Back from The Dead...Again
Originally posted February 8, 2010 & May 2, 2020
An under-rated masterwork by Johnette Napolitano (Concrete Blonde) and Marc Moreland (Wall Of Voodoo). What Concrete Blonde could have veered into, but slipped off of in Mexican Moon. Dark landscapes and humor tinged music throughout.
Pretty & Twisted were a sort of bongos-and-synthesizer take on the more bluesy Concrete Blonde, but that never stops Napolitano's always-magnificent voice from being fully invested in the project, and filling it with enough CB-esque tropes to not be too surprising (there's even a requisite Roxy Music cover - a great one, Mother of Pearl). "Dear Marlon Brando," obsequious as it is, is a charming pop lullaby of great finesse, "The Highs are Too High" gives such good atmosphere it wound up being used on a Sopranos episode, and "Watching the Water" is such a moving ballad, even the synthesizers that wreak of the early 90's can't keep it from connecting.
Surprising that more Wall of Voodoo fans aren't familiar with this album, given some great Marc Moreland guitar work. Not every song on this album is a knockout, but a couple of them, "Souvenir" in particular, are really, really powerful, with Moreland doing some fine work on what is probably the most memorable song here. Moreland added a lot of depth to it and it's a shame they didn't do more work together before his untimely death in 2002.
Originally posted February 8, 2010 & May 2, 2020
Pretty & Twisted - self titled -1995
Studio Recordings @320
Out of Print
$35+ Amazon
Pretty & Twisted were a sort of bongos-and-synthesizer take on the more bluesy Concrete Blonde, but that never stops Napolitano's always-magnificent voice from being fully invested in the project, and filling it with enough CB-esque tropes to not be too surprising (there's even a requisite Roxy Music cover - a great one, Mother of Pearl). "Dear Marlon Brando," obsequious as it is, is a charming pop lullaby of great finesse, "The Highs are Too High" gives such good atmosphere it wound up being used on a Sopranos episode, and "Watching the Water" is such a moving ballad, even the synthesizers that wreak of the early 90's can't keep it from connecting.
Surprising that more Wall of Voodoo fans aren't familiar with this album, given some great Marc Moreland guitar work. Not every song on this album is a knockout, but a couple of them, "Souvenir" in particular, are really, really powerful, with Moreland doing some fine work on what is probably the most memorable song here. Moreland added a lot of depth to it and it's a shame they didn't do more work together before his untimely death in 2002.
Track List:
1. Highs Are Too High
2. Mother of Pearl
3. Souvenir
4. No Daddy No
5. Ride
6. Train Song (Edge of Desperation)
3. Souvenir
4. No Daddy No
5. Ride
6. Train Song (Edge of Desperation)
7. Stranger
8. Singing Is Fire
9. Don't Take Me Down
10. Come Away With Me
11. Dear Marlon Brando
12. Billy
13. Watching the Water
8. Singing Is Fire
9. Don't Take Me Down
10. Come Away With Me
11. Dear Marlon Brando
12. Billy
13. Watching the Water
Over the coming days I will be updating all of the dead Concrete Blonde/Johnette Napolitano projects links!
