After a flurry of quick digital releases in 2008, Paul Westerberg has been quiet this year. Until now. Tuesday brought the release of another digital offering, an EP titled P.W. + the Ghost Gloves Cat Wing Joy Boys The EP title derives from one word from the titles of each of the six tracks. As with last year's releases, there is no supporting information. It sounds like another one-man-band affair, though the fidelity is higher than on those recordings. Has Paul invested in a home studio?

As with much of what he has released on his own through Amazon.com, this is strong material. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it is his strongest release since Stereo/Mono in 2002. He has released good songs since, of course, but everything since has had its share of filler. Here, he offers six strong tracks that cohere very well as a whole.

One difference in this vs. 2008's releases: You can get this one on CD. The cost is $6.98 vs. $3.89 for the digital download, but you do get different artwork (the CD artwork is on the right above).

His output during 2008:
--49:00. One 43:55 track with more than 20 song snippets. July 2008
--"5:05." A single (whose time, when added to 49:00, actually equals 49 minutes). August 2008
--3oclockkreep. Two-song EP, with a 20-minute mash-up (the title track) and the track "Finally Here Once." August 2008
--"Bored of Edukation." A single. September 2008
--D.G.T. A three-song EP: "Always In A Manger," "Streets of Laredo" and "D.G.T. " December 2008

Here is a track-by-track look at the EP:

1. Ghost on the Canvas - An acoustic guitar-driven mid-tempo ballad. Some nice guitar lines and a bit of channel separation give his a, well, slightly ghostly timbre. Westerberg's drumming often gives his songs a shambling, reckless quality, but here a bit steadier beat would do wonders. Still, the sound of this offers a clarity that makes it considerably satisfying.

2. Drop Them Gloves - From the opening cry of "Hit it!" this feels like the kind of by-the-numbers rocker Westerberg has been cranking out in varying degrees of fidelity since his solo debut. This would fit snugly on Stereo/Mono thanks to the chugging beat and right hook of a riff. The mournful harmonica is a nice touch, and the entire track has a tough defiance that perfectly echoes the lyric about fighting back.

3. Good as the Cat - Westerberg has really established a sound. As this song kicks off, any number of past tracks come to mind, all thanks to the acoustic shuffle beat. Consider this a slowed down "Dyslexic Heart" with a similar wink-and-nod lyric: "Baby, I am what I am. Don't hate me for that. Lately, seems like you don't give a damn, just treat me as good as the cat." Songs this effortless lead one to believe that Westerberg could crank out tunes like this all day.

4. Love on the Wing - The EP's longest track, at 5:27, is a piano ballad that feels like a Suicaine Gratifaction outtake that evolves into a peppy acoustic pop song that keeps the piano as it progresses. That instrumental variety is a nice touch, and shows that Westerberg could stand to offer a bit more in these basement concoctions.

5. Gimme Little Joy - Another acoustic pop number. It's solid, if unremarkable, which is probably a fault of the sequencing, if anything. If it replaced "Ghost on the Canvas" at the start of the EP, it would have set a better tone and would seem a bit fresher than it does here after three solid tunes.

6. Dangerous Boys - A perfect closer, a rattling little tune that adds a jaunty gait to Westerberg's arsenal (which up to this point was limited to a full-out gallop and a tasteful shuffle). The percussion begins as a lone handclap in an echo-laden room, which is strange, but works. Drums and bass come in on the second verse, giving the song a nice bit of momentum.

Labels: music, Paul Westerberg

Paul Westerberg has released yet another digital-only song, "Bored of Edukation." The cover art includes the line "The Best for Last," and there is some merit to the sentiment. If nothing else, it's the most hi-fi of the recent spate of releases, and one could argue that it's among the best of the bunch.

The song, released Monday, is nearly five minutes long, and save for a bit of oddness at the beginning, it's the most straightforward song from this online-only campaign.

It has been an odd little run for Westerberg. Just shy of two months ago, he issued 49:00, an album-length track that included mashed together songs, snippets and a few covers. That was pulled two weeks later, and another track, "5:05," was put up in its place. That track's length matched it's title, and when added to the 43:55 running time of 49:00, actually added up to 49 minutes.

That was followed by the release of 3oclockreep, a two-track EP of sorts that included a few new songs and some tracks from the Replacements' sessions with Tom Waits that yielded the B-side "Date for Church."

The result is about 30 new Westerberg songs, some covers and a few curiosities from the vault. Westerberg could conceivably keep doing this forever, and I saw why not. I'd pay 99 cents every month or so to hear what he's up to, and I'd guess there are plenty of others who would, too.

Labels: music, Paul Westerberg

Paul Westerberg continues to intrigue. He -- or more likely his distributors at Tunecore and Amazon -- pulled his just-released digital album 49:00 from sale. In its place comes "5:05," a new single. All of these numbers make some sense for those who have been paying attention. 49:00 was subtitled ...of your life (the word time was crossed out and life inserted), yet the album-long track clocked in at 43:55. It's clear that "5:05," which, when added to that previous track brings the total time to an even 49 minutes, is the missing link.

But it's not entirely clear after all. Why, for example, would the last song of an album-long track reference its length in the lyric, as this does? The only reason 5:05 has meaning is because fans know that's what was missing. If it was part of the rather seamless album itself, it wouldn't matter. There is speculation that 49:00 was pulled down because, toward the end, Westerberg offers a mish-mash of covers, all just a few seconds long, followed by a longer take on the Partridge Family's "I Think I Love You." Did Ruben Kinkade demand royalties?

One thought: The missing 5:05 was actually a different song for which Westerberg couldn't get clearance. So, he dropped it at the last minute, then changed his mind, pulled 49:00 and replaced it with a big old "f-you" to whoever raised a stink, recording that track so it exactly matched the length of the excised tune.

It's difficult to hear the lyrics on the new track, though there are plenty of lines that leak through the lo-fi production clear as day, such as "It ain't about the money" and "you wanna sue me, see right through me." Westerberg is obviously mad at someone, and those of us quick enough to download both tracks are the beneficiaries.

One last note. 49:00 was available for 49 cents; "5:05" can be had for 99 cents or $5.05 through Tunecore. You chose. Even at the higher price, you're getting nearly 50 minutes of new Westerberg for less than $6. Not a bad deal at all.

Labels: commerce, music, Paul Westerberg

Paul Westerberg has become one of the most interesting artists of the past decade, and his latest release solidifies that position.

After watching his band, the Replacements, flameout and his solo career fizzle, Westerberg stepped away, or rather down, into the basement, where he recorded two albums of fairly lo-fi rock that married his early knock-it-out aesthetic to his latter-day lyrical and musical fascinations. The result was 2002’s Stereo/Mono, his best work in years. In the six years since, he has released more material than in the previous 15. It has been hit or miss – the Grandpaboy stuff largely accounting for the misses – but the hits outnumber those found on his first three solo records. His prolific output means the fan becomes the editor, a job that isn’t always terribly rewarding. But, as with standard bearer Robert Pollard, Westerberg’s practice means that a lot of music that would not have otherwise been released will indeed leak out, and so much the better.

Which brings us to 49:00, Westerberg’s new album. Yes, it’s an album, despite the fact that it was released on Monday as one 44 minute downloadable mp3 for 49 cents from Amazon.com and Tunecore. With 20-some-odd songs and snippets mashed together to create one long track, it really plays like a good 12-track album with a lot of little snippets bridging the longer songs. Again, Pollard and Guided by Voices are an apt comparison.

Westerberg is getting a ton of press for this sneak attack on the marketplace, and it’s to his credit. He’s probably making as much from this as he would from a traditionally released album, and he’s receiving much more notice than he would otherwise for this batch of songs. If this was a new album on Vagrant, the follow-up to Folker, he’d get a couple of magazine write ups, some online coverage and then nothing. Releasing it this way ensures that he’ll be called a visionary and earn him the kind of notice usually reserved for acts like Radiohead.

And yet, I’d guess that was not his intent; not fully. He certainly didn't put a lot of thought into the presentation, calling it 49:00 despite it's 43:55 runtime. According to his manager, Darren Hill, "He finished it on Monday, sent it to me on Tuesday and it was out this weekend." So reports Billboard.com. “It's almost like you're scanning a radio dial. You're getting a glimpse inside of Paul's head here." That was more likely his goal: a brain dump with no strings attached and, thanks to the unpretentious presentation, no expectations. If you like it, it’s a bargain. If you don’t, who’s to complain about wasting 49 cents?

And this is no waste. There are a good half dozen songs here that are as good as any Westerberg has released in the past few years, and a few others that are at least pleasantly disposable. Hill told Billboard.com that this is "just the tip of a really large creative iceberg. Paul has been writing and recording at a furious pace." Here's hoping the response to 49:00 convinces him to continue putting it out.

Labels: commerce, music, Paul Westerberg