Customer Reviews

As Smart as We Are

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Reviewed by Jennifer Leblanc for Small Spiral Notebook

Michael Hearst and Joshua Camp of One Ring Zero hate writing lyrics. So they got the pros to do it for them. Not the usual songwriting pros, though; 17 award-winning, famous literary authors. Margaret Atwood, Dave Eggers, Jonathan Lethem and A.M. Homes are just a few of the contributors. If it wasn?t for this project, we might never have known that Myla Goldberg is a classically trained flutist as well as novelist. That?s one of the numerous off things about One Ring Zero?s new cd, As Smart As We Are

This is not background music, I warn you. This is not a cd for a party, dinner, reading or otherwise. This is a cd to be heard and combed through like poetry, and it?s worth every minute. The main instruments alone demand your complete attention- the claviola, toy piano, side whistle, Theremin, and Glockenspiel. Yes, the Swiss musical clock made famous by a Frasier episode. The overall sound is that of a demented circus (if you are afraid of clowns, this cd is not for you), sometimes reminding you of a puppet show (the lyrics in the booklet are attached to strings). At other times, such as in #5, ?Kiss Me You Brat? by Rick Moody, waltzes and carousels come to mind.

One of the best songs, which sound most like an average song, is ?Blessing? by Denis Johnson. Unlike most others, this has a chorus, and I personally think that Johnson could give up his day job to write country music. Myla Goldberg, who could do the same to play the flute, wrote Golem, calling the fabled Jewish monster ?my sedimental Valentine.?

The best song for the lyrics is by Dave Eggers, ?The Ghost of Rita Gonzalo?. His words don?t even need music:

If I were a well I would want you to yell down my depths
Your voice booming,
Echoing
My well is deep and black.


This entertaining and exotic cd will certainly echo in your mind long after listening, which anyone will feel the need to do several times.

One Ring Zero's done a wonderful job here setting to music the work of some of today's brighest writers. Highlights include Denis Johnson's "Blessing", Daniel Handler's "Radio", and Jonathan Lethem's "Water," the track that provides the title of this book/album. ORZ has invited a strong supporting cast of musicians to augment their own apparently impressive talents, and some of the writers even contribute their own musical skills, such as Myla Goldberg's flute playing and Jonatham Ames' "hairy call." A notable fusion of literature and music, without a bad song or a slow moment. Well worth the money.

This was a wonderful and strange companion to our drive up the mountains in Arizona. Much fun and quite silly.

Not the "Songwriter" Project. Now, One Ring Zero is a group of very, very tallented musicians. They really are great. The melodies, the harmonies, the bridges - for cryin' out loud, the tempo changes in some of the bridges border on unbelievable, and I mean that in the most literal sense of the word; all of the music is great.

Now, here comes the problem train: the lyrics were all written by best-selling authors. That sounds great, right? Well, the problem with authors like that is that they like to get a whole lot of meaning into it. Sometimes, the meaning or words are really forced and the songs aren't as interesting. The first three songs, Natty Man Blues, Radio, and We Both Have a Feeling That You Still Want Me, are three of the best songs on the album, mainly because they don't try to get too deep, they try to be fun, good songs. There are plenty of other songs on the album like these - the title track comes to mind.

But there are plenty that are forced, and, frankly, not very good. That's why I gave it four stars. The musicianship is great, the melodies are nice, and a good number of the songs are just a pleasure to listen to. Others, though, you'll want to sort of tune out the lyrics and simply listen to them as songs without words, exactly.

This is absolutely one of the best albums I've had the opportunity to hear in all my life of having opportunities to hear albums. The lyrics are incredibly smart and, as they're all written by different authors - Paul Auster, Daniel Handler, Neil Gaiman, and Margaret Atwood, just to name a few - incredibly varied. The tunes fit them perfectly, and because the lyrics were written by so many different writers in so many different styles, all the songs come off incredibly whole and individual, not simply as complements to a title track. Each song deserves to be listened to several times over, as there's just so much to appreciate in it that it's not possible to hear it all the first time. Lyrically, stylistically, and euphoniously, this is an album worth far more than I paid.

I heard selections from this CD on a National Public Radio program, and thought they were wonderful. My impression was of a refined, high-brow, tasteful heir to Spike Jones, PDQ Bach, Hudson Shad, et al. As a fan of both good music and good satire, I HAD to order the disk!

Alas, while there are indeed some outstandingly clever pieces, a fair number of selections are R-rated, with vulgar and profane language and subject matter. I was looking for Monet and found Maplethorpe ! It is an unfortunate juxtaposition of 19th century instrumentals with the lyrics and subject matter of rap. There was no hint of this in the description or the other reviews; needless to say, only the G-rated tracks were played on the public airwaves.

There is not a place for this offering to remain in my collection. Pity, for the concept WAS sheer genius...