Greg Szlapczynski is a delightful musician (and a delightful guy, but that's not relevant to this review). He was one of the players that showed me as a novice that you could take the diatonic in many more directions that what is usually done. He has a very clean and controlled playing style, intricate and subtle, and nowhere was this more evident (and pleasant) that on his album La Part du Diable.
Road Movie(s) is his new opus released last week in France. It follows a jazzy release, Varsovie which had some excellent playing with the harmonica firmly at the front, but failed to completely convince me for reasons I could never quite put my finger on. If Varsovie was a proud harmonica album, Road Movie(s) is its antithesis.
I understand that Road Movie(s) is a hybrid project. It started as a concept album with movie soundtracks as its inspiration and got injected a dose of raw downhome blues as Greg's collaboration with Ian Siegall intensified. The end result is an album that oscillates between two fairly divergent soundscapes, and suffers a little as a consequence.
Individually, nearly every track on Road Movie(s) is excellent. The three songs with Ian Siegall are amazing. Who's gonna take my damn soul and Now I am the blues are fairly straightforward downhome blues pieces where Siegall's gruff vocals and raw guitar do wonders, supported by Greg's subtle playing. Moon River is a much more surprising (and romantic) choice that works wonderfully, in a similar style to Tom Waits' cover of Sometime on Blue Valentine.
Most of the soundtrack covers shine, especially Paris, Texas and Ascenceur pour l'Echafaud which both capture the haunting atmosphere of the originals but with different instrumentations and arrangements. I'm slightly less convinced about the Baghdad Café soundtrack Calling You which is really bare but ultimately lacks the vocals that made it such a striking piece, no matter the musicianship. The rest of the record is filled with good to excellent originals, including the great opening Wedding Theme and the deep and jazzy double-bass/harmonica duet Mo' Better Blues.
I can't say much against Road Movie(s) since I really enjoy most of the songs on it. One thing that might surprise you as well is that I would say there's not enough harmonica, or that it's not forward enough. I tend to think that most records featuring harmonica have too much of it, but in this case I really feel that Greg is too withdrawn. It's laudable: at last a harp player who can put his ego aside and produce great music by just contributing where it's needed. But Greg's playing is never in your face and always tasteful, so a little more of it would not have been too much.
I said above that the hybrid nature of the album made it lack coherence. I'm wondering however, as my (and others') listening habits evolve in the days of iPod shuffle functions, if I still pay too much attention to album coherence. When the songs pop up randomly and not in sequence in your headphones, you just care that it's good, not that it fits in with the rest...
Funny thing is i loved "Varsovie" (but i'm more of a jazzcat than you are, obv) but the lack of coherence you're pointing here causes me trouble appreciating "Road Movies" as a whole. But still, i'm fond of Greg's cover of Ascenseur pour l'échafaud and i think Paris Texas might be one of my all-time favorite harmonica tunes (along with some solo tunes of JJM)
PS: There's another harmonica version of "Calling You" which is more faithful to the original, only with chromatic harp all the way - you ever heard of it ?
Posted by: Seagull | October 20, 2008 at 07:56 PM