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| SLIM - FAMOUS FRAMUS (May 2005) |
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| Whether Famous Framus is reflecting on a seemingly regretful escape from the high life (�Sober Blues�) or making keen observations about the lives of others, making music may have become a placebo addiction, even if it isn�t always more satisfying than the organic or chemical ones. �Feels Like Going Home� is easily the most instrumentally innovative composition I�ve heard from him up to this point, and going by the confessional lyrics, I�m guessing it�s a song that probably holds a great deal of importance to him. While he�s a seasoned rhythmic player, he demonstrates a finely-honed talent as a �picker� here, as well. �Easy� is not quite so fluid, but considering the constant alternation between sliding and picking, it�s a study in musical brilliance. �Motherless Child� is a cover of a traditional African spiritual, commonly believed to draw a parallel to the loneliness experienced by children separated from their enslaved parents. Framus plays it in a preferentially fast tempo, flamenco-style, but takes care to also demonstrate, however temporarily, how the original slower version probably sounded. �Jandek Room (Suicide Blues)� relates a sympathetic (if not empathetic) connection with a mysterious and apparently schizoid musical chameleon from Houston, Texas, who has spawned a cult following in the past 30 years without ever having publicly identified himself. Although this composition seems more of a tribute to the mystique of Jandek�s anonymous and presumably tortured existence rather than that entity�s reputed lack of conventional musicality, it recalls again Kurt Cobain�s musical legacy, as does �Prospect Avenue� (from Rough Stuff). The politics of war and religion are addressed in �$ Soldiers� (to be read as �dollar sign soldiers�) and �Check Your Faith�. �Steeltown Blues�, while not technically a blues song, despite the mournful harmonica accompaniment, is, of course, a wry look at his hometown of Hamilton, Ontario. Johnny Cash�s �Folsom Prison Blues� does not disrupt the adrenaline treatment that is infused throughout, but it can�t compete with the thrilling denouement of this musical project, which is entitled �Bad Man�. Slim is by far my favourite recording of the Famous Framus solo acoustic collection. It rocks with an intense fervour from beginning to end. |