Label: Thrill Jockey Format: CDS,12″
Four songs of love as seen through the Continuous Cash-FlowTM filter of Mr. Bobby Conn, Chicago, hell, the world‘s most curious of crooners and estimable heir to the Seventies legacy of Funk-Soul-Rock singer-songwriter troubadour anti-messiahs. In other words, a star.
There are two new songs from Mr. C. himself – “Free Love”, an epic, near-histrionic bass-slapping time-signature mangler and possessor of a typically twisted lyric: “Where have all the dirty, dirty people gone?” – and “Virginia”, sung as a soaring duet in French with the subject of the song herself. Then comes the eye-opening rendition of Badfinger‘s “Without You” (though apperently inspired by the Harry Nilsson version – who knows if Mariah Carey‘s aspartame massacring of the song got a look in) – slowed to a crawl, in a manner immediately reminiscent of Coil‘s take on “Tainted Love”. Simultaneously wretched and heart-rending, Bobby’s edition has to be come the definitive one, if there is any kind of justice in the world. Which, unfortunately there isn’t much chance of, but this song takes some beating in the heartfelt angst stakes.
Finally, on a lighter but no less deranged note, is Brazilian psychedelicist Caetano Veloso‘s “Maria”, here rendered in suitably Disco-Funk style (complete with Monica BouBou‘s tightly-coiled string arrangements) over a beautifully minimal bassline which grooves into drum-machine heaven like a Saturday nite Bossanova dancefloor machine. Stunning.
-Antron S. Meister-
