Customer Reviews

Red House Painters

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

 

 

This is DEFINITELY the most underrated of any of the cd's that RHP have put out to date. I've heard/seen it called boring, bad, etc. The fact is that this album is my favorite of them is irrelevant; what is important is that Mark Kozelek and co. offer probably the most representative work in their discography, and every song will play an emotion to someone. "Evil" will drag out the paranoia in you, while "Helicopter", probably the most beautiful song ever written, will display the one glimmer of hope you have seen in the last decade; very uplifting. "Uncle Joe", "Blindfold", and a disturbingly wonderful cover of "I Am A Rock" will make any listener understand both isolation and acceptance. What's more is that, musically, this album takes the parts of DOWN COLORFUL HILL which were downplayed and makes them more relevant, and even hints of what is to come on OCEAN BEACH; think of having your eyes made larger or even getting a tattoo. The ambience and texture of Mark's vocals against the battling drones from the guitars and sometimes piano, adding the sheer power which results, will make this almost a religious experience. No REAL RHP fan can deny these songs or what they mean to both the listener and the man who wrote them. Sure, the CD may be the songs that didn't fit in anywhere to the ROLLERCOASTER album; think of this as the BreakfastClub of CDs. It's these odds and ends which make both the magic of the cd and the true magic and humanness of RHP's music tangible. Try listening to it again.

I've kind of immersed myself in the Red House Painters over the last few months so I can compare this one pretty confidently to the others. I'll say without hesitation that this is equal to anything they've done and possibly my single favorite album. 4 tracks are masterpieces (Bubble, Helicopter, Uncle Joe, Sundays and Holidays) -- how many other albums by *anyone* can you say that about? The remakes (I won't call them covers since they're so altered from their originals) of I am a Rock, Star Spangled Banner, and the 2 versions of Shock Me don't work as well, but I attribute this mostly to the weakness of the source; I mean, how good can a Kiss song ever really be ('Black Diamonds' excepted)? Yet even these make for fairly enjoyable interludes between the moments of brilliance.

If you like these guys at all, please do yourself a favor and pick this one up. It's a little harder to find in the stores, and if you're the instant-gratification type like me and prefer having the little sucker in your hands when you purchase it you may be put off by this. But it's worth the week of shipping time, I assure you.

I remember catching these guys umpteen years ago a mid-sized venue - without even having any knowledge of who they were. Call their music dream pop, indie rock, alternative - whatever you like. Point is this band has something to say. Tunes I got the most out of were "Bubble", their cover of Paul Simon's "I Am A Rock", the uplifting "New Jersey" and "Uncle Joe". Line-up: Mark Kozelek - guitar & vocals, Gordon Mack - guitar, Jerry Vessel - bass and Anthony Koutsos - drums. I read somewhere that these eight songs were sort of left-overs from the band's previous CD - Red House Painters - self-titled, I. Don't you love it when bands do that? I sure by all means do.

This is another sensitive re-release Red House Painters album. This one doesn't quite match the wonderful "Down Colourful Hill", but it contains peaks much greater than its predecessor. The addition of the "Shock Me EP" to the original album certainly enhances this CD. Highlights are "Blindfold", "Helicopter", "Sundays and Holidays" and the Rachel's-esque hidden track.

This is a collection of outtakes and leftovers from the "Rollercoaster" album, and it's instantly noticeable why these songs were excluded from that album: except for "New Jersey" and "Uncle Joe", this is simply weak material. If you're a serious fan, you may like this, but novices should head for one of the other RHP albums first.

3 1/2

Despite a slightly stronger sister album, there is plenty on the short eight tracks worth checking out, with a serviceable bonus EP attached. The vocals can be hit and miss, and we do catch this frontman out of his element at times, but the majority of soothing rock recalls early R.E.M. and the cover songs actually have something to say.

Au cours des années 90, un mouvement assez hétéroclite a vu le jour aux Etats-Unis, prosaïquement baptisé la nouvelle scène folk américaine, dont les meilleurs représentants seraient Lambchop, Mazzy Star ou Palace. Mais un vrai-faux groupe, mené par l'énigmatique Mark Kozelek, mérite toute l'attention, et particulièrement cet album, deuxième sommet d'un fameux diptyque, résultat de fructueuses sessions d'enregistrement réalisées en 1993.
Difficile d'accès au premier abord (le relatif hermétisme du livret et de la superbe pochette, ainsi que la nudité instrumentale de la musique, en rebuteront plus d'un...), le disque révèle cependant toutes ses qualités au fil des écoutes, les propres compositions de Mark Kozelek, titres à la lenteur magnifiquement maîtrisée (le poignant Bubble), faisant place à quelques reprises - I Am A Rock de Paul Simon, ou The Star Spangled Banner, l'hymne national américain martyrisé en son temps par Jimi Hendrix - prodigieuses tant le groupe parvient à se libérer des trames originales des chansons.
L'un des attraits de l'œuvre réside incontestablement dans les talents vocaux de Mark Kozelek. Mais quels drames effrayants, quelles funestes tragédies ont pu blesser cet homme, pour que sa voix douloureuse soit empreinte ainsi des stigmates de la souffrance et du désespoir ? Ailleurs, son chant évoquerait même l'aridité traînante de Gene Clark, la clarté souveraine d'un Michael Stipe, voire l'élégance mutine de Bobbie Gentry (trompeusement, l'album débute par des rires insouciants...). Cette désolation, cet amer sentiment d'abandon, s'instillent dans les différentes plages de l'album : Uncle Joe, inquiétante ballade en forme de confession définitive, le terrifiant Blindfold, aux vertus cathartiques évidentes, où Mark Kozelek semble vouloir se purger de toute la laideur et des frustrations accumulées au cours de ses années d'indigence...
Mais un titre particulièrement, qui se cache au milieu du disque, restera à mes yeux Le chef-d'œuvre des RHP : Helicopter, morceau à la beauté déroutante, où le chant désenchanté de Mark Kozelek réalise un authentique tour de force. Amorcé a capella, d'une voix presque apaisée, le titre déploie doucement ses délicats arpèges de guitare, puis à la faveur d'une lente gradation, aboutit à un sommet d'introspection désabusée ("Daylight won't find a trace..."), et à une mise à nu presque indécente, nous laissant ainsi entrevoir les affres les plus sombres de l'âme tourmentée du leader... ; et à chaque fois cette mystérieuse interrogation : comment un groupe constitué de trois musiciens, dont un bassiste qui joue avec un doigt et un batteur à qui l'on a retiré la moitié de ses éléments, peut-il à ce point occuper l'espace, imprégner l'atmosphère de ses textures sonores si riches et si amples ?
Sans aucun doute l'œuvre la plus personnelle et la plus passionnante de cet artiste trop souvent relégué à une reconnaissance indigne de son talent, et qui est devenue avec les années une des bandes-son privilégiées de mes singuliers moments de mélancolie apathique...