I have been remiss about getting this interview with Steve Wynn posted because I've been doing things like... traveling to see Steve Wynn. So, I'll wrap a review of Wynn's recent Baseball Project show in Chicago in with this short Q&A about his new self-released CD, Steve Sings Bob.

First up, the Baseball Project. The show was a triple bill, with the BP, the Steve Wynn IV and the Minus 5. However, it was all the same band, with Wynn on guitar and vox, Scott McCaughey also on guitar and vocals, Peter Buck on bass and Linda Pitmon (Wynn's wife and drummer in the Miracle 3) on drums. They decided to play one big show rather than separate band sets, and that was a wise choice. They opened with the Dream Syndicate's "That's What You Always Say," which set a nice tone: laid back but with blisteringly good guitars. From there it was a mix of tunes from Wynn's latest, disc, Crossing Dragon Bridge ("Manhattan Fault Line") Dream Syndicate (a scorching "Medicine Show" and "Days of Wine and Roses") and even Gutterball ("Trial Separation Blues.") The first hour-long set closed with "Amphetamine," which was so good I feared the second set couldn't top it. Yes, there was some fall off, but not much as, McCaughey dominated that set with a sprinkling of Minus 5 tunes new and old.

The Baseball Project songs were the highlight of the night. "Harvey Haddix" got an update to include Mark Buehrle's recent perfect game (with a nice, harmonious bridge to note his accomplishment), while "Past Time" smoked and "The Yankee Flipper" had a few heartier souls in the crowd saluting with their middle fingers raised high. A new Baseball Project song was debuted, "Tony," which tells of player Tony Conigliaro, who was hit by a pitch in the eye.

All in all it was a fantastic show that reaffirmed my fandom of everyone involved. Strangest was seeing multimillionaire Peter Buck quietly playing bass on stage in a small bar. He's surely the richest person to set foot on that stage, which is testament to how much he must love playing live.

The band pulled out one cover: Neil Young's "Revolution Blues," passing on the chance to cover Bob Dylan and give me a less clunky segue into my interview with Wynn. Oh well.

Wynn has performed several Dylan songs over the years, and recently decided to gather a bunch of them on CD. The result, Steve Sings Bob, is a limited-edition (of 300) collection of Dylan covers from 1982 to present. Most are live, some more polished than others, but all are good and fully fitting the spirit of the material. In the liner notes on his site, Wynn shares one interesting story about "Blind Willie McTell." It was recorded by the latter-day Dream Syndicate in 1988 on a radio show, and released on a Bucketful of Brains magazine flexi the next year, "marking the first time the song had officially seen the light of day, a few years before Dylan's version was released on the first of his bootleg series. We even had to get the permission of his publishing staff to put out our version before he did."

The tracklist:

1. Blind Willie McTell (The Dream Syndicate)
2. Positively 4th Street (Steve Wynn and Loose Change)
3. Watching The River Flow (Steve Wynn and Friends)
4. Honest With Me (Steve Wynn & the Miracle 3)
5. Knockin' On Heavens Door (Steve Wynn with the Alejandro Escovedo Band)
6. All Along The Watchtower (The Dream Syndicate)
7. Groom's Still Waiting At The Altar (Steve Wynn Quintet)
8. Outlaw Blues (The Dream Syndicate)
9. Gotta Serve Somebody (Hazel Motes)
10. Like A Rolling Stone (Steve Wynn and Jason Victor)

I asked Wynn a few questions about the project, and he graciously responded, "from the middle of a van rolling across northern Washington...."

TIRBD: You've done a few covers here and there, but nothing to compare with the number of Dylan songs you've done. What is the appeal of his music from an interpreter's standpoint?

SW: Well, the most obvious answer is that he's a great songwriter with an incredible catalog of amazing songs. But, beyond that, the songs are usually easy to learn and leave a lot of room for interpretation (witness his own wide varieties of takes on his own material over the years). It's also a common language for musicians -- almost everyone loves at least one period of Dylan or another so it's easy to name a song when you're looking for a quick cover and know that there HAS to be one Dylan song in common between the various memory banks of the guys on stage.

What challenges do you face when tackling Dylan's work?

That's easy: remembering the words. Every song has at least 5 or 6 verses. I was joking to the band before our Italian show (Steve Sings Bob in Ravenna last month) that they had the easy job. And it's true. You can learn the music on the spot but it's not easy to fake the lyrics. Fortunately, so many of his songs are firmly embedded in my DNA.

Were there songs you've done that you wanted to include where you couldn't find a decent recording?

Not really. In fact, my favorite song on the CD was the version of "Gotta Serve Somebody" that I recorded with my "punk gospel" band Hazel Motes. And that version is VERY lo-fi, just an audience recording.

Is there a favorite Dylan song that you don't feel you can pull off?

I really wanted to do "Highlands." All 18 minutes of it. And I will definitely do it one day. But I'll need a teleprompter or a music stand.

Labels: Bob Dylan, Minus 5, R.E.M., Steve Wynn

After the rousing return of 2008, R.E.M. is back in rearview mode in 2009. First up was the deluxe edition of Reckoning, the band's sophomore disc. That package, released June 23, included the original album and a show recorded 25 years ago today: July 7, 1984 at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. It's an FM broadcast from WXRT. That show found the band playing all of it's then two-month-old album save for the ballads -- "Time After Time" and "Camera."

Fast forward 25 years to the day, and the band has released another live document of Reckoning songs, this time culled from the band's July 2007 rehearsals in Dublin that preceded the recording of Accelerate. This digital EP, Reckoning Songs From the Olympia, again omits the ballads in favor of the most rocking tracks from the album: "Harborcoat," "Letter Never Sent," "Second Guessing" and "Pretty Persuasion."

That release is being called a preview of the band's forthcoming two-CD release, R.E.M. Live at the Olympia, scheduled for fall release. That's interesting; I've heard bad bootlegs of these shows and must admit I'm curious to see how the songs on Accelerate sounded at that point. But three of the band's last five releases have been archival in nature -- In Time, And I Feel Fine... and R.E.M. Live -- and this seems like a momentum killer for a band reportedly already working on its next disc.

Listen to "Harborcoat" from the new EP.
Hear Mike Mills talk about Reckoning.
Read Tony Fletcher's liner notes for the reissue.

Labels: music, R.E.M.

A pretty amazing thing is taking place over at Pop Songs 07-08, Matthew Perpetua's catablog where he has written about every R.E.M. song save for those on Accelerate. Perpetua wrapped up his posts last week with a write up about "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)," promising to tackle Accelerate in 2009 once he'd had a chance to more fully absorb those songs. Then, he suddenly returned with word that Michael Stipe was willing to answer questions about R.E.M. songs from Perpetua and his readers, with this caveat:

"Remember that I’m not the best at recalling studio memories, etcetera, and so the more interesting questions for me will be about intention and exact lyrics or my interpretation of what I meant, what I think I meant, whatever. Remember also that some songs have no real lyrics [chorus of orange crush comes to mind] and so I cannot answer those."

And he was off. So far he has answered dozens of questions in three long posts, answering questions about lyrical motivations, specific references, favorites and more. It's a fascinating look inside the mind of one of the most enigmatic songwriters of the past two-plus decades. He's obviously picking and choosing what he answers, but those he does respond to find him to be candid, self-effacing and charming. As someone who pays much more attention to music than lyrics, I find some of the close listening detail being cited by the fans to be extraordinary, and Stipe affirms or refutes these interpretations as needed. Often, he debunks complicated theories, but has occasionally confirmed long-held thoughts as being particularly astute.

It's nice to see Perpetua's blog take on this expanded role. As one of the first catablogs to complete his task (the writer behind the Pearl Jam blog, More Than Ten wrapped up months ago), he sets a good example for those of us still trudging on (I continue, at a slowed pace, to write about Robert Pollard's music at My Impression Now) who started these quests thanks to his inspiration.

Elsewhere, XFM has a five-part documentary on R.E.M. underway, with the first two parts viewable here. In the first installment, Stipe and Mike Mills talk politics, espousing their support for Barack Obama.

Labels: catablogs, music, R.E.M.

As my new copy of Accelerate spins, I must admit I find myself warming to it. The ambitious marketing juggernaut unleashed by the band hasn't hurt, as hearing these songs in a number of different contexts over the past couple of weeks -- and more so in the last two days -- has endeared them to me. Yes, it's a copy of sorts of the band's past work, with all of the requisite loss of quality inherent in duplication, but it has hooked me in ways the post-Bill Berry discs have not. That said, I'm not reversing my earlier judgment that it only bests Around the Sun in ranking of the band's 14 albums. It's more fun and immediate than Up or Reveal, but it's not a better piece of art. Simply a better product.

For those hoping to catch up and dive in, you can see the band perform three songs live on this morning's "Today" show here:

"Losing My Religion"
"Supernatural Superserious"
"Hollow Man"

They also are the subject of the latest Take Away Show. You can see individual songs here:

"Until the Day Is Done"
"Living Well Is the Best Revenge"
"On the Fly" (previously unreleased track)
"Houston"
"Sing for the Submarine"

The Take Away team also filmed the video for "Supernatural Superserious," which has its own web site where you can view several acoustic performances of the song as the band and crew roam through Athens, Ga.

Labels: music, R.E.M.

Reading so many fawning reviews of R.E.M.'s Accelerate, due in stores tomorrow, made me question my own tepid reaction to the disc. Am I missing something? Am I expecting too much? Am I too critical? I'll admit that despite expressing my own ambivalence with the album, I've played little other than it and that great new Big Dipper anthology in the past two weeks. Of course, that's as much a factor of wanting even mediocre music from a favorite band when the alternative is actually having the time to seek out something new and rewarding (speaking only of the R.E.M. here; the Big Dipper is giddily transcendent. More on that next week).

The naysayers are lining up, however, giving some support to my thoughts about the ultimately disappointment the disc cultivates. Most telling is this post from (the other) Bill Wyman. Intrigued by the familiarity of the plaudits being heaped on Accelerate, he takes a tour through Rolling Stone's archives. All of those disappointing albums over the past decade, you know, the ones against which this is called a return to form? I won't steal Wyman's thunder, but suffice to say, as he does, "At this point, the implication is clear: As far as Rolling Stone is concerned, the band’s best work is ahead of it."

Idolator also weighs in, highlighting some of the purple prose being inked over the disc at various outlets. These songs, from a band "that has [its] fighting spirit back," a band whose "career isn't over yet," "cast an inescapable shadow."

All that said, I plan to attempt to hear it with fresh ears when I actually go to a store and pay cash for a compact disc (call me old fashioned) and slip the real thing into the player for the first time.

Labels: criticism, music, R.E.M.

Like everyone else with an Internet connection, I listened to R.E.M.'s forthcoming Accelerate this week, and after several spins, I find myself ambivalent, hopeful and occasionally inspired.

This will be called R.E.M.’s angry album, or its rock album, or its Monster redux, or its obvious attempt to wash away the bad taste of the tepid Around the Sun with an album of short, sharp blasts of rock. Whatever, after a few spins I can safely aver that it is better than Around the Sun, but I can’t think of another album in the band’s catalog that it bests. Even Reveal, previously notable as the band’s second-worst album, is more accomplished and original than this.

That said, it’s a fun disc that’ll stay in the rotation for a while, and might even spawn a couple of iPod-worthy tracks (in comparison, Around the Sun contributes only one to that collection: “Leaving New York.”).

The most striking thing is how this recalls the band’s past work, as if the trio tried to recapture the spark of the past by actually plucking moments from its older material. Some of this is overreaching on my part: Michael Stipe ought to be able to use a word like “pageantry” in the song “Man-Sized Wreath” without me thinking of Lifes Rich Pageant and the subsequent Pageantry tour. I wouldn’t have thought twice about that if it wasn’t just one of many such mirrors, both lyrical and musical.

The first instance is during “Hollow Man,” where, for a fleeting moment, Peter Buck’s guitar solo seems like a note-for-note lift from the intro to “Second Guessing” from Reckoning. Next is “Until the Day is Done,” which, thanks to its acoustic guitar strum and mid-tempo beat, seems to echo any number of latter-day R.E.M. tracks. That one, at least, is saved by a gorgeous Stipe vocal. “Sing for the Submarine” is the most direct offender, name checking “Electron Blue” and “Feeling Gravity’s Pull.” And of course, album closer “I’m Gonna DJ,” with it’s “I’m gonna DJ at the end of the world” chorus perfectly echoes Document’s closer, “It’s the End of the World as We Know It.”

Even the first B-side, “Airliner,” feels like a throwback, a snaky instrumental that feels like a mashup of “Windout” and “Rotary Eleven.”

Beyond all of that, the most disappointing thing about Accelerate is how pedestrian it sounds. When I hear a new album from a long-loved band, I try to listen as if it’s new work from a previously unknown group. Without the preconception, would it stand up? Sad to say, this doesn’t pass the test. Where Stipe’s lyrics were once playfully obtuse, here he is obvious as a sledgehammer. Yes, this is the guy who penned “Everybody Hurts,” but some things here are a bit too adult contemporary for my tastes. Add to that the somewhat hamfisted admonition of Michael Richards, “Mr. Richards,” which takes the actor to task for his 2007 racist rant, and you’re left with plenty of food for thought, but one crafted largely from empty calories.

There are nice touches. The angrily mournful organ bellow that punctuates “Houston” says more about its subject (New Orleans and Katrina) than Stipe’s lyric, a perfect little musical moment, while the sheer muscularity of many of these tracks show how a talented group of musicians can still create a catchy, compelling album from the classic guitar-bass-drums-keyboards arsenal.

Plus, most of the songs are three minutes long or less, which means even the most banal track, thanks to Stipe’s gift for crafting a memorable melody no matter the song’s deficiencies, bears repeat spins. All that and the fact that Mike Mills is actually audible throughout (his wavering held note at the end of “Man-Sized Wreath” is a gem) means the band seems to be willing once again to play to its strengths rather than labor to subvert them.

If all of the above seems contradictory and conflicted, that’s because the album isn’t a clear winner or loser. OK, strike that. It’s not a loser; just not a clear winner. It’s a perfectly fine album from a band that, thanks to its past few years of bland music and seemingly endless reassessment, seemed to be nearing an end. That it still has this much left in the tank at this point is heartening, but I can’t help but fear it took everything they had to crank this out and that we’ll be left with the equivalent of coasting on fumes from here on out. Until that is borne out, however, we might as well enjoy the ride.

Labels: music, R.E.M.

I finally got around to listening to R.E.M.'s first live album, the creatively titled R.E.M. Live, and must admit I liked what I heard. I held off on purchasing it this fall when it came out, figuring the Around the Sun-heavy set would be a snoozer. Christmas rolled around and it seemed like a good thing to ask for, and I'm glad I did. The live performances of songs like "Boy in the Well" and "Electron Blue" -- so stilted on the underwhelming Around the Sun -- made me appreciate the craft in those tunes, and the run through new song "I'm Gonna DJ," while a bit hamfisted, leaves me hopeful about the band's forthcoming new disc.

That disc, Accelerate, is due April 1. The band seems excited about it; much more so than it was about Around the Sun, and that positive attitude is hopefully justified. If nothing else, the band seems to realize that the ballad-heavy Around the Sun pleased no one, and set out to craft an upbeat disc.

The promotional push already is underway. The band has started a web site, Ninety Nights, on which it is showing 30 second film clips. Thus far, there seems to be little in the way of a tie-in with the album, but we have three months to go, so perhaps things will become clearer as they progress. If nothing else, it's nice to see the band try something unusual, recapturing a bit of the mystery and envelope pushing for which it was known in its heyday.

Here's the first video:

Labels: music, R.E.M.

R.E.M. will release the first live album of its 25-plus year career in October, offering a 2-CD/1 DVD package that captures a Feb. 27, 2005 performance in Dublin, Ireland.

That's great news for fans, and clips from the trailer viewable on the new site dedicated to the release indicate that it is an energetic show, but part of me can't help but wish the band would focus on its forthcoming studio album a bit more. Over the past few years, everything about R.E.M. has been about taking a look back. Sure, when you hit the 25th anniversary mark and get inducted into various halls of fame, that's a natural reaction, but R.E.M. feels like a potentially still vital band, and if that's the case, it should spend as much time looking forward as back.

All of this seems to be a lingering hangover caused by Bill Berry's departure. Since his 1997 exit, the remaining trio has managed just three studio albums. While I recently spun all three and found they held up better than expected (or rather, that two of them did; no amount of time is going to make me grow fond of more than a couple of songs on Around the Sun), none seem to fully tap into the band's talents.; This becomes all the more apparent when listening to the recent best-of collections, And I Feel Fine, which summarized the IRS years, and In Time, which culled the best from the band's Warner Brothers tenure. This new set, simply called R.E.M. Live, is another look back of sorts. The 22-song set list leans heavily on material from Around the Sun, but does offer a smattering of older tracks as well.

The band has released dozens of live tracks over the years as B-sides, iTunes features and, of course, as part of live concert DVDs, so there is no shortage of documentation of its shows (never mind the volumes of bootlegs available). Why this show from this tour? Who knows. If this wasn't the first such document, it would be no puzzler; as the first live album from a band known for its live shows, however, it's a strange choice.

Here's hoping these multiple opportunities to look back will help the band to relearn what it does best. I'm not expecting a complete return to the jangling guitars and inscrutable vocals of old, but it would be nice if the group found a way to better play to its strengths.

Labels: music, R.E.M.

So that's why VH1 edits that thing down to two hours. After watching the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on VH1 Classic last night, I have a new appreciation for the editing that is done to get this four-hour-plus monster wedged into a managable two-hour block. Who knew the stage crew at the Hall of Fame was slower than that at any arena show I've ever attended? Shouldn't they have Hall of Fame caliber set-up guys there to ensure a quicker changeover between acts?

But I digress. I hung in late because I wanted to see R.E.M. Though it was a bit anticlimatic, and seeing the visibily older, wider members of R.E.M. (the lithe Michael Stipe notwithstanding) on the same stage recently vacated by the visibly older, wider members of the Ronettes, the Furious Five, Van Hagar and the Patti Smith Group (the lithe Patti Smith notwithstanding) made me feel old. Yes, R.E.M. is still a going concern making occasionally vital music, unlike most hall inductees, but they're still old guys toward the tail end of their career performing mostly for those eager to steep in nostalgia. It was the induction of the Police a few years back that really touched off this feeling, but R.E.M. sealed it last night.

Still, it was a celebratory night. It was great to see Patti Smith emerge from behind the lectern, shedding the awkwardness of her acceptance speech to slink over to the stage and, within seconds, absolutely command the entire room. A bit strange to hear a woman in her 60s refer to her mother as "Mommy," but her story about her mother enjoying vacuuming while listening to "Rock 'n' Roll Nigger" was priceless. It was nice to see hip hop get even a small percentage of its due in the person of Grandmaster Flash, and I'll guarantee that there will be at least one hip hop inductee per year for the foreseeable future as a result (a lock for 2008: Run DMC). Van Halen was, well, strange. Michael Anthony looked like a stage crew guy who somehow made a wrong turn backstage and wound up in front of a microphone.

Strange moments:

--Velvet Revolver has been asked twice to induct someone? What could possibly be the reason for that? And what the hell was the second song they performed last night?
--While in another room killing time until R.E.M. began, I looked over at my TV, caught sight of a head of messy blonde locks on screen, and came back in because I was sure it was Mike Mills. It was Sammy Hagar.
--Speaking of Hagar, has anyone looked more out of place than he did on stage with everyone else when they sang the show-closing "People Got the Power"? And could Patti Smith have looked more uncomfortable than when Hagar threw his arm around her as if they were singing "Finish What You Started" at Cabo Wabo?

Then there was R.E.M. It was a nice touch to start with a rocker like "Begin the Begin," letting Bill Berry -- who seems to spend more time behind the drums than the wheel of a tractor these days -- use his whole kit to show off the fact that his chops remain intact. From there they played "Gardening at Night," dedicated to Stipe's pop, and closed with "Man in the Moon" with inductor Eddie Vedder chiming in on vocals. It was the briefest part of Vedder's evening, coming on the heels of a long, rambling, at times actually touching induction speech. Perhaps because he took so long, or simply because they've learned to let Michael Stipe and Mills do the talking, Peter Buck and Berry said nothing in accepting their HOF statues.

All in all it was an interesting night, one that will be ably capsulized for broadcast Saturday on VH1. In the meantime, you can read a lot about R.E.M.'s history and impact on Athens, Ga., in this great package from the band's hometown paper. In addition, watch for a new digital single from the band, including Berry, a cover of John Lennon's "#9 Dream" for a benefit disc to raise money for relief in Darfur.

Labels: music, R.E.M., Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

No surprise, R.E.M. was a first-ballot inductee to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. The list of 2007 inductees, announced this morning, also includes Patti Smith, Van Halen, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and the Ronettes. I was four for five when I predicted this year's class a couple of months ago, figuring the Stooges stood a better chance than Van Halen of making it.

The artists will be inducted during the March 12 ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. That should be an interesting event, particularly when it comes to the performance part. Yet another chance for Bill Berry to perform with his old band, and it's safe to bet they'll play with Patti Smith, too. One wild guess: Michael Stipe will induct Smith.

Labels: music, R.E.M., Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

R.E.M. would seem to be a lock for induction into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame early next year. The band, which is eligible now that 25 years have passed (!) since its first release (1982's Chronic Town EP), ought to sail into the hall with little difficulty. Oddly, Patti Smith, a hero and mentor to R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, is on this year's ballot. Without bothering to look it up (I'm on vacation this week), I seem to recall that she had been passed over before. It would make for an interesting induction to have these two acts go in this year. And, one assumes, that it will offer yet another chance for the retired Bill Berry to step behind the kit.

Also on the ballot are Van Halen, the Stooges, the Dave Clark Five, Chic, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Joe Tex and the Ronettes. Hard to pick, though I'd guess Grandmaster Flash, the Ronettes and the Stooges will join R.E.M. and Smith in this year's class.

The selections will be announced in January and the ceremony will be held March 12 in New York.

Labels: music, R.E.M., Rock and Roll Hall of Fame