REVIEWS:
Post your comments about The Left Banke
(reviewed by Joe Friesen)
I first came across this album while browsing through some names discussed on George Starostin's wonderful site that I wasn't familiar with. When he compared their brand of sissy 60's pop to the Zombies' brand of sissy 60's pop, I knew this was an album I had to get. It took a while, but I managed to find it on Soulseek; once I got it, I think it might've been the only thing I listened to for a good two and a half weeks.
Ready for some controversy?
The Left Banke's Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina > The Zombies' Odessey and Oracle.
Yep, I think I enjoy their take on orchestrated baroque-pop better than The Zombies', which is hard for me to say because I really adore Odessey and Oracle. But ya know, when you're dealing with music of this quality, why quibble over silly rankings like that? I just say it because I think The Left Banke worms its way into my eardrums a bit more often these days.
What makes this stuff sound oh so good? Vocal harmonies so graceful and gorgeous they give The Beach Boys a run for their money, achingly beautiful arrangements that make heavy use of harpsichord and strings, professional instrumental chops, and some of the best pop music songwriting you'll ever have the pleasure of hearing. Sure, in the post-Sgt. Pepper rock landscape, this stuff isn't revolutionary or groundbreaking in the slightest, but who cares? High-quality songwriting has always been, and always will be, infinitely more important that innovation; if Sgt. Pepper hadn't been made by three masterful rock artisans, do you think we'd still be listening to it all these years later? And, believe me, the songwriting is every bit as infectious and wonderful as that album's... heck, I might even rate this album over that one, but, hey, I'm weird like that.
Everyone likes to point to the two singles that gives the album its name (and what an ugly name it is... yeesh, guys, couldn't you come up with something a little less cumbersome?) as the two standouts, and I'm not going to argue that, because both are top-drawer baroque-pop songs. "Walk Away Renee" is gorgeous in a romantic, melancholy way, whereas "Pretty Ballerina" is, by comparison, a bit more upbeat, sweet, and every bit as catchy as "Walk Away Renee" despite the absence of a recognizable chorus (well, now that I think about it, it's probably all hook, no verse). But personally, I think the album tracks exist on the same level as those two incredible offerings, with the uptempo "She May Call You Up Tonight" (which Richard Thompson covered on his acoustic live album Celtschmerz), the sunny "I've Got Something On My Mind" and the almost AGRESSIVE! album closer "Lazy Day", which sounds nothing like the title would suggest. Sure, there's not much lyrical nuance to lyrics like "I will say what's on my mind, and this time there'll be no lie/I've got something on my mind/It's no lie I'm tellin' you why,", but if you're basing your opinion on sunny pop like this on the poetics of the lyrics, then you aren't paying attention.
Get it! Track it down! Find it! You'll love it! It sounds like Burt Bacharach, but better! Try and get "There's Gonna Be a Storm", it's got this album and the second album on a single disc, just with a different running order! Love it desipte the stupid title! Mmm-good!
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