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Rating: It must have been fun to live in Boston in the second half of the 80s. In the city of M.I.T., the golden decline of the Celtics of Larry Bird was on display, the last sparks in the cauldron of the old Garden after the triumphant title of 1986: yet another final with the Showtime Lakers, the brawls with the Bad Boys, the first appearances of God disguised as Michael Jordan, and rustic duels that remained indelible, like in game 7 against Atlanta in 1988, with the blond from French Lick in the role of the savior of the nation responding to the sculpted white weapon attacks of Dominique Wilkins.
And the music scene was nothing short of fertile and varied, with dozens of indie-bands born on the banks of the Charles River in the wake of the pioneers Mission of Burma: Pixies, Throwing Muses, and Galaxie 500 the most famous (not to mention Dinosaur Jr, who blossomed in nearby, Emily Dickinson-esque Amherst), making Boston the mecca of the finest college-rock. The Lemonheads were nurtured in that vein, initially offering a raw and rough hardcore mix between the power of Husker Du and the bawdy insights of the Replacements, with the bored Evan Dando in the role of a Paul Westerberg from the affluent neighborhoods; the results were brilliant, notably in "Hate your Friends" from 1987. The turning point came when co-founder Ben Deily left the group to return to University after "Lick", leaving the handsome Evan free to express his melodic side.
The result was in 1990 "Lovey," the first LP for the major label Atlantic, a compendium of what would soon be called indie-rock: the perfect intersection point between the harshness of the beginnings and the more sunny temptations that with the excellent "It's a Shame about Ray" and the more mannered "Come on feel" would make the handsome Dando a small star. Also a protagonist in the most glamorous chronicles and a time short-circuit with the cover of "Mrs Robinson," perfect for the politically correct goodness of the Babylonian Clinton years.
Among the most striking moments of the work in question, we cannot fail to mention the epileptic attack of "Ballarat", the emo-core forerunners of "Left for the Dead", the fractured rhythms of "Come downstairs," the gritty hard-rock pastiche of "The Door" and above all, the martial and sulfurous "Ride with me", a bow to the Neil Young who returned to scratch the six-string with Crazy Horse just that year. Dando's more epidermal side, instead, is sublimated in that authentic power-pop gem of rural hues, worthy of the great Gene Clark, which answers to the name of "Half the Time", with a skewed and sweet rhythm and an irresistible progression, or again the alluring harmonies of "Stove". All episodes that show a Dando with enormous potential as a songwriter, potential not fully exploited in the years to come (aside from the aforementioned "About Ray" and the isolated solo debut "Baby I'm Bored" in 2002) and dissipated among mediocre records, drug abuses, and silly dancer appearances - a la Mauro Repetto - in Oasis shows.
Also fundamental is the refined and soothing cover of the parsonsian "Brass Buttons" present here, which would pave the way for so much alt-country in the years to come, besides leading to the rediscovery among less traditionalist circuits of a genius like Gram Parsons. Genius like Larry Bird.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
03 Year of the Cat (02:28)
On a morning from a Bogart movie
In a country where they turn back time
You go strolling through the crowd like Peter Lorre
Contemplating a crime
She comes out of the sun in a silk dress
running like a watercolour in the rain
Don't bother asking for explanations
She'll just tell you that she came
In the year of the cat
She doesn't give you time for questions
As she locks up your arm in hers
And you follow
'till your sense of which direction
Completely disappears
By the blue tiled walls
near the market stalls
There's a hidden door she leads you to
These days, she says,
I feel my life Just like a river running thru
The year of the cat
Well, she looks at you so cooly
And her eyes shine like the moon in the sea
She comes in incense and patchouli
So you take her, to find what's waiting inside
The year of the cat
Well, morning comes and you're still with her
And the bus and the tourists are gone
And you've thrown away the choice
and lost your ticket
So you have to stay on
But the drum-beat strains of the night remain
In the rhythm of the new-born day
You know sometime you're bound to leave her
But for now you're going to stay
In the year of the cat
04 Ride With Me (03:38)
That pencil smell,
reminds me of school.
The clock on the wall
I can no longer fool.
Time to get in my car.
Been so dull, tired and tight.
Time to trust these old tires.
Time to not say goodnight.
Jesus rides with me.
His will is plain to feel.
Come on, you can be.
Got yourself to steal.
He's everywhere,
sends me straight across the plain.
He's in your hair,
he'll forgive me my pain.
You're my girl, don't you show it.
To know you know is to know it.
When you can't trust yourself,
baby, trust someone else.
Jesus rides with me.
His will is plain to feel.
Come on, you can be.
Got yourself to steal.
You're my girl, don't you show it.
To know you know is to know it.
When you can't trust yourself,
baby, trust someone else.
Ride with me.
Ride with me.
Ride with me.
06 Stove (03:08)
The gas man came, took out our electric stove.
I helped him carry her.
He told me he had been a prize fighter once.
Shuffled her through and out the door.
We walked back in talked 'bout his boy at U.V.M.
and we began to put the new stove in.
But I miss my stove. She's all alone.
Call it love. She's been replaced.
I miss my stove. She's all alone.
She's right out front and looks a mess.
Unwanted guest. We lied to her.
I miss my stove. Feel sad I guess.
I know I shouldn't think about it anymore.
"What's the point?" you say.
But I'm reminded each time I walk out my door.
My stove is gone to stay.
He walked back in talked 'bout his boy at U.V.M.
and we began to put the new stove in.
But I miss my stove. She's all alone.
Call it love. She's been replaced.
I miss my stove. She's all alone.
She's right out front and looks a mess.
Unwanted guest. We lied to her.
I miss my stove. Feel sad I guess.
10 (The) Door (07:01)
Baby when i think of all my yesterdays
when i dream about tomorrow
when i recount my joys
when i remember my sorrows
sometimes a mans gotta say what he's gotta say
I ain't hangin' around no more
tonight I'm picking up my Samsonite
and I'm walking right out the door
you know there's been some good times babe
sure there's been some bad times too
but the worst time is gonna be tonight
cause tonight I'm leaving you
sometimes a mans gotta say what he's gotta say
even if it's real bad news
tonight I'm walking out that door
and I'm making love to a bottle of booze
Don't try and track me down!
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