Reviews of Jefferson Pepper's American Evolution Volume 2
|
|
Whisperin and Hollerin (Ireland), by John Davy
Our Rating: 8/10 Part Two of Jefferson Pepper's ambitious three album series has arrived. 'American Evolution' seeks to explore the themes of American (i.e. U.S.) history from 1492 to the present day and this 'white' part of the red, white and blue trilogy covers the years from 1941 to 1991. The seventeen tracks - about 70 minutes of music - cover some major political events: World War Two, Vietnam and Three Mile Island are all dealt with. More than half the album, however, deals with less specific issues - social trends, if you like. From 'Real Good Time' and 'Disposable Me, Disposable You' which deal with the sudden burst of affluence in the 1950s, to the closing tracks 'Orphans of Endorphins' and 'Another White Line' which chronicle the rise of the hard drug culture in the 1980's and '90's, Jefferson Pepper's making a great effort to draw the big picture. Through all this subject matter, his common thread is the social hierarchy that always seems to have the same folk at the bottom of the pile, doing the dirty work, fighting the wars and being perennially confused by the golden future promised in the adverts never arriving for them.
|
|
This being his golden theme, some familiar observations crop up: 'One Percent' reminds us that 1% of the people own 50% of the wealth whilst 'Crucify' offers the unstartling possibility that if Jesus came to earth today 'With no wealth or power given him at birth, I'll bet they'd crucify him again'. I guess Jefferson's more interested in identifying the downsides of things than in shining a light on the good things in life, but that's fair enough. Even the celebratory 'Real Good Time', about the excitement at the birth of rock and roll, has a sardonic air: 'They tell me Beale Street is paved with gold, if we go there we're never gonna get old' - rock and roll as just another ad-man's glib promise. The one answer he does offer to all the wickedness and duplicity in the world comes in 'Doin' It Right': 'It doesn't matter if you're the president or a farmer out in the field/ If you do your best at every test, we'll all have a better yield'. It's a simple homily and maybe it's a bit short on detail as political philosophies go, but you know where the man's heart is at. The thing that is really appealing about his lyric writing is his ability to sketch a recognisably real-life situation that illustrates his larger point. His intent is obviously deeply earnest but is leavened with great affection for the characters in his songs and some gentle humour; 'The Ballad of Betty Wulfrum', for example, is a sharp attack on an American culture 'where your appearance determines your worth' but it is dressed in a wryly funny story. As if this huge piece of work wasn't ambitious enough in its lyrical content, there is a musical dimension to this journey through American history. It's not slavish, but the instrumentation and style is sometimes moulded to match the period conjured in the lyric. Given that Jefferson is clearly a country artist in his roots, 'One Percent', for example, is surprisingly reminiscent of Paul Hardcastle's 'Nineteen', whilst 'Orphans of Endorphins' and 'Another White Line' are both fair stabs at grunge-y punk. A good slab of the album has an atmosphere reminiscent of early 70's country rock but I'll freely admit I get the sense that there's plenty of references here that I'm not quite picking up on; folk with broader knowledge of American music in the last forty years might get plenty of fun pursuing the connections. Though this is largely one man's gargantuan effort, Jefferson's roped in plenty of pals to help out; the playing is skilful and appropriate throughout and the hooks and the singalong bits are there but I don't intend to demean the music when I say that it leaves the impression of being amiable and unobtrusive. Sometimes songwriters put the words at the service of the music. Here it is most definitely the other way round as befits a project that is primarily about telling stories. Three cheers, then, for Jefferson Pepper's ambition; 'American Evolution' is recommended listening for anyone who cares to give a thought to where we've come from and where we're going.
|
|
Mazzmusikas (Belgium), by Marc Nolis
***** (5 Stars out of 5) Jefferson Pepper komt met het tweede deel van zijn American Evolution trilogie op de proppen en hij gaat gewoon voort waar hij bij het eerste deel gestopt is. Dat was ergens ten hoogte van de tweede wereldoorlog. Dit tweede deel bevat wederom een pak muziek (17 songs in een tijdspanne van ongeveer 69 minuten) en net zoals bij deel 1 krijgen we een rijke variatie aan muziek, songonderwerpen en getalenteerde muzikanten voorgeschoteld. De inhoud van zijn songs gaan, zoals we dat van hem gewoon zijn, over allerlei mistoestanden, geschiedkundige blunders, de gewone man... en hier beslaat dat vooral de jaren '50 en '60. Dan hebben we het uiteraard over de oorlog in Vietnam, de opkomst van de rock-'n-roll, de mensenrechtenbewegingen, industriële evolutie... kortom het Amerika van na de tweede wereldoorlog. En er zijn de verhalen over allerlei personen die hij in zijn buurt gekend heeft en die hij op een rake manier portretteert. Daar komt de onvervalste songwriter en storyteller in hem boven. Een heel pak muziekstijlen, die we nu onder de noemer americana catalogiseren, passeren de revue: folk, country, bluegrass, hillbilly, rock-'n-roll, countrypop, countryfolk... naar het einde gaat hij er steviger tegenaan en krijgen we een 5-tal songs voorgeschoteld die meer de stevigere rock- en countryrocktoer opgaan. Alsof hij vooralsnog wat van zijn opgekropte woede kwijt moet. Er komt ergens een machtige Neil Young gitaarriff bovendrijven en ik zie hier in mijn notities ook de namen John Cougar Mellencamp, Steve Earle, Joe Strummer en Joe Jackson opduiken. Knappe songs die de rootsrocker in mij zeker kunnen bekoren. We gaan hier niet verder uitweiden over muzikanten en songs en goochelen met lange lijsten van namen en songtitels. Die info is allemaal terug te vinden op zijn website. Wie zich het eerste deel aangeschaft heeft (The Red Album) mag ook dit tweede deel niet aan zich voorbij laten gaan. Voor alle anderen is het misschien aangewezen om te wachten tot in het najaar het derde deel verschenen is. Want dan heb je ook de mogelijkheid om je de box aan te schaffen met daarin de drie delen. Doen! (English Translation):
|
|
|
Jefferson Pepper comes with the second part of his American Evolution trilogy on the balls and he begins where the first part left off. That was somewhere around the Second World War. This second part contain again a package of music (17 songs in a time of approximately 69 minutes) and just as in part 1 get we a rich variation of music, songonderwerpen and getalenteerde musicians dished up. The contents of his songs go, as we that of him usually are, over all sorts of mistoestanden, historical blunders, the usual man... and here fits that especially the years '50 and' 60. Then we have roll it naturally over the war in Vietnam, the rise of the rock-' n- roll, the human rights movements, industrial evolution... in short the America of after the second world war. And there are the stories over all sorts of persons that he in its neighborhood known has and that he on an apt manner portrays. Up there the pure songwriter and story teller in him comes out. A whole package music styles, that we now under the denominator americana catalogue, pass the review: folk, country, bluegrass, hillbilly, rock-' n-roll, countrypop, countryfolk... to the end goes he it more sturdily against and get we a 5-scores songs dished up that more the sturdier rock- and countryrocktoer go up. As if he as yet what of its bottled up rage discharge must. There somewhere a powerful Neil Young guitar riff comes float and see I here in my notes also the names John Cougar Mellencamp, Steve Earle, Joe Strummer and Joe Jackson surface. Good-looking songs that the rootsrocker in me certainly can cups. We go here not further uitweiden over musicians and songs and conjure with long lists of names and song titles. That info is all back to find on its website. Who self the first part acquired has not (The Red Album) may also this second part at past let go. For all others is it perhaps indicated to wait till in the fall the third part appears. For then you have to procure also the possibility you the box set with in that the three parts. Do!
|
|
Rootstime (Belgium), by Valere Sampermans
In de voorbije 2 jaar schreef Jefferson Pepper een vijftigtal liedjes over wat hij gelezen had over de Amerikaanse geschiedenis van de voorbije 500 jaar. Hij besloot om een muzikale trilogie uit te brengen met deze 50 songs netjes gespreid over drie cd’s. De rode draad doorheen deze 3 albums is dat de liedjes geschreven werden vanuit het perspectief van de hardwerkende Amerikaan die al te vaak door zijn machthebbers wordt misbruikt als oorlogsheld. Eind vorig jaar verscheen de eerste in de reeks onder de titel “American Evolution I (The Red Album)” en wij mochten er een lovende bespreking rond schrijven waarbij we toen afsloten met de boodschap dat we met heel veel vertrouwen uitkeken naar deel twee van dit uitstekende initiatief van Jefferson Pepper. En zie wat we hier nu in de bus krijgen:deel 2 getiteld “American Evolution II (The White Album)”. Op dit vervolgalbum staan alweer 17 sterke songs in diverse genres die deels ook een overzicht geven van de verschillende muziekstijlen die doorheen de Amerikaanse geschiedenis voor het nodige amusement zorgden. Jefferson Pepper toont nogmaals aan dat hij een sterke liedjesschrijver is die vooral in Americana-rocksongs en ballads uitblinkt. De liedjes op dit album werden initieel opgenomen in een hutje in de Conewago Mountains ten zuiden van Pennsylvania en nadien afgewerkt in een studio in Nashville. Voor het witte album kon Jefferson Pepper rekenen op de steun van een aantal topmuzikanten zoals Fats Kaplin, Tim Lorsch, Gene Rabbai, Deon Estus, Bryan Owings en Dave Francis, mensen die ook op deel I meespeelden en in de voorbije decennia hun sporen verdienden bij grote namen als Kris Kristofferson, Townes Van Zandt, Lucinda Williams, Neil Young, Willie Nelson, Sting, Tina Turner en Shelby Lynne. Deze cd gaat verder op een punt in de Amerikaanse geschiedenis waar de voorafgaande “American Evolution I” eindigde. Daarmee overschouwt deel II een periode van zowat 50 jaar van 1941 tot 1991 en bezingt Jefferson Pepper de evolutie van de Amerikaanse cultuur evenals het leven en de muziek van Amerika in deze 5 decennia. Zoals we al schreven bij de bespreking van deel I is Jefferson Pepper ook een man met een uitstekende stem die zich leent tot het zingen van verschillende muziekstijlen zoals rock, pop, reggae, ballads en country. Zelfs voor disco en punk draait hij zich niet om. Een selectie uit de uitstekende reeks van songs op dit album ter afsluiting: rock and roller “Real Good Time”, countrysong “Collection Of Angels”, tearjerkers “Break The Chains” en “Ben”, de Byrds-achtige song “Crucify” en rootsrockers “The Crying Land”, “Land That I Love” en “Coming Down”. Een speciale vermelding geven we graag aan “The Ballad Of Betty Wulfrum” dat het verhaal vertelt van een lelijk eendje dat er in slaagt om via een “extreme make-over” het ideale schoonheidsbeeld te evenaren, maar daar niet echt gelukkiger door wordt. Ook “Orphans Of Endorphins” is een opvallende song over de immense gevaren voor de maatschappij als haar mensen zich laten afzinken tot de vreselijke hel van de drugsverslaving. Ook afsluiter “Another White Line” gaat over hetzelfde dreigende gevaar van drugs en verslaving. Deel II is alweer een uitermate sterke plaat die alleen het allerbeste doet vermoeden voor de afsluiter in deze trilogie, deel III waarvan we nu al mogen weten dat hij binnen 2 maanden zal gaan verschijnen. We kijken er met veel belangstelling naar uit en zullen er u naar goede gewoonte meteen verslag over uitbrengen.
|
|
Billy Bop (Belgium), by Mr. Blue Boogie
This is the second installment into the trilogy from Jefferson Pepper with his unique view on American history. A view that I based on one big question! What Happened to America. Pepper started to read to get an answer on this one question, but the more he read the more answers he got and so he started to write songs. Lots of songs! Another source for his inspiration was the book A people’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn.
Additionally the battle over intelligent design (Creationism) that took place in Dover, Pa sparked him to go deeper in to the Evolution of man! Opener “On and On“ display a little bit the madness of the second world war. And it’s exactly here Jefferson starts for his second album, WWII. “Real Good time” is a great Memphis Rock n Roll song and glorifies the craziness of the fifties, but it is follow up “Disposable Me, Disposable You” that explains the essence of it all. While the US rose from ashes of WWII the people were fed up with the idea of consuming goods and throw away used materials.
Not only did we become puppets on a string manipulated by corporate masters, but also over the years people became as much disposable as a used bottle.
“Break the chain” has much to do about the live of the so-called white trash or the underclass! How people look down to someone who is born and raised in poverty and alcoholism, how hard it is to become different when everyone constantly remembers you about your origin, but above all how hard it is to grow up in a dysfunctional family! Up-tempo bluegrass can be found on Good Morning Mrs. Stine. Another song about white Trash, not about the trailer parks this time but about that grumpy old lady living next door!
Roots Rocker “Land that I love” is for sure my hot pick of the album! Musically, with a catchy refrain, this one is the most appealing tune on the album! Powerful, rocking with a great beat the title of the tune explains it all, an anthem for the America of the Vietnam war era.
|
|
As stated in the first installment, American Evolution is as much about the past as it is about our present and future. This album certainly evokes enough thoughts about our modern way of live. The modern way of life is not only about today but also about the last 40 years or so. “The Ballad of Betty Wullfrum” creates a perfect image of how a society turned into mass consumption. Not about food and drinks but about buying a liposuction, a pair of new boobs and much more! Doin’ it Right is the only song on the album that doesn’t fit with the others! This is a basically because this is not a protest song, but much more a statement! No matter who you are if you do you’re best at every test, everyone around you will have a better yield! After all this is what we do for our family and what our parents have done for us, isn’t it? Well the answer is for you to seek out! Jefferson Pepper has found it already cause this song was specially written for his father! The distant future is not bright but even the near future or the present doesn’t look nice in “Coming Down”, sometimes man is short sighted when it comes to new technologies. In Orphans of Endorphins Jefferson Pepper takes us even a step further into the darkness describing the walking talking corpses of drug addicts, a theme that comes back in “another white line”! After all drugs, dealers and addicts are prevalent in the US of today.Nicknamed the white album, this one is the equivalent to the “hear no evil” monkey! For Jefferson Pepper it comes all down to the fact that the exploitation of the weak is golden thread to the America we know today (and to any other country I believe). His songs compel us to examine how that exploitation of the under-class has led Americans to where there are today. Likewise Jefferson Pepper is also throwing in the evolution of music! From old time fiddle tunes and bluegrass, to roots rock, Disco, Punk & Grunge! Don’t expect anyone at school to teach you these things cause they are simply not pretty enough to put in books, but Jefferson Pepper has no problem with it and although it is nasty business the man knows how to wrap it up and put on display! Out on August 4, 2008.
|
|
AltCountry.nl (The Netherlands), by John Gjaltema
Het is heel makkelijk om Amerika onderuit te halen door allerlei zaken aan te halen die er niet deugen. Maar als je daarnaast jezelf ook kwetsbaar opstelt door in een liedje je eigen rol ter discussie te stellen, pas dan komen je woorden ook echt aan. Jefferson Pepper doet dat op American Evolution # 2 (American Fallout) in een knap geschreven liedje over Ben, een jeugdvriend met wie hij eigenlijk niet veel meer gemeen had dan dat ze dezelfde leeftijd en postcode hadden. Niettemin waren ze grote vrienden. Riding bikes with banana seats and playing basketball is wat ze deden. Before we knew it we were in highschool and that was a whole new world / Ben and me we drifted apart after we discoverd girls / But now and then we’d get together again and talk about the good old days / He said he wanted to go to college but he didn’t have the money or the grades / So Ben went off to the army and I went off to school / He came back a double amputee and I came back a fool / He died one April morning of a bullet to the brain / They said it was self-inflicted but I know this cruel world’s to blame. Goed, Pepper geeft de slechte wereld weliswaar de schuld, hij maakt ook voelbaar dat het te makkelijk is om maar vanaf de zijlijn te oordelen en alles beter te weten. Het tweede deel van de over drie cd’s te behandelen geschiedenis van Amerika staat boordevol songs waarmee Pepper indruk maakt als verhalenverteller. De cd staat vol met fraaie zinnetjes als His thrift store pajamas were whiskey soaked and worn. In dit liedje (Break The Chain) is opnieuw het thema dat wanneer je voor een dubbeltje geboren bent, je nooit een kwartje wordt. Bracht Pepper op deel 1 een overvol palet aan muzikale stijlen, op deel 2 is het voornamelijk rootsrock met wortels in de jaren tachtig. Dat hoor je goed aan de rockabilly op Real Good Time. Civilized Savior klinkt netjes, totdat een explosie het liedje richting grunge stuurt. Good Morning Mrs. Stine heeft de van Sam Baker bekende Tim Lorsch op fiddle, maar vooral de backwoods-dobro van Tim May valt op. Land That I Love begint met een opgewekt sixties-gevoel, maar het liedje over profiteurs gaat over in grungevenijn en heeft ook nog een gitaarsolo die uit de jaren zeventig zou kunnen komen. In Crucify komt Pepper tot de conclusie dat Jezus ook hedentendage zou worden gekruisigd. In One Percent gaat het plotseling richting funk, met een praatzingende, zeg maar gerust rappende, Pepper. Klinkt een beetje als John Trudell. Ondanks zijn wat dunne stem blijf je Pepper volgen in zijn woordenstroom. Als hij aan het eind van de cd de stijl van R.E.M. benadert, waardeer je hem vooral ook om zijn prachtige teksten. Intelligent, zonder daarmee te koop te lopen.
|
|
Pennyblack Music (UK), by Malcolm Carter
If I had to say who I think is the most important artist in music today I would, without a moment’s hesitation, say Jefferson Pepper. The man is a genius. There is no other artist, even today when musicians are finally setting powerful words to music once again like Dylan and the like did more than 40 years ago, who is doing it as intelligently and eloquently as Pepper is. Not only is Pepper one of the best lyricists of our generation he can actually write a tune too and not just recycle the same melody over and over again. Sometimes we use music to make us feel good, to get us through the rough times, at other times to get drunk to, fall in love even, and then there are those times when we want music to say what we feel but can’t articulate ourselves; all the wrongs committed which affect the lives of us normal Joes and which we are powerless to do anything about. It’s those times when we need Jefferson Pepper. It might sound clichéd but it’s true; Pepper really is a man for the people and listening to him it’s hard not to imagine that in him we have someone who even after all his work is done, if he hasn’t managed to change the world, then his music will have given others the inspiration and courage to stand up and fight for what we know is right. Okay, rant over, but I, for one, don’t want to see Pepper’s work reappraised in the music press 5 years from now in one of those ‘lost classic’ pieces. This musician has made, so far, three perfectly brilliant albums in as many years, two of them have been released this year with a third to follow shortly so we should appreciate Pepper right now and not in hindsight. This is the second instalment in Peppers three CD project which traces the history of American culture and music. This time his ‘White Album’, which is a more than appropriate alternative title, covers the period from 1941 to 1989 and it opens with ‘On And On’ a song which brings to life the story of a farm boy who finds himself as a young man a long way from his home on the farm ; he’s on a beach in Normandy and, as Pepper sings, “He left home in a uniform and came home in a bag, Momma gave him to the nation and they gave her back a flag.” As usual Pepper, however, digs deeper, he goes just that little bit further than his contemporaries. He knows the irony in the fact that the boy was taught to shoot from a young age by his father. And his father’s words were the last thing he remembered as his life drained away, “Keep a rifle by your side boy, and no one will do you harm”. While this is neither the time nor place to discuss the Second World War, and this comes from someone whose parents were involved, Pepper once again reminds us that war isn’t always the answer. A life lost is a life lost. As before Pepper produced this collection of songs and once again he uses his skills as a musician and producer to wrap each song in the right setting. The pedal steel, violin and fiddle just intensify the sadness of the lyrics. To say that Pepper has given each and every one of these songs a sympathetic production would be an honest description. Although Pepper has his roots in the Americana genre he takes in various musical styles, as he intended to do with this project, through these seventeen songs. While there is an abundance of pretty country / folk infused tunes that belie his biting lyrics much of the time, there is also the out and out rock ‘n’ roll of ‘Real Good Time’ once again with exceptional lyrics, this time about being in at the beginning of that era which really have to be read in full.
|
|
‘Ben’ is yet another sad tale. After describing feeling something of an outcast by the other kids and finally finding a friend in Ben, Pepper again articulates so well the way even the best of friends grow apart but war again rears it’s ugly head, “ Ben went off to the army and I went off to school, he came back a double amputee and I came back a fool, he died one April morning of a bullet to the brain, they said it was self-inflicted but I know this cruel world’s to blame”. Pepper shows his teeth again musically on ‘Land That I Love’ taking a harder stance and showing once again that he write rock ‘n’ roll tunes just as well as he can a country / folk one. He raises a smile or two in ‘The Ballad Of Betty Wulfrum’ but as always with Pepper he shows both sides of the coin; Betty desperately wants to be the popular Jenny McClure and because she is “lucky to live in America where your appearance determines your worth” after a little nip and tuck and a change of schools she can become the most popular girl in school. Pepper leaves you wondering if this is such a good thing. ‘One Percent’ is Pepper gone disco, albeit maybe the only disco song ever to feature pedal steel. It’s strange to hear Pepper tackle a completely different genre but he does it with ease, again his lyrics are cutting, the song sounds like a hybrid of Paul Hardcastle and Lazy Boy and it works extremely well which is no mean feat for an artist who hasn’t released any other recordings which are remotely like this song. ‘Orphans Of Endorphins’ is another acute observation by Pepper this time detailing the sad lives of those battling drug addiction and with searing guitar showing Pepper’s rockier side it’s another superb melody with a chorus that simply won’t leave your head. The lyrics “ There’s a wet and weary woman on the corner, black mascara running in the rain, and there’s a well-dressed man in a Coupe de Ville who owns her with a meagre weekly ration of cocaine” sets the scene nicely for the closing song, ‘Another White Line’ which also sees Pepper rocking out and lyrically, well the title says it all. A nice touch is the way he sings “It’s my body and I’ll die if I want to, die if I want to, die if I want to” recalling Lesley Gore’s ‘It’s My Party’ and highlighting just how innocent those times seem now. To end with something that isn’t directly related to this particular album I would like to say that there is another facet about Pepper’s work that sets him apart from other artists. We all know that we shouldn’t like the same music as our parents, at least not until we get to the age when we realise that they weren’t so wrong in their musical tastes after all, and I get a lot of flak sometimes from my son and his friends over the music I play and like but Pepper is one of the few artists who, when I get their latest release, I can’t leave lying about the house. My son, his friends, visitors of any age, they all show an interest in his work. It’s not so often that happens and reinforces the fact that Pepper must have that special something that appeals to all age groups and tastes. I had no doubts that Pepper would present us with another fine album, he showed with Volume 1 that he had more than one great album in him and as great as ‘Christmas In Fallujah’ is the guy just keeps getting better and better. I’d go as far as to say that these seventeen songs make this his strongest album yet and set a very high standard for the last part of this trilogy. I also have no doubts that in a few months when Pepper releases that final part (The Blue Album) that I will be as blown away by that collection as I am by this one.
|
|
