Acoustic | brokenheadphones.com

(*Editor’s Note – Thanks to my reliable laptop crashing this was postponed for quite sometime.)

Before I even start I would like to publicly kick myself in the ass for not attending last night’s Mike Doughty concert at the Beachland Ballroom (Oct. 10th). I know I missed a good time and I am the one to blame for missing it. I just had too much going on and not enough green paper in the wallet so I decided to sit it out and today am regretting it. I also had the flu of sorts so it just was not happening.

Luckily I got my hands on his new album so at least I have something to listen to and talk about.

I always admire the musicians out there in the world that have overcome hardship and feed off the fan reaction rather than make music for pure financial purposes. One performer in particular that comes to mind when I think about a hard working true music maker is Mike Doughty. Doughty, as many know, was the lead man of the 90’s alt rock act Soul Coughing. Sadly the band called it quits thanks to constant battles with drugs and also financial hardship but Doughty kept going on doing his own thing.

He started recording solo material and soon had a cult following who worshiped his every word and sang along with to every song. I was one of those folk who took a huge liken to him. I loved seeing Doughty on stage alone with guitar in hand singing folky and rocky songs to an ever loving crowd.

Doughty took his fan’s reaction to his 2008 solo release Golden Delicious and used it to mold his next release titled Sad Man, Happy Man. Some of the fans loved the rock pop heavy Golden Delicious while others hated it. Perhaps the dis-likening came from the more upbeat fun styles that were bursting from the tunes over former albums.

Having such a huge step up from his widely known solo material was credited with Doughty’s “dude theory”, an idea of recording music that sounds like a bunch of dudes playing music for the fun of it. The result of his dude music won new fans and also caused some of the more so diehard fans to go so far as calling him a sellout for doing what he did. Not taking the negative reactions personal he used it to his benefit and began a different approach when creating new material.

In fact he used the responses as a fuel of sorts to making something better in his current release and admitted that his previous album sparked an array of feelings by saying:

“…some hated it, some loved it better than Soul Coughing. I tend to take sharp left turns. Every time I put out a record, the audience seems to like what I did two years ago better. You’d think I could shrug it off because that’s what always happens, but it always gets to me.”

As a fan of everything Doughty has done since the days of Soul Coughing I have to admit that I was one of the fans who liked Golden Delicious. It was a change in his style but still catchy to my ears. Just check out my review I did on it. I was happy from start to finish and the album is still played here and there when I am looking for something fun to jam out to.

When I heard that Doughty was going back to his roots when recording Sad Man,Happy Man I was eager for the release. After hearing listening to it (over and over I might add), it is clear that Doughty reached back to his solo roots as well as the days when he was in the popular 90’s act and pushed aside that poppy feel Golden Delicious had going on. This time around there is more of a Soul Coughing vibe and less of the more pop rock he achieved previously.

“Nectarine (Part II)” sequel to song on Golden Delicious was acoustic with a brief add of Irresistible Bliss horns. “(I Keep On) Rising Up” continued with Doughty’s signature raspy hypnotizing voice moving through a more personal jam (he wrote it during hardship in a relationship). Just after a couple of tracks and it was perfectly clear he was stripped down and focused on the acoustic.

“(You Should Be) Doubly (Gratified)” was a nice smooth rock song with long time touring pal Andrew “Scrap” Livingston taking bass duties. I should add that this album is just Doughty and Livingston with Doughty providing not just the singing and guitars but also the drum programming and keyboards as well.

“(I Want To) Burn You (Down)” was a poignant acoustic jam reminiscent to the days when Doughty would play shows and would sell CDs himself from the stage after wards when he was trying to get back on his feet. “Pleasure On Credit” clearly reached back to his witty Soul Coughing days. I don’t think it was possible for me to enjoy this song more so than I did the first time I heard it.

Ending the CD with a Daniel Johnston cover completed this album for me. Hearing Doughty’s take on “Casper The Friendly Ghost” had me smiling. The version was not nearly as depressing as the original schizophrenic take but still held on to Daniel Johnston’s eerie original.

It’s great to see that Mike Doughty keeps on going and Sad Man, Happy Man shows no form of slowing down. It sounded throughout the album as if he was just having fun without getting too serious and to me that is what I admire him most for. With all the hell the man has been though he never seemed to stop having fun doing what he loved – play music, and loving it while doing so.

Not just a musician but also an outspoken blogger. Check out Mike Doughty’s blog site. He’s not just a clever song writer you know…

Looks like I missed out on a little Q&A at the Beachland… The tour was called the Question Jar Tour. Looks like they took it very literally. Damn me for getting sick!

Folk/punk/rock has never sounded so good thanks to former UK post-hardcore singer Frank Turner who took elements of the genres and self-formed it into something simply wonderful on his latest release. Not to be considered a solo attempt this round, it is clear throughout the album that he has an amazing backing band that helped him and perhaps even added a little of their own style to it.

Having been in multiple bands over the years and working non-stop while doing so, Frank Turner continues his desire to be an amazing musician. After what seemingly felt like an eternity since I first heard word of the release, the hardworking Frank Turner has finally dropped Poetry Of The Deed in the US thanks to Epitaph Records. How hardworking you ask? This will be his third release in three years.

“Live Fast Die Old” starts of the album full forced with more so of an indie rock that immediately captured my attention. As if his singing was not an attraction enough, the supporting music from the full band including keyboard and back up harmonies just seemingly invited me into his world and I must say I felt welcomed. It’s the type of song you tap you foot to and bop your head as well.

“Try This At Home” had a slight upbeat feel that exploded with great, well thought out lyrics about the real DIY musicians in the world who care and work for what they believe in and called out the superficial money hungry performers. One line in particular that stood out over the rest to me declared that there is “no such thing as rock stars, they’re just people who play music, and some of them are just like us, and some of them are dicks.” Well said Mr. Turner.

“Dan’s Song” is the type of song I could only wish was written about me. The reminiscent jam goes from past history to future with sick harmonica playing. “Poetry Of The Deed” to me sounded like a heavy Avett Brothers song with Frank Turner repeatedly bolting out “life is too short, to live without poetry, if you’ve got soul darling, now come on and show it me” at the end of the track.

“The Road” was a sing along favorite of mine on the album. Heavy on the folk and added country twang made for a catchy and happy listen. I especially enjoyed the end of the song that almost sounded like and excited Frank Turner was not done recording the track when everyone else was.

“Our Lady Of The Campfire” had some fun percussion backed with strings reminding me of the folk that helped Frank Turner make this album what it is. The song is well thought out lyrically and musically and there was just so much going on but it fit so well.

Some of the songs seemed to slow up towards the conclusion of the CD as compared to the first half but they were still great listens. The soothing keyboard playing and acoustic strumming were enjoyable especially during “Sunday Nights” and the album ending “Journey Of The Magi”.

I’m serious when I tell you I got a good feeling throughout when hearing this release, the kind of feeling that keeps me going back for more. I remember the first time I heard bands like the Avett Brothers, Gaslight Anthem, Ben Folds, Joe Strummer, and Wilco (just to name a couple) who I knew instantly I would love and cherish for the rest of my music listening years on this planet because of what they created and how they executed it. I can now add Frank Turner to that list because his music just had such an amazing effect on me.

I admit, I had never heard of Frank Turner until just before this album was released. When I started hearing about the hype about him from various musicians and music fans, my curiosity led me to a YouTube video (see below) of him playing an after-party in someone’s house. Just by seeing that one acoustic jam he played surrounded by singing and screaming fans I understood why so many have been talking him up. He is that talented and with help from an amazing backing band Poetry Of The Deed was worth all the hype.

I expect big things from Frank Turner in the following months even years to come. Slated to be touring with the Gaslight Anthem this fall as well as just finished a tour with The Offspring I think it is pretty clear he is starting to make a bigger name for himself here in the US and very quickly at that.

This is one act fans of music need to at least extend an ear out to even if punk or folk is not your thing. It is that damn good.

DOWNLOAD THIS! – Frank Turner – “The Road”

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Tag Archives: Acoustic

Mike Doughty – Sad Man, Happy Man – CD Review

Frank Turner – Poetry Of The Deed – CD Review