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After the blues-rock of Shiva Burlesque (which I recommend you to get), singer-guitarist Grant Lee Phillips formed Grant Lee Buffalo in Los Angeles and in 1993 released this excellent album: Fuzzy. A debut to be framed that grazes the borders between folk and rock, but above all, it touches the listener's heart beyond any musical genre.
The first thing that struck me is the intensity and timbre of Grant's voice, which managed to convey pleasant sensations to me from the very first listen. There are songs of fine craftsmanship, but it is the atmosphere that gives the album a unique impact which certainly does not revolutionize the history of rock but manages to be spontaneous and exciting with simple ballads. With "The Shining Hour" you can breathe the swing of the '50s, but already from the second track, pop-folk takes over with choruses as intense as they are catchy. A mix of acoustic chords and electric rock cadences paint "Jupiter And Teardrop," the poignant "fuzzy" (my favorite), "Wish You Well," and the dreamy, delicate, and subtle ballad of "The Hook" in a truly appreciable crescendo of melodic expressiveness. If much of the album risks resembling a post-Dylanesque folk treatise and marks a return to pop-acoustic music, compositions like "Stars N' Stripes" surprise by allowing more space for rarefied atmospheres, or even reaching a state of psychedelic delirium reminiscent of Velvet Underground in "Grace." It closes with the slow voodoo of "Dixie Drug Store" with Lou Reed-like accents.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
02 Jupiter and Teardrop (05:57)
Just a girl who can't say no
And her sweetheart on parole
Parents named her Jupiter
To bless her with a lucky soul
He's a boy who never cried
When they locked him up inside
And she nicknamed him her teardrop
For the tattoo by his eye
Now she's sleeping in her bed
And he's sleeping in her bed
And it's Jupiter and Teardrop
And it's Jupiter and Teardrop
She divines by radio
Pushing buttons show to show
And she wonders 'bout the fate of
Lovers in the barrio
She forgets after a while
When she tunes in on the dial
Jackie Wilson's Lonely Teardrops
And she drives another mile
Now she's sleeping in her bed
And he's sleeping in her bed
And it's Jupiter and Teardrop
And it's Jupiter and Teardrop
And it's Jupiter and Teardrop
And they want to have a child
Walk together down the aisle
But the world they live in is mean
And it's built on sheer denial
The phone rings it's for her
Got to see ya Jupiter
I'm in trouble with the law
Bring my 38 caliber
Now she's sleeping in her bed
As she pulls the phone plug dead dead
And it's Jupiter and Teardrop
And it's Jupiter and Teardrop
And it's Jupiter and Teardrop oh
And it's Jupiter and Teardrop
And it's Jupiter and Tear oh
And it's Jupiter and Tear
Oh oh
Ooh ooh ooh
03 Fuzzy (04:59)
Bring me home
To this house of many days
Just lay me on the floor
Hard and cool as slate
You know I love it more and more
Than before I ran away
It triggers off so many hurts
Hurtful words and broken plates
I've been lied to
Now I'm Fuzzy
I've been lied to
All and all
The world is small enough for both of us
To meet upon the interstate
Waiting on a train
And just when those big arms lift up
Fall in love with no time to say it
And I would have liked to
Now I'm Fuzzy
I would have liked to
Now I'm Fuzzy
Fuzzy now
Here we are
In our car
Driving down the street
We're looking for a place to stop
Have a bite to eat
We hunger for a bit of faith
To replace the fear
We water like a dead bouquet
Does no good does it dear
And I've been lied to
Now I'm Fuzzy
We've been lied to
Now we're Fuzzy
Fuzzy now
Lied to.
09 America Snoring (03:40)
I hear you America snoring
I hear you America snoring
Did ya see it on TV
Or in your own backyard
Gate's LAPD
And they called The National Guard
Then the tanks came rolling down
Sunset Boulevard
And I hear America snoring
They want ta' legislate the moon
They want ta' legislate the womb
They wanna legislate all the things they hate
They want ta' legislate this tune
And I hear America snoring snoring
I hear you America snoring snoring
Give wind time to blow
The rooster to crow
Plug my ears but I hear
America
Oh oh oh
See the shoemaker and his shoes
Sliver needle thread and glue
He's closing up the shop
Move it all to Timbuktu
Where the labor force is cheap
And the rivers there run deep
But I hear America snoring
I hear you America snoring snoring America
I hear you America snoring snoring America
I hear
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Other reviews
By Ginger Drummer
A record inspired by melancholic and dreamy tones, a skillful blend of rock blues tinged with pop.
Eleven rare gems that make up one of the most beautiful albums released during the nineties.
