CONVERSATION PIECE/ANNIVERSARY FROM OUR FRIENDS AT Kalporz
AUTHORED BY PAOLO BARDELLI/SAMUEL CONFICONI/RAFFAELE CONCOLLATO
TRANSLATED BY DOMINIC VALVONA
Continuing our successful collaboration and synergy with the leading Italian music publication Kalporz , the Monolith Cocktail shares and translates reviews, interviews and other bits from our respective sites each month. This month the Kalporz editorial team explore the legacy of the late and great tortured troubadour Jeff Buckley, thirty years after the release of his decade defining album Grace.
Jeff Buckley’s “Grace” turns 30 on August 15 [1]. Instead of making a complete analysis of that album ,which we have already done song by song for the 20th anniversary , this time we asked ourselves what remains – today – of Jeff Buckley’s artistic legacy. These are the contributions of Paolo Bardelli, Samuele Conficoni and Raffaele Concollato to the question.
Let’s immediately address the legacy that pisses us off the most: that Jeff Buckley has been transhumed into the collective imagination of talent shows because at least one in three approaches his version of “Hallelujah” , thus reaching us for a song that wasn’t even written by him, is truly a crime. But, as we know, we shouldn’t worry about talent shows and we shouldn’t even consider them, so let’s focus the answer on much more important areas. Like whether there are artists today who can build on his legacy, and whether his memory and importance are well understood today. The fact that there are few artists who demonstrate a talent comparable to Jeff demonstrates his uniqueness: among the many, only that loose cannon that is Tamino would come to mind , but it would be nice to identify someone who has the same fire of passion for music and not someone who is similar on an artistic level.
As for his importance today, we know that music cannot be recomposed and evaluated only with numbers, but sometimes they can help: this month on Spotify Buckley has totalled 3.9 million listeners, against for example Lou Reed’s 5.5 million. If we want to consider that Reed has produced much more, it would seem that there is still a lot of attention on Jeff Buckley, and the streaming numbers should represent the new generations more than the old ones (who have the possibility of physical listening). It is therefore difficult to answer the question we asked ourselves, whether Jeff Buckley is still influential or not, as there are contrasting elements. There is one certainty though: we must stop looking at the new releases that will continue from now on with material pulled out of the drawers, because Jeff Buckley’s legacy is clear with only “Grace” and “Sketches…”, in addition – if you really want to -there are the first official live performances (“Live at Sin-é”, “Mystery White Boy”, “Live A L’Olympia”) and the outtakes “Songs To No One” with Gary Lucas. Last year “Gods And Monsters” was released which is indecent in terms of sound quality, it would be worthy of immediate denunciation.
Personally, to feel close to him, I have been using a tactic for some time: following an Instagram page that only posts photos of Jeff Buckley (among the many I point out this one ) which creates an alienating effect: on the one hand, at first glance, Jeff might seem always present, but it is a fleeting sensation, which disappears immediately to leave room for the awareness of the melancholy of no longer having him with us. We who wait every day for another artist like him (and like Kurt Cobain) with the same desire for redemption, for emotion, for beauty, for anger, to express himself, to unite, to tell, to communicate, to make ourselves better by receiving his notes . That is his legacy.
(Paul Bardelli)
The greatness and relevance of Jeff Buckley, like that of the many artists who have left us too soon, lies not only in what he wrote, said and published, but also in what he could have written , said and published if he had not passed away. “Grace” is a traditional rock album and at the same time seminal and innovative, and this is perhaps its most extraordinary quality and its most surprising merit, which make it a milestone even thirty years after its publication. Without messing up the pages and the history of the novel of American rock which in the meantime continued to be written, adjusted and annotated, Jeff Buckley was able to give his contribution and make that genre his own by emptying it and making it a primitive shell to be filled; to be able to arrive at “Grace” he immersed it in a noble and refined musical tradition whose fil rouge was able to make the jazzy chanson of Nina Simone , the acid rock of Led Zeppelin , the poetic and visionary songwriting of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen and even classical music coexist. Where a cacophonous and ungovernable chaos could have arisen, a grace has instead sprouted that which seemed impossible to model from those ingredients, but which in the end succeeded.
It is precisely this gigantic merit of his, which has been able to influence artists of the caliber of Radiohead, Lana del Rey, Adele, Mitski and Phoebe Bridgers , just to name a few, and which has made him recognized as a big name in music by sacred monsters such as Bob Dylan himself, David Bowie and Morrissey, which makes his first and only studio album a room whose doors fold in on themselves and always lead back to that same place: the revolutions that started from there will be captured and in all respects written by others, others who have visited, lived and studied that room deeply. We already know where the others have gone and, as far as the future is concerned, we will know. Where he would have gone, on the other hand, we will never know, even if the never-completed recordings for what would have been his second studio album give us some clues. Unfortunately for us, however, that is a dead-end track, and here we return to the incipit of our discussion: it is as if two paths emerged from “Grace”, one that we have tested – and that, after thirty years, we are still testing – with our hands, and one that we will never know and that perhaps, in a parallel universe, is still being completed. But “this is not for our eyes”.
(Samuel Conficoni)
Despite his short career, Jeff Buckley’s influence on the music of the last few decades is profound. The unclassifiable genre he created, a mix of folk, rock, blues and world music, has left an indelible mark on many artists. His enormous talent in the use of his voice, capable of conveying the delicate vulnerability that inspired a generation of singers and pushed them to explore their vocal abilities in an unconventional way, is proof that he was not just ‘one of many’.
Just think of his cover of Leonard Cohen‘s “Hallelujah”, which became so iconic that it became a point of reference for subsequent reinterpretations. His expressiveness led to a return to authenticity and emotional honesty that left a mark on Thom Yorke, who often cited him as one of his main influences, both for his vocal style and for having pushed him to think outside the box. Damien Rice , whose direct and intimate style he took, also carries his legacy. Of course, Damien then completed the “masterpiece” with poetic lyrics, but the affinities with Jeff’s style are evident. Another artist inspired by Buckley was Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) , where the introspection and songwriting leave no doubts.
From a strictly musical point of view, Buckley can be found in the British band Alt-J, who with their experimental and eclectic sound echo the fusion of different genres mentioned above. Finally, we cannot fail to mention Daughter, with the delicate and desperate voice of Elena Tonra and the haunting melodies of the group, where Buckley’s spirit echoes in almost every song.
Others, perhaps even indirectly or lateral, have inherited Jeff Buckley’s legacy, ensuring him an artistic legacy that places him among the most influential figures in modern music.
(Raffaele Concollato)
The October Digest: Social Playlist Volume 80, Tamikrest, Billy Cobham and David Bowie…
October 18, 2023
ANNIVERSARY ARCHIVE SPOTS AND THE 80TH EDITION OF THE MONOLITH COCKTAIL SOCIAL PLAYLIST: DOMINIC VALVONA
Welcome all to the October edition of the Monolith Cocktail Digest, an archival driven column that celebrates anniversary albums each month and marks those special icons we’ve lost. In recent months this column has also become the home of the long-running cross-generational/international eclectic Social Playlist, which reaches its 80th edition this month.
Plucked from those back corridors of the blog’s archive, there are original pieces on the Tuareg desert blues-rockers Tamikrest and their 2013 album, ‘Chatma’, jazz drummer extraordinaire Billy Cobham’s Spectrum (50 years old this month), and David Bowie’s Reality (unbelievably already 20 years old).
The Social meanwhile features tracks from all three of those featured records, plus 50th anniversary mentions for The Who (Quadrophenia) and Elton John (Goodbye Yellow Brick Road), a 40th mention for Bob Dylan (Infidels), and 30th mentions for the Leaders Of The New School (T.I.M.E.), Black Moon (Buck Em Down) and Teenage Fanclub (Thirteen). Amongst that smattering, there’s choice tunes from Henry Franklin, Cee-Rock, David Liebe Hart, Dog Faced Hermans, Elias Hulk, Prix, Sofia Rosa and many more special selective tracks.
FULL TRACK LIST IS AS FOLLOWS::::….
Tamikrest ‘Djanegh Etoumast’
Pinky-Ann-Rihal ‘The Indian Dance’
Dog Faced Hermans ‘How We Connect’
Bob Dylan ‘Man Of Peace’
The Meditation Singers ‘Look At Yourself’
Billy Cobham ‘Spectrum’
Henry Franklin ‘Venus Fly Trap’
Leaders Of The New School ‘Connections’
Black Moon ‘Buck Em Down’
Kid Acne & Spectacular Diagnostics ‘Batman On Horseback’
Cee-Rock, Stealthguhn & Don Jazz ‘Linden Boulez’
officerfishdumplings ‘Divine Procrastinator’
David Liebe Hart & Th’ Mole ‘Michael Likes To Smoke His Weed’
Thiago Franca, Marcelo Cabral & Tony Gordin ‘Parte 1, Pt. 2’
Missus Beastly ‘Gurus For Sale’
Elisa Hulk ‘Ain’t Got You’
David Bowie ‘Never Get Old’
M ‘Baby Close The Window (12” Version)’
The Research ‘Feels Like The First Time’
Teenage Fanclub ‘The Cabbage’
Rabbit Rumba ‘Don Toribio’
Sofia Rosa ‘Kumulundu’
Tabaco ‘San juan Guaricongo’
Dick Stusso ‘Haunted Hotel’
Pin Group ‘Hurricane Fighter Plane’
The Spells ‘Number One Fan’
Prix ‘Girl’
Stiv Bators ‘Little Girl’
Agnes Strange ‘Give Yourself A Chance’
The Who ‘The Real Me’
Shyane Carter & Peter Jefferies ‘Randolph’s Going Home’
Roger Tillison ‘Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever’
Elton John ‘The Ballad Of Danny Bailey (1909-1934)’
ARCHIVAL SPOTS/ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATING LPS
50th Anniversary Of Billy Cobham’s Spectrum
Moving on into the seventies with the voracious fusion of jazz, funk and the far out, former US army conscript Billy Cobham allowed his drum kit to roam wildly: and take a fair old pummelling in the process.
Leaping from the starched fatigues of conformity into apprentice slots with Miles Davis (famously on the Bitches Brew opus, and sitting-in at the Isle Of Wight Pop Festival of 1970) and Horace Silver, Cobham went on to form the influential Mahavishnu Orchestra: stretching the limitations of jazz all the way.
Whilst still a member of the MO (he’d leave for the first time in 1973, before returning for the MK II incarnation in the 80s), Cobham recorded his solo debut Spectrum; an unequivocal energetic mix of unwieldy cosmic slop guitar, thundering and rapid ricocheting double kick peddling drums, and 12-bar jazz gone native!
Featuring the arching, noodling rock guitar solos and lead that would become a familiar presence to the Cobham sound, Tommy Bolin (later to join Deep Purple), is tasked with really giving it some gospel. Sampled by future generations – Massive Attack fans will recognise Status – Cobham’s first album also drifted across the pond to Europe – Krautrock connoisseurs may pick up on the relationship to the music of Mani Neumeier’s Guru Guru (especially after their UFO LP). No matter how sophisticated, or ‘twiddly muso’, Cobham always inserted some humour into his work, from the video-game effects and title of Snoopy’s Search to the general free spirited nuttiness of some of the playing itself.
A great marker, laid down for the generations to come.
DAVID BOWIE’S REALITY IS TWENTY
Making the most of his creative flow, David Bowie’s next critically assiduous, soul-searching suite would draw from the ‘oil well’ of despair.
The hyper ‘reality’ that permeated throughout this sophisticated album reflected a woeful climate, specifically the unfolding drama in the Middle East. Allusions to neocon diplomacy, nepotism of the most colonially threatening kind and the crescent of Islam are interspersed with more pining romanticized themes of loss.
Assembling a ‘dream team’, Bowie’s backing group once again swelled with the talents of Mike Garson (piano), Tony Visconti (production duties), Earl Slick (guitar) and Carlos Alomar (guitar) – the latter two, both veterans of Young Americans. Slick and Visconti would of course go onto to form part of The Next Day recording hub.
That quality and old camaraderie proved every bit as tightly dynamic, Reality unequivocally the thin white duke’s best work since Earthlings.
Again, Bowie insists on appropriating or at least resorting to past endeavours, recalling Outside on his sardonic hustled cover of Jonathan Richman’s ‘Pablo Picasso’; Tonight on the samba weepie ‘Days’; and Black Tie White Noise on the thinly veiled indicative Dick Cheney putdown, ‘Fall Dog Bombs The Moon’: Bowie at his bleakest, “The blackest of years that have no sound, no shape, no depth, no underground/What a dog!’ But full marks for trying to get a grip of George Harrison‘s ‘Try Some, Buy Some’; made most famous (and infamously) by a reluctant Ronnie Spector.
An augury of what was to follow in 2013, the thumping kickdrum, rollicking anthem ‘Never Get Old’ has a resounding statement of intent from the artist: “Never ever gonna get old!” In character he may be, but Bowie’s cry against mortality is a personal one, echoed in the present. Unfortunately bowing to the so-called market forces – regardless of artistic values and sanctimonious vitriol, he always had an eye for making dough – Bowie lent the tune to mineral water brand Vittel, appearing in an advert which has an uncanny resonance with the ‘The Stars (Are Out Tonight)’ video.
For various reasons outside his control, namely the poor sods heart attack, Bowie had to wait eight years to produce another volume of reactionary post-millennium blues. The Next Day, despite the decade-long absence from recording, picks up where Reality left off.
TAMIKREST’S CHATMA IS TEN YEARS OLD ALREADY
Mali’s rich musical culture isn’t confined to just the central and southern regions of the country, the northern Tuareg desert lands also evoke some passionate, soulfully rhythmic surprises too. Despite the unfavourable attention meted out to the Tuareg community in recent years (there cause for autonomy hijacked by far less scrupulous zealots for there own religious and political ends), many voices from that community have offered their services to peace. One example is the nomadic, sub-Saharan rock’n’rollers Tamikrest, whose Hendrix meets desert blues template proves there are two sides to every story; the new album, Chatma – which translates as ‘sisters’ – a tribute to the courage of the Tuareg women and spirit of a people.
Forced into exile in Algeria, Tamikrest plaintively, but with an ear for a good melody, reflect on the imposition of Sharia law – by those outsiders who at first lent help to the course but soon dominated with their own destructive agenda – and the loss of there heritage. Producing beautifully cooed laments with an infectious kick, but also deftly crafting meandrous, ethereal, desert songs, the group can transverse the grooviest of Bedouin rhythmic funk anthems with ponderous soundscapes – ‘Assikal’ is pure Ash Ra Temple meets atavistic sand dune eulogy.
Separated into many a ‘world music’ best of list this year, the Monolith Cocktail sees no such reason for such boundaries or demarcated categorising; Chatma is simply a wondrous piece of ‘head music’.
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