LB Says FM: With or Without Sheryl

[vivfox]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

One man's "rapid succession" is another man's horrific dry spell:

Here's what Robert Pollard has done just from 2006. (All are full length projects, except where noted.)

2008
Psycho And The Birds: We've Moved
The Takeovers: Little Green Onion Man EP
Robert Pollard: Superman Was A Rocker

2007
Robert Pollard: Coast To Coast Carpet Of Love
Robert Pollard: Standard Gargoyle Decisions
Circus Devils: Sgt. Disco [Double album]
The Takeovers: Bad Football
Various Artists: Crickets: Best Of The Fading Captain Series 1999-2007 Retrospective Bob's side-projects
Guided By Voices: Live From Austin, TX [Live]
Robert Pollard: Silverfish Trivia EP
Acid Ranch: The Great Houdini Wasn't So Great (Old demos from the 1980s)
Robert Pollard: Meet The King: Asshole 2 [Live recordings of Bob's stage banter.]

2006
Robert Pollard: Normal Happiness
Robert Pollard: Moon [Live]
Psycho And The Birds: Check Your Zoo EP
Psycho And The Birds: All That Is Holy
Keene Brothers: Blues And Boogie Shoes
The Takeovers: Turn To Red
Robert Pollard: From A Compound Eye [Double album]

And, he's released four magazines of his collage art.

All that music and I've never heard of Robert Pollard! As a fan of Fleetwood Mac/ Stevie I am used to waiting frickin' forever for new music and sometimes like in the case of Trouble in shangri la, I waited for what seemed like 100 years for its release and then decided it sucked. I still feel this way about TISL. The only songs I listen to or like on that cd were the ones produced by John Shanks.

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by vivfox

All that music and I've never heard of Robert Pollard! As a fan of Fleetwood Mac/ Stevie I am used to waiting frickin' forever for new music and sometimes like in the case of Trouble in shangri la, I waited for what seemed like 100 years for its release and then decided it sucked. I still feel this way about TISL. The only songs I listen to or like on that cd were the ones produced by John Shanks.

I actually adore TISL to pieces, although I agree that the John Shanks-produced songs were the best (Every Day being the exception). I could only imagine how much more fabulous it would have been if he was at the helm for every track. That's why I would love to see him working on the next FM album, which is unlikely since it has probably been infinitely more profitable for him to work with the tweenie-boppers .

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

Especially considering he is so vocally spot on in a live performance and/or that his live singing in any way sounds like what is on the record

To me, the thing about him is the playing, not the voice. Maybe if he took some lessons, he could be better or at least stay in one key.

As for La Nicks, her voice is not what it used to be and she has had some truly awful vocals, esp. around the time of TISL, but not really as much since, but she has always been a better and more intuitive singer.

So true! If only the chiffon-bashers here would take an objective look at what is left of Lindsey's once-soaring voice. Hint: growling and whispering are not exactly singing. Doing a side-by-side comparison, I would say that Stevie has retained much more of her voice than Lindsey. But then again, Christine has 'em both beat by a mile.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

I don't think he's doing anything begrudgingly nowadays... Stevie seems to have taken over that post .

I just want that to be true. He's at a point in his life now where he has to accept 2nd or 3rd choice, because his options are limited, as his Not Too Late documentary made clear. He decided there to make do with what was offered to him, rather than to continue trying to chase something that was no longer within his reach. That choice worked for him (or at least it worked for me) that time.

Michele

[John Run]

I don't think a new album would be starting from scratch, as Lindsey said he has lots of material that could go towards a Fleetwood Mac album. I am all for a producer to work with the band. As I think parts of Say You Will headed off in self-indulgent tangents and some of the songs became devices to show studio constructed playing, versus having the playing fit the song, which to me was always what made Lindsey such a great craftsman of music. Another voice to offer direction, constructive alternatives, etc., to me would be great. I just don't believe LB will ever cede all creative control.

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by vivfox

All that music and I've never heard of Robert Pollard!

Well, we'll have to correct that!


"I Am A Scientist" -A video that decidedly tells you what Robert Pollard/Guided By Voices is/was all about (mostly all shot in Dayton, Ohio).




"Game Of Pricks" Bob's signature song, from the band's last Dayton show. (I was at this show, BTW.)




"Hold On Hope" -I can just hear Christine doing this one.



"King And Caroline/Motor Away" -from MTV's old Jon Stewart show.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

So true! If only the chiffon-bashers here would take an objective look at what is left of Lindsey's once-soaring voice. Hint: growling and whispering are not exactly singing. :

From that perspective, Lindsey actually sounds much better live than he does on the recording these days. As, I was astounded at how good his voice was at the UTS concerts, based on his whisper croaking on the album. When I heard Shut Us Down first on Elizabethtown, Peter Jennings had just passed away from lung cancer and it struck me that Lindsey was sounding a lot like Peter Jennings had during his last ABC broadcasts.

To my surprise, he sounded amazing during the UTS tour and made Shut Us Down better for me live than it was on the album. He even sounded better during the UTS tour than he did during the SYW tour.

I do not think Stevie was a better singer than Lindsey during their hey day. She was more distinctive and had a wider range, however. Lindsey could have a very pure tenor that I found sublime. It did occur to me though when I would listen to Walter Egan (or even later when I heard Tom Petty's Walls) that I would not really recognize Lindsey as a background singer if I didn't know it was him. Of all Egan's songs, the only time I would know Lindsey when I heard him was on Where's The Party. Other than that, his voice did not stand out for me. Whereas, you always hear Stevie (with Egan, with John Stewart, with Kenny Loggins, on Over My Head, etc.).

I began to suspect that the only reason I know what Lindsey sounds like in FM is because I know what Christine and Stevie sound like and my brain just decided he must be the other voice, via the process of elimination.

In concert, he has always spent a lot of time just screaming. I don't think he is particularly trying to sing, unless he is on harmony with someone. And, by someone, I don't think he even tries to harmonize much when it's just him and Stevie. It's when there are more people involved (Christine or Mindy, Sharon, Jana) and they are singing together that he puts more effort into it.

As for SYW, I don't think Stevie ruined Peacekeeper and I think she actually helped Miranda, just as I think Lindsey's vocals helped Thrown Down and EFO. But they both had sweetening available for the album and, with that sweetening, a lot of people still found Stevie's vocals off.

As for Christine -- always a warm counterpart to nasal Lindsey and Stevie -- yes I was amazed by her voice on In The Meantime, not only strong and rich, but also extremely interpretative, especially on the songs written by her nephew. I thought she did the best vocals of her career on two of those songs. When Lindsey teamed up with Little Big Town for The Chain I once again heard what I'd been missing on the song ever since Christine left.

Michele

[strandinthewind]

^^^

I agree.

I also think that in the early days (not so much now) La Nicks could make her voice sound like LB's voice. For years, I wondered who was singing the "YEA" in one of the final choruses of "Say You Love Me."

When I watch those Bella Donna sessions on La Nicks' last issue - I literally get chills listening to her seemingly effortless and soaring vocals then. I think she can still do that for the most part (see Circle Dance and R&R) - but she doesn't really try on the older stuff life Rhiannon and SDMHA (which is sung from the gutter) - which pisses me off.

I think LB on the other hand is just a balls out kind of singer. And, since he was never really known for his voice, it does not matter as much that he bends keys, etc.

I wonder if singing with Crow will get them on their toes vocally. Crow does not have the best voice, but she has relative youth and is, from what I see, a trained vocalist as opposed to the innate vocal nature of LB and La Nicks.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by michelej1

. . . She was more distinctive and had a wider range, however . . . .

LOL - that is how I define a better vocalist

But, LB in the day did have a cool voice and he still does IMO, it is just that he screams a bunch when IMO a little control might suit him. Maybe it is more that he currently can be vocally sloppy as opposed to the mostly vocally lazy La Nicks.

[billwebster]

The great news in this is the prospect of another Lindsey solo album. From what the newsbit stated, it's fairly complete by now, too. The fact that he's not a Reprise recording artist anymore, but a free agent, is good news, too. He can now license out his recordings to a label or distributor, thereby keeping the rights to the master tapes. And the larger of the indie labels will be happy to release an album by a well-known name. That's the way to go at the time, business-wise.

Good luck for the project, Lindsey! I guess the album will be great.

As for the FM situation including or not including Sheryl, and Lindsey stepping down as a producer, I can understand people want Richard Dashut back. But what has he been up to in recent years? I don't have a clue. Sheryl Crow knows how to produce, which she has shown several times before (her eponymous 2nd solo album, the duets with Stevie on the Practical Magic soundtrack). Rob Cavallo could do a good job, too. But please: not John Shanks. His work on both Stevie's and Chris Isaak's records isn't up to par with what these artists can do without his streamlined, boring production.
Sorry if that last remark offends anybody.

[strandinthewind]

I think LB should release the record on his website and market it and any art work/liner notes that way. It would cost comparatively very little to do it that way. Moreover, he is a large enough artist that he could command a late night Letterman/Leno appreance and actually laud the fact that he is a large artist making use of this non-mainstream way to release his music. He likely would make way more money that way, esp. when Itunes and others picked up the songs.

I also am a little suprised that he did not use the going back to FM method of obtaining a stipend for his solo projects that Reprise could release.

[David]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

When I watch those Bella Donna sessions on La Nicks' last issue - I literally get chills listening to her seemingly effortless and soaring vocals then. I think she can still do that for the most part (see Circle Dance and R&R)

I don't think so. Here's what I hear: a woman whose throat is totally constricted, a woman who has to push unpleasantly full voice to get the sound out, & who has no remaining pliancy or dynamics (she never sings softly any more). She's a belter only, but you can practically hear the veins in her throat & the capillaries in her eyeballs rupturing.

I think LB on the other hand is just a balls out kind of singer. And, since he was never really known for his voice, it does not matter as much that he bends keys, etc.

Yes, he sucks now too. Hoarse & croaky & screechy to my ears. Can't sing up high at all & sounds like Frankenstein's monster when singing down low. His constricting-with-age voice does what Stevie's does, too: repeats the same pitch instead of moving up or down the scale, like in o/~ You can go your own way o/~ Instead of going DOWN on "can" & UP on "your" which is the way the song goes, he just stays on the same pitch practically all the way through. Sounds dreadful. I can't bear these guys' singing any more, which is probably why I only talk about decades ago like an old fart.

Still, I think they're nice people: they're kind & mostly considerate & they probably smell good if you sidle up beside them.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by David

I don't think so. Here's what I hear: a woman whose throat is totally constricted, a woman who has to push unpleasantly full voice to get the sound out, & who has no remaining pliancy or dynamics (she never sings softly any more). She's a belter only, but you can practically hear the veins in her throat & the capillaries in her eyeballs rupturing.

Yes, she most def. strains nowadays when in the BD sessions, it is effortless -the changing of octaves, all of it. Though, in songs like Boodbye baby, she is singing very softly and it works. I also think Circle Dance did not sound too strained. But, her ability to use her upper and even middle range in any consistent manner on a tour is greatly dminished. But, when she shows it, it is IMO stellar.

Originally Posted by David

. . . Still, I think they're nice people: they're kind & mostly considerate & they probably smell good if you sidle up beside them.

Well, LB and La Nicks often wear the same clothing day by day . . . and more important, night by night

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

^^^

I agree. I also think that in the early days (not so much now) La Nicks could make her voice sound like LB's voice. For years, I wondered who was singing the "YEA" in one of the final choruses of "Say You Love Me."

I don't know which "yea -a-a" you mean, but Lindsey does one and during the Dance tour, when they were all standing on the apron of the stage, Christine would always point her tamborine at him to do it.

Thinking of Lindsey's screaming, when he does that (like on a Zevon song) I always recognize that, even if I don't recognize his singing voice. I didn't agree with them, but I know some people who complained about the way Lindsey would yell "lightning strikes, maybe once, maybe twice" during the SYW tour and I joked that's probably what made Stevie decide to drop Gypsy, because he kept scaring her every night with the lightning.

At any rate, when Stevie was working with the voice teacher before an SYW show, I think Lindsey was off . . . picking out his wardrobe.

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

he is a large enough artist that he could command a late night Letterman/Leno appreance

It upset me that he got Conan, but not Letterman or Leno for the UTS promotion.

Bill, I think Richard has been working on Hawaiian music most recently.

Earlier people had mentioned Ken and I think Ken, Keith, Richard, etc. are all great, but as far as the idea that Ken has some contemporary creds goes, Ken didn't actually produce Colbie's record. He did consult with her on it and she always had him as a sounding board, so if her producers were going astray, I'm sure he helped her keep everything on the right path.

Michele

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

I think LB should release the record on his website and market it and any art work/liner notes that way. It would cost comparatively very little to do it that way. Moreover, he is a large enough artist that he could command a late night Letterman/Leno appreance and actually laud the fact that he is a large artist making use of this non-mainstream way to release his music.

Well, I think that is hardly novel anymore after Radiohead gave away their newest album online for free. But as for artist-releasing their own albums... I can't really think of too many instances where this worked successfully. My hunch is that Lindsey should be courting Starbucks "Hear Music" label like Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Paul McCartney. I guess that's what you do when you hit 60.

I also am a little suprised that he did not use the going back to FM method of obtaining a stipend for his solo projects that Reprise could release.

Um, maybe it's because SYW's sales were a disappointment, that it probably never recouped fully the recording and promotional costs, and UTS sold maybe 11 copies. If I owned a label, as much as I would want to release a Lindsey album, I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole just from a financial perspective.