 Frank Black I recall this one being something of a coup for the Hello Recording Club, as though landing Frank Black lent them some instant credibility. Nowadays that idea is not so clear, but while Frank's career has gotten, to put it mildly, wayward of late, this CD is a great document of him at his most focussed. Four songs, presented as a taster for the then-forthcoming Teenager of the Year album (if memory serves), basically just Frank, a guitar, a bass, some keyboard, some reverb, and some harmonica. Real stripped down, and it suits him well, recalling the "UK Surf" version of "Wave of Mutilation." "Sir Rockaby" and "Space is Gonna Do Me Good" are arguably better versions on this disc than the super-shiny pretty-polished versions that would end up on his album, while "Calistan" is quite sublime. A cover of "Duke of Earl" is tacked on, sounding very much like him just fucking around in the studio, but it totally works. Somehow that song suits his bizarre, slightly deluded approach pretty well – a guy going around saying he's the Duke of Earl, that's not too far off from a guy wanting to go buy a white noise maker and turn it up to 10, or growing up to be a debaser. Well, not too far off, anyway. It's a brief EP, but it makes me wish he'd record a whole album like this, really stripped down and just singin' it. "Calistan" alone is worth trying to track this one down, finding Frank in a Tom Waits sort of mode. For fans of Frank Black this is essential listening; for others, it's just some quirky good fun.
Review by Ernestine Hoopes |