The Michigan Daily - Monday, April 21, 1997 - 11
Roots rock releases
hit stores tomorrow
Swift swoops to A2
Writer to read at Borders on Wednesday
By Anders Smith-LIndall
Daily Arts Writer
If you're a fan of "alternative-coun-
" music, you've been saving your
ney for weeks with tomorrow in
mind. The big day is finally here as
Tuesday, April 22, brings the release of
new albums by two of the genre's titans,
the Jayhawks and Son Volt, as well as a
double-album re-issue by the up-and-
coming Scud Mountain Boys.
For nmuh of the last two years, fans
wonderediwhen - or if- they would
ever heir fom the Jayhawks again. In
the surnmer of 1995, c4-founder and
Tef soggwriter Mark Olson departed
the grop with little explanation, but
after a brief period of uncertainty, gui-
tarist Gary Louris, bassist Marc
Perlmab, and keyboardist Karen
GrotbegZ recruited drummer Tim
O'Reagan, second guitarist Kraig
Johnso (of Run Westy Run and
GoldentiSmog) and violinist Jessy
Greene7(Tie Geraldine Fibbers) and,
with producer Brian Paulson, the re-
ed4end re-energized group headed
into a Minneapolis studio and got back
to work. The result is "Sound of Lies"
(*** , American).
Uporfirst listen, longtime 'Hawks
fans maye startled: This is not a coun-
try-rock album. Gone are the Byrds and
Burrito Brothers influences, replaced
by the Beatles and Big Star. Gone are
the pedal steel and Olson's harmonica,
replaced by Louris and Johnson's dis-
ed guitars. Gone are the Minnesota
iries and small towns, replaced by
Minneapolis' crowded city streets.
Gone are Olson and Louris' trademark
twangy harmonies - and these can't be
replaced.
But after what may be an initial reac-
tion of surprise (or even disappoint-
ment), repeated listens reveal this
record to be not only daring and differ-
ent but damn good. Highlights include
W rocking "Big Star," the haunting
"Haywire," and the spunky "It's Up to
You," as well as the album-opening
rocker "The Man Who Loved Life," the
first single, "Think About It," and the
delicate title track.
In the early '90s, another band joined
the Jayhawks at the head of the country-
rock movement - Uncle Tupelo. Like
the Jayhawks, Tupelo went through a
breakup when co-leader Jay Farrar part-
ed ways from the group in mid-1994.
Like the Jayhawks, the other Tupelo
members soldiered on without their
lead songwriter, and have found success
today as Wilco. But unlike the
Jayhawks' departed Mark Olson, Jay
Farrar hasn't disappeared. Instead,
Farrar formed Son Volt, along with
original Tupelo member Mike Heidorn
on drums and the 'Hawks fellow
Minneapolitans, brothers Dave and Jim
Boquist on guitar, bass, fiddle and steel.
The band's 1995 debut, "Trace," was
met with near-unanimous critical
acclaim; it was hands-down the finest
album of that year. Tomorrow, Son Volt
returns with its sophomore effort,
"Straightaways" (**** , Warner
Bros.).r
Unlike the Jayhawks, Son Volt isn't
exploring any new territory - the title
of the new record accurately reflects
their musical path. Instead, Farrar
delves deeper into the themes he
explored on "Trace," themes of memo-
ry and nostalgia; the impermanence of
time and the intricacies of love; the call
of the open road.
The thematic content isn't the only
thing that recalls "Trace." In fact, the
two records are so similar in sound that
one wouldn't be inaccurate to refer to
"Straightaways" as "Trace 2." Because
of this, some argue that Farrar hasn't
grown, won't take chances, can't go
beyond what he has already done. They
will say that he has two musical modes:
The uptempo, chugging rocker like the
album-opening "Caryatid Easy" and
"Picking Up the Signal," and the quiet,
folksy introspection of "Left A Slide"
and "Last Minute Shakedown." But
when you do two things better than any-
Son Volt (from left): Dave Boquist, Jim Boquist, Mike Heldorn and Jay Farrar.
body else, why change?
Between the recording of the two
albums, the band's dedicated tour
schedule helped them come together
into a tight, cohesive unit. The musi-
cianship, individually great on "Trace,"
is even better on "Straightaways." Son
Volt can now truly be called a great
band, not just a collection of fine musi-
cians supporting Farrar.
Overall, "Straightaways" is not
only a worthy follow-up to "Trace,"
but also a fine continuation of Uncle
Tupelo's body of work. More than
anything, the last three tracks on
"Straightaways" recall that band's
third release, "March 16-20, 1992,"
an album dominated by acoustic gui-
tar, banjo, and harmonica and echoing
Appalachian mountain music. In fact,
"Been Set Free," the next-to-last track
on the new record, revisits "Lilli
Schull," a traditional murder ballad
covered on "March." But where "Lilli
Schull" was sung from the point of
view of the murderer, "Been Set Free"
has Farrar singing as the victim from
beyond the grave.
Other memorable songs from
"Straightaways" include the album's
lead single, "Back Into Your World,"
which features a Byrds-like, jangling,
12-string lead-guitar line; one of the
sweetest but most sorrowful songs
Farrar has ever penned, "Left A Slide;"
and the dark eulogy of the album-clos-
ing "Way Down Watson."
Tomorrow's third major release in the
country-rock genre comes courtesy of
the Scud Mountain Boys, in the form of
a double-CD re-issue of their first two
long out-of-print releases, "Pine Box"
and "Dance the Night Away." The re-
issue, titled "The Early Year" (** ,
Sub Pop), shows the band's develop-
ment prior to the recording of last year's
"Massachusetts." Like "Massachusetts,"
the albums that comprise "The Early
Year" are melancholy and quiet, even
sleepy. Unfortunately, they don't rise
above the confines of their small sound
here like they do on "Massachusetts."
Most of the original songs sound the
same; the band doesn't take any
chances. Even their cover songs are uni-
formly bland, standard fare like
"Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves" and
"Wichita Lineman." For the cost of this
double-disc, you'd be much better off
buying both The Jayhawks and Son Volt.
By Elizabeth Lucas
Daily Books Editor
"I've always felt the key to universal-
ity is through locality. Experience is
always in a place."
So says English writer Graham Swift
about his latest novel, "Last Orders." In
a book about South
London men fromR
the World War II PR
generation, Swift G
has written aboutu
universal themes
like history and
work, isolation and
loyalty.
The main characters in "Last Orders"
are four old friends, going to scatter the
ashes of a fifth man who has just died.
The story is told by shifting narrators in
a lyrical, and often humorous, British
dialect. As one man, Ray, says near the
beginning of the book, "It's a comfort
to know your undertaker's your mate. It
must have been a comfort to Jack. It's a
comfort to know your own mate will
lay you out and box you up and do the
necessary. So Vic better last out."
As the characters take turns telling
the story, the action moves from one
scene to another, relating the men's his-
tories in fragments that slowly come to
illuminate the present.
The importance of history, and the
gradual assembling of a story, are also
features of Swift's previous work,
most notably the 1983 novel
"Waterland." As Swift said in an inter-
view with The Michigan Daily, "I like
that shifting point of view; I like to let
the characters themselves construct
their story."
But the most striking thing about
Swift's novels is that they are works of
the imagination, in a literary world
filled with autobiographies and mem-
oirs. Swift's books enthrall readers with
unfamiliar characters and settings, even
as they incorporate universal situations
and ideas.
"I'm not the kind of writer who bases
UEVIEW
araham Swift
Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
At Borders
Free
has written six other books, which
have met with increasing acclaim and
readership around the world.
"Waterland" was a finalist for -the
Booker Prize, Britain's top literary
award, and "Last Orders" won 'the
1996 Booker Prize.
"I was absolutely thrilled to have
won it," Swift said. "There was a time
when the Booker Prize didn't mean
much here - now it's a very important
thing."
He added, "I think I've won at a good
point in my life and career," saying that
if "Waterland" had won the prize, "it
might have been too much success too
early."
Swift acknowledged that it can still
be difficult for literary novels to find
an audience, but added, "I'm an opti-
mist about all this. I believe that
more and more, the potential readers
want something that gives them
something back. They get tired of
other things that are shallow and pre-
dictable."
When asked for his thoughts on writ-
ing, Swift had an unusual suggestion.
"Write about what you don't know"
Swift advised. "I always think you have
to make the imagination work. That's
where all the excitement is, and it's
where the excitement for readers lies,
too."
Swift's novels themselves bear out
the truth of that statement.
fiction on things that happen in life"
Swift said. "The great joy of writing is
that you get out of yourself into other
experiences, worlds, lives."
Swift said that he began wanting to
be a writer "when I was a boy, really,.
I think it was because I read a lot. I was
excited by what.I
read in books, and
I wanted to do
what authors did"
Swift's first
novel was pub-
lished in 1980,
and since then he
-i
__ ________1______T
T-SHIRT
PRINTING .
LOWEST PRICES!
1 HIGHEST QUALI1Y! H
* FASTEST SERVICE! I
1002 PONTIAC TR. U
994-1367
M MEU U
*UUUUEEUUM
A.T. Kearney would like to welcome our
University of Michigan business analysts:
Dana Heuschele - Cleveland
Daniel Ogbonna - Dallas
i