London Payne
(MCD-001)
2-cute 2-be 4-gotten
(MCD-002)
Live Start Lifting
(MCD-003)
(Mastromonia)
Perhaps
realizing that being hailed as one of the purest of the pure popsters
since
Pete Ham gave up the ghost wasn't making him as well known as he
certainly
deserves to be, Chris von Sneidern has taken a few left turns with
this
series of special, limited edition releases (hand-numbered and
hand-signed
cd-r's) that play up his quirky side, while still showcasing his
creativity
and always-sharp pop instincts.
London
Payne is an 11 song, 23-minute pop opera of sorts, with a rather
interesting
history. Seems CvS found a small book of poetry (dealing with
nature
and someone's cross-country road trip) while rummaging through a store
in
the Pacific Northwest last year, and decided to turn each poem into a
brief
song. The results are a bit schizoid---hearing the mop-topped von
Sneidern
channel such unlikely acts as Tom Waits and Marvin Gaye can be a tad
disconcerting
at first---but never less than listenable. Still, outside of
the
Beatley (wink, wink) "Bringing it Home" and a few of the outstanding
vocal
arrangements, there isn't a whole bunch that calls the listener back
for
repeated spins. Recorded in a weeklong creative burst, this is
definitely
a curio for the hardcore CvS fan.
The
simply amazing 2-cute 2-be 4-gotten is another kettle of fish, however.
This
one's another concept album, but what a concept: here, CvS takes the
unfailingly
honest and often raw poetry of teenage girls and sets them to his
own
classically-styled, always-catchy pop music. While at first blush this
may
sound like a silly idea, the mixture of von Sneidern's clear, pure voice
and
impeccably crafted melodies with the teens' heartbreakingly sad, brutally
honest
lyrical perspective is quite compelling.
The
overall sound of 2-cute… harkens back to von Sneidern's classic Big White
Lies
and Sight and Sound CD's, which is a good thing indeed, seeing as those
releases
are classics of the indie-pop idiom. Many artists would have made a
beeline
for the inherent humor in a concept such as this one, but the key to
2-cute's…
success is that von Sneidern is a sympathetic participant, giving
the
girls' musings the proper warm, soothing setting they call for. Key
tracks:
the Big Star 3rd-like "Love Blindness," the snappy "What I Did
Today"
("I sit all day eating Triscuits, salsa"), the pretty and fragile
"Love"
and the steamy "Love Turns Into Lust." All in all, a wholly
unique,
outstanding
achievement.
The
final component of the CvS trilogy is his first live album, Live Start
Lifting.
Recorded at two different venues in von Sneidern's home base of San
Francisco,
CA, it proves that they guy can deliver the goods in front of an
audience
as well. Serving up tracks from all phases of his career, the disc
includes
such CvS standards as the haunting "Bad Black Lonesome," the ornate
"Feel"
and "Gemini," perhaps the peppiest rocker CvS has ever tracked.
There's
also a previously unreleased cut (the folky original "Glory Days") as
well
as choice covers of the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" (a spare but
beautiful
reading) and Mott the Hoople's "All the Young Dudes." Also
included
is a cool, piano-based version of "On My Hands," which takes a few
well-placed
detours through "Stairway to Heaven," "You Never Give Me Your
Money,"
"Golden Slumbers" and "Let it Be." Simply
stunning. Also, don't
miss
the hilarious, frantic "Reno," which showcases CvS's warped sense of
humor
(and adds some nifty cowpunk and lounge elements to the mix, to boot).
(P.O.
Box 14203, San Francisco, CA 94114 or www.cvsmusic.com)
-John M. Borack