Customer Reviews

Damascus

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album cost me many thousands of dollars but it was worth it. I love it more than I love obsessively pleasuring myself in public places and that's a whole damn lot. I think each of you should buy a baker's dozen of the record and then we'll all be happy and I can buy an original Lucien Freud portrait to look at to help inspire my next album that we can all enjoy.

Yazbek is the best pop songwriter to come along in quite some time. The music is top notch, the lyrics bite with sardonic wit, and the production as a whole is beautifully realized. Buy this album, play it for your friends and show them why your taste in music is way better than the crud they're listening to.

PROLOGUE (He'll Give You Everything You Want)
David Yazbek's songwriting has always been top-notch, and his last two albums were a record of his changing style: "Tock" abandoned the grand instrumentation of "The Laughing Man" in favor of a great stripped-down rock sound. In "Damascus," we find a perfect blend of the two ideals. These songs are polished gems, but they have a rawness to them, an energy. The cover art's oddly appropriate: that's a beautiful little bird, but then look at those claws, man! They'll scratch your cheek right up. And that's my point: "Damascus" should appeal to all but the stubbornest of genre extremists. That bird won't cut you unless you want it to.

CHAPTER ONE (Your Tune Contains the Hooks, So You're Justified, Justified)
A little about me. I'm ready, willing, and able to bite the hand that's fed me, if it comes a-knockin' with a lemon in its palm. I'm not a firm believer in genius: even the best sometimes churn out a stinker. And Yazbek's given some incredible concerts, but I don't have any Yazbek posters I'd have to tear down if I didn't like one of his albums. I had heard him perform the songs on this one, so I knew I liked them; but I also knew just where on the shelf I'd stick the CD once I'd listened to it a few times. But so I got it in the mail seven weeks ago and it's been in my CD player ever since. The CD player is broken; I can't get it out. Just kidding -- it's stayed in because I listen to it all the time. All the time. "Damascus" is one of THOSE; that's what I'm saying.

CHAPTER TWO (Is It Love? Is It Gas?)
There was a New York Times review of one of Yazbek's shows that said something about his deeply nihilistic view of the world and made him sound like some sort of monk whipping himself and weeping -- which is odd because that's just about the opposite of what Yazbek's music is all about. Sure, the music is dark, but its darkly hilarious. It's not for nothing that David Yazbek won an Emmy as a Letterman writer. What we've got is literary lyrics with a sharp and witty twist -- like maybe if Samuel Beckett got into the Beatles and then decided to start a rock group with Nathanael West. "Is it difficult to feel the thunder under patio gravel and the plastic grapes, novelty soaps in assorted shapes?"

EPILOGUE (Why Me?) "And I don't move on until I've sold a pint to every stupid cowboy."

Mr. Yazbek does it again.... His third disc isn't merely more of the same brilliant intelligent ear-pricking pop music. No, it builds upon his previous work to reveal undiscovered facets of Yazbek's funky genius. Why isn't this man a pop star? Why isn't he an award-winning Broadway composer? Well, one out of two ain't bad. Buy this CD now... Don't wait. It will change your life.

There is a genius out there by the memorable name of David Yazbek. If you haven't yet heard of him, then you should have. With a Tony nomination for writing the Broadway version of "The Full Monty" under his belt, in addition to his history of writing comedy for David Letterman, Mr. Yazbek has been busy juggling successful projects. And this new album is no exception. With "Damascus", Yazbek plays with styles of funk, jazz, swing music, and rock'n roll.

Most of the tunes are clever humor stories, including his personal misadventures in "Montgomery, Alabama" and what happened to him on a "Strange Warm Day". On close inspection of songs like these, the attitude appears sullenly morbid and sad. The same can be said for his fourth track, "Ultrasad", which reminds us, "A little bit of tragedy can give a life the spice." Oddly enough, the songs, when sung with Yazbek's cheerful and spirited singing style, exhibit elements of irony and wit throughout the recordings.

While Yazbek injects comedy into some of his stories of helpless situations, there are other tracks that sparkle with poignant symbolism. "2 Crows" is one such melody about a pair of crows waiting out the pace of life with enthusiastic observation. While it may seem an odd choice of perspective, the lyric "Blind crow bragging about the power of sight" reminds me of tall tales and the predominant use of a phony disposition. "A Million Miles" is another song rich in the use of effective metaphor. Here, Yazbek tells us, "The baby sees the road and starts the journey of a million miles." As the melody continues through the accompaniment of Yazbek's pleasant style of piano playing, we are given additional colorful imagery. A "piano with the yellow on the keys" and "a picture of a man up on the wall" add to the scenery that begin a journey of "A Million Miles".

How else can I explain this album? It's hard and I feel like I can't quite put my typing finger on what it is that makes this album so fun. You're just going to have to give it your own personal test to fully appreciate his manner of cheerful pop and moving imagery.

If the word "pop" makes you think of vapid teenagers wearing hip-huggers, you are hereby required to buy this record. Yazbek fuses just about every idiom in popular music and comes up with something that is smart and fresh and edgy, and completely catchy and engaging at the same time. The music will sound familiar at one moment, and surprise and challenge you the next. Buy it. Seriously.

After being bowled over by the witty lyrics and impressive rhythms of "The Full Monty" I decided to give the Composer's "other" material a try. Rest assured, it's as witty as it is toe tapping. Traces of talented singer/songwriters like Joe Jackson, Lyle Lovett and Randy Newman mixed in with a style that is all his own ... Yazbek is worth listening to ... and worth following in the future.

Yasbek changed my life. After listening to this CD, I was different. It taught me a better way to be alive. I felt for the first time in ages that life was going to be okay, that maybe I won't slit my wrists. I might even begin to like people again and leave the apartment for the first time in two months. He's a genius, and a madman. And he wears such sensible shoes!

I patiently waited for the release date to arrive. Playing the Full Monty soundtrack over and over, along with this band's first two discs. Finally, it's here! More catchy pop tunes. More horns this time around. And more lyrics to chuckle at or ponder over. Perhaps not quite as all-around excellent as the two previous efforts. Still, musically and lyrically head and shoulders above most of the "pop" that's out there today. Comparisons? Americanized XTC, jazzy Ben Folds, early Paul Simon wordiness. But, who else but David Yazbek could possibly ponder the questions, "Is it good for baseball? Is it good for the Jews?" and stick them in the chorus of a snappy cha-cha song, and make you think at the same time?

Oh, I get it. I type in this little window, and the words come out on the screen. Kind of like a flower, only different.

The new Yazbek CD is kind of different. From his first two, that is. First, he slapped me in the face with the power prog-pop of "The Laughing Man." Then, he gave it to me rough with "Tock" (distorted wah-wah clavinet, anyone?), but he knew I wanted it.

Now, he's a cloying Broadway songwriter who wants to convince me that he's still a pop star, so on this new album he's added heaping portions of jazz sensibility to the already poured foundations of strong melody, left-field harmonic structure, occasional odd-time sigs, way-cool horn arrangements, and some of the head-scratchingest lyrics this side of Burkina Faso.

And I like it. You probably will too, if you know what's good for you.