A, 2002
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music
....
ü
British invasion
Wise collaborations tu rn mere UJK. gems into magic
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704- NW 21st & Irving
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3024 NE Alberta + 503-335-8233
Hours: Lunch - M-F 11-5
Supper - Tue-Sat 5-22 Sun & Mon 5-10
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B ring I t B ack
McAimont and Butler •
EM I International
ernard Butler is an
English guitar hero
and all-around pop
music Renaissance man
whose frenzied, expan
sive licks and bold, tune
ful compositions place
him in a lineage that
includes Keith Richards,
Bowie guitarist Mick
Ronson and Johnny
Marr of the Smiths.
Also in the proud
tradition of Ronson and Marr, he’s a bit of a fag
hag— a straight man more than happy to work
with a male singer/lyricist who’s sexually other
and flamboyantly quotable on the subject. In
Suede, the hyped and beloved U.K. band But
ler co-founded in the early ’90s, it was epicene,
lipsticked Brett Anderson; almost immediately
after Butler left the group in ’95, he teamed
with obscure, statuesque black gay soul singer
David M cAim ont.
T he duo’s first album, The Sound
O f . . .McAimont and Butler, was a popular hit
and a musical gem, but Butler then embarked
on a decent solo career, so it came as a surprise
when he and M cA im ont announced their
reunion last year. T he fruition of their second
collaboration is Bring It Back, and it’s fortunate
they gave their chemistry a second chance; if
the first time was a charm, this one’s magic.
From the opening bluster of “The Theme
from ‘McAimont and Butler’ ”— a self
B
D aybreaker
Beth Orton • Astrakveiks
s the story goes,
music was something
Beth O rton just
stumbled into.
Really, the young
woman just wanted to act.
But her voice was her for
tune, and she was seized
upon by W illiam O rbit,
producer of M adonna’s
K.
Ray ofU&t, for a spoken
word audition. The seri
ously buzzed Brit pro
duced a drunken song instead, after which
apparently ensued a week o f inexplicable blind
ness. A fter that temporary and still-unex
plained episode, she became O rbit’s guest star,
debuting in Japan with the rarely heard of
«
superpmkymandy.
Now the 31-year-okfs singing career is in
full bloom. She has collaborated with such big
gies as Primal Scream and Ben Harper. Ed 7
Simons of the Chem ical Brothers (who bor
rowed O rton’s vocals on all four of their studio
albums) has said: “She’s n ot some soppy girl
with Laura Ashley dresses who reached grade
seven on the violin. She drives a big old green
BM W and lives in Hackney.”
Along with that bittersweet voice, O rton has
developed her very own fblktronica style, some
what echoing relative artists Hooverphonic, Bor*
tishead, Nicolette and Massive A ttack. Her inge
nious and distinct mix of the electronic and the
acoustic appeals to a broad public, including the
club scene, which snapped her up immediately.
mythology in which
McAimont pays lyrical
tribute to Butler’s musi
cal prowess, and Butler
defuses what should be
the campiness of such a
conceit by musically
proving every boast cor
rect— to the lush clos
ing ballad “Beat,” every
tune is so fully realized
and passionately invent
ed, it’s like hearing soul
music for the first time.
“Falling” recalls Phil
Spector’s “teen-age sym
phonies” with its power
ful drumming, roaring guitar and soaring strings.
“Bring It Back” features McAimont doing his own
catchy girl-group backup vocals. “Sunny Boy” is
an expression of undying devotion from one man
to another, and the acoustic-strummed “Blue”
gives even Joni Mitchell (!) a run for her money.
Butler’s guitar, keyboard and harmonica flour
ishes float M cAlmont’s voice like the tide, and
that voice is simply a revelation, a cool drink of
water to ears that thirst for the rich melancholy
and elegant emotion of true soul. McAimont can
roar like Aretha and croon like Dionne; his vel
vet baritone is Smokey and Marvin in one. He’s
a genderless angel giving voice to something any
human being who’s ever loved can relate to.
Bring It Back is currently available only as
an import, but don’t let a few extra bucks pre
vent you from experiencing it. It’s worth sever
al times what you’ve spent on almost any
other album this year.
— Christopher McQuain
The singer/song-
writer’s first two murky,
haunting albums— 1996’s
Trailer Park and 1999*8
Cenird Reservation — are
signature discs, display
ing folk in a new spicy
dress, trip-hop infused
with a hint o f stylish
retro. Both efforts arc
more elusive said ethere
al than their baby sister
Daybreaker, O rton’s most
accessible yet.
This newest album is
» ill trippy and laid-back,
but it comes imbued with poppier tones ami 7
dense intim ate reflections. Dtxt’t forget to
listen for duets with guest vocalists Emmylou
Harris and Ryan Adams and for Everything But
the G irl musician Ben W att’s hand in polishing
the final product.
Patched together, the lyrics form a delicate
emotional metronome of broken and mended
hearts (“Tired but I ain’t sleeping thinking
about some sad affair and why I should be leav*
ing/And we’re doing fine now, yeah, we do we
don’t feel sad or bad or blue”), o f giving and
wanting (“And I’d do anything to see you smile
again fU we should m eet again in some darkened
toomfl hope to my soul it could be soon”).
T h e songs h in t a t confession, clearly
resonating O rto n ’s daily reality. B u t th e
details d on ’t m atter for long. A fte r a w hile,
d ie guessing disappears in d ie m agical
shroud o f v o cal sound th a t sweeps you aw ay
in m elan ch olic haze.
— Els Debbaut JH