On the Shelf 104: Mark Lanegan
Oct. 16th, 2013 10:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedsitter23There's not too many people in popular music right now with a more interesting career than Mark Lanegan.
It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that I was posting about him, so I won't run down all of his recent collaborations and works. Still the point I want to make is that Lanegan seems to be following his own muse. He never seems to do what fans or critics might expect, and he is more interested in exploring what he can do next as opposed to repeating what he has already done or what might sell the most albums.
Thus Imitations follows the last two albums he has been involved with in the last 20 months- Blues Funeral and Black Pudding- records that weren't made for a mass audience, each in a different way.
Imitations is a covers album, but what makes it different is that Lanegan plays it straight- singing Andy Williams and Sinatra (both Frank and Nancy), the classic country of Vern Gosdin, "Mack the Knife", and more contemporary artists like Nick Cave and Chelsea Wolfe.
It means that most people won't get it. There's not enough rock to counter balance the ballads. There's not enough gimmick for those looking for the ironic. There's no Isobel Campbell or Moby or Massive Attack. In short, you won't find this on any one's Year-end best-of lists.
That said, let's not underestimate Lanegan. even when he seemingly is making a record only he wants to make; it is performed solidly, and each song stands well on its own. Each song Lanegan brings out his best, so even "You Only Live Twice" is better than what you might expect on paper.
It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that I was posting about him, so I won't run down all of his recent collaborations and works. Still the point I want to make is that Lanegan seems to be following his own muse. He never seems to do what fans or critics might expect, and he is more interested in exploring what he can do next as opposed to repeating what he has already done or what might sell the most albums.
Thus Imitations follows the last two albums he has been involved with in the last 20 months- Blues Funeral and Black Pudding- records that weren't made for a mass audience, each in a different way.
Imitations is a covers album, but what makes it different is that Lanegan plays it straight- singing Andy Williams and Sinatra (both Frank and Nancy), the classic country of Vern Gosdin, "Mack the Knife", and more contemporary artists like Nick Cave and Chelsea Wolfe.
It means that most people won't get it. There's not enough rock to counter balance the ballads. There's not enough gimmick for those looking for the ironic. There's no Isobel Campbell or Moby or Massive Attack. In short, you won't find this on any one's Year-end best-of lists.
That said, let's not underestimate Lanegan. even when he seemingly is making a record only he wants to make; it is performed solidly, and each song stands well on its own. Each song Lanegan brings out his best, so even "You Only Live Twice" is better than what you might expect on paper.
