testaments to Radiohead’s
songwriting skill is the serious attention they have garnered from
musicians in fields not commonly known for eager acceptance of rock
music as a serious genre. Jazz pianist Brad Mehldau is a professed
Radiohead fan and regularly performs their songs with his trio,
opened for extended solos. In a setting so far removed from that in
which they originated, the band’s songs are not dependent on
the group’s sound for their power; they have a great deal of
untapped potential and undeveloped nuance available for an artist
with a fresh perspective to exploit. Classical pianist Christopher
O’Riley’s “True Love Waits” banks on this
very principle; it is an album of arrangements of Radiohead songs
for solo piano. The result is impressive enough in showing off
O’Riley’s technical musicianship, but frequently misses
the mark in failing to bring anything original to the songs’
interpretations. When you are able to look past the lush and dense
arrangements’ jaw-dropping virtuosity, you are likely to
sense something amiss. It may be tempting to write off this
awkwardness to an irreconcilable opposition between the two genres.
Perhaps a classical musician misses the point of rock songs by
trying too rigorously to formalize them. What, after all, do we
make of the liner notes’ pretension in formally extending the
band members’ first names? (Thom becomes
“Thomas,” Jonny is now “Jonathan,” etc.)
There’s a tuxedo lurking somewhere behind all of this. But if
any band was ever so inclined, Radiohead ““ with its carefully
arranged compositions and classically trained guitarist ““ is
it. And when O’Riley does hit on something great in the midst
of the record ““ and he does on numerous occasions ““ the
fact that the potential was there becomes painfully obvious.
O’Riley ultimately doesn’t push far enough into the
classical idiom, instead trying his best to make his classical
piano sound like a rock band. The result is that “Karma
Police” sounds like an audition to replace Mr. Greenwood on
keyboards, an over-embellished version of the piano track we
already have on “OK Computer.” Similarly,
“Subterranean Homesick Alien” retreads the song exactly
as the band played it, with billowing sustained piano chords
replacing the whole band’s texture. You will tire of
billowing sustained chords on this album. But there are a few great
successes, and they point the way to what O’Riley should have
aimed at. “Everything In Its Right Place” is a
beautiful reworking that further explores the tune’s complex
harmonies. Here, and to a lesser extent on “Knives Out”
and “Fake Plastic Trees,” O’Riley allows his
thorough musical knowledge to create something new out of the song
already in place, rather than impressively playing it
unaccompanied. The performances on “True Love Waits”
will certainly interest and entertain any Radiohead fan for some
amount of time. If you’re looking for originality, though,
best to stick with the original band. Or go check out some jazz; I
hear Brad Mehldau does some interesting things. -Dan
Crossen
Black Eyed Peas “Elephunk”
A&M
Black Eyed Peas’ third album “Elephunk” gives
the listener cause for optimism with the sassy and brassy opener
“Hands Up.” The track even incorporates heavy metal
guitar play much like the bridge of Outkast’s stadium anthem
“B.O.B.” The first four tracks are boogie-down songs,
urging the listener to get crazy, or suggest something beyond
crazy, as in the case of “Let’s Get Retarded.”
New member and requisite R&B diva Fergie finally gets to
showcase her pipes in “Shut Up,” a great change of pace
as the album’s first serious song. Here, rapper Taboo and
Fergie exchange gripes about a relationship gone sour without
deviating from the album’s bouncy vibe. The next six tracks
are comparatively less urgent and more laidback than the earlier
songs. The love ode “Latin Girls” features Spanish
guitars, horns and hand drums, as well as a Spanish accent
delivery. In “Sexy,” Black Eyed Peas become a lounge
act amid the sax and piano, but then interject an electric guitar
solo to prove the group uses more guitar than any other hip-hop
act. The rapping on “Elephunk” is adequate and the
lyrics are smart but hardly mind-blowing. Black Eyed Peas’
strength remains their refreshing penchant for mixing and matching
styles, following the roots music of “The APL Song”
with the straight metal of “Anxiety,” a Papa Roach
collaboration. Only the latter track and the Justin
Timberlake-laced closer “Where Is the Love?” keep this
album from four-paw greatness. -David Chang
Adam Green “Friends of Mine” Rough
Trade
On his third solo album, Adam Green seems to have learned from
past mistakes: the “anti-folk” rocker makes his songs a
lot shorter. The average track on “Friends of Mine”
goes for no longer than two minutes, which is just about as long as
the average listener can probably stomach Green’s sarcastic
and sometimes stupid humor. As cute as a line like,
“There’s no wrong way to fuck a girl with no
legs” may be, a whole album of this kind of songwriting gets
tired fast. Green’s lyrics balance between Ben Folds-style
reflections on life (but without actually saying anything) and
Beck-like weirdness (but without being as weird). But, then again,
who is as weird as Beck? There are definitely things to like about
this album. Green’s knack for writing catchy hooks and the
nice string arrangements are two big ones. If you just tune out
what Green is saying, the songs are actually pretty good. Not only
that, but he sings with an honesty that can sometimes disguise his
silliness. In the ballad “Jessica,” Green asks:
“Jessica Simpson, where has your love gone? It’s not in
your music,” but he says it with such sensitivity, it really
seems like he worries about the pop singer and her emotional state.
But then he follows up this glimmer of emotion with typical
dumbness: “You need a vacation, to wake up the cavemen, and
take them to Mexico.” Stupid, stupid, stupid. -Alex
Palmer