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Grotesque
= Cult of Ray =
France
777 Posts |
 Posted - 06/14/2006 : 09:13:15
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Mais c'est super homogène niveau qualité. Tu vires des chansons, t'as just un fmrm plus court. En plus personne n'a l'air d'accord sur les titres faibles. Moi je trouve Paint trucmuche et El real el rey flaibards, pour d'autres c'est Kiss my ring, Raider Man et My Terrible ways, que perso j'adore...
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Teafer
- FB Fan -
90 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2006 : 09:21:47
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quote:
Originally posted by Grotesque
Mais c'est super homogène niveau qualité. Tu vires des chansons, t'as just un fmrm plus court. En plus personne n'a l'air d'accord sur les titres faibles. Moi je trouve Paint trucmuche et El real el rey flaibards, pour d'autres c'est Kiss my ring, Raider Man et My Terrible ways, que perso j'adore...
c'est claro. je pense que c'est un album splendide, le niveau est élevé mais bon, les chansons sont complexes. c'est pour ca que ca me gonfle un peu de voir les mecs l'écouter 3 fois et donner leur avis. eh oh, y a un génie en face, alors on attend d'être sur avant de donner son avis.
"i'm not impressed. you wanna impress me? take the wheel, motherfucker." |
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cassandra is
> Teenager of the Year <
France
4233 Posts |
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Teafer
- FB Fan -
90 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2006 : 09:27:34
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ben 27 chansons, changement de style complet et aucun rapport avec les albums précédents, un an d'attente avec Tiven qui jette de l'huile sur le feu : fallait s'y attendre. de toutes facons, FMRM c'est un peu accroche toi au pinceau je retire l'échelle.
"i'm not impressed. you wanna impress me? take the wheel, motherfucker." |
Edited by - Teafer on 06/14/2006 09:29:30 |
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Teafer
- FB Fan -
90 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2006 : 09:30:58
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encore un...
"i'm not impressed. you wanna impress me? take the wheel, motherfucker." |
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Teafer
- FB Fan -
90 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2006 : 09:31:35
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et ca fait 50.
merci de votre attention.
"i'm not impressed. you wanna impress me? take the wheel, motherfucker." |
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cassandra is
> Teenager of the Year <
France
4233 Posts |
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Teafer
- FB Fan -
90 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2006 : 10:01:31
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quote:
Originally posted by cassandra is
et pour info, tu en penses quoi de Honeycomb avec le recul?
pas de bras pas de chocolat
j'ai toujours aimé HC qui ne me pas parut si country que ca. plutot (selkie bride, go find your saint) strictement non punk qu'autre chose. mais avec FMRM, c'est le changement de paradigme comme dit mon épicier : 100% americana (et pas genre dog in the sand) avec frank qui fait des 'ooouuuuuhhhh' et des trucs comme ca.
lors de mes premières écoutes, j'ai rigolé à certains moments en pensant 'tain il a vraiment des couilles le frank, les fans vont faire la gueule.
d'un autre coté depuis 17 ans que j'écoute sa musique, à chaque gros changement de barre (trompe le monde, toty, FB&C) il y a toujours eu des "fans" pour dire "ah ben c'est fini, il passera pas l'hiver".
franchement et commme dit Grotesque (je crois) FMRM c'est beaucoup plus toty que HC : un milliard d'idées, des arrangements subtils, beaucoup de richesse.
"i'm not impressed. you wanna impress me? take the wheel, motherfucker." |
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cassandra is
> Teenager of the Year <
France
4233 Posts |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2006 : 11:05:24
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"Leguman...Leguman!"
Pardon.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/06/15/entertainment/e113316D44.DTL
Frank Black Embraces Americana
By SANDY COHEN, AP Entertainment Writer
Thursday, June 15, 2006
(06-15) 11:33 PDT , (AP) --
Frank Black, "Fastman
Raiderman" (Back Porch)
Frank Black is a little bit country and a
little bit rock 'n' roll. He's also honky-
tonk, pop, jazz and blues on this
sprawling double-disc.
With 27 tracks, there's plenty of room
for the former Pixies frontman to
stretch out and explore his musical
boundaries. And that's just what he
does, oscillating among genres.
He goes all the way country on "Don't Cry That Way" and "Dirty Old
Town," a honky-tonk duet with Kentucky crooner Marty Brown.
Black is poppy on "Wanderlust," playful on "I'm Not Dead (I'm in
Pittsburgh)," bluesy on "Where the Wind is Going" and Pixie-esque
on "Elijah." There are jazzy touches and experimental elements.
Horns, harmonica and steel guitar complete the musical palette. No
classic American style is left untouched.
But there are a few duds and they drag down the 95-minute collection.
Black is best when he's rocking, or at least upbeat. The slower songs
lack vibrancy and become monotonous after a few verses.
Recorded over two years in Nashville, Portland and Los Angeles, the
album includes contributions from Levon Helm of The Band, Tom
Petersson of Cheap Trick and Simon Kirke of Bad Company.
It is rich and varied, but if Black would have unforgivingly cut the fat, it
could have been a single, stellar CD. |
Edited by - Carl on 06/15/2006 14:51:20 |
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vilainde
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Niue
7443 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2006 : 03:00:02
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Rather positive review in French newspaper [url="http://www.liberation.fr/page.php?Article=390633]Libération[/url], despite the usual whining about how 27 songs is too much. It's too much because you never listen to records more than once, idiots!
<<Frank Black - Fast Man/Raider Man (Cooking Vinyl/Wagram).
Frank Black a reformé les Pixies, mais cela ne l'empêche pas de poursuivre sa carrière solo prolifique. L'an dernier, il évoluait de façon convaincante dans le registre country sur Honeycomb. Dans la même foulée Fast Man/Raider Man explore le spectre complet des idiomes américains vintage, du jazz au blues en passant par le «rock de bar» à la Springsteen et la soul façon Memphis. Frank Black, à l'époque des Pixies, et Kurt Cobain (influencé par eux) ont peut-être inventé une nouvelle forme musicale (le grunge), mais désormais, le replet chanteur-compositeur préfère se balader non sans nostalgie du côté d'anciens comme Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson ou Johnny Cash. Etonnamment, ses nouvelles chansons soutiennent la comparaison. Sans doute n'est ce pas étranger au fait que Black soit parvenu à enrôler dans son projet (enregistré à Nashville et Los Angeles) une ribambelle de musiciens de sessions renommés comme le guitariste Steve Cropper, l'organiste Al Kooper et le batteur du Band Levon Helm. De fait, ces types s'y entendent comme personne pour sublimer une chanson même médiocre à l'aide d'arrangements ingénieux qui détournent l'attention de la voix limitée de Black. Reste que ce double CD contient 27 titres et qu'inévitablement, c'est trop. Les fans des Pixies vont peut-être déplorer son nouveau penchant pour le rock à l'ancienne : il n'empêche, Frank Black mérite le respect pour seulement oser risquer de les décevoir.>>
Now babelfished:
<<Frank Black reformed the Pixies, but that doesn't prevent him from continuing his prolific solo career. Last year, he evolved convincingly in the country register on Honeycomb. In the same path Fast Man/Raider Man explores the complete spectrum of vintage American idioms, from jazz to blues via "bar rock" a la Springsteen and soul Memphis-style. Frank Black, in the Pixies era, and Kurt Cobain (influenced by them) perhaps invented a new musical style (grunge), but now the chubby singer-songwriter prefers wandering, not without nostalgia, on the side of old men like Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson or Johnny Cash. Surprisingly, his new songs support the comparison. It's probably not unrelated to the fact that Black managed to recruit in his project (recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles) a long string of famous session musicians like guitarist Steve Cropper, organist Al Kooper and the drummer of The Band Levon Helm. In fact, these guys know better than anyone how to sublimate even a poor song using clever arrangements which divert the attention from Black's limited voice. It remains that this double CD contains 27 tracks and that inevitably, it is too much. The Pixies fans perhaps will deplore his new leaning for classic rock: nevertheless, Frank Black deserves respect if only for daring to be likely to disappoint them.>>
Denis
Your team sucks |
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vilainde
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Niue
7443 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2006 : 03:14:45
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A bunch of great reviews:
http://altmusic.about.com/od/peterspickslists/tp/june2006.htm]About.com[/url] has an article about "Top 10 Hot Alternatives for a Cool Summer", and Frank is there with Sonic Youth, Black Keys, Built 2 Spill and the like. Great review despite the guy calling him "Chester Thompson"...
<<2) Frank Black - Fast Man Raiderman
Listening to this new double album by Frank Black and wondering why he doesn't use his real name for these sessions? Chester Thompson is Fast Man Raider Man! The Honeycombband's back along with the Band's Levon Helm, plus P.F. Sloan, Steve Ferrone, Marty Brown, Cheap Trick's Tom Petersson, Simon Kirke from Bad Company and Al Kooper. Some songs remind me of mid-sixties Elvis, others like "Raider Man" take his pail and trade it for a stick. I love all 27 tracks!>>
Another one from Orlando Weekly:
<<By Rob O'Connor
Two CDs, 27 songs. Overkill, perhaps? Yes. Somewhere there’s a bootlegger crying over his CD burner. These days, everyone is Ryan Adams. No more outtakes — just release everything and let the listener sort it out. On Fast Man, Black kept to an informal, impulsive recording schedule. In Nashville, he’d ring up his producer, Jon Tiven, and have him gather the finest players available on short notice — Steve Cropper, Spooner Oldham, Free’s Simon Kirke, Buddy Miller, Cheap Trick’s Tom Petersson; in L.A., he rounded up drummer Steve Ferrone, bassist Carol Kaye and P.F. Sloan. Black’s come a long way from the Pixies, and the assurance of working with overly competent studio pros has enabled him to slip into Americana mode without sounding disturbingly out of place. Much like 2005’s Honeycomb, Fast Man Raider Man uses traditional forms, specializing in soul ballads (“Fast Man”) and classics (Ewan MacColl’s “Dirty Old Town”) that economize on the electricity spent without sacrificing too much power.>>
And a very enthusiastic one from webzine The Trip Wire:
<<Driving in a car after spending two long years taking buses, riding bikes, and (dare I say it), walking, is an incredible feeling. And what's the only better feeling than actually driving a car after being away from it for so long? The answer is simple; listening to a tape in the tape player while driving the car. Not that stupid CD bullshit. I'm talking about a cassette. A mix that an older brother or sister or friend made for you. Case in point: Driving up the mountains of Boulder, CO, while hearing Frank Black's "Speedy Marie" for the first time in my friend Jim's early '90s Volvo. God I miss that disgusting car. Jim sold out and got an SUV our senior year with (dare I say it again) a CD PLAYER!!! The heartache. Anyway, I had listened to Pixies before many times, (Which I learned is kind of what you do in college. You listen to Surfer Rosa a lot), but I had never really paid attention to Frank Black's solo stuff.
Teenager Of The Year is one of my favorite albums that Black has attached himself to, Pixies or solo. "Speedy Marie", and "Headache" are amazing songs, and let's face it, TOTY has one of the best album covers ever.
Listen, I know the dude's name is Frank Black, but I always enjoy calling him Black Francis, his on again off again stage name. That is one of the coolest fucking names in all of rock history and if my mom had named me "Black" I'd be a rock star for sure. You have no choice in your professional pathway if your name if Black. So for the sake of making Frank Black seem even cooler than he already is, let's call him Black Francis one last time.
Fast forward to 2005 and Black records Honeycomb in Nashville and becomes a sort of Alt-Country musician. And you know what? Black Francis can do whatever the hell he wants and we'll enjoy it and not question it for a second. Don't question the man who wrote the line "You're so pretty when you're unfaithful to me" on "Bone Machine." Black's newest album is a continuation of Honeycomb. On his new double disc, Fast Man Raider Man, he continues his country image and records with such heroes as Levon Helm and Al Kooper. It's no surprise that Levon Helm is a part of this project. You can hear Black's admiration of The Band's drummer/singer on "Fast Man." When Black hits his falsetto on the song, it sounds like an exact match to Helm's incredible nostalgic voice.
"In The Time Of My Ruin," my personal favorite, sounds like a Black Francis take on a '60s girl group song. It's a catchy pop song filled with piano, stomping, and tambourine. It also rhymes "music curator" with "date her" which is just amazing in itself.
Black is one of the most gifted lyricists ever, and he comes up with some AMAZING song titles on this album. "If Your Poison Gets You," "You Can't Crucify Yourself," "I'm Not Dead (I'm In Pittsburgh)," "Kiss My Ring" and "It's Just Not Your Moment" top the list.
Listen, this album isn't going to change your life. It's not going to cure your migraine headaches. You're not going to put this record on before you put on Doolittle. But you're not supposed to. This is mature Frank Black, doing whatever the hell he wants to do. He's playing with his heroes and he's writing what he wants to write. So do him a favor and don't yell out "Debaser" when he comes to town and plays these pretty songs for you on his next tour.>>
On the bad side, it seems The Independent gave it 2/5. The english, what do they know.
Denis
Your team sucks |
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Ten Percenter
- FB Enquirer -
United Kingdom
1733 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2006 : 03:54:41
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The weekly dig liked it, ignore the woeful start to the piece:
Sometimes you wonder where Frank Black finds the time to eat so much. Fastman is his sixth solo album in three and a half years—and that’s not including the demo/Pixies covers record (Frank Black Francis), the iTunes exclusive, or the podcasts he’s been running on his website. This one is a 27-song, two-disc set, culled from four different recording sessions spanning two years, featuring vets from Motown, Stax, Muscle Shoals and The Catholics, plus The Band’s Levon Helms, Cheap Trick’s Tom Petersson and honky-tonk singer Marty Brown. And, unlike Black’s 2005 straight-up country album, Honeycomb, this is a really good one. All over the fucking place, but really good. There’s too much here to address in any detail; but on the first disc, you’ll want to hit the Black/Brown duet on Pogues-popularized “Dirty Old Town,” Teenager of the Year-meets-English-folksong “Johnny Barleycorn,” and jaunty country tune “Wanderlust.” Disc 2 highlights include the slightly fractured ’60s soul ballad “Sad Old World,” and the ode to wandering “Where the Wind is Going,” which best sums up the strange marriage of Frank Black and country music with the lyric: “I ain’t got time for your tears / It’s kind of hard to explain / I got a bird in my brain / I got a dog in my ear.” All in all, his best since Show Me Your Tears. [JOE KEOHANE]
http://weeklydig.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/Article.view/issueID/1921cb9f-c9ac-414d-9d68-8db313a28c10/articleID/ac346543-dd7e-4f34-85b1-e99f0397b37f/nodeID/5666324c-2898-4bdc-a362-4afcac799fcd
"I thought that I had reached bedrock, but I had yet to reach Birmingham..." |
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Ten Percenter
- FB Enquirer -
United Kingdom
1733 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2006 : 04:02:40
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As Denis said, two stars out of five in the Independent from the usually dependable Andy Gill:
http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/reviews/article1089121.ece
Frank Black has developed an irritating habit of following up a half-decent album with a lacklustre one - in this case, a dreary double album that seems to slouch along for an eternity and a half, with only the faintest regard for the listener's pleasure. It's quite some indictment that by far the best tune among these 27 tracks is Ewan MacColl's "Dirty Old Town", which Frank turns into a draggy boogie; but what's really astonishing is how many genuine rock legends were required to realise such modest returns. Session veterans like Carol Kaye, Bob Babbitt, Steve Ferrone, Jim Keltner, David Hood, Reggie Young and Lyle Workman are joined by icons such as Levon Helm, Ian McLagan, Steve Cropper, Billy Swan, Spooner Oldham and PF ("Eve Of Destruction") Sloan, but between them they can't raise more than a passing interest in Frank's material, which just flops there, lifeless and unengaging. It's not helped by Black's singing, which eschews the caterwauling of his Pixies period for a delivery that sound variously like a country-rock Mose Allison, or Bobby "Boris" Pickett (of "The Monster Mash" fame) reading the phone directory.
DOWNLOAD THIS: 'Dirty Old Town', 'Raider Man'
"I thought that I had reached bedrock, but I had yet to reach Birmingham..." |
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Ten Percenter
- FB Enquirer -
United Kingdom
1733 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2006 : 04:12:20
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The Scotsman, a three star review (the same reviewer gave Honeycomb 5 stars):
http://living.scotsman.com/music.cfm?id=882922006
THIS second solo album in a year from the Pixies' chief hollerer is a rather sprawling disappointment following 2005's sublime southern soul treat Honeycomb.
Black collaborates once again with country R&B gurus Steve Cropper, Spooner Oldham and Buddy Miller, but augments his all-star band with Cheap Trick's Tom Petersson, Heartbreakers drummer Steve Ferrone and the Band's Levon Helm.
Unfortunately, even these redoubtable gentlemen cannot stop the bug-eyed hellfire screamer from morphing, over the course of 27 tracks, into the indie Van Morrison.
The results are often sleepy, but still a laudable departure from the frenetic day job.
"I thought that I had reached bedrock, but I had yet to reach Birmingham..." |
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Frog in the Sand
-+ Le premiere frog +-
France
2715 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2006 : 04:36:00
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quote:
Originally posted by vilainde
<<Frank Black - Fast Man/Raider Man (Cooking Vinyl/Wagram).
Frank Black a reformé les Pixies, mais cela ne l'empêche pas de poursuivre sa carrière solo prolifique. L'an dernier, il évoluait de façon convaincante dans le registre country sur Honeycomb. Dans la même foulée Fast Man/Raider Man explore le spectre complet des idiomes américains vintage, du jazz au blues en passant par le «rock de bar» à la Springsteen et la soul façon Memphis. Frank Black, à l'époque des Pixies, et Kurt Cobain (influencé par eux) ont peut-être inventé une nouvelle forme musicale (le grunge), mais désormais, le replet chanteur-compositeur préfère se balader non sans nostalgie du côté d'anciens comme Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson ou Johnny Cash. Etonnamment, ses nouvelles chansons soutiennent la comparaison. Sans doute n'est ce pas étranger au fait que Black soit parvenu à enrôler dans son projet (enregistré à Nashville et Los Angeles) une ribambelle de musiciens de sessions renommés comme le guitariste Steve Cropper, l'organiste Al Kooper et le batteur du Band Levon Helm. De fait, ces types s'y entendent comme personne pour sublimer une chanson même médiocre à l'aide d'arrangements ingénieux qui détournent l'attention de la voix limitée de Black. Reste que ce double CD contient 27 titres et qu'inévitablement, c'est trop. Les fans des Pixies vont peut-être déplorer son nouveau penchant pour le rock à l'ancienne : il n'empêche, Frank Black mérite le respect pour seulement oser risquer de les décevoir.>>
Je me méfie de ces critiques qui en restent aux généralités sans même mentionner une seule chanson pour étayer leur propos. Ça sent le "vite écouté" - une impression renforcée par la sentence "27 titres c'est trop".
"La voix limitée de Black"... haha, c'est une des plus grosses conneries que j'aie jamais lues sur FB (et j'en ai lu).
Par contre, j'applaudis la conclusion pour son honnêteté et sa lucidité.
-----
 blackolero le only Frank Black / Pixies site 100% in français |
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Teafer
- FB Fan -
90 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2006 : 04:42:34
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Mais ma grenouille, t'attendais quoi d'une critique de ce lourdaud de Nick Kent? De la connaissance au dela des clichés, un peu de recul, du bon gout? c'est Nick Kent, il écrit dans Libé, il est maqué avec Laurence Romance.
"i'm not impressed. you wanna impress me? take the wheel, motherfucker." |
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vilainde
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Niue
7443 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2006 : 04:46:20
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C'est vrai que les chroniques disques de Libé en général c'est n'importe quoi (pour être poli)
Denis
Your team sucks |
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Frog in the Sand
-+ Le premiere frog +-
France
2715 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2006 : 05:12:14
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quote:
Originally posted by Teafer
Mais ma grenouille, t'attendais quoi d'une critique de ce lourdaud de Nick Kent?
Rien mon Titi, pour la bonne raison que je ne savais pas qu'elle était de Nick Kent. En plus je lis jamais Libé, ça me donnerait envie de m'abonner au Figaro.
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blackolero le only Frank Black / Pixies site 100% in français |
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cassandra is
> Teenager of the Year <
France
4233 Posts |
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Broken Face
-= Forum Pistolero =-
USA
5155 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2006 : 21:58:14
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from the 6/23 Entertainment Weekly:
Frank Black
Fastman Raiderman
(Back Porch)
Rock/Soul
The reunited Pixies have yet to release a new studio CD, but their frontman keeps the solo projects coming. This double album heats up the twangy, Southern-gothic soul of last year's Honeycomb. It's expertly played (by veterans Levon Helm, Spooner Oldham, and members of Booker T. and the MGs). [grammatical sic] But Black's voice is less interesting when he's not going postal with the Pixies; here he delivers dark visions wanly, with a nod to Nick Cave and a saving touch of camp. Live, the set's bar-band mojo would probably sound great.
B- (on a grading scale from A-F)
- - - - - - - -
I think this guy did a pretty shitty job. Not that i think its an overly negative review, but Nick Cave, Southern-gothic? I just don't hear that.
-Brian - http://bvsrant.blogspot.com |
Edited by - Broken Face on 06/16/2006 21:58:33 |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
Posted - 06/17/2006 : 13:43:26
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/16/AR2006061600329.html
RECORDINGS Quick Spins
RECORDINGS Quick Spins
Sunday, June 18, 2006; Page N10
FAST MAN RAIDER MAN
Frank Black
Frank Black, who defined himself
as a world-champion shrieker in
the Pixies, almost never raises his
voice above a Leonard Cohen
monotone in his restrained solo
work. So when he screams at the
crescendo of "Dirty Old Town" --
a country duet with the unheralded
singer-songwriter Marty Brown --
the effect is jarring and cathartic.
It's the peak moment of a 27-song
album that rambles all over the
place.
"Fast Man Raider Man," Black's
second album in two years, is a
collection of well-written rock, soul
and country songs, about topics
ranging from Hurricane Katrina to
tragic Polish coal miners. There's
no common thread other than
Black's flat but oddly alluring croon
and all-star session men such as the
Band's Levon Helm and Cheap
Trick's Tom Petersson. Nothing is
particularly fast, loud or dramatic,
but bits of things sink into your skin
-- the recurring little piano chords
of "Johnny Barleycorn," Black's
unexpected falsetto in "My Terrible
Ways," the dark, Spanish-style
acoustic guitar in "Raider Man" or the line "through your cigarette-stained
beard your love rang true" in the rhyming rocker "Fitzgerald."
Freed from the tensions in the Pixies, which he broke up 13 years ago and
rejoined for a lucrative tour in 2004, Black is a regular guy with compulsive
songwriting tendencies.
Minus the tense chemistry with Pixies bassist Kim Deal, Black has never
made a song as memorably explosive as "Wave of Mutilation" (revisited
here, briefly, at the end of "Elijah"). But he has never made a bad album,
either, and "Fast Man Raider Man" is twice as not bad as usual.
-- Steve Knopper
(Back Porch - Back Porch)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/06/17/bmpopcds17.xml&sSheet=/arts/2006/06/17/ixartleft.html
The best of the new releases
Frank Black
Fast Man Raider Man
Cooking Vinyl, £11.99
"Kiss my ring… I'm
the greatest!", Frank
Black croons amiably
on his new album, in
what we must hope
to goodness is a
whimsical tribute to
His Holiness the
Pope. In any case,
the former Pixies
frontman has
returned to the
record shops
brimming with self-
confidence. It shows
through in this big,
breezy double album.
Old Pixies fans,
roused from their
graves by the recent
reunion tour (the T-
shirt called it the "Sell Out" tour), may pick up this record
in the hope of finding quirky time signatures, insanely
amped-up drums, surf guitars and yelped cod-Spanish
lyrics about space-aliens.
In that respect, they will be disappointed. Black has
moved on. He has moved a long way on, in fact - and I
would be half-disappointed to say it, were Fast Man Raider
Man not so instantly enjoyable to listen to. It's full of
influence. There's a hint of pastiche Dylan; a whisper of
Van Morrison; even the odd Adam Duritz-style voice
crack. On You Can't Crucify Yourself, he growls along like
late-period Leonard Cohen, and perhaps the best track,
Johnny Barleycorn, sounds like a joyous blast of '70s
Springsteen.
But, as much as he sounds, fleetingly, like others, he's
still his own man: one who, in amorous mode, will rhyme
"curator" with "date her".
The dominant mood is laid-back bar-room blues, with
excursions into alt-country territory. There's pedal steel
guitar all over it, plenty of honky-tonk piano, harmonicas,
backing singers and even - bedad - a flugelhorn. It
sounds - always a good thing - as if Frank Black and his
new pals (despite the Papal allusion I mentioned, Black's
most recent backing band, the Catholics, seem to have
lapsed) have had an immensely good time making this
album.
Which is why, despite the downbeat lyrics - "If your
poison gets you", "Highway to lowdown", "Sad old world",
and, magnificently, "I'm not dead… I'm just in Pittsburgh"
- the whole thing couldn't sound sunnier. Sam Leith
Frank Black: the former Pixies
frontman 'couldn't sound sunnier'
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/review.cfm?id=892132006
Frank Black
ALBUM REVIEWS
COLIN SOMERVILLE
Frank Black
Fast Man Raider Man
Cooking Vinyl, £11.99
A double set of punk, southern rock and gospel from the Pixies front man
working again with John Tiven, the producer of his last solo outing,
Honeycomb.
Then, Black employed the
talents of Buddy Miller and
Steve Cropper, and this time
he adds Free and Bad
Company drummer Simon
Kirke, The Band's Levon Helm
and Cheap Trick's Tom
Petersson to the mix.
But all 27 tunes sound fresh,
and while it may be a long way
from 'Velouria', the signs are
that Black will be setting up
home below the Mason-Dixon
line for the foreseeable future. |
Edited by - Carl on 06/17/2006 20:03:16 |
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fbc
-= Modulator =-
United Kingdom
4903 Posts |
Posted - 06/18/2006 : 06:14:27
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I was just reading my dad's Sunday Mirror, catching up on Ronan Keating's gig at Hampton Court Palace (which despite the rain was a sing along extravaganza) when my eyes stumbled across two very special words, Frank Black. Barely a sentence at the bottom of the page, Album of the week goes to Fastman Raiderman: The Pixies frontman shows he's still on top of his game and as refreshingly off-kilter as ever ****
(yeah, Liberty X's new single notches up ***, but still...) |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
Posted - 06/18/2006 : 07:05:28
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Liberty X: Excellence unbound!
--------
"Leguman...Leguman!" |
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a guy in a rover
= Cult of Ray =
United Kingdom
535 Posts |
Posted - 06/18/2006 : 08:38:48
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Heres a couple of less than complimentary reviews I read today. Both continue to toe the 'the Pixies were great but his solo stuff is shit' line. These critics are so fucking lazy, I wish they would get off their arses and actually listen to some of Franks solo material. Its not so much the reviews being negative I mind, but the blase attitude critics take in brushing off Frank's achievements as a solo artist, instead maintaining that he used to be good but is now crap. Neither review tells us anything about the albums content.
The Observer Music Monthly
Frank Black, Fast Man/Raider Man
** (2 stars) Two-CD set from ex-Pixie bears little relation to his fiery former life
Paul Mardles
Sunday June 18, 2006
Were it not for the fact that Frank Black was once Black Francis, the Pixies' balding everyman whose scream was swiped from Satan, his solo sets would generate the minimum of fuss. His 11th in 13 years isn't a complete dud: 'Elijah' could pass for a late period Pixies outtake, while 'If Your Poison Gets You' is a fine approximation of what Tom Waits would sound like if he ever deigned to sing. By and large, though, Fast Man/Raider Man is sluggish country rock, the oddest aspect of which is Black's willingness to while away his days posing as a bloodless crooner.
The Independent on Sunday
Frank Black, Fast Man/Raider Man
**(2 stars)
Luiza, Sauma
Sunday June 18, 2006
At the end of the day, Frank Black is the linchpin of the greatest rock band of the last 20 years, so he deserves five stars just for breathing. But when it comes to his 11th studio album, I'd be lying through my teeth. Fast Man/Rauder Man is nothing like the Pixies; it's a so-dull-it's-amazing double-CD of adult-oriented country-rick pop, in which Frank does his Van Morisson impression over 27 (yes, 27!) tracks. Why did he do it? Because he can. Listening to this album is somewhat akin to listening to your grandmother prattling on about the good old days. You let her do it, because you love her. |
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IceManCometh
- FB Fan -
58 Posts |
Posted - 06/18/2006 : 11:13:27
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quote:
[i]These critics are so fucking lazy, I wish they would get off their arses and actually listen to some of Franks solo material. Its not so much the reviews being negative I mind, but the blase attitude critics take in brushing off Frank's achievements as a solo artist, instead maintaining that he used to be good but is now crap.
I don't know if it's a question of laziness. Because this observation has so often cropped up in recent weeks, I've been considering if it's a shortcoming on the behalf of the critics that they don't tout this album as highly as it might be on this board. I understand your frustration---I've often felt the same way throughout Frank Black's solo career (I remember the NME and Melody Maker reviews of the eponymous and Teenager of the Year)---but how many critics can be "wrong"? Also, from a critic's standpoint, they aren't reviewing for fans as ardent and forgiving as ourselves. They might listen to a record straight through twice or three times---this is what I did when I was reviewing records years ago for magazines---and it nothing leaps out immediately, if there's not some special, undeniable, immediate quality, then it's on to the next album.
While I see some of these reviews as being knee-jerk and harsh, they aren't entirely without merit. This is coming from someone who much prefers FM/RM to Honeycomb. Yet, I believe Honeycomb was bound to receive more favorable reviews because that appeared at a particular and peculiar time in Frank Black's career. He had amassed a cache of good will because of the recent reformation of the Pixies. Suprisingly, he confounded expectations by releasing the most conventional record of his career. I invoke the word conventional to indicate that one would have thought that he'd move to make a record more accessible to a younger fanbase.
I like it that Frank Black follows his whims, and I appreciate that, but to expect glowing reviews to be lavished on this new record: impossible. There are so many great records out there, that a fairly straight-forward, low-simmering alt-country rocker like FM/RM is bound to be ignored or, even worse, maligned. It's not surprising. And again, is it really laziness that they don't like it? I'm not too keen on some of the stuff myself, and I've listened dozens of times with a very hopeful heart. Hey, it's a solid record, but sometimes, solid just isn't enough these days. |
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Grotesque
= Cult of Ray =
France
777 Posts |
Posted - 06/18/2006 : 12:47:23
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| I'm not surprised at all, the trap was evident but they all felt in it. The first FMRM song I heard was "Where The Wind Is Going", and hearing the solo I thought: "this time they're going to call him square old guy". We can't do anything against that: they listen the albums just once and they just want to find some hype bands to yell with the other sheeps, OR keep the cult of the great old band (Pixies, Rolling Stones, Knights of the round table... they'll pray for them till their death). Anyway, meanwhile, we're listening to it over and over and appreciate a rock masterpiece. |
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IceManCometh
- FB Fan -
58 Posts |
Posted - 06/18/2006 : 17:08:08
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| Again, I have to say, the best way to approach these reviews is to form some kind of amalgamation; that is to say, there are going to be reviews on both ends of the spectrum, but when you tally them together, you're bound to reach some accurate degree of assessment. To me, so far, the reviews have been tepidly polite, by and large. I don't think everyone is overlooking a masterpiece. To say so isn't meant to show any disrespect; rather, it's to introduce a more grounded perspective. And I don't think critics are lukewarm because it isn't loud. Most recent well-lauded records these days---Sufjan Stevens, Wilco, Danielson, Band of Horses, New Pornographers, Fiery Furnaces---can by no stetch of the imagination be considered loud. They distinguish themselves in another way. That's what it might be about. With so many great, unusual records coming out, it's hard to step beyond the throng. And there are great records out there---you just have to look. |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
Posted - 06/18/2006 : 20:14:15
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http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,14932-2223189,00.html
Music
The Times
Frank Black
Fasterman/Raiderman
(Cooking Vinyl)
Musicians gain the respect of their peers through one of three methods: being
recognised for a musical innovation; building up an extensive catalogue; or
employing a lot of them.
Black, now 41 and with a growing family to support, has managed all three. His
twelfth solo album since first dissolving the Pixies was partly recorded in epic
24- hour sessions, an enormous cast of players swapping places around him.
Such extreme methods
might lead the listener to
expect a more eyeballs-
out record than this
sprawling double album.
But this patchy, yet often
excellent set teeters on
the edge of politeness
rather than insanity. There
is plenty to enjoy, though,
from the jaunty country-
jazz of If Your Poison
Gets You to the dreamlike
In the Time of My Ruin,
which rhymes “curator”
with “date her” and is built
around a smartly played
circular bassline. The
transformation of Ewan McColl’s Dirty Old Town into a blues track shifts it
successfully from Salford to the United States. Johnny Barleycorn brings an E
Street Band treatment to an ancient legend, putting it somewhere between blue
collar and redneck, while The End of the Summer sounds positively French.
This is a well-played collection — unsurprisingly, given that the credits include
veterans such as Steve Cropper, Steve Ferrone, David Hood, Carol Kaye and
Chester Thompson, none of whom turned up because they admired the soft-loud
sound that Black popularised with the Pixies. But this is not a case of a nervous
if talented musician leaning on a small band of skilful old lags, rather of a man
allowing his sound to be actively shaped by his collaborators.
Yet Black is surely as legendary as his employees. Whether the audience that
grew up hearing him scream will be seduced by his mellow emulations of
supposed legends is debatable. Aping Nick Cave or Leonard Cohen is one thing
— country-rock has long been the refuge of the former scoundrel — but at times
Black starts to morph into Van Morrison, especially on the horrible Elijah.
The revived Pixies are still going, so should Black get the urge to start hollering
again he knows where to go. He has been accused of it before, rather rudely, but
currently Black really can have his cake and eat it.
STEVE JELBERT
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-2224041,00.html
The Sunday TimesJune 18, 2006
Pop: New Releases: Frank Black: Fast Man
Raider Man
MARK EDWARDS
FRANK BLACK
Fast Man Raider Man
Cooking Vinyl COOKCD367
Frank Black’s 2005 album Honeycomb was his best solo work for many years.
Backed by veteran musicians like Steve Cropper and Spooner Oldham, Black
was on peak songwriting form. Fast Man Raider Man offers more of
Honeycomb’s quality, and more veteran sidemen — this time including Levon
Helm from the Band and the songwriting enigma PF Sloan. The only problem is
that it’s a double album. It goes without saying, then, that half of it should have
been edited out. Fortunately, Black has minimised this problem by the simple
ploy of putting all the good songs on the second CD. Second-half tracks such as
Elijah, Where the Wind Is Going and It’s Just Not Your Moment are so much
sharper than the filler of disc one that you wonder: can Black really not tell the
difference? Three stars |
Edited by - Carl on 06/18/2006 20:39:11 |
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Cult_Of_Frank
= Black Noise Maker =
Canada
11687 Posts |
Posted - 06/18/2006 : 21:52:55
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Wow, I couldn't disagree with the Mr. Edwards more. So much sharper? The first disc is quite a bit more interesting in my opinion.
 "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." |
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s_wrenn
* Dog in the Sand *
Ireland
1851 Posts |
Posted - 06/19/2006 : 03:25:28
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Review from allmusic.com
Review by Heather Phares
Playing like the widescreen director's cut version of Honeycomb, Frank Black's sprawling double album Fast Man Raider Man reunites him with the Memphis session legends who played with him last time, and adds even more stars to the cast of characters. Along with veteran Catholics member Lyle Workman and Honeycomb players Reggie Young, Buddy Miller, Spooner Oldham, and Chester Thompson, the roster also includes Al Kooper, Jon Tiven, Bobby Bare, Jr., the Band's Levon Helm, Cheap Trick's Tom Peterson, and Bad Company's Simon Kirke, giving Fast Man Raider Man the feel of an all-star jamboree. As on Honeycomb, the playing throughout the album is subtly excellent (and how could it not be with supporting musicians like these?). Jazzy guitars and saxophone give "If Your Poison Gets You" a sophisticated take on roots rock, while the lush horns on "My Terrible Ways" and the keyboards on "Highway to Lowdown" and "You Can't Crucify Yourself" are authentic, soulful touches. Though Fast Man Raider Man shares the warmth of Honeycomb, unlike that album -- which was recorded in just a few days in Memphis when all the players had the time to come together -- this set of songs is less urgent, and less overtly confessional. Black seems more and more comfortable in the Americana/alt-country direction of his later work, but fortunately it's the kind of comfort that allows him to keep elaborating on this sound. Indeed, the overall vibe of the album is just as important, if not more so, than the individual songs. However, highlights are scattered throughout both of Fast Man Raider Man's discs and include "Dirty Old Town," an Irish drinking song that Black transforms into an alternately heartfelt and rollicking duet with Marty Brown; the dramatic, Lou Reed-esque "End of the Summer"; "Where the Wind Is Going," a fun homage to Texas garage rock; and the breezy yet heartfelt ballad "Don't Cry That Way." This is easily one of Black's most eclectic albums, moving from gutsy rock like "Johnny Barleycorn," "Kiss My Ring," and "In the Time of My Own Ruin" to oddities such as "Dog Sleep," which switches between a rousing brass band and slow-motion passages that drift on woozy organs, to the genuinely soulful "Sad Old World" and "Golden Shore." Like the simultaneously released Devil's Workshop and Black Letter Days, Fast Man Raider Man could've been edited down to one disc's worth of songs; however, the flowing, laid-back feel of the whole set is a big part of its appeal. Indeed, if it weren't for the album's studio polish, it'd feel like an extremely well-recorded concert -- it has the ebb and flow of a good live set, and its expansive warmth ends up making its length work in its favor.
AMG Rating:
http://myspace.com/seanwrenn  |
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Grotesque
= Cult of Ray =
France
777 Posts |
Posted - 06/19/2006 : 06:24:40
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quote:
Originally posted by IceManCometh
Most recent well-lauded records these days---Sufjan Stevens, Wilco, Danielson, Band of Horses, New Pornographers, Fiery Furnaces---can by no stetch of the imagination be considered loud. They distinguish themselves in another way. That's what it might be about. With so many great, unusual records coming out, it's hard to step beyond the throng. And there are great records out there---you just have to look.
Yes, and that's exatly the point: all these artists absolutly WANT to be strange, to distinguish themselves by singing like a cat, an alien or an alcoolic... they all want to be Daniel Johnston, but Johnston himself is more like Frank Black: he just does his own thing!
It's OK, I like that too, but it's not the ONLY way to be an atist (being a Salvador Dali kind of guy, the crazy baby who screams "LOOK AT ME I'M REALLY REALLY SPECIAL !!!").
Usually, when the "strange rockers" try to be more natural, they just become flat and boring (Lou Barlow, Ween, They Might Be Giants, Butthole Surfers...) because it's actually much harder. |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
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Ten Percenter
- FB Enquirer -
United Kingdom
1733 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2006 : 02:40:22
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http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/reviews/album_review_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002689454
Don't think this has been posted yet:
There's no other in the wide world of rock like Frank Black, whose undying creative output is a constant source of amazement to fans and confusion to outsiders. His latest salvo, "Fastman/ Raiderman," is his 11th solo album since leaving the Pixies in 1993. It's also a double-disc, 27-song compendium of mostly refined Americana, albeit filtered through Black's uniquely cockeyed worldview. Recorded in between tours with the re-formed Pixies, the project features a hodgepodge of guests including Levon Helm, Al Kooper and Steve Cropper. Throughout, Black sounds just as comfortable and confident cutting back-porch versions of Irish folk classics ("Dirty Old Town"), sultry New Orleans swamp-rock ("Dog Sleep") and old-timey country send-offs ("Sad Man's Song") as he did bridging the gap from underground punk to grunge in the late '80s.—Troy Carpenter
"I thought that I had reached bedrock, but I had yet to reach Birmingham..." |
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Ten Percenter
- FB Enquirer -
United Kingdom
1733 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2006 : 02:44:43
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Another positive review on Soundsxp:
http://www.soundsxp.com/3143.shtml
Frank Black Fastman/Raiderman
Cooking Vinyl
Article written by Matt H
Jun 18, 2006.
Not so much fastman or raiderman, this is really the culmination of Charles Thompson's journeyman incarnation. Don't necessarily take that as a slight - Frank Black after all is not the nom de guerre of someone with too many pretensions. And what's wrong with a simple aspiration to being a fine sleeves-rolled-up songwriter? Black's efforts of late have been nothing if not Stakhanovite. If memory serves he's been averaging more than an album a year for quite a while. This double CD effort is aimed squarely at writing a great rock songbook, and with this in mind he surrounded himself with a cast of 60s and 70s instrumental luminaries.
He's successful too. While there's shades of all manner of others in here, from Tom Waits to Roxy Music - and if Van Morrison had really written anything as good as a number of the songs here in much of the later part of his career it would have been hailed as one of his periodic returns to form - Frank Black has his own laid back troubadour voice which charms and entertains. The problem of course is that, for all that, he pushes none of the 'surprise' and 'exhilaration' buttons that made his Pixies acolytes fall for his work in the first place. But, reunion tours notwithstanding, that was then and this is now. Exhilaration might not be the name of the game, but a bit of skill with a tune, a lot of heart and a gentle sense of humour - viz I'm not Dead (I'm in Pittsburgh) - go an awful long way.
"I thought that I had reached bedrock, but I had yet to reach Birmingham..." |
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Fast Man Raider Man reviews
