Re: (TV) The decline of Verlaine's soloing abilities....NO

[postitnote <postitnote@sbcglobal.net>]

I guess I'm on this side (w/Glenn) of the fence.  I also dig the song "Storm"
and was quite surprised that someone would call it a 'stinker'.   But everyone
has their different opinion,  heh?

I also agree w/ Glenn about it's probably not about his 'ability' to solo but
maybe it doesn't quite go w/ the type of songs he wants to put out nowadays.

One thing I love so much about solo TV stuff is, is the beautiful melodies
that he comes up w/.  I'll just be going about my day, minding my own business
and a melody from one of his tunes come into my head and I just have to go
listen to that song.  Of course, I also love the sounds he creates from his
guitar, which are unique and distinctive.

I also love Tom's singing which always gets blasted in reviews...yeah, it's
different, but it fits so well w/ his music.

Someone I read thought that Tom just writes 'quirky' songs but when they heard
"Warm and Cool" they just loved that one.  I like some of the songs on that
but I prefer his other albums to that one.  But maybe I'll like that one more
when he hear it more times.  Since I'm newer to all his stuff than you peeps
on here,  I'm still catching up on it all.

And btw, I'm not a musician, only a music lover, but I know what I like and
don't like. But sometimes I have a hard time expressing it as maybe I don't
know the correct terms to use to get my point across.

D.

--- On Sat, 11/5/11, Glenn Cooper <glennwaynecooper@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Glenn Cooper <glennwaynecooper@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: (TV) The decline of Verlaine's soloing abilities
To: tv@obbard.com
Date: Saturday, November 5, 2011, 2:30 PM

I don't think there's any "decline" in Tom's *ability* to solo.
What I think there's been a decline in is a willingness to play a
certain *type* of solo.
Not because he can't, but because he doesn't want to.

I even love "Storm". It never struck me that it was a "stinker". Never!
Of course, it is 2nd or 3rd tier, Tom, but so what?
And I love "Shingalong" AND "All weireded Out"!

To me, his voice -- like the runes -- is the main attraction round here.
The fact that I also love every note he ever plays on the guitar is just
gravy.

Glenn C.



On 6/11/2011 6:09 AM, Russ wrote:
> I'm just glad John Coltrane died before the invention of the internet.
>
> On Sat, Nov 5, 2011 at 6:23 AM, leif joley<leifjoley@hotmail.com>  wrote:
>> So then there's no consensus about the quality of the
>> playing on "Jericho"? It's all right with me, although I have to admit
>> that I'm surprised to find myself among the minority here, with
>> opponents going as far as stating that the solo should be regarded as of
>>   "strong conception". This I do not understand, frankly.
>>
>> Then what about the following claim: The decline of Verlaine's soloing
began
>> with "The Wonder".
>>
>> Leo
>>   created an interesting hit-and-miss column of the soloing on that
>> record, and to the hit-list I would add "Cooleridge" and, most
>> definetley, "Pillow". The latter is in its entirety one of Verlaine's
>> small-scaled, understated masterpieces from beginning to end, and the
>> solo is nothing short of amazing. Part of my amazement with this song is
>>   that I've always thought of it as a tender reminiscence of someone dear
>>   who has passed away, perhaps by suicide. But what do I know -- since I
>> can barely understand or make myself understood in English (all I write
>> in here is results of Google Translate-ing), I might be totally wrong
>> about its content.
>>
>> That LP was the first of his outputs with a
>> real stinker on it, "Storm"; real stinkers would then not appear again
>> until we were unfortunate enough to be exposed to "All Weirded Out" and
>> "Shingaling". But more important, if we are considering a possible
>> starting point of the soloing going downhill, is the presence of
>> "Stalingrad".
>>
>> A nice song, not top-notch, but with a nice flow
>> anyway; the weight of the title suggests that it is about something
>> important, although it escapes me what it could be. But this is where
>> Verlaine for the first time plays a solo that is little more than just
>> following the melody. This turned out not to be an on-off. The situation
>>   repeated itself in 1992 with tho soloing on "Shane, she wrote this" and
>>   "This tune", which in turn foreboded "Songs and Other Things" where
>> this irritating habit multiplied: "Orbit", "Blue Light", "A Stroll",
>> "The Earth is in the Sky" -- there are no real solos there. Even I could
>>   play these "solos", for God's sake! It's uninspired or underdeveloped
>> playing -- although, admittedly, often in a context where the melodies
>> aren't too shabby and the surrounding guitar work is enjoyable. But what
>>   once upon a time got me hooked on Verlaine's music was LP's with (much
>> stronger) tunes and *always* devastating solos. But the solos haven't
>> been devastating for a long time now -- even though he's done some
>> fascinating work here and there. "Fireflies" on "Gone Again" immediately
>>   comes to mind; the playing on the Dylan movie soundtrack was thoroughly
>>   good; and best of all: the two efforts he made for Luna on their '95
>> "Penthouse" -- the short, beautiful one on "Moon Palace" and the long,
>> creepy one on "23 Minutes in Brussels". I would even dare to say that
>> the solo on "Brussels" is the last monumental one recorded, even though
>> it doesn't come close to, say, "Marquee Moon", "Words from the front",
>> "Breakin' My Heart" or "Five Miles of You". Nor does "The Day on You",
>> the best one on "Songs...", and a very good one too. But it's far from
>> being monumental -- and I want and need Tom Verlaine to be monumental.
>> At least once in a while.
>>
>> The non-vocal records are a completely
>> different matter. There, monumentalism isn't called for; and there is
>> none to be found either. "Around" is, on its own terms, masterful. I
>> don't expect that kind of music to be overwhelming. I do expect to be
>> overwhelmed when Tom Verlaine releases a new collection of songs. That
>> was, after all, why I got into his artistry in the first place.
>>
>> Leif J, Sweden
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