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Frank Black and the Catholics Pistolero SpinART Frank Black's new master plan is starting to become a little clearer -- put together an honest to goodness band, write quickly, and record before the inspiration fades. Try to put out an album every six months. "Pistolero" was meant to be a bigger production than the first album, with additional musicians and slick studio wizardry from Nick Vincent, Black's old drummer. Instead, the band recorded "Pistolero" live to a two-track in ten days, which actually does beat the first album's recording time by six days. Black got excited, and they nixed the big plans and released the best takes from the live sessions. Any more studio fiddling and second-guessing would have taken the edge out of this album completely. "I Switched You," with all of its twists and turns, would probably have been cut down or packaged into a more traditional arrangement. Black's at his best when he wanders, and the changes sometimes seem a surprise even to him. And to refine "Bad Harmony" would be to miss the point completely. Of course, there are a couple of songs that could have used a little more work. "Smoke Up" plods along tiredly, never really ending up anywhere. For all its hooks, "Billy Radcliffe" stutters and stops without ever hitting full stride. But for every lump of coal, there are two diamonds in the rough. "Tiny Heart" and "I Want Rock and Roll" trade in Black's trademark bash and pop, hammered down verse and catchy chorus style. Rich Gilbert's frenzied tremolo heavily distorted arpeggios fit the Black tradition well. "So Hard to Make Things Out" sprawls majestically, and wouldn't sound out of place between Neil Young and Crazy Horse's "Sedan Delivery" and "Tonight's the Night." Black and his gang deliver on the promise of a more soulful Frank from the first album with "You're Such a Wire" and "Western Star." If songs like "You're Such a Wire" are the result of Black experimenting with more personal songwriting, you've got to wonder why he never tried it before. And "Western Star provides a good mix of the old and the new, mixing bluesy riffs with Black's typically goofy lyrics and committed vocals. It's hard to believe this band has only been around since September, have spent a total of two weeks in the studio, and already have two quality albums to their name. -Nick |
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