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Go! Go! Everyone go see Grant Lee!
I saw Grant three times last year alone...the man is a brilliant performer, he's an amazing singer and songwriter, but also a great comedian. He's hilarious, his monologues and stage banter is just wonderful. Even if you don't like the music, I assure you, you will be entertained.
As for the solo records - Ladies Love Oracle is a really nice, pleasant record. It's very intimate, very raw, the songs are mostly ballads. This is how I prefer my Grant Lee. It's not as brilliant as Mighty Joe Moon, but hey, very little is. Anyone interested in Grant Lee Phillips should pick up a copy of that LP (it's under the band name Grant Lee Buffalo). I would place it in my personal top five best LPs that I've ever heard.
As for the newest one, Mobilize - well, it's a lot like the Jubilee LP. Very pop, very glossy, very 'radio friendly', but not very special. It's a bit too bombastic, it's a bit too ordinary at times. There's a few really amazing songs on it - I really love "American Dreamers" and "Spring Released". It's a worthwhile record, but certainly not the best record the man had done, and I don't think it's him working up to his full potential.
I will say this: it is interesting to hear him use samples and hip hop beats in his music, at least in contrast to the rest of his catalog.
Though Grant Lee improvizes his sets, you can probably expect to hear these songs, which he frequently plays live:
Mockingbirds, Honey Don't Think, Lone Star Song, Mighty Joe Moon, Happiness (on piano no less!), The Hook, Fuzzy, Shining Hour, Dixie Drug Store, Arousing Thunder, Bethlehem Steel, All That I Have, Truly Truly, Testimony, Heavenly, St. Expedite, Folding, Squint, Don't Look Down, plus most of the tunes on Mobilize. |
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